Chapter 2: Let the Games Begin!
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 2: Let the Games Begin!

*Amity Collosseum, above Atlas, Remnant; August 6, 2018*

"And welcome, ladies and gentlemen from across the multiverse to the 41st Vytal Festival hosted by the kingdom of Atlas! Today marks the first day of the Tournament! Combatants come from across Remnant and even from schools in other universes to compete for this event! The first and second days are dedicated to the Team Competitions! The winners of the teams competitions will select two members and move on to the Doubles bracket! Our first competitors of the day are Team RWBY of Vale, and Team VRDN from Earth!" The announcer yells with an essence of a WWE announcer's enthusiasm.

Ruby Rose of Team RWBY waved to the audience, along with her teammates, as both competitors walked onto the arena.

"This is an especially interesting match since both teams include survivors of the Provinence Incident of 2016!" Another announcer added.

"Not just survivors, but leaders, in fact! That is, save one member of Team VRDN!" The first announcer clarified

Ruby definitely recognized Vanoss, Nogla, and H2O Delirious' GTA avatars from two years ago, but didn't remember the lanky young man with dark brown, almost orange, hair and narrow red eyes.

"Let's see... Russet Autumn, he's actually a Huntsman-in-training who didn't get a team until these guys showed up.. He might actually be the most experienced hunter of the team..!"

Russet smirked at the others, after which they unsheathed their weapons as the arena began changing.

The arena seemed to shift into a half-urban, half swamp setting, complete with destroyed buildings on one side, with low trees and mud-stained earth on the other.

The teams suddenly heard a loud buzz indicating the countdown.

3...

2...

1...

"BEGIN!"

Ruby swept out towards a dilapidated building on the left side, using Crescent Rose's sniper to help her get on top of the building to act as cover fire while her teammates battled below until she could scope out a strategy.

In a surprise move, Vanoss fired a grappling hook at the street light above her, swinging onto the same rooftop as her.

"'Eyy, Ruby! What's goin' on?!" Vanoss waved.

"Hi, Evan!" Ruby waved before hitting Vanoss in the face with the blunt end of the scythe blade.

"Ow!" Vanoss winced, thinking of a plan.

"Hey, is that a shark eating a cheeseburger?" Vanoss asked, pointing directly behind Ruby.

"A what-now?" Ruby turned directly behind her.

"SURPRISE, MOTHERF**KER!" Vanoss had yelled, who was now slamming his Ragnarok DG-4 into the building, causing Ruby to levitate above the rooftop as Vanoss roundhouse kicked her 20 feet to the dusty ground.

"...And a clever move by Vanoss of Team VRDN!" the announcer yelled as Ruby pulled herself up.

"Glad I thought of that, Mr. Announcer man!" Vanoss smirked as Ruby leapt up again, kicking Vanoss directly in the face. As Vanoss was nearing the ground, Yang threw him 10 feet into the air and falcon-punched Vanoss into Delirious.

"Get off me, dumbass!" Delirious yelled as the two struggled to stand up.

"Not my fault, bitch!" Vanoss retorted, unsheathing a machete.

Russet, who had been fighting with his bare hands up to this point, pulled out a stylized glaive and spun it around, using the handle to redirect Blake's attack and the blade to disarm Weiss, leaving Nogla to grab it.

Once Nogla grabbed Myrtenaster, he planted the blade into the ground, fire spewing from the ground in a 20 foot diameter, forcing Ruby to evade the flames with Vanoss latched onto her back.

Ruby backed Vanoss into the wall of another dilapidated building, giving him a swift kick in the groin, and using the scythe's curved blade to fling Vanoss out of the ring, and face-first into the protective barrier between them and the audience.

"And, in a well-excecuted attack, Vanoss is out!" An announcer yelled as Ruby sped to help Weiss fend off Delirious.

Delirious hacked away at Weiss using an axe, and all Weiss could do at that point was dodge.

Suddenly, Ruby shot Delirious in the head, leaving his body to skid almost to the edge of the arena.

"Ow... Thank Destoyer for this Aura shit, otherwise I'd be dead..!" Delirious chuckled as he staggered up, only to be met by Weiss, who had her rapier back and wasn't too happy with Delirious at that moment.

Delirious let out a scream and held the axe in front of him. Weiss quickly leaped to avoid the axe head, only for the masked avatar to swing the weapon upwards, directly into Weiss.

Weiss held the spot Delirious had hit as she tiptoed to avoid falling backwards out of the ring, Delirious figured he saw his chance and swung the axe in a massive arc, causing Weiss to leap behind him and summon a glyph between her and Delirious.

Delirious swung his axe high as he charged directly into the glyph, only to be blown backwards out of the arena.

"And H2O Delirious is OUT!"

"W-What the f**k?!" Delirious gaped as Vanoss laughed across the arena.

Blake and Russet were engaged in an evenly-matched duel up to this point, and with two of Vanoss' teammates out, Ruby was quick to join their clash.

Russet caught the glaive's blade into Ruby's, and using his strength, flung her into Blake, leaving both stunned so Russet could kick Ruby hard enough to lower her Aura to about 65%. Russet swung the blade sharply upwards, causing Ruby to fly into the air as Russet folded the glaive's blade back, revealing the barrel of a cannon.

Russet fired the weapon's cannon directly into Ruby, who was blown completely out of the ring.

"And Ruby is out in a clever move by Russet!"

Yang was quick to avenge Ruby, hitting him hard enough in the back to blow his Aura down to 15%.

Nogla latched onto Yang's back and pulled her away from Weiss and Blake.

"Gaah..! How much do you weigh?!" Yang yelled.

"F**k you!!" Nogla indignantly yelled back.

Weiss stabbed at Russet, forcing him to leap onto Myrtenaster and do a backflip, kicking Weiss in the chin as he did, slamming the 'ice queen' in the stomach with the handle of his glaive, and swung the end of the handle hard in her side, dropping her aura to around 78%

Blake attacked Russet again, using the dust ammunition in her weapon, she created an explosive clone of herself moments before Russet could even strike her. The copy exploded, blowing Russet into the mud and barely able to stand. Yang's prior attack left him vulnerable, and the explosion managed to completely incapacitate him.

"Russet Autumn is out due to Aura Depletion!" The announcer yelled.

Nogla pulled Yang towards the edge of the ring before launching off her back and onto the floor, with Yang a hair away from a ring-out.

Nogla struggled to get up, and was eventually surrounded by the three remaining huntresses.

"...I'm f**ked now, aren't I?" Nogla groaned.

"Right in the down-under." Yang smirked.

"But I'm not Australi-AAAAAAAAAHHH!!!"

Punctuating her retort with a ridiculously hard punch in the face that blew him out of the ring. The effect the punch had looked somewhat unusual, with a minor hint of a spark.

"AND DAITHI DE NOGLA IS OUT OF THE RING!!! TEAM RWBY IS VICTORIOUS!!" The announcer yelled, causing some to cover their ears due to the sheer volume.

Ruby instantly ran to hug her sister.

"Sis, that was AWESOME!!" Ruby cheered.

"Ahem..?" Weiss coughed.

"R-Right.. Good job, everyone..!" Ruby meekly smiled at the other two girls.

"Hey..Good job, guys..! Especially Weiss, you really f**ked Delirious' shit up.." Vanoss congratulated.

"F**k off, you little bird bitch!" Delirious yelled.

"Wait, where's Nogla and your other teammate?" Blake asked.

Russet was in the background, carrying Nogla on his back.

"Not bad, Daithi, not bad.. But we are out though.." Russet reassured the injured GTA avatar.

"W-We were mowin' troom.. Gweeey.." He muttered.

"Yeah...no." Russet rolled his eyes.

"It was nice seeing you guys again!" Yang waved.

"You too... Let's hang out sometime after this.." Vanoss tiredly waved as his team walked out of the arena defeated.

"Alright, I think we should be heading back now." Yang said.

"Sounds good!" Ruby smiled.

The four huntresses-in-training walked out of the arena as it reset into it's normal state. Once they got inside the hallways of the arena, they were met by Princess Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Pinkie, who had quickly formed Team TRAP.

"Hi, guys!" Twilight greeted.

"Oh, hey Twi!" Yang waved, happy to see her other friends again.

"Applejack? You're looking much better after I last saw you!" Ruby smiled.

"Thanks.. It was tough for the first couple months after the war, but I bounced back!" Applejack sighed, looking towards the small exo-skeleton that was needed to move her hind legs.

"You as well, Rainbow. How's your wing?" Weiss asked.

"I'm just happy to be flying with the Wonderbolts!" Rainbow raised her prosthetic wing.

"And what about you, Pinkie?" Yang asked.

"I've had worse landings before Gamma threw me, you know!" Pinkie smiled.

"How are you even alive?" Blake gaped.

"Plot armor." She answered, glaring directly at Destoyer.

"So, when's your match?" Ruby asked.

"It's the second-to-last one. I'm sure we can handle it!" Rainbow confidently postured.

"Wait, who's next again..?" Ruby wondered again.

"Well, us and Team RPID." A voice answered to their right.

Ruby looked right and smiled brightly.

"Lime?!" Ruby looked at another team, running over to hug Lime.

"Who are they?" Pinkie asked.

"They're my friends from Signal before I was transferred to Beacon! This is Lime, Robin, and Carmine!" Ruby answered, pointing to a young, husky man wearing a lime-colored tunic, a light-blue haired girl wearing a form of tunic/dress combination, and another man wearing a dark red jacket with sharp features.

"Heya!" Lime nodded in greeting.

"How are you?" Robin smiled brightly.

"Hi.." Carmine replied, seeming rather aloof.

"Everyone, this is my sister, Weiss, Blake, and.." Ruby began introducing the other group.

"Cool it, Ruby. We already know who they are. It's about that whole 'multiverse' incident." Carmine dismissively waved.

"Okay, then.. Who's your other teammate?" Yang asked, pointing to a young, armored man with a purplish-red shawl and somewhat spiky, bright purple hair .

"Oh, him? That's just Tyrian. He doesn't talk much.." Lime introduced.

Tyrian walked up to the group with a very subtle hint of confidence, stood in front of Ruby hand outstretched. Ruby eagerly shook Tyrian's hand as he nodded his greetings.

"Hi, you must be Ruby." Tyrian slightly smiled.

"H-How do you know my na-." Ruby began to ask.

"The others were so eager to see you again, they couldn't stop talking. I'm antisocial, not deaf." He replied.

"O-Okay.." Ruby smiled anxiously.

"You like these guys, Tyrian?" Yang wondered.

"Eh.. They're not bad, but they're really kinda... Talkative. I'm used to it." Tyrian answered

"Wow, haven't heard T talk this much in a while." Robin commented.

"Fun fact, Tyrian actually fought in this whole 'Blood Red Night' thing you guys were in. Did you meet him at all then?" Lime asked.

"I don't think so.." Twilight replied.

"Anyways, we should probably get ready for the fight. See you later some time?" Robin asked.

"Sure! See you guys!" Ruby waved.

"Let's move, LRTC!" Lime ordered as the four first-years walked towards the arena for their fight.

"You guys are popular!" Applejack noticed.

"Yeah.. I guess." Blake sheepishly figured.

"So, we have a little while, at least.. Want to hang out with Vanoss and the others?" Yang asked.

"I heard they have some fun stuff at the festival, we could meet there!" Pinkie smiled.

"Alright! Let's go!" Ruby eagerly followed Twilight and the others to the exit.

Only Tyrian remained, having watched them from around a corner.

"Come on, T! You fighting or what?!" Carmine yelled.

Tyrian promptly stood up and followed Carmine to the arena for their battle.

An armored man walked inside the dark room, met by three other figures.

"Sorry to keep you guys waiting, I was out looking for that bastard, Emphas." The armored man grumbled.

The middle figure stood up, one eye glowing an ominous orange color.

"Don't worry, you and I both will have a chance to settle our score with young Alex. Soon. But first, we need to send the people of Atlas a... message." The figure glared confidently.

"Of course... Cinder."

Author's Note

*Cue Dragonball Z announcer*

Already the plot is beginning to thicken!
Who will be the next team to be eliminated in the tournament, and what is Cinder's plan?
Find out on the next episode of Blood Red Shadows 2!!

-The Destoyer

Chapter 3: Sending a Message
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 3: Sending a Message

*Atlas, Remnant; August 7, 2018; 2:05 AM*

Carmine had gone out to get a midnight snack, walking through the massive technological empire that was Atlas after he left the convenience store.

He had almost gotten back to the dormitory building he and the rest of Team LRTC had been staying, and he needed to be quick.

Suddenly, a bullet pierced his right leg as Carmine fell to the ground, grabbing the affected limb in agony.

'My Aura should have blocked that! Who shot me?!' Carmine wondered.

A dark figure walked up to Carmine, dragging a silenced lever-gun across the ground as it silently converted into a short, single edged sword.

"W-Who's there..?" Carmine asked.

"Well, well, well.. Out rather late, aren't we?" A masculine voice asked threateningly.

"H-Hey..! Don't kill me! I'll do anything!! You want some chips..?" Carmine asked.

"Screw the chips.. You're going to deliver a message to your... Manipulators for me.." The figure raised the sword eye level to Carmine.

"Y-Yeah... W-What's your messa-" Carmine asked as the figure swung the blade at his neck.

*July 19, 2040, 3:05 PM; Location Unknown*

A young man sat in his bunker, sharpening a sickle. He was roughly 17 or 18 in age with dark brown, ever so slightly blonde hair with chiseled, yet thin features, the massive scar that trailed diagonally down his now-yellow left eye to his right cheek.

"You almost ready, Cade?" A feminine voice asked.

"Yeah, coming, Flurry!" He replied, standing up to sheathe his sickle and sword.

Cade climbed the ladder in the dark bunker to find a white alicorn with curly purple and blue hair, his close and only-remaining friend, suited up with an old Scratchbolt exoskeleton.

"How are you holding up..?" Flurry Heart asked.

"Not too well, not since Mom died, y'know..?" Cade sighed.

"I get 'ya.. Keep in mind both my parents died too.." Flurry looked sympathetically at Cade.

"Thanks... Not much consolation, but thanks." Cade smiled weakly.

"How did that last mission turn out?" Flurry asked, wanting to change the subject.

"Well, I at least lessened the burden on Mom and Dad, that's for sure. Problem is, the machine's out of fuel now." Cade replied.

"I found the location of another working Dimensional Gate. Someone modified this one for Time Travel, too." Flurry told him.

"Does... she... know about it?" Cade asked.

"Well, it's two miles underground out in the desert. I can't think of why she'd know.." Flurry replied.

"Okay.. We'd better get moving." Cade said, donning a tattered red cape with cross-pins.

"You still keep that parasprite food?" Flurry scowled at the sight of the cape.

"You still wear that meaningless tiara, Princess." Cade retorted.

"Touché.." Flurry opened the hatch to the outside world with her magic, leading both man and pony into the ruins of the old world..

*Atlas Academy, Remnant; August 7, 2018; 7:30 AM*

Yang was flipping through channels on the tv in her room. Weiss and Blake stayed with her while Ruby was out looking for a new scroll because someone thought it would be funny to throw her old one in one of the porta-potties at the festival. Eventually, Yang heard her scroll ring.

"Hello?" Yang asked.

"Yang, you need to come out here.." Ruby worriedly told her sister through the phone.

"What? I can't hear you..."

"What do you mean you can't... no.."

"I can't hear you because..." Yang snickered.

"No, no, no..!" Ruby groaned.

"Because of a crappy connection!" Yang laughed.

"YANG THIS IS SERIOUS!!!" Ruby yelled.

"Okay okay, what's wrong?" Yang asked.

"Carmine's dead!!" Ruby yelled through her phone.

"WHAT?!" Yang stood up from her seat.

"I need you guys out here!" Ruby ordered.

*July 19, 2040; 3:30 PM; Location Unknown*

Cade rode on Flurry's back high above the clouds of dust and ash over the ruined city.

"How far away is this bunker?" Cade asked.

"It should be another 2 miles." Flurry replied.

"I hope so, because... Wait, what is that..?" Cade wondered, looking down at a large swirling orange vortex below them.

"... Oh horse apples." Flurry gaped.

The vortex suddenly let out a massive burst of flame that threatened to engulf the two had Flurry not evaded.

"F**k! She knows!" Cade yelled, reaching for a pulse rifle in Flurry's saddlebag.

"I know that, smart-flank!" Flurry evaded hundreds of smaller vortexes that apparated into the skies with them.

"I can't get a clear shot!" Cade yelled, charging a pulse.

"I'll dive, you jump off at ground level! We'll meet at the site. It's northeast of here!" Flurry screamed as she dove in a 90 degree angle downwards as the vortexes exploded.

"Found her!" Cade screamed, pointing his weapon at their enemy.

The All-Seasonal Maiden; Cinder Fall.

Cade fired a pulse wave at Cinder, diving out and rolling to avoid the arrows Cinder shot at him. Each pulse exploded on impact and shrouded the area in a dense cloud of dust.

Flurry cleared a path towards the location they were heading.

Once Cade saw Cinder clear the dust to where he was, he fired another pulse, throwing up more dust and buying him time to run.

Cade started running as soon as Cinder began freezing the dust in place before melting the ice immediately. Cade fired more pulses, one on the ground to cover his tracks, and the rest at Cinder.

Cade pulled out a small crystal: the last teleport crystal Princess Luna had gifted him before her demise. He whispered the coordinates of the location into the crystal, which it to glow brightly before shattering, it's light enveloping Cade before he disappeared completely.

It was an incredibly risky move, since Cinder could easily track where the teleport magic led, but not using it would have led to his death.

'Thank you, Princess Luna...' Cade thought gravely.

*Outside Atlas Academy, Remnant; August 7, 2018; 7:35 AM*

Weiss, Blake, and Yang ran outside to meet their leader, who stood frozen in horror at the scene before her.

Two police cars were parked near Carmine's body, and the others saw only two marks; one bullet wound in the right leg, and one cut at the neck, just deep enough for him to bleed out entirely. It hadn't been a quick death..

"How..?" Yang gaped in horror.

"W-Who did this..?" Blake stared at the crime, unable to look away.

The others found Twilight, eyes glued to the scene before her.

"I-I think I know what might be happening here..." Twilight said suddenly.

"You know something about this?" Lime walked to the lavender alicorn questioningly.

"W-What..? How would I?" Twilight turned to face Lime anxiously.

"You just said you knew..!" Robin yelled, tears in her eyes.

"I-It was just a thought... Maybe it was that team you fought yesterday..! Maybe one of them is a really sore loser!" Twilight stammered.

Lime glared at Twilight, shaking his head.

"Princess, I won't rule it out, but this wasn't any touch-and-go case here..." One of the officers commented.

"Do you think this has anything to do with it?" Another policeman said, holding up a crushed bag of chips in a plastic evidence bag with a pair of tweezers.

"I don't think so... The killer might have just been playing dirty.." The first added.

"Come with me." Twilight whispered urgently, turning to Team RWBY.

The huntresses followed Twilight quickly, only one person watching them as they left.

Tyrian let out a sigh as he turned away from them, and back to the scene of the crime.

*July 19, 2040; 3:33 PM; Location Unknown*

Flurry sped down the stairs to find Cade fiddling with the Dimensional Gateway.

"How did you get here so fast?" Flurry asked.

"Teleport crystal.. My last one.." Cade sighed.

Flurry looked pissed.

"You know she can find us if you use those bucking things!" Flurry yelled.

"I had no choice! She would've killed me and you know it! That's why I'm leaving only enough fuel for a one-way trip! Speaking of which, how do I dispose this stuff again?" Cade asked.

"Here, let me." Flurry levitated the bucket of fuel towards her, throwing in a bunch of dust, cobwebs, and old documents so it couldn't be used.

"Let me see one of those..." Cade demanded.

"Fine.." Flurry grumbled, levitating a large dossier with the words 'Classified' and 'CIA' stamped on.

"It's an old CIA document.." Cade noticed.

"CIA? You think Agent Kat would've known something about it?" Flurry wondered.

"Odds are she would... Let me see...Project 'Osiris'... Ohh, shit.." Cade whispered.

The two suddenly heard a loud boom coming from the porthole, followed by another one.

"We've got company.." Cade shoved the dossier into his tunic.

"Buck.. We need a plan!" Flurry stood up.

"Hold on, that fuel is acidic, right?" Cade demanded.

"Oh, it's dangerously corrosive.. I'm surprised the bucket isn't melting." Flurry replied.

"Toss it on the ladder and the ground. It might buy us some time." Cade ordered.

Flurry threw the substance on the ladder and the floor, causing both to gradually burn away and form a decent-sized hole as she galloped back.

Cade got the Gateway ready and set the coordinates.

"And... Let's see... When did Cinder take the Fall Maiden's powers?" Cade asked.

"There it was... Let me see... Early August 2018... Can't remember the exact date.." Flurry figured.

"Let's go with Lucky 7, 10:20 AM..near Atlas.." Cade decided.

"Okay... Let's move!!" Flurry pulled the switch.

The machine enveloped them in a red light, followed by a gradual fade into blue as both man and pony disappeared.

Cinder lowered herself down, noticing both the ladder and ground were eaten away. The two had attempted to trap her...

She gaped at the sight of a dimensional gateway shutting down..

"Damn.. The model's old... They must've used only enough fuel for a one-way trip.. They're gone." Cinder smiled.

She didn't care about following them...they were finally out of her way...Now that they were, she could continue her reign..

*Atlas Academy, Remnant; August 7, 2018; 7:38 AM*

"Okay, Twi, what's this all about?" Yang asked.

Twilight followed Team RWBY into their room, making sure to lock the door behind them.

"I think I know what's happening here... Five months ago, Alex finished his training with Canis and went straight to me.." Twilight began.

"He went to you? For a visit?" Ruby wondered.

"Yes.. He said that something bad was going to happen during the Vytal Festival, and that from what he saw during his training, and.." Twilight recalled.

"Oh! When I was out late a couple months back, he found me and told me that something big was going to happen..." Yang remembered.

"He saw you too?!" Twilight gaped.

"Yeah... He implied that the person planning this had to be Cinder." Yang blinked in recollection.

"Cinder?!" Weiss gasped.

"Of course... If she could force Adam into joining her, it's safe to assume she spent two years planning her comeback." Blake figured.

"And that's how Roman Torchwick escaped that Atlas aircraft!" Ruby figured.

"So, Cinder wouldn't be doing this sort of thing herself... So someone might be working from inside!" Twilight realized.

"Who would do that for someone like Cinder?" Yang wondered.

"Hold on... I need to make a call.." Twilight said.

*Washington D.C, North American Federation; August 7, 2018; 7:45 AM*

Kat was sitting in a desk at the parliamentary building. Running part of a new country was hard work, but even so, she couldn't help but feel...bored.

At least during her time in the Kahn Militia, and the Coalition, there was always some action involved. Her innumerable hours were spent helping her fellow senators decide on new laws and tax hikes so the country could rebuild.

But even with the importance and weight that came with politics, she felt like this wasn't her calling.

'I should be out with Evan and Twilight at the Festival, not cooped up in some desk stamping papers!' Kat internally groaned.

Suddenly, her phone rang. Picking it up, she could see it was a trans-dimensional call... This was going to hike up her bill..

"Hello, this is Senator Anderson." Kat greeted politely.

"Kat, is that you?" Twilight asked from the opposite end.

"Twilight? Hi, how's the festival?" Kat anxiously inquired, she was dying to hear anything that went on outside the crowded office.

"Umm, that's the thing... One of the competitors died and we think it might be... You know.." Twilight stammered.

"Slow down for a second... Someone died? During the Tournament?" Kat wondered, her curiosity piqued.

No... He died just last night outside the dorm... We think Cinder might be behind it.." Twilight replied.

"Cinder? As in the same Cinder that killed Alex's parents, a CIA agent, and roughly 3 battalions of Coalition troops?" Kat gaped, making sure to keep her voice down.

"Exactly... We might need some help figuring out who's working undercover for her." twilight explained.

"I'll ask Chancellor Smith about it, I'll see if I can go-" Kat began to promise.

"Ask me what?" Hunter Smith, current Chancellor of the Federation, wondered.

"Listen, my friends need my help again.. Something involving Atlas.." Kat explained.

"Atlas? Wait, don't tell me this is about the Tournament again." Hunter groaned.

"Well, yes.. But hear me out!" Kat begged.

"Fine. Make your case, senator." Hunter nodded.

"A competitor died, and Princess Twilight believes a rogue Inquisitor is behind it.." Kat stated.

"Inquisitor?! At the damn tournament?! Listen... General Ironwood is already on my case about not paying for Atlas' tech.. If one of our senators were to head over there and either prevent or protect the citizens from catastrophe.. I might be able to let that senator intervene." Hunter figured.

"Thank you, Chancellor!" Kat shook his hand excitedly.

"Don't mention it. Just go, hurry! The money is due on the 11th!" The chancellor practically shoved her out the door.

Author's Note

Well, we have a man and an alicorn coming from the future, a bored ex-militia fighter/senator, and an ulterior plot yet to be revealed..

We're in this one for the long haul!
(Don't worry, I'd put each saga at roughly 10-15 chapters.)

-The Destoyer.

Chapter 4: New Arrivals!
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 4: New Arrivals!

*Atlas, Remnant; August 7, 2018; 10:23 AM*

Kat had recently arrived on Atlas via the Public Dimensional Gateway roughly two hours ago, and having arrived to the fairgrounds another 45 minutes ago, she was almost to the agreed meeting place for Twilight, Ruby, Vanoss, and others to discuss who might be Cinder's mole.

She had traded her business attire to a more relaxed combat suit she kept from her days in the Coalition, and with her old sniper in the case tied to her back, she almost looked like a competitor herself.

Kat finally decided to get something to eat when she heard two people talking just near her.

"Okay, the landing was a bit rough, I'll admit, but hey, we're still alive." A man, about 17 or 18 said.

"Yes, but we don't have any money, spare clothes, or our disguises!" A young woman rebuked her partner's comment.

Kat seemed to know something suspicious was going on, she snuck into a nearby crowd and followed it to the source of the two voices.

"Calm down, okay! We'll find someone who can help us, I'm sure!" The man defended.

Upon closer inspection, the man seemed to be wearing a really dusty tunic, a tattered red cape, and gleaming, ominous-looking yellow eyes, and he had a scar that swept from his left eye to his right cheek. His hair, brown and just barely blonde, spiked almost upwards before falling back down.

The girl wasn't human, but an alicorn. Complete with a pure white coat with a purple and blue mane. The tiara she wore looked like it had seen better days, dusty and covered with signs of damage.

Come to think of it, the alicorn looked... familiar...

Kat blinked, the epiphany setting in.

The alicorn looked exactly like an older Flurry Heart, the naturally born Alicorn who had been born 7 months ago!

"Who's going to help us?! We can't exactly go to Ruby Rose or Aunt Twilight! Pony feathers, not even Agent Kat knows who we are!" Flurry whisper-yelled.

Agent Kat?!

"What the hell is going on here?" She asked, coming around the corner she was hiding.

"See! I told you somebody was going to- holy shit! Agent Kat?!" The man looked shocked at seeing her.

"You dumb-flank! She doesn't know who we are yet!" Adult Flurry used her magic to smack the man with a CIA dossier she pulled out of his tunic.

"Actually, I know who you are, Princess Flurry." Kat glared.

"How do you- oh... You went went to my Crystalling, didn't you?" Flurry asked.

"Yeah, you almost killed me with your sneeze." Kat huffed.

"He he... Sorry about that... You're probably wondering what's going on here, right?" The man asked.

"Well, I'm a little curious." Kat replied.

"Well, it's a long story.. But if it's not too much to ask, could we follow you to speak with the rest of Unity?" Flurry inquired.

"How do you know where I was going? Are you the mole?" Kat accused, reaching towards the case behind her back.

"Hey, hey! No need for that! We're here to stop Cinder!" The man whispered.

Kat looked at them both.

"Fine. But first, you're telling me who you are!" Kat pointed at the man.

"Okay, okay..! My name is Cade.. And, well, this isn't easy to say, but.." Cade stammered.

"Might as well spill it, you're the one who gave us away!" Flurry stared daggers at Cade.

"Well... We came here from 22 years in the future.." Cade sighed.

*Meanwhile, at Amity Colosseum*

"And Team JNPR are the victors!" The Announcer yelled.

Team RWBY cheered for their friends, but they had to be brief, their meeting was coming up in 10 minutes.

"Ladies and Gentleman, it's that time of the day again, the 'Daily Duel!' One lucky competitor gets to volunteer him or herself to challenge a rival and duel! No penalties, no boundaries, and no time limit! Huntsmen and Huntresses! Raise your hands!" the announcer yelled.

Yang's hand shot up in the air.

"Yang, what are you doing! The meeting is in 9 minutes!!" Ruby whispered.

"Come on, Ruby. It's me we're talking about! This fight will be over in about 2 minutes, 4 tops." Yang shrugged.

"And we have our volunteer! Tyrian Alastor, select your opponent!" the announcer hollered. Yang looked down in disappointment, she wanted to be selected so badly.

Yang looked across the arena at the spiky-haired huntsman himself, pointing right at her with a look of familiarity.

"And Tyrian has chosen his rival! YANG XIAO LONG!!"

Yang blinked in surprise, but shrugged it off and went out to the arena with a leap. Tyrian had already arrived himself, pulling out two lever-action rifles from his back.

"Yo, T! Why'd you pick me?" Yang asked with a confident grin.

"Because, it looked like you were bored out of your mind with someone as weak as Nogla on your back!" Tyrian replied.

"You bitch!" Nogla yelled as Vanoss and his friends laughed like crazy.

The starting bell rang loudly as both huntsman and huntress launched themselves at each other.

Tyrian flipped above Yang's punch, spinning the rifle by it's lever and using it's momentum to hit Yang in the side.

Yang punched thin air again as Tyrian leaped above her fist. Tyrian put both guns in an X-shape, grabbing Yang's arm and throwing her up about 10 feet. Tyrian shot round after round at Yang, who either shot at his bullets or narrowly avoided them. The rounds exploded on impact, leaving the arena covered with smoke.

Tyrian charged at Yang again, using the lever-guns like tonfas and hitting Yang hard.

Yang smiled, running right at Tyrian and punching him as hard as she could.

Tyrian blocked the attack with his arms, bright purple force-fields surrounded each arm, leaving his limbs unaffected.

"Wait a minute... The magic signatures don't look like any Semblance I've seen..." Rarity murmured.

"You're right..! It seems... Equestrian in origin.. And it's really powerful..." Twilight turned to her friend.

"Force-fields? That's your Semblance?" Yang asked.

"Yours is getting extra power from each hit. Way I see it, why get hit at all?" Tyrian smirked.

Yang punched again, Tyrian's force-field blocking her attack again. Yang hit Tyrian's arms repeatedly, and it seemed like the force-fields protecting them would shatter.

Tyrian suddenly ducked, shooting Yang directly in the chest. Yang skidded backwards, smoke trailing from her stomach as the shots left two scorch marks behind.

"It looks like we have an even match here, folks! Tyrian and Yang are proving to be neck-and-neck! Thank Dust this doesn't affect the Tournament, or one of these brilliant fighters would be walking home!" the announcer yelled.

"Y' hear that? Looks like we're even if we're not trying! Let's go all-out!" Yang grinned.

"Agreed." Tyrian shot his rifles, using the raw power of both shots for propulsion and leaped 20 feet in the air, kicking Yang in the chest. He flipped onto the ground and continued attacking her. Each hit seemed like it would shatter the arena. Yang attack just as quickly and fiercely as Tyrian did.

"Damn, look at this! I didn't know he had it in him..!" Lime appeared somewhat calculating.

"It feels weird seeing him do this much damage, to Yang Xiao Long, no less! I thought he was the weakest on the team!" Robin blinked.

Tyrian loaded another round and formed a force-field at the end of the barrel, the field surrounded the bullet, speeding it up significantly and producing an explosion once it connected with Yang.

Yang flipped backwards, almost ringing-out.

"There you go. Full power! Now, hit me as hard as you can!" Tyrian smirked.

Yang stood up, rearing up for a powerful hit. Her fist and gauntlet glowed a bright yellow color as though it were in flames, and it produced a slight flicker of red.

"Woah..! Yang looks like she's going to kill him with that punch!" Blake stared.

"What's up with Tyrian..? Is he insane?!" Ruby blinked in fright.

Yang launched towards Tyrian, screaming as she sped up to him.

Tyrian dodged, narrowly avoiding the punch, and sliced off some of her hair with the sharp, protruded edge of the barrel.

Yang slid back, noticing a lock of her hair in Tyrian's hand.

"I don't think you understood! You. Me. Hard as you can. Not half as hard, not some arbitrary amount. I want you.."

Yang's eyes flickered red for a little bit.

"He really is trying to kill himself!" Ruby moaned.

"...To hit me..." Tyrian continued.

Yang seethed, her eyes turning completely red as yellow and red flame circled around her.

"...As hard as you can. You buying what I'm selling?" Tyrian smirked, tossing the lock of Yang's hair aside.

"Oh, yes." Yang glared, hair now standing on-end.

Yang practically threw herself at Tyrian, who stood crossing his arms in confidence as she came ever-closer towards the huntsman.

Yang screamed loudly about halfway to her opponent, speeding her pace as she got closer and closer to him.

Tyrian dodged the hit again at the last possible second, only for Yang to turn around and hit him in the back. The force-field that apparently closely surrounded his body completely shattered, and his aura had dropped down to 10%.

Tyrian skidded mostly on his face to the end of the arena, a single hair protruding out of the ring as he picked himself up.

"Wow... I gotta hand it to you, that was one hell of a punch! If I didn't have that force-field, I'd have probably blown through the shield into the audience!." Tyrian stretched his back, a loud crack resonating through the arena.

"Tyrian tanked Yang's attack like a pro, but he's at a daunting 10% compared to Yang's 86%!"

"Damn! That kid is a beast!" Vanoss stared.

"He's a Super Saiyan!" Delirious screamed.

"HOW?!" Ruby looked wide-eyed at the arena.

Tyrian looked towards the screen with their names and Aura levels on them.

"Not like I'll recover from this..Besides, I forfeit anyway. I'll admit, it wasn't a long fight, but it was good to measure out our power gap." Tyrian surrendered.

"W-Wha..?" Yang blinked, disappointed.

"Don't be like that. We'll probably end up as finalists, anyways. Here's your hair back." Tyrian tossed the lock back to Yang, who looked at it confused.

"Sweet dust.. Tyrian is an absolute monster.." Robin stared wide-eyed.

"If he took that hit, he could probably take out a Nevermore with his bare hands!" Lime grabbed his hair.

"Probably not, Limer. But hey, that's just my opinion." Tyrian smirked as he sat down with the two remaining members of his team.

Yang returned to her team, smiling brightly.

"Well, I technically won! How much time do we have?" Yang asked.

"We have a couple minutes! Let's go!" Ruby grabbed her team and ran.

Twilight nodded, and the Elements walked towards the exit, with Vanoss and his crew not far behind.

Author's Note

I'm probably going to get so much crap for adding a Flurry Heart into this story.

Just a bit of a heads up; most of the events of Season 6 happened between BRS and Crimson Shade. I say most of the events because since it's a whole other timeline, I could use what I liked and retcon what I didn't. We're all looking at you, Zephyr Breeze.

Chapter 5: Group Huddle!
View Online

Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 5: Group Huddle!

*Atlas Academy, Remnant; August 7, 2018; 10:35 AM*

The present members of Unity had gathered into an abandoned classroom to discuss what might be happening.

"Where the hay is Kat! She should be here by now!" Rainbow Dash moaned.

"You guys asked Kat? I thought she was busy with political stuff." Ruby tilted her head.

"I see what might be going on! The Federation's leader might have sent her to stop whatever's about to happen because he wants leverage over Atlas! The Federation owes Atlas a lot of money and I guess Smith's looking for a way out!" Weiss concluded.

"I guess Smith does know how to make a deal.." Blake commented.

"Sorry I'm late! I brought company!" Kat announced, Flurry and Cade in tow.

"Who are they?" Yang asked.

"Flurry?! I thought you were-" Twilight gasped.

"Back at the Crystal Empire safe with Mom and Dad, I know.." Flurry wing-hugged her aunt.

"We'll explain everything later, but for right now, let's discuss the facts." Cade said.

"What are you staring at me for?" Ruby asked looking at Cade.

"Ruby, This is Cade. Cade, I think you already know who she is.." Kat smiled.

"But, this is impossible! Age-related magic can only be used by highly advanced-level unicorns! Did you meet Starlight?" Twilight asked.

"No, Aunt Twilight. It's something else entirely.." Flurry sighed.

"Yang... Do you remember how Alpha was able to fight Captain Walker because he used time travel?" Cade asked.

"Alpha was a time traveller?!" Kat gasped.

"Actually, he was also our son..." Yang sheepishly admitted.

"Your WHAT?!" Weiss gaped.

"My brain is so full of f**k right now.." Delirious groaned, holding his head.

"Time travel? I guess it makes sense, remember how we used time travel to get that plunger in Der Eisendrache?" Terroriser nodded.

"How about that one episode of Spongebob where Squidward went into the future?" Nogla added.

"FUUUTURRRE..!" Wildcat imitated.

"WILDCAT THIS IS SERIOUS!!" Cade yelled.

"So, future googling-man, what's the future like in the year 2183?" Vanoss asked.

"We aren't that far." Flurry groaned.

"Then where are you from?" Applejack asked.

"Don't you mean WHEN are they from?!" Pinkie and Delirious said at the same time.

"Ugh... 2040." Cade replied.

"So, what's it like, and why did you go back?" Twilight asked.

"It's... Well.." Flurry began.

"It's a complete and utter shit hole." Cade finished.

"Let's see... Shitty future..." Basically thought.

"Bad hair.." Droidd added.

"F**k off!" Cade almost yelled.

"The sword and the tacky clothes.." Nogla continued.

"Nogla, if you don't stop, no doctor will be able to fix what I'll do to you." Cade seethed.

"Yep. Cade is literally a Future Trunks knockoff." Vanoss concluded.

"And... Shit, you got me." Cade sighed.

"What, next you're going to tell us that your dad was a villain?" Mini Ladd asked.

"Not exactly.." Cade scoffed.

"Yep, they pegged you, Trunks." Flurry snickered.

"Wait, does she watch Dragonball Z?" Delirious asked.

"Can we please get back on topic?" Rarity begged, rolling her eyes.

"Fine! The reason we came back was to help you kill Cinder Fall!" Cade yelled.

"I thought you were going to say Androids, but whatever." Luis shrugged.

"He's being serious! By the time we came back, Cinder didn't just have the Fall Maiden's powers, but all of them combined! She killed Twilight, Celestia, Ozpin, and even Alex Walker and Yang at full-power!" Flurry yelled.

The room took a collective gasp.

"We only had enough fuel for a one-way trip just so our Cinder wouldn't follow us!" Cade added.

"We can't let Cinder get that powerful!" Ruby gaped.

"And that's why we have to stop her. Permanently. But before we do that, we have to find her mole. He or she already killed Carmine, and it's only a matter of time before this mole strikes again." Flurry declared.

"So. Any ideas on who this guy is?" Rainbow asked.

"Well, if I were to guess, I'd say it would have to be Tyrian.. He keeps giving us really weird looks.." Weiss figured.

"He did challenge Yang just to forfeit.. Just like Mercury did with Pyrrha.. He turned out to be an Inquisitor." Twilight continued.

"Hold on, just because he might be a little nuts doesn't mean he's the mole.." Rainbow defended.

"The weapons he was using could've broken Yang's Aura with the force-field bullet. It explains the gunshot to the leg." Ruby shrugged.

"And the barrel was sharp enough to cut my hair." Yang seethed.

"I don't think it's safe to accuse only Tyrian." Kat decided.

"Besides, I can't think of why a mole would kill a random huntsman like that.." Vanoss thought.

"He's trying to scare us. Let everyone know that there's something more going on than we know." Weiss decided.

"It was a White Fang scare tactic to kill one or two people in a village before ransacking and pillaging it for Dust. And who was controlling the White Fang?" Blake asked.

"Cinder." Applejack sighed.

"Well. We figured him out... What do we do now..?" Ruby asked.

"We can't kill him or turn him in to the authorities yet. Not before we see what's really going on here.. One person can't be it. Besides, the CIA look for patterns in other people's killings." Kat figured.

"She isn't wrong.. We have to let them make the next move before we do something." Yang added.

"But still... Who's next..?"

*Ironwood's office, Atlas Academy, Remnant; August 7, 2018; 5:30 PM*

Robin walked to Ironwood's office, he had said something about wanting to speak to her in private.

She opened the door to find Ironwood, Professor Ozpin, and Pyrrha Nikos.

"Hello, Ms. Corvus, we need to speak with you." Ironwood began.

"O-Okay." She sat down next to Pyrrha facing Ironwood and Ozpin.

"I believe you're both aware of the exact nature of this conversation, correct?" Opinion asked.

"Yes, Professor." Pyrrha nodded.

"As I'm sure you understand, the police came back with Carmine's autopsy. They suspect foul play, but we all know what has been happening." Ozpin began.

"Who do you think is behind all of this?" Robin was confused.

"It is our belief that an Inquisitor named Cinder Fall is the one behind the death of your friend." Ironwood explained.

"Cinder Fall? But how? Did she kill Carmine..?" Robin asked.

"No, she wasn't the killer, but we received word three days ago that there is a potential mole in our midst. She is looking for Pyrrha's Fall Maiden abilities, as we've discussed yesterday.." Ozpin replied.

"So, you're saying I need to keep a small amount of the Fall Maiden's power so Cinder doesn't do anything dangerous, right..?" Robin asked,

"Yes. I understand, it's only a small part of the Fall Maiden's full power, but if Cinder ever obtains this power, she will destroy Atlas." Ironwood added.

"Destroy Atlas?!" Robin gasped.

"Yes.. And as much as I hate to do this, I'll have to do a partial soul merge with you..." Pyrrha looked upset.

"A soul merge?"

"It was how we transferred Pyrrha the Fall Maiden's power in the first place. We did incidentally transfer the previous holder's mind, but she's since faded into her subconscious." Ironwood explained.

"Listen to me very carefully. If this mole finds you, they will kill you. And that goes for you as well, Pyrrha. Stay with your teams, and do not go anywhere alone for the duration of the Tournament." Ozpin instructed.

"Yes, Professor." Robin nodded.

"You may leave, but come back in two days." Ironwood told them as both girls left.

As soon as the door closed, Ozpin faced Ironwood.

"James, you know as well as I that transferring Pyrrha's powers might be catastrophic." Ozpin explained.

"I have no choice. I have to protect my kingdom, even if we're using one of your students to do it." Ironwood groaned.

"Do we have any leads on who this mole is..?" Ozpin asked.

"None yet." Ironwood replied grimly.

"We might have to shorten the duration of this year's Festival. It's for the safety of your people, James." Ozpin turned to face his equal.

"... Very well. I'm just happy we didn't have to involve Qrow, or god forbid, Captain Walker." Ironwood scowled.

*Outside Atlas Academy, Remnant; August 8, 2018; 12:35 AM*

Lime walked past the darkened building carrying a Scroll. He looked up at Atlas' Cross-Continental Transmit Tower, smiling slightly.

"Going somewhere, Lime?" A masculine voice asked from behind him.

"Who's there?!" Lime pulled out his weapon, a hammer with the symbol of a lime at the center.

"Ah, looks like you came prepared. You deserve an award." The figure pulled out a lever-action rifle.

"Don't come any closer, Tyrian!" Lime yelled.

Tyrian walked into view with the rifle in hand.

"I guess that makes two rewards for figuring me out, Lime." Tyrian smirked.

A force-field formed around the barrel of the rifle, and Lime swung the hammer hard.

Tyrian dodged the hammer, using his other lever-gun to keep the hammer away while he pulled the trigger.

Lime's Aura shattered instantly and the bullet pierced his chest. The husky young man coughed up blood as he fell to the ground.

"R-Russet.. He-He's the one..!" Lime called.

Tyrian heard someone fly in from behind him, he quickly turned around to find Russet swinging his glaive at him. Tyrian flipped backwards, grabbing the weapon and pointing it at his chest.

Russet grinned, flipping back the blade to reveal the cannon attachment as Russet pulled the trigger. Tyrian dodged just in time, as the bullet went into Tyrian's intended target: Lime.

Lime coughed loudly as Tyrian once again disappeared into the shadows.

Russet slowly reloaded the cannon as Tyrian pressed the rifle to his head.

Tyrian pulled the trigger, shooting Russet through the head, killing him.

Lime crawled up to Tyrian, grasping at Russet's leg.

"Y-You... You bastard... Why a-are you doing t-this..?" Lime coughed.

"What, did you think I fell for that whole act?" Tyrian scoffed.

"W-What act..?"

"Don't play dumb with me. I know exactly what you did." Tyrian laughed.

"Y-You figured that out, huh..?" Lime gagged.

"Hmm. I guess we're both pawns in a game. You just happened to be playing for the wrong side, Lime." Tyrian laughed.

"P-People will get s-s-us-suspicious... They'll hunt yo-you down..." Lime gasped.

"Hmm. I'll cross that bridge when I get there. Now, where was I? Oh, yes." Tyrian continued as he pointed the gun against Lime's forehead.

"Checkmate."

Author's Note

I want to try and clear up something maybe a couple of you have already noticed.

The Vytal Festival, in RWBY Canon, usually happens around the end of the year, as the students have already gone through at least a semester or two. Due to circumstances at the end of the last story, though, they moved it after the last battle.

So why is it taking place in August?

They took advantage of the fact that their enemies were brushing off that major defeat, and almost two years later, they scheduled it again, making it the 41st festival.

-The Destoyer.

Chapter 6: Nothing Can Go Wrong...
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 6: Nothing Can Go Wrong...

Amity Colosseum; Atlas, Remnant; August 8, 2018; 2:35 PM

"Ladies and Gentlemen, it's time for the next Doubles Match! The next fighters are Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee of Team RWBY, with Robin Corvus and Tyrian Alastor of Team LRTC on the opposing side! Let the battle begin!"

Ruby and Weiss quickly made their way to the arena, with Tyrian and Robin taking their time.

'Remember the plan, Ruby. This is of utmost importance;' Flurry Heart had told her, "If and when you have to deal with Tyrian, push him to his absolute limit! If he tries anything, you take the Ray Gun mag stowed on you and shoot him. And if anything else happens, kill him. No matter what, do not let him reach Cinder!"

Right now, roughly half of Team Unity were at the exits with large cargo ships close by, while the other half stayed at Atlas Academy in case the remaining students or staff needed help.

Tyrian pulled out his rifles immediately while Robin kept her hand on her sheathed falchion. Weiss and Ruby held the similar stances as Tyrian did.

"Listen... Sorry to hear about what happened with your team.." Ruby sympathized.

"Thank you, but we're kinda about to fight, so.." Tyrian replied.

3...

2...

1...

"BEGIN!"

Ruby immediately lashed out at Tyrian, who ducked and shifted to evade Ruby's scythe. Ruby was honestly surprised to see someone with speed almost matching her's.

Almost, as in Ruby nicked Tyrian in the arm when he least expected it, he didn't wince or even let out any indication she got him. He merely looked at his arm, removed his shawl, and wrapped it around the 'wound'. He then charged at Ruby full tilt and leaped into the air.

Ruby fired the sniper-end of Crescent Rose at Tyrian, who flipped out of the way of the shot, ducked down and slid to avoid Ruby's attacks, and swept his leg under Ruby's and knocked her over.

Weiss and Robin seemed to be having a typical spar like most who fought in the tournament. But at that point, Ruby and Tyrian, it seemed, were fighting a duel to the death.

Ruby ducked to avoid Tyrian's attacks and sped back about 50 feet behind her. She braced herself and charged at him, full speed, to take him down.

A force-field enveloped Tyrian's rifles as they blocked the strike meant for his neck. He expanded the force-fields, repelling the scythe as he kicked Ruby in the side.

'It's weird.. Tyrian isn't trying to make me mad like he did with Yang.. ' Ruby thought as she sped at him again from behind.

Tyrian wasn't quick enough to evade and received a heavy punishment, numerous strikes that would've killed any normal person, followed by a cross-clip shot that hit him in the gut and forced him back at least 25 feet.

Tyrian panted, clutching the holes in his armor, all the while wearing an unusual look on his face.

"Ruby Rose is doing some surprisingly heavy damage against Tyrian! Even the other competitors are watching in awe!" the announcer yelled.

"D-Damn... I knew you'd be about as much of a challenge as your sister, but I didn't expect you to have improved this much..!" He gasped, clutching his stomach.

"Improved? What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

Tyrian looked as if he had just seen a ghost, his face turned stark white as he tried to recover.

"Let's stop messing around then and get back to the fight." Tyrian and Ruby had charged at the exact same instant, colliding with a rush of attacks.

*Meanwhile*

"Neo, you there?" Roman asked through a communicator.

"Yes?"

"Okay, remember the plan? We were supposed to be-"

"I know, Roman! Give me a second!" Neo indignantly yelled.

"Cinder is getting the most important bits and Ultimus' forces are almost ready! Find a way to stop that fight!" Roman ordered.

Neo needed a way to have the fighters distracted, even for a second, to stop dead in their tracks..

'Hmm.. 'Stop dead'.'

Tyrian and Ruby were locked in a strike-for-strike blitz, with Weiss and Robin watching the battle either shocked or intrigued.

The second Ruby went to reload, Tyrian seemed to raise his weapons and charge towards her. He was about to kill her!

Ruby loaded the Green Cross Mag she hid, load it and shot at the aggressive opponent before her.

Tyrian suddenly shattered like glass. The bullet never stopped it's course, going directly through Weiss, who stared blankly as she fell face first to the ground.

Ruby couldn't help but gaze forward, appalled at what she had done.

Tyrian himself, who had actually been at her right, also looked on in horror as he ran towards the wounded huntress.

"You okay, Weiss? Hang in there, soldier.. MEDIC!" Tyrian yelled as Robin quickly ran off.

For Ruby, everything seemed to be going in slow motion; Tyrian trying to help Weiss, the soldiers and medics streaming down towards the arena.. Had she really killed her own teammate?

The monitors surrounding the arena suddenly went to static as a black chess-piece emblem appeared on-screen.

"N-no..." Ruby gasped.

"Citizens of Atlas, This was no accident. This was no tragedy. This is what happens when you hand over your safety, and your trust, to those who claim to be the guardians of this vast multiverse. Our academies' headmasters, and even their students, wield more power than most military forces. How else were a ragtag group of misfits able to conquer a monstrous force like the Inquisition?" a dark, feminine voice spoke.

Tyrian stared, eyes glued to the screen, appearing to hold back sheer rage.

"They claim to defend the peace, yet what do we see here? One teammate blown apart by the other. What are Professor Ozpin and General Ironwood teaching their students? First, the deaths of three Huntsmen in training and now this? Huntsmen and Huntresses are supposed to carry themselves with honor and mercy, yet I have witnessed neither."

"T-That ruthless... callous...monster..!" Tyrian seethed under his breath, fidgeting in rage.

"Ozpin and his followers felt defeating Atlas in the Tournament would help cover up the fact that he has failed not once, not twice, but three whole times to save his kingdom when the Grimm and the Inquisition attacked. Or perhaps, this is another message entirely, a message to all of the huntsmen and huntresses, training or otherwise; Either you die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain."

Ruby finally came to her senses and listened to the jumbotron, staring in horror at what she was seeing.

"This can't be happening..." Ruby gasped in abject horror.

"Our kingdoms... Our worlds have been at the edge of an all-out war ever since the Blood Red Night ended, with our citizens kept in the dark.. So, when the first shots are fired, who can you trust?" The transmission went to static and eventually shut down.

Tyrian turned to the medic.

"There's nothing else we can do, sir. That round was too powerful.. She's gone." The medic sighed in despair.

Tyrian looked absolutely enraged, just barely able to hold back as his hair, once purple in color, glowed a bright orange and stood up before he finally composed himself, with his hair cooling down and particles flying off it like dust, leaving just some of his hair a dark-blonde color, and Ruby detected faint hints of a scar down his right eye.

Tyrian stormed off, untying the shawl from around his wound to his head.

*Meanwhile; Atlas Academy, Remnant; August 8, 2018; 2:45 PM

"GOD F**KING DAMMIT ALL!!" Cade threw a table clear across the room in complete rage.

"H-How was anyone able to do this..?" Blake gasped.

"I'm sure we can find some way to help-" Yang began.

"Dammit! History changed the second we showed up! Now everyone's about to die and I can't save anyone! Not even my own mothe-!" Cade stopped himself as soon as he realized who he was speaking to.

Yang stared on in surprise, shocked.

"...I-" Cade gasped.

"No. Just finish what you were going to say, Cade.." Yang demanded.

"Fine. I wasn't supposed to say this, but since Flurry went and gave herself up, I should too... Yang, you are my mother.. And Alex Walker..." Cade stammered.

"...I know.. I guess Alex really did change the future.." Yang interrupted, hugging Cade.

"I guess I can take off this contact, then.." Cade took off the contact lens on his good eye, revealing a deep blue iris, with a bright purple color around the pupil.

"So.. I guess it's true then..." Yang weakly smiled.

"Listen, we have to get everyone as far away from Atlas as possible and deal with the threat at hand. If Cinder lives, it's all over. I can't let that happen." Cade asserted

"I.. I don't understand... If Tyrian was really Cinder's mole, why would he run off to help Weiss..?" Blake tried to think the situation through.

"Me neither! It's almost like.... Oh, ponyfeathers.." Flurry Heart's eyes widened.

"What? Is something wrong..?" Kat asked from across the room, where she had been talking with Vanoss' other friends about what just happened.

"Think about it! If Tyrian wasn't the mole like we were thinking, then why would he just kill three other people out of the blue?!" Flurry yelled.

"I don't get it either! Maybe they did something to him personally, or.." Cade tried to think this through as well.

"Hold on, Lime told us that Tyrian fought in the Blood Red Night as well, right?" Blake asked.

"That's right, if Tyrian really was in that battle, he'd probably be against the Inquisitors." Yang figured.

"The problem is, Flurry and I looked through every document there was! And not once, and I mean not even once, was there ever a guy named Tyrian Alastor on either side!" Cade recalled.

"Shit.. Do you know what this means?!" Yang gasped.

"Not only were Lime, Russet, and Carmine the actual moles.." Nogla figured.

"Tyrian was undercover, but for our side!" Flurry realized immediately.

The ground suddenly began shaking, cups fell off the tables and shattered, TV sets tilted over and fell..

"The hell's going on outside?!" Delirious yelled.

"It looks like a swirling vortex of doom!" Mini noted.

They were right, a large, swirling, white vortex spread itself across the sky, expanding and expanding before it looked like it had spread at least across the city.

"Why the hell is there a swirling vortex of doom in the sky?" Nogla asked loudly.

"F**k... This is happening exactly the way history went..." Cade worriedly muttered.

"You knew this would happen?!" Delirious screamed.

"If there's a vortex of that size... Then that means..!" Flurry realized.

The vortex opened up suddenly, massive amounts of rock, metal, and explosive fell from the sky onto the city below. The biggest object to fall was a massive aircraft carrier, destroyed, seemingly, in battle. Yang noticed just in time the massive lettering on the side of the ship.

"T-The Illiad?!" She gasped.

"Of course... The Inquisitors' experimental dimensional gate...Cinder must have found where all of it went..." Flurry recalled.

"Get down, now!" Mini yelled, diving for cover as everyone else did the same.

A massive amount of debris fell on top of the school, some of it even breaking through the roof and into the school.

"That entire island is falling on top of us!!" Yang screamed as a canister hit the ground, blowing up the wall that led outside.

The group suddenly heard a loud, heavy buzzing sound as numerous ships landed in front of the school, carrying with them at least a hundred armed Adenienite Battle Drones.

Leading the charge was a tall, armored Adenienite wearing a thick, black cape and what almost looked like a mechanical welding helmet.

"What's the matter? Did I catch you children by surprise?" The figure asked sardonically.

The group stood up, arming themselves best as they could.

"Delirious, get the as many people as you can to the school entrance. The four of us will stay here." Yang ordered.

Delirious, Mini, Kat, Nogla, and others charged towards the exit, shooting as many of the battle drones as they could.

"Where is Saigo Emphas?!" The Adenienite bellowed.

"Who's asking?!" Yang retorted, getting ready for the fight of her life.

"I am Ultimus Crux, rival to the Emphas family and second-in-command to Cinder Fall's organization. And you are all in my way."

Author's Note

Welp. Tyrian might not be who everyone thinks, Cade is actually another iteration of Alpha, and Cinder's still a sociopath.
A bit of warning, things are going to get a bit 'Volume 3'-ish.

-The Destoyer

Chapter 7: Family Ties
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 7: Family Ties

*Atlas Academy, Remnant; August 8, 2018; 2:49 PM*

"I am Ultimus Crux, rival to the Emphas Family and second-in-command of Cinder Fall's organization. And you're all in my way." Ultimus had said

"In your way of what?" Flurry demanded.

"Yeah, and what's your deal with Alex!" Yang added.

Ultimus let out a low, quasi-mechanical laugh.

"Ah, the bride and offspring of Saigo Emphas. Think of it this way. he and his family are the Montagues to my Capulet, the Hatfields to my McCoy. The Emphas and Crux families have been at war for generations, and now that there is only one legitimate Emphas left in this timeline, This feud will end, forever." Ultimus raised his sword.

"Flurry, Blake, help Delirious and the others get the survivors out of this damned city. This is personal." Cade scowled.

"Like Tartarus we're abandoning you here!" Flurry demanded.

"You all want to die that badly. I suppose it is best to crush Saigo's spirit before his body when he sees his weakling girlfriend begging for death at my feet." Ultimus grinned underneath his helmet.

"That won't happen!" Yang screamed, leaping at Ultimus.

"Yang, wait!" Cade yelled, drawing his sickle.

"Stop!" Blake sped towards the fighters.

Yang ducked to evade Ultimus' sword as she hit him in the chest. He barely flinched as he recovered almost instantly and raised his sword for another strike.

Cade swept in, blocking Ultimus' blade with his sickle and forcing it up, reaching for his sword and smashing Ultimus across the gut. Ultimus shoved the sickle out of Cade's hands, kicking him in the head and crushing his skull with a heavy boot.

"Cade!!" Flurry hit Ultimus with several combat spells, which were just enough to get Ultimus off of Cade.

"Thanks..!" Cade gasped as Blake helped him up.

Blake then sped towards the Adenienite Warrior, dodging each attack as Ultimus merely hit dozens of shadow clones.

Yang and Cade used this opportunity to attack Ultimus at once, charging at him from either side and punching him in the head and side, respectively.

Flurry flew at about chest-level to Ultimus, firing combat spells rapidly and barreling into him horn-first.

Ultimus grabbed Flurry by the horn, pelting her at Cade, who had leapt up to deal a potential killing blow.

Yang punched Ultimus as soon as his back was turned, and then punched his side repeatedly until Ultimus rammed Yang in the chest with the sword's pommel and raised his blade to finish her off.

Blake shoved Yang out of the way, her Gambol Shroud taking the full force of Ultimus' attack as Cade slid between Ultimus' legs and hacked him in the same spot Flurry had stabbed.

Ultimus grabbed Cade's sword, ripping it out of his hands and hacking at him with both swords.

Flurry and Blake flew in from above, Blake trying to tear through his armor while Flurry charged massive combat spells and firing them, creating decent-sized explosions.

"Y'know, this whole 'eternal family rivalry' thing's a massive load of shit anyways, right?" Cade asked.

"I don't care." Ultimus kicked Cade across the room.

"Don't kick the damn baby!!" Yang punched Ultimus in the face.

"You're a bit old for this game, but I can make exceptions!" Ultimus dodged another one of Yang's punches before sharply kicking her directly at Cade.

Cade and Yang staggered up from the ground. Yang leapt at Ultimus while Cade charged an attack.

Electricity streamed from the outlets and desks, even the board as Cade clasped his hands together, his left side facing Ultimus as he kept charging his attack.

Slowly he pulled his hands apart, letting the electricity form a condensed ball in his hands as he screamed loudly.

Ultimus tossed Blake aside to see just what Cade was going, only to find his attack ready for use.

"BERSERKER PULSE!!!" Cade screamed, throwing the condensed ball of lightning, which blew up the entirety of the room, at Ultimus.

"Is that really all you've got?!" Ultimus yelled, obviously quite bloodthirsty.

"Ugh, you really want me to try?" Cade retorted.

Enraged, Ultimus swung at Cade, Yang, and Flurry. Hitting all three with the blunt side of his sword and blowing them to the other side of the room as he slashed upwards, sending Blake's weapons across the room.

Ultimus kicked Blake in the spine as she fell to the ground.

Blake struggled to get up, Ultimus' attacks were far too powerful for even a huntress to withstand.

Ultimus let out a low, mechanical cackle as he kicked Blake in the side, causing the already-weakened huntress to fall to the ground.

"Now you all see. No matter how powerful or how quickly you attack. You still can't hurt me. As far as I'm concerned, the Faunus is already dead. If I were any of you, I would focus on getting out of here safely or begging for mercy. Not that it would matter anyways." He scoffed callously, keeping Blake in place with his boot.

"Whether you're Alicorn bullet-fodder or an over-confident brat, or a Remnant-Born hothead. None of you have what it takes to defeat me. And fact of the matter is, Cinder will make me even more powerful than even I dare to hope. Perhaps powerful enough to defeat even the mighty Captain Walker. No less this pathetic Faunus riff-raff. I guess the lesson here is whatever kind of trash is trying to fruitlessly defeat you, it's still trash." Ultimus' sword folded into a high-caliber rifle as he planted the barrel on the back of Blake's head.

"No... We are strong enough to take you down... Get out of the way.." Yang seethed, her golden Aura now appearing around her body. Her aura had flecks of red and even some purple as it spiraled around her body. Yang kept her eyes glued shut.

"Hmm.." Ultimus even took notice of this change.

Yang opened her eyes as her aura exploded around her, white light enveloped the room as she screamed enraged at Ultimus. Once she was visible, her appearance had changed dramatically. The whites of her eyes now black and her irises pure red. Her hair stood on end as it changed from golden to flickering red. Even her skin had changed into a deep, violet color.

"I SAID GET OUT OF THE WAY!!!" Yang screamed, cannon balling into Ultimus with enough force to punch him out of the building.

"What the f**k?!" Cade gasped.

Ultimus was just barely out of view when he was punched back into the building, no less 2 stories above them before being slammed back into the ground, Yang flying down from above to punch him into the ground and back out. This punch happened to have enough force to crumble the walls of the school apart.

Ultimus had blown through several walls before he had finally been embedded into the wall.

Yang let out a roar of pure, unadulterated fury as she fired Ember Celica fully automatic at the Inquisitor.

'What the hell just happened?! Mom's aura just... Skyrocketed..!' Cade thought to himself as Yang continued blowing Ultimus to kingdom come.

"Holy..." Flurry gasped, eyes glued to the carnage.

'I knew Mom was powerful, but this?! She surpassed the Enlightened Warrior form already ?!' Cade gaped.

Yang reared back, red flame circling around one of her gauntlets as she threw one final shot at Ultimus, powerful enough to incinerate the wing of the school Ultimus had been blown into.

"Y-Y-Yang..?" Blake gasped.

"Blake, are you okay?" Yang asked, helping her up.

"What in Tartarus just happened?! She's reached the Inflamed Warrior form already?!" Flurry gaped.

"No wonder this feels different from the form I got when Alex transferred that ability to me.." Yang realized.

"He what?!" Flurry sweatdropped.

"Yeah! He caught me 'clubbing' when he asked me to take us somewhere quiet, transferred his power using some kind of weird magic, and he told me to train as much as possible. I guess I know why."

'Weird magic... She must be talking about that damn Prometheus Charge. Not only did Dad absorb enough power to decimate Omega, but he absorbed the artifact's essence when it shattered on his suit!' Cade realized.

Ultimus staggered out of the hole, clutching the sword and letting out another mechanical laugh.

"Most impressive, Xiao Long. I guess you'll provide me with more entertainment than I once thought. But it still doesn't matter." Ultimus laughed.

"W-What?!" Yang gasped.

"But still, with the Inflamed Warrior state, it should be borderline impossible to control yourself as well as you are right now.. It seems you're much more powerful than your... Significant other.."

Yang smirked confidently.

"And yet, you still don't see the weakness in that form." Ultimus added.

"And that would be..?" Yang confidently asked.

"The Inflamed Warrior form expels far too much energy to be remotely healthy even in a battle situation, you'll tire out quicker, and if you don't get your fights over with, you'll be too tired to even stand up." Cade answered.

"Smart kid, he deserves a prize, but not before dear old mommy." Ultimus laughed, charging at Yang.

He swept underneath her before Yang had time to react, missing her punch entirely as Ultimus slammed the pommel at the base of her spine, kneeing her hard in the side, and putting her in a lock that dislocated her shoulders as she let out an agonized scream.

And that's when the firecracker realized that her Super Saiyan 2 form was as impractical...

Ultimus let her loose before slamming her face against the pommel of his sword...

...As using Internet Explorer to watch Netflix.

...And side-kicking her into another wing of the Academy.

Cade let out a battle cry, charging towards Ultimus with everything he had.

"Cade, wait!" Flurry yelled.

Ultimus evaded Cade's attack before charging an electricity ball and pelting it against Cade's back, blowing him to the other side of the room and skidding against the ground.

"I expected so much more from the spawn of Saigo Emphas and the Inflamed Warrior, but that's what I get for raising my expectations on your generation." Ultimus dismissively scoffed as he aimed the sword at Cade and converted the sword into it's rifle mode.

Two purple-hued explosions blew Ultimus across the room before several dozen more pelted him relentlessly from the side.

'Who is that?!' Cade thought, picking himself up.

Tyrian walked into the room, with Ruby at his side.

"Stay the f**k away from my future wife and son, you gutless bastard." Tyrian scowled.

Chapter 9: Revive and Revenge
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 9: Revive and Revenge

*Outside Atlas, Remnant; August 8, 2018; 3:08 PM*

"Come on, guys! We need to get Weiss out here!" Vanoss grabbed one side of the stretcher while Twilight levitated the other with her magic.

The members of Unity had brought Weiss outside the city for a proper burial, since she died trying to prevent Atlas from succumbing to ruin.

Vanoss, Lui, Twilight, Rainbow, and others surrounded the stretcher.

"Hold on a second... I think something's happening with Weiss!" Twilight noticed.

"Wait, Ruby used a Ray Gun blast to kill Weiss, right?" Lui asked.

"Yes, I'm still going to have a talk with her about that!" Rarity grit her teeth.

"The Ray Gun uses Element 115! The exact same shit used to make people zombies!" Moo Snuckel realized.

"Wait... If I can purify the 115 signatures, I could bring Weiss back!" Twilight held her horn, readying a spell.

"If Ruby were here, she'd probably be hugging all of you right now, or something." Wildcat smirked.

"Everyone, stand back!" Twilight charged the spell, her horn glowing bright purple.

"TAKE COVER!!" Pinkie cried, running behind an old building.

The magic floated towards Weiss' body, hovering above her chest and descending into the hole caused by Ruby's accidental shot. The hole glowed white, flowing to the skies before the white aura dissipated as quickly as it came.

Vanoss peered out, walking towards Weiss.

"Is... Is she alive?" Applejack asked.

"RUBY, YOU DUNCE!! YOU ALMOST KILLED ME!!!" Weiss yelled.

Every ran to Weiss, happy that she was alive.

"We thought you were a goner!"

"You had me worried there!"

"...Did I miss something..?" Weiss asked.

"Ruby shot you by accident! Someone set her up!" Vanoss told her.

"Who set her up..? And WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO THE CITY?!" Weiss turned to see Atlas in smoldering ruins.

"Yeah, we have a bit of bad news.. Cinder took over Atlas and dropped the island we fought at on top of us. But Cade and Flurry will probably take care of it, right?" Rainbow asked.

"Yang and the others are there too, but Ruby went with Tyrian to stop.." Wildcat began to explain, when suddenly the ground felt like it was shaking apart.

"What... The f**k... Is that?" Vanoss asked, pointing to the glowing red, whitish-purple, and green lights in the remains of the Academy.

"They look like high-powered Auras..." Weiss noticed.

"What's up with the purple one? It's not solid like the others, it's more... static-y!" Rainbow covered her eyes

"That aura Rainbow pointed out... It's the same magic signature as Tyrian's..." Rarity noticed.

"You're right..! It feels immensely powerful! I can think only think of one other magic artifact that's that potent, but that shattered on Alex's chest... Years ago..." Twilight realized.

"Wait... You mean to tell me that the first-year that killed 3 other competitors is..?" Weiss gasped.

*Meanwhile, underneath Atlas Academy, Remnant*

"So, you two are from the future sent to kill me. And you must be Walker's son?" Cinder smiled deviously.

"That son of a bitch can't go without destroying my tech and helping to destroy the planet for 2 years?!" Ironwood scowled.

"You two... Out!" Cade ordered the two headmasters.

"Mr. Walker, I cannot in good conscience leave you here to die at Cinder's hand-." Ozpin began.

"I said GO!" Cade yelled as his eyes started to glow white.

"WALKER! AS YOUR SUPERIOR OFFICER, I ORDER YOU TO LEAVE!!" Ironwood bellowed.

"I'm not going anywhere until Cinder is dead." Cade scowled at the general, his hair starting to stand straight upwards.

"Your father's done enough damage. Get out before I kill you myself." Ironwood reached for his own revolver.

"James, I'm not Alpha. I'm not here to upscale you, either. Just get out." Cade ordered.

"I agree, General." Cinder suddenly, and calmly, added.

"What?" Flurry gaped.

"Why should I listen to you?" Ironwood scowled.

"Because, if I don't get to you first, Scion probably will." Cinder smiled.

Cade gasped.

'How the hell did she know about my code name?' He thought.

"Fine, but when this bastard dies, and Alexander is forced to leave, he's going to wish he never escaped from Winchester's cell!" Ironwood cursed, pointing to Cade.

"Sounds like you're fighting for the wrong side, General. I suppose it's fitting!" Cinder scowled as Ozpin dragged Ironwood out the door.

Cade and Flurry stood side-to-side, facing Cinder.

"I'm nothing like Alpha, but don't think that means I'll let you go in one piece." Cade threatened.

Cinder smiled, laughing slightly.

"Tell me, Scion, are you anything like your father?" Cinder asked.

*Meanwhile*

"AAAAAAAAAAAHH!!!" Alex charged at Ultimus like a raging bull through the skies.

Ultimus grit his teeth, raising his hand before being blown back by Yang's attack.

Alex grabbed his lever-guns, firing at almost full-auto trying to blow Ultimus apart. It seemed to work, had Ultimus not dodged the last one and sped towards Alex.

Ultimus kicked Alex in the chest before turning around and punching him at the side of the head.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!!" Yang leaped up, rapidly punching Ultimus until he grabbed her gauntlet and threw her down to the ground.

Alex slammed the lever-guns together, causing them to combine into a longsword. He sped towards the offending Inquisitor and hacked away at him, both Adenienites engaged in a duel.

Yang stayed at the ground, firing all of her remaining ammunition towards Ultimus, distracting him while Alex charged an attack and slashed at Ultimus' armor, causing the armor to shatter almost completely.

Ultimus, infuriated, charged at Alex, hacking and slashing away at him, with Alex just barely able to keep up.

"Well, Emphas! Are you having second thoughts about daring to challenge a higher-class warrior?! I SHALL NOT BE BESTED IN BATTLE, NOT BY YOU!!!! NOT BY HER!!! NOT BY ANYBODY!!!" Ultimus screamed in fury, with Alex obviously on the ropes.

Yang sped behind Ultimus, punching the offending inquisitor in the back of the neck while Alex grabbed Ultimus' arm and sharply twisted it behind his back.

Ultimus roared in pain as Alex and Yang beat and slashed the Corrupted Warrior into the ground.

Once the huntsmen dispersed, Ultimus pulled himself up, he reared back, forcing his arm back into place.

"You... YOU INGRATES!!!" Ultimus charged at Yang, hacking away at her gauntlets until they looked like they couldn't last any longer.

"NO YOU F**KING DON'T!!!" Alex stabbed Ultimus through a weak spot in his armor.

Ultimus pushed the sword in the rest of the way, into Yang's side, ripping Alex's blade out of his chest and smacking her into a destroyed building with the side of Alex's sword.

Alex jammed his elbow into Ultimus' neck and repeatedly punched him in his weakest point while Yang picked up Alex's sword.

Yang pulled the sword back, lurching out as soon as Alex was able to throw him. Yang stabbed Ultimus in the chest again, pulling the sword up and flinging Ultimus' body off of it, leaving all three warriors beaten to near-exhaustion.

"You can't beat us, you big green bastard! We both have enough power left to completely beat you down!" Yang screamed.

"Well, maybe not like this.." Ultimus smiled.

"...What?" Alex gaped as Ultimus started charging again.

Ultimus crossed his arms into an 'X', forcing out as much power as he possibly could, screaming loudly along the way.

Alex raised his sword at the ready while Yang reloaded her gauntlets.

Ultimus let out another powerful scream that threatened to tear apart the ground, all the while spewing an unearthly black aura.

By the end, Ultimus' skin had turned completely black with a few green lines trailing down his eyes and the ends of his mouth, retaining the bright green irises.

"Behold, Saigo Emphas. The culmination of my four years of preparation! The Corrupted Warrior!"

Alex gaped. This was about twice as strong as Ultimus was prior to his change.

Yang turned to face Alex, winking.

"Are you sure that's your maximum? You've been waiting 4 years to kill him, right?! Power up to max to show him what he's in for!!" Yang encouraged.

"Well, Saigo. You know how to pick 'em.. Fine, as due her request. I will reduce you to nothing but a pile of gore!!!" Ultimus roared as he continued powering up.

Once Ultimus started screaming, Alex sped behind him while Yang leapt at his front, both warriors started to repeatedly attack Ultimus, keeping him suspended while they worked.

'I hope you know what you're doing, Yang...' Alex mentally sighed.

Chapter 10: No Mercy
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 10: No Mercy

*Atlas Academy, Remnant; August 8, 2018; 3:15 PM*

"Tell me, Scion, are you anything like your father?" Cinder asked smugly.

"You'll see just how alike we are soon enough!" Cade seethed, charging his power while Flurry did the same.

Both time-travelers screamed as they powered up to maximum, by the time they finished, Cade looked very much like his father, while Flurry appeared to be engulfed by a form of Rainbow Power.

"We've spent almost our entire lives fighting you. Every time you absorbed another Maiden's powers, we adapted!" Cade screamed.

"Every parent, friend, and ally you took from us, we needed to move on! What you see here is the result of years spent training! Against an all-powerful seasonal maiden, we couldn't even compare, but against just a Fall Maiden.." Flurry continued.

"Let me explain. You, or at least another you, killed all of the Seasonal Maidens, absorbed their power, and became a god! Congratulations, you callous psycho, you won!" Cade took another step towards Cinder.

"But you made a terrible mistake.. You killed our friends. And now, we're here because of you." Flurry Heart coldly spat.

"Let us show you what you've created, Fall!" Cade screamed, charging towards Cinder with his sword drawn.

Cinder looked uncertain for only a mere second before composing herself, grabbing Cade by the chest and burning away his tunic.

Flurry sped behind her, bucking her behind the head and flying to attack again at Rainbow Dash-rivaling speed.

Cade staggered up, growling as he pulled out his sickle, and flew towards where Cinder would be.

"DIE!!!" Cade roared, slashing Cinder's back repeatedly while both him and Flurry tried to stay on the offensive.

Cinder eventually ducked out of the way, grabbing Cade's sword and ramming the wielded into Flurry. Cinder clutched the blade tigher as it turned a bright orange and shattered.

Cade swept underneath the Maiden, trying to stab her in the back while Flurry darted towards the both of them. Cinder spun Cade around, forcing him to get lanced by Flurry Heart's horn.

"Watch it!" Cade yelled.

Cinder leaped backwards, attaching numerous arrows on the string of her bow and firing, blowing up the exit, where Cade and Flurry could easily escape to.

Cinder stayed on the offensive, slashing away at both time-travelers and kicking one away.

Cade leapt away from the battle, clasping his hands into a ball at his side.

"Flurry, keep her there!" Cade demanded while he charged the attack.

Flurry darted side to side to avoid Cinder's attacks, eventually bucking her away, flying to Cinder's destination, and bucking her again.

Cade, by now, was at half-capacity for the attack, the one that his timeline's Alex had used to sacrifice himself.

'It's no use... Even at 1/4 her usual strength, Cinder is still somehow beating us.. I have no choice but to use this attack...' Cade thought hopelessly.

Flurry looked towards Cade, who by now had his arms to the sky, a large ball of electricity in his hands.

'Is that... No, it can't be!!' Flurry gasped.

"What... Is that?" Cinder seemed interested in Cade's attack.

"GOD SHOCKER!!!!!" Cade yelled, clasping his hands together and firing a bean of purple electricity.

Cinder smiled, grabbing Flurry Heart and throwing her in the direct path of the blast while she leaped out of the way.

"FLURRY?!" Cade gasped, powering down almost immediately.

Flurry tried to escape, but was caught in the blast and completely obliterated.

Cade gaped in horror, falling to the ground with barely any power left.

"W-Why..? H-How?!" Cade gagged.

"Because, Scion, you're still a novice. Even with all of your so-called training, which, I assume was just the cardio from running away while 'I' killed your loved ones. You're exactly like your father," Cinder smiled, planting a boot at Cade's neck while she strung an arrow to her bow.

Cade coughed.

"Do you believe in destiny..?" Cade glared.

Cinder stopped, thinking for a moment.

"Yes." Cinder pulled back the bow.

Ruby stopped to look at the sheer carnage that had taken place. She knew she saw Flurry get completely evaporated by Cade's blunder, but still couldn't believe it.

It was then Alex had been slammed to the ground, with Yang not far behind him.

"D-Dammit..." Alex coughed as Yang picked him up.

"Yang?" Ruby gasped.

"Woah, Ruby?!" Yang gasped, running out of power.

Yang's hair fell back down, turning completely blonde as her eyes also reverted to their normal color. Yang turned to her right to find Cade at Cinder's mercy.

Cade himself had passed out, still breathing, but barely alive.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!!" Yang screamed, lunging towards her son's attacker in blind fury.

"Yang, wait!" Alex yelled in vain as Ultimus flew from Cinder's left, hacking off Yang's right arm and leg.

Alex and Ruby stared in horror, their situation now hopeless as the two villains, still at their maximum, stood over their dismembered comrade.

Ruby's expression, in particular, was twisted in horror as her eyes began to glow bright white.

"YANG!!!!" Ruby screamed as silver light flowed from her eyes and towards their enemies.

Ultimus, who was Ruby's main target for dismembering Yang, stared on in horror before he was swept completely by the light.

"DAMN YOU!!!!" He screamed as the light completely enveloped him.

The light dissipated, with Cinder staring horrified at the young huntress.

Ruby screamed again, speeding towards her enemy and hacked her apart before the white light disappeared from Ruby's eyes and she fell over, merely unconscious.

Alex, the only standing survivor of the battle, stepped towards Cinder, he stared directly into her eyes.

"Y-Y-You c-can't do this..." Cinder gasped, coughing blood.

Alex only hardened his gaze.

"Y-You ca-can't... Do this..! Help... Me..." She gagged.

Alex growled angrily as Cinder continued to plead.

"H-Have m-m-mercy..!" She gasped.

"What gives you the right?! My parents, Karis, Pyrrha, and now Flurry! You didn't care at all when you killed them, why should I?!" Alex glared.

The warrior's shoulder's stooped as he let out a rattling sigh.

"And the worst thing is, this is all my fault. That's my one big mistake, letting you live. I won't let anything like this happen again." Alex turned again to face his nemesis, loading his old revolver, .44 Scratch.

"You f**king power-hungry sociopath!! This is for everyone! This is for ME!" Alex screamed, shooting his enemy in the neck once.

Cinder gasped and gagged as Alex turned away, not even bothering to listen to her strangled cries as she slowly expired.

Cinder Fall, the one who killed Alex's parents and his friends, the one who prolonged his hell, was dead.

Alex powered down, exhausted, and sat down. He pulled out his Scroll and sent a distress beacon.

"If anyone can hear me, this is Captain Alex Walker. I've got 3 people unconscious, and one is badly wounded. Please send medical attention and get us to Patch ASAP." He pleaded.

Author's Note

There's still one or two chapters of the Vytal Festival Saga just to wrap things up.
My only concern so far is that these chapters are way too short.

But I'm just wondering what you're all thinking of the story so far, I know I asked this a lot in the last story, but I'm just curious. Besides, I like hearing from everyone out there.

Until next chapter!

-The Destoyer

Chapter 11: Awakening
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 11: Awakening

*Patch, Remnant; October 11, 2018; 4:19 PM*

Ruby slowly blinked open her eyes, clutching her forehead due to the onset of a horrendous migraine, looking around, she found that she was in her old room back at her house in Patch. Ruby let out a slight groan, still groggy despite having just woken up.

"Ruby..! You're awake!" Her father kneeled at her side, happy to see his daughter awake.

"D-Dad..? What happened?" Ruby asked, the last thing she remembered was her and Alex face-to-face against Cinder and Ultimus with almost no chance of survival... Yet..

"It's okay.. Alex saw everything, he sent a distress beacon and sent everyone back here, safe and sound. " Taiyang explained.

"B-But what about the others...and the city?!" Ruby gasped.

"They're fine. They're all in... What was it, 'Los Santos'? Point is, they're waiting until you recover before you get back to your missions. As for Atlas however.." Taiyang's voice trailed off.

"Atlas was completely destroyed. After Cinder went and f**kin' dropped an island on it, some of it may or may not have hit magma. The entire city became the epicenter of a man-made volcano spanning the entire continent. I'm suspecting it was Cinder's last-ditch effort to kill us, but I could be wrong." Alex explained, walking inside the room.

"What about Yang?! Is she okay?!" Ruby leaped up from her bed.

"Easy... Yang's okay. Cade got to work on her limbs the second he got here and put them on once she came to. She's waiting for you." Taiyang elaborated.

"Cade's here too?!" Ruby gasped.

"Yes. Considering he's my son, I figured I'd let him tag along since, supposedly, we died in his future. Must've been hell for him, that's for sure." Alex nodded.

"But.. What happened?" Ruby asked again, confused.

"I think Qrow explained this to me once. Have you watched 'Dragonball Z: The Legendary Super Saiyan'?" Alex responded.

"...No.." Ruby admitted.

"Okay, this is going to make the whole exposition thing a pain. You know my 'Enlightened Warrior' form, right? And how I got it from when Saisho smashed the Prometheus Charge on my chest?" Alex continued.

"Yes.. Did something like that happen to me?!" Ruby asked, eyes beaming.

"Er... No. Your power is genetic. Where I had to work to get to where I am, you on the other hand, have had this power laying dormant inside of you from the day you were born.. At least until either then or the Blood Red Night, based on what Yang told me happened with Beta."

"So then... I'm the chosen one?" Ruby quizzically wondered.

"Eh. If you look at it that way." Alex nodded.

"I think your sister wants to see you now." Taiyang nudged Ruby's arm.

"Oh, right.. By the way, you aren't, y'know, mad about Cade being your grandson or anything?" Ruby asked. It seemed out-of-character for him to be welcoming enough not to beat Alex or Cade to a pulp for either being Yang's teenage boyfriend or their time-traveling son.

"I've had time to adjust.." Taiyang replied with a subtle scowl in Alex's direction.

"I still have bruises." Alex added.

With that, Ruby walked over to Yang's room to find her and Cade talking.

"Mom, how soon do you think Aunt Ruby's going to wake up..?" Cade asked.

"I'm sure it won't be much longer." Ruby smiled.

"Ruby!!" Yang ran to hug her sister.

Ruby felt completely winded, even more so than usual. That's when Ruby noticed Yang's robotic arm and leg.

"Right.... Prosthetics.. How are those holding up..?" Ruby asked.

"They work great! I know Cade told me he just worked on fixing prosthetics like this, but he actually did a really good job!" Yang smiled.

"Heh... Thanks, mom.." Cade nervously smiled.

"I'm glad to see everything worked out!" Ruby hugged her sister again, happy that everyone was safe.

"So, what happens now?" Ruby wondered, now worried about her future.

"Dad already kind of explained this, but he said we'll have to meet up with everyone at LS. He says now that Cinder's dead, she's apparently left behind a rogue splinter-group of the Inquisition called 'The Fall Knights'. She spent the last two years gathering everyone who didn't die at the Blood Red Night." Cade recalled.

"So far, he's having Kat try and find any ex-Inquisitors who won't work with the Fall Knights. He's been talking to her whenever he got worried." Yang added.

"Okay.." Ruby nodded, seeing a familiar guard pony trotting in her hallway.

"Oh, You're awake, Ruby!" Skirmish Sentry smiled, running in to hug Ruby.

"Hi, Skirmish! What are you doing here!" Ruby wondered.

"Princess Twilight wanted me to stay here in case anything happened, and just for updating your condition. I'll tell her you're awake so we can get a move on!" Skirmish promised.

"Yeah, Skirmish has been really helpful." Cade smiled.

"I'm not surprised she works as Twilight's Honor Guard. Between her, Alex, and Cade, I don't think there's been any big mess in weeks!" Yang added.

Suddenly, Ruby heard glass shatter, maybe a gunshot or two, and sounds of a struggle.

"Aaand, I stand corrected." Yang blinked, grabbing her weapons as Cade reached for his sickle.

Ruby got up and ran to see what the commotion was.

Alex was forced against a table, struggling to fight off someone in a grey uniform. Alex picked the person up and threw him across the kitchen and out the broken window.

"We're under attack!" Alex yelled as he struggled to disarm another uniformed soldier carrying a gun.

"Wait. These don't look like Fall Knights to me... Unless.." Cade figured before being forced to the ground.

Someone tackled Alex to the ground, raising a taser.

"Don't tase me, bro!" Alex screamed, raising his hands defensively while the soldier tasered him anyway.

Alex grabbed the soldier's wrist, twisting it sharply and slapping him with a ball of lightning.

"...because I have lightning powers. Thanks for the extra charge, asshole." Alex swept, kicking the soldier to the ground.

Ruby sprinted into another solder, kicking her in the face and ramming her into the sink while Skirmish bucked a soldier out the screen door, with Zwei chasing him out the whole way.

Cade slashed a soldier's ankles, kicking him down and stomping on his neck.

"Wait... Oh, goddammit, not you guys..!" Cade groaned.

The inhabitants were still fighting off the other soldiers, forcing them out of windows and brutally knocking them out.

"Wait..! I know these people!!" Cade yelled.

"What?!" Alex groaned.

"We're not backing down!!" Yang screamed throughout the ruckus.

"Attention, friends and relatives of Musuko Emphas. This is your last chance to come with us peacefully! Surrender now or face the might of the Silver Ocelots!" A female voice yelled over a microphone.

"Just surrender.. They won't burn down the house or something crazy like that.." Cade sighed.

Alex scowled.

"Fine then, Musuko. I'll play along." Alex held out his wrists as the soldiers got up and carried everyone out.

They were all lined up in front of the house, facing the front, where a practical barricade had been placed around their house.

"So, who are they, anyways?" Yang asked.

"The F**king Silver Ocelots. They're an Inheritor Splinter Group composed almost entirely of Faunus or Faunus-like warriors." Cade explained.

"Does that mean they're on our side?" Ruby asked.

"I don't f**king know!" Cade yelled back, dismayed.

A woman stepped out of a helicopter, walking towards Cade in particular.

"I didn't think I'd see you here, Liss. What, did you come all this way just to see me?" Cade scowled, facing a masked woman.

She removed her mask, revealing the young woman's visage. She had back-length white hair and a pair of cat ears. She kind of looked like a reverse-Blake, with a face that appeared much too young for the alabaster hair color. She regarded Cade with slight familiarity.

"Musuko, you know why I'm here. You can't keep going around and messing with the timeline!" Liss smacked Cade across the cheek, letting out a single claw that tore through his face rather painfully.

"Don't touch my son, you over-confident flea-bag!!" Yang screamed, struggling to break out of her handcuffs.

"Wow, that was racist even for me." Liss scowled.

"Look, just what the hell do you want from us, anyway?" Alex asked, trying to diffuse the situation and looking calm, in spite of the obvious flicker of red lightning indicating his true opinion on the matter.

Liss' eyes widened, gulping audibly and shaking.

"A-A-Alex Walker?!" Liss gasped.

"Goddammit, my reputation f**king proceeded me." Alex scowled.

"A-Are you really the heroic tactician that defeated Alpha two years before now?" Liss practically shook,

"I feel like the term 'tactician' is a bit strong for whatever that was. I prefer the term 'Natural Improviser/ Irredeemable Crybaby'." Alex scoffed.

"Yeah... Even I have to agree.." Yang added.

"Don't you disrespect him!!" Liss yelled.

"Actually, she can. 1; Yang agreed with me, and 2, her and I are kinda close.." Alex corrected.

"What the hell do you mean kinda?! Our son from the future is standing to your right!" Yang retorted.

"MUSUKO IS ACTUALLY YOUR SON?!" Liss gasped in horror.

"Oh, boy." Alex groaned inwardly.

"You and me both." Yang added.

Liss immediately ran to Cade, wiping the blood off with a handkerchief.

"L-Listen... I need you all to come with me to sort this out. Then, maybe you can get back to what you were doing." Liss asserted.

"To where?" Cade asked.

"Don't worry, my superiors are actually pretty nice about this kind of situation!" Liss smiled.

"Oh, god... You wouldn't happen to know anyone named Mr. Popo, do you?" Alex shuddered.

"No, but there's this weird guy named 'Dumplin' who kinda looks like him, though.." Liss recalled.

Alex hyperventilated.

"No... No... No..! Not again!!" He shook violently.

"Oh no, he's having another one of his 'episodes'." Yang sighed.

"E-Episodes?!" Liss gasped.

"Yeah. Apparently he's seen a lot of shit.. And it's gotten to him, bad." Yang replied.

"Like, how bad..?" Liss asked.

"Like 'waking up in a cold sweat crying into my shoulder at 3 AM' bad. I don't think he's slept well in months."

"SPECIAL 21ST RULE OF POPO'S TRAINING: DON'T SHOCK POPO BY ACCIDENT!!!" He shuddered.

Chapter 12: Exposition in 1500 Words or Less
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 12: Exposition in 1500 Words or Less

Author's Note

This chapter is basically going to act as a run-down of all the crazy shit that happened in the last story. To new readers, this is going to be extra-handy.

But to people who already heard Alex explain countless times his tale of "woe", you might want to skip this.

You have been warned.

(Also, I'm going to write this slightly differently than usual, I think it'll be easier to read like this.)

-The Destoyer

Chapter 12: Exposition in 1500 Words or Less

*Location Unknown; October 11, 2018; 4:53 PM*

Liss walked inside the interrogation room to find Alex, Yang, Ruby, Cade, And Skirmish. Taiyang had been sent home because they learned he really didn't do a whole lot in the war effort anyways.

"So, I bet you're all wondering why you're here.." Liss began.

"You want us to tell you something, right?" Yang wondered.

"Precisely.. Not that I don't know the details of the war already, but I just want a basic run-down of everything that occurred two years ago." Liss explained.

"Can I tell this?" Cade asked.

"Sure. How much do you know about the war?" Skirmish asked.

"... My knowledge is scarce." Cade sighed.

"I'll do it." Alex muttered.

"Mind if I pitch in?" Yang asked.

"Me too?" Ruby pleaded.

"Okay." Liss nodded.

"Question is, where do I start?" Alex wondered.

"Try... The first thing that really comes to your mind." Liss smiled, trying to hide her annoyance.

"Okay, so.. I think it was August 11th or 12th of 2016 when this all started for me.." Alex recalled.

Ruby suddenly pulled out a harp, playing a few chords to simulate a flashback.

"Really?!" Cade groaned.

"Whatever, man. Just go with it." Yang shrugged.

"I had just gotten back from hanging out with a friend when suddenly I found my house surrounded by a SWAT team. I won't go into specifics, but about 10 to 15 minutes later, two SWAT guards died, my parents were dragged away and apparently killed, and I was sedated, dragged into the middle of nowhere and I was being tortured for answers about a massacre I wasn't even involved with." Alex described.

"Why did they ask for you specifically, again?" Ruby wondered.

"I'll get to that later. Anyways, the whole torturing thing went on for a freaking month using every method in their handbook and even some I don't think were legal at all. By the end, the CIA pretty much cast me out as 'useless' for what they needed, but they couldn't let anything out. So, their simple solution was to execute everyone they captured.. Including me." Alex continued.

"Damn.." Cade shuddered.

"So, I don't know if it was just dumb luck or fate, but a guy named 'Jäger' swept in at the literal last second, KO'd the Agent keeping me captive, and sent us back to his base. Then, I somehow got wrapped up in there schemes for world domination, but Kat told me what they were planning and we escaped. And by chance, I ended up in Equestria. At first, things worked out okay, but the CIA found me during a welcome party and tried to kill me again. But.." Alex added.

"Dumb luck?" Yang asked.

"... Exactly. Then, over the course of the next few weeks, I met up with Vanoss and his crew, got myself some armor, and plotted our escape using another transporter Twilight had at her disposal. Everything seemed to be going decently well until I ran into Cinder." Alex said.

"Cinder Fall? As in the Cinder Fall that just destroyed Atlas a month back?" Liss asked.

"Yep. We just barely escaped, but I couldn't save the Agent that helped me through that entire ordeal. Long-ass story slightly shorter, we landed on Remnant where I met with Yang, Ruby, and the others. I trained there for about a week and got my Semblance unlocked, and when the CIA attacked again, I met up with Kat and we all planned to take out the agent that captured me. But I went out and.. Took care of it myself.." Alex remembered.

"Right. That was when the whole prophecy of the 'Blood Red Night' was just coming true.." Ruby recalled.

"Yeah. After that whole mess, I reunited with Twilight and her friends and Evan offered us a place in Los Santos because we really didn't have anywhere else to go. We stayed there for a bit less than a month before Luna called for help in Equestria, where the Red Star collapsed the country in on it's own asshole while we were gone. We went back there and fought off a Red Star airship called the Knight's Myriad." Alex retrospected.

"How did he take it out again?" Ruby asked.

"If the dig taught us anything, it was taken out by a large-scale EMP." Liss answered.

"It was there when Celestia formed the Equestrian-Remnant Coalition, or E.R.C, which I was it's Admiral and I was given my own ship, the Iliad. We spent the next month or two fighting off Red-Star across Remnant. And while we were, I found out that I came from a race of technologically superior electromancers called 'Adenienites'." Alex remembered.

"That explains the Enlightened Warrior form. Few races often have that type of transformation." Liss explained.

"I don't think he could have achieved that level without an artifact of great power like the Prometheus Charge, because that power-up came from the Stone, he can transfer his ability to other races." Skirmish noted.

"How do you know?" Liss asked.

"It's easy, he gave some of that power to me in case anything happened. I told Skirmish what happened." Yang answered.

"W-What?! You're kidding!!" Liss gasped.

"It's true...Father, You granted me all of your powers just before you died in my timeline.." Cade nodded solemnly.

"That explains how Cade was able to escape Cinder after she killed the Summer Maiden!" Liss gasped.

"Anyways. A few weeks passed and we figured out where the Inquisitor's main headquarters was located. We were set to head off as a large unit. Until..." Alex shook, remembering the horror of watching helplessly as his allies all converged against one another.

"Right... The ships turned on one another just after the Dimensional Jump started, and the Illiad and Revelation crews held out long enough for reinforcements to arrive, you all converged on their military fortress before Alex defeated the Alpha in a cataclysmic duel that resulted in the death of the Alpha and the loss of Alex's limbs.." Liss noted.

"Yes, speaking of which, Alpha hired a look-a-like to frame me, formed a club to massacre solely to get me arrested and killed, and hired people who held a grudge against me and my friends. The asshole." Alex scoffed angrily.

"Is there anything else you want to know?" Cade asked.

"Yes. I wanted to ask about Alex's post-war training." Liss explained.

"Fine. I trained mostly with Canis about getting my new muscles combat-ready, then I trained with a bunch of guest teachers, including Princess Luna for my Equestrian Magic manipulation, Raven Branwen for Aura elevation, Supreme Leader Krete for my Enlightened Warrior transformation... And... I think it was sensing others' energies." Alex explained.

"Sensing energy?!" Liss gaped.

"Yeah. That's how I could tell Ruby was powerful enough to survive without the Enlightened Warrior form." Alex nodded.

"Well, do you have what you need?" Alex asked, turning to face Liss.

"Actually, there's just something I want to ask.." Liss nervously shuffled.

"And that is..?" Cade asked nervously.

"I want to go with you!" Liss yelled energetically, even jumping a little bit.

"I suppose we could make do with one more. Have you seen or done anything about the Fall Knights?" Alex asked.

"Yeah. If I can manage hacking into the Silver Ocelots' main computer systems, I can get what you need." Liss nodded.

"And I know just the right bit of hardware." Ruby smiled confidently.

Chapter 13: Unity Reunited
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 13: Unity Reunited

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 14: The Legend of Arabus
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 14: The Legend of Arabus

*Alex's Apartment; Los Santos, San Andreas; October 14, 2018; 2:20 PM*

"Did you find anything in that pile of books?!" Alex urged.

"Not yet.. How the hell can Twilight expect us to be able to thumb through all of this?!" Yang implored miserably.

Twilight and her group went back to the castle's library in hopes of finding more on who or what this 'Arabus' spirit could be. Until then, Alex, Yang, and Liss were to thumb through what they did bring with and see if they could find anything useful...

Which was especially difficult because Twilight left enough books to fill the coffee table and spill onto the floor and on the couch.

"Honestly, Princess Twilight may as well have brought a whole shelf with her!" Liss indignantly agreed.

"Hold on a second... This book looks like the f**king Necronomicon... 'Predictions and Prophecies'... I'm not sure whether Arabus is either, but f**k it." Alex muttered.

"I guess it's worth a shot." Yang shrugged, tossing the pile of books she was looking through to the corner and sliding next to Alex.

"Ah, F**k, it's in alphabetical order!" Alex groaned.

"Really?! 'Arabus' starts with an 'A'! Just give it to me!" Yang ripped the book from Alex's hands.

"I'll look through another pile for more info, you look through there in case you see anything!" Alex rolled his eyes as he dove into another pile of books.

"Here we go! I found something!" Yang beamed proudly.

"How?!" Liss groaned.

"Well, what does it say?" Alex asked.

"I'll read it out loud for you guys.." Yang cleared her throat.

Arabus: The Shade Demon

Once upon a time, long before the magical land of Equestria, there lived a tribe of ancient alicorns called 'The Crimson Shade', they were great conquerors and hunters who thrived in the night.

The Great Trickster, Discord, saw these barbarians as a threat to his rule and a perfect stain on his imperfect world. He wanted them cast aside, but he knew he could not stand against the warriors. At least, not alone.

One day, he tasked the greatest magicians to create a living weapon that could counter The Shade. They toiled for weeks, perhaps even months to craft this perfect deterrent, with Discord even using his own magic. Their result was a pure monstrosity that called itself 'Arabus'.

Arabus took over the mind of one of the alchemists, willing the poor soul to slaughter his cohorts and absorb their spirits. Arabus eventually made his way to the Shade itself, successfully slaying all but one alicorn.

By then, Arabus had grown strong enough to leave his host to form his own body and continue his rampage throughout Ancient Equestria. Those who tried to resist we're quickly destroyed and forced to assimilate with the monster.

Even Discord had been outclassed by the monster, and it seemed there was no hope for the future of Equestria. That is, until the sole survivor of the Shade had created a solution.

The Alicorn had gathered the next greatest alchemists and tasked them to create a weapon that would sever the spirits from the monster to where Arabus could be contained. Their result was a magical weapon that could complete the task and seal away the monster. This weapon came to be known as the Containment Charge.

In a climactic battle, Arabus was defeated, but the souls he absorbed combined with the Shade's inherently dark essence and formed the beings that later became the Nightmare Forces.

To this very day, Arabus is sealed away deep within the Alicorn's weapon, hopefully never to be released.

Alex stared at the book in disbelief.

"Holy shit, someone's trying to release that thing." Alex blinked.

"I didn't know Ancient Equestria was so..." Liss gaped.

"F**ked up?" Yang asked.

"And then some." Liss bleakly nodded back.

"Okay, so who wants to explain to Twilight what 'Arabus' actually is?" Yang asked.

"I'll handle it. I've been the bearer of bad news for a while, now. Don't see any reason that should change." Alex nodded.

"Handle what?" Twilight asked as she stepped inside with Ruby and Cade.

"Alright. Do you want the good news or bad news first?" Alex inquired.

"Uh... Good news?" Ruby answered nervously,

"We found out what Arabus actually is." Yang began.

"That's great..! We might actually have a chance-" Cade began with a hint of hope in his voice.

"Bad news is that Arabus is a soul-sucking Ancient Equestrian demon created by Discord who killed ponies and absorbed their spirits." Alex added.

Twilight's eyes widened in shock.

"A demon?! Morning Star is trying to release a bucking demon?!" Twilight gasped.

"Let me see that for a second.." Kat asked for the book.

Alex tossed Kat the book, rather quickly as a matter of fact.

"You're really going to have to brace yourself on this one." Yang told her.

Kat flipped through the book before finding the desired page, he studied it carefully and efficiently before setting it down and clearing his throat.

"Arabus itself won't be at it's complete strength when it's first released. If we take it out as quickly as possible, we might have a chance of survival. Also, I studied a bunch of CIA dossiers, and one of them just so happened to be about this weapon. It has some form of failsafe that prevents Arabus from regaining complete power like he did before." Kat explained.

"I can't help but notice that this 'Containment Charge' is like the 'Prometheus Charge' in a sense." Alex admitted.

"There might be more to these artifacts. I'll have to ask Celestia about them." Twilight decided.

"In any case, we should probably get to the others with this, they need to know what we're up against." Ruby figured.

"Well, you're not wrong." Kat nodded in agreement.

"Right then. What about the massive cart of books?" Alex asked, pointing at a larger pile of books being carried in by undercover royal guardsmen, who seemed to be struggling with the sheer weight of the material.

"Right... Let's get these back to the library!" Twilight announced, resulting in groans from the guards' end.

"I'm still keeping the 'Predictions and Prophecies' book. I might need this, given the fact that I was directly involved in one before." Alex figured, flipping through pages at a mild pace.

*Location Unknown; October 15, 2018; 3:15 AM*

"Miss Star!!" One of the Fall Knight's grunts ran to Morning Star and Neo.

"Speak." Morning Star dismissively scoffed.

"T-There are detailed instructions revealing how we can release Arabus..!" The grunt stuttered.

"Hm?" Neo herself turned to face the grunt as well.

"There's only one small problem..." The grunt began.

"Spit it out." Morning Star glared.

"...It's written in Ancient Equestrian... There's no way we can translate-"

"There's no way for you to translate it. I, on the other hoof, know what I'm doing." Morning Star dismissively huffed, walking away from the grunt with Neo.

"Are you sure you want to release... It..?" Neo asked.

"Are you sure you don't? This is the only way Alpha left me to avenge our great society. Leaving this project now would not only be cowardly, but disrespectful of your fallen brothers and sisters." Morning Star accused.

"I understand.." Neo rolled her eyes.

"I'm glad you finally know your place. Now, hand me my journal.." Morning Star smiled wickedly.

*Meanwhile; Outside Vinewood, San Andreas*

An unknown figure pulled himself from the bushes, stretching his legs as he continued his trek down the winding road leading to the city.

The figure threw off his charred helmet, revealing a man in his mid 20's with several scars, most of which faded due to... Recent experiences.

"Do you honestly think that a minor light show such as that would be enough to take me down for good, Saigo?" Ultimus laughed sadistically at the thought of getting his desired vengeance.

"The Inquisition has failed me twice already. Alpha didn't live up to his promise and neither did Fall's. I walk alone now, do you understand?! I'm done being a mere pawn, I will destroy you, Saigo!! You and anyone else who dares stand in my way! Whether it be a Fall Knight, your pathetic friends, or your weakling family, there will be no mercy!!" The man roared in fury, as though his message would fall upon his enemy's ears.

"The tides will turn, Emphas. And when it does, there will be no escape, no solace, in the sheer hell that awaits you!" Ultimus panted, enraged at the mere though that Alex was still breathing. Ultimus wouldn't wait for Neopolitan or Morning Star to work out a plan. He had his own plans for his rival.

And no one would be able to stand in his way.

Chapter 15: Obligatory Training Chapter
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 15: Obligatory Training Chapter

*Sandy Shores Airfield; Blaine County, San Andreas; October 15, 2018; 2:20 PM*

Alex, Yang, and Twilight walked out to the bone-dry airfield with their weapons and armor with the full intent to train up before their encounters with the Fall Knights.

It took quite a bit of work to try and secure the area they were in. Everyone chipped in to completely cover their tracks and prevent anyone from the outside from being able to tell what they were up to, especially on Cade's part, who had to convince Lester to secure the airfield and 2 square miles surrounding the area.

"Alright, you know the drill?" Alex asked.

"In case anyone suspicious attacks us. We have to run, fight, or call for help." Twilight repeated.

"Excellent. Now who's up first?" Alex asked, raising his dual lever guns.

"You still keep those? I thought you were done with being Tyrian." Yang wondered.

"I feel like they suit me a bit better." Alex replied.

"I've been interested to see how far you've come, Alex. I'll fight you first." Twilight smirked confidently.

"Are you sure?" Alex asked incredulously, as Twilight had almost zero battle experience outside of the Blood Red Night, as far as he knew.

"If I can fight Changelings and Tirek before meeting you, I can handle an overconfident colt like you." Twilight added.

"You've really changed since we first met. Come at me with everything you've got!" Alex spun his Lever-guns in a flourish before aiming them at the lavender alicorn with a cocky smirk.

Yang pulled out a Bluetooth speaker and her Scroll, hitting the 'play' button and sitting up against the watchtower to observe.

"Hey, reader! You see how the text here is a different color? Click it!" Yang smirked as the two got ready to fight.

Alex was the one to make the first move, firing at the ground to launch him at his opponent and kicking at where he figured Twilight would be.

Twilight had narrowly evaded Alex's kick and bucked Alex's back painfully hard. Alex flipped, skidding onto the ground and charging at Twilight, firing his lever guns at a rapid pace.

Twilight shielded herself with a magic barrier, which was promptly shattered by Alex's next attack, a massive spin-kick.

Twilight ducked again, grabbing Alex with her magic and throwing him at an airplane. Alex leaped back down, using the plane as a launch pad and firing his weapons the whole way.

Alex's metal foot met concrete, realizing too late that Twilight was speeding directly towards him. She spun around, rearing her hind legs and bucking him in less than a second. The ensuing kick produced a massive shockwave that could be felt all the way back at Los Santos.

Alex was blown off the ground all the way to the end of the runway, rolling on his back and staggering back up.

Alex coughed, noticing Twilight flying at him full speed ready to attack again. Alex converted his lever guns into tonfas, charging them up with massive amounts of electricity, and ducking to avoid Twilight's kick and slamming the stocks of the rifles into her underbelly.

Twilight had been knocked upwards about 1500 feet, enough to reach terminal velocity, and fell down fast. Alex leaped up to meet Twilight and slammed her back to the ground.

Twilight staggered up from her crater, charging a massive magical attack and aimed directly for Alex, who slammed both hands together and slowly pulled them apart, revealing a brilliant arc of purple-hued lightning.

"DEMIGOD TASER!!" Alex screamed as he fired his attack at Twilight's, creating a brilliant clash at the center of the airfield.

Twilight kept firing her attack, only to discover that Alex no longer resisted. She felt a tapping on her shoulder.

"Looking for someone?" He smirked.

Twilight fired another bolt into the air, having missed as Alex ducked to avoid it, just before sharply kicking Twilight again.

Twilight gagged and charged at him, firing another beam and bucking him simultaneously.

Alex skidded onto the ground, coughed, and slammed his leverguns together at their sides, forming them into a longsword.

Alex charged another attack, firing it at Twilight and sliding underneath, shashing from behind and kicking her with an electrically charged leg. Twilight's sudden and forceful impact with the side of the building completely winded and damaged her.

Both staggered up, walked towards each other, and attacked again, each with comparable intensity.

Yang groaned.

"Yeah, I better stop them." She decided, sprinting in between them. Yang quickly booped Twilight's nose, before turning around and sucker-punching Alex in the face.

Twilight merely blinked in acknowledgement, whereas Alex held his mouth in pain.

"God dammit! Did you forget one of your arms is robotic?!" Alex wiped his mouth, spitting blood onto his sleeve.

"All of your arms are metal and Twilight's completely fine!" Yang retorted.

"I'm starting to regret bedazzling the knuckles.." Alex coughed again, spewing crimson onto the airfield floor.

"That looks really bad." Twilight winced.

"Oh, please. I can handle a little pa-.." Alex's defense was interrupted by another bout of coughing.

"When was the last time you went training?" Yang wondered.

"Just yesterday at a Gym." Alex replied.

"And how often have you been training?" Twilight wondered.

"Every day, for about 5 hours or so, mind you." Alex answered.

"Oh... I get it.." Twilight realized.

With all of this effort, Alex had been burning himself out.

Twilight had read about Adenienite warriors being frequently exhausted, as the primary source for their abilities is mostly their own natural energy.

Between his near-constant fighting, overuse of his powers, and that 'never stop working' attitude of his, Twilight quickly concluded he might be overworking himself to a ridiculous degree.

"Alex.. I think you need to rest.." Twilight informed.

"What? Why?!" Alex asked again before coughing up more blood.

"I'm wondering the same thing-... Oh.. Ohhhh.... Ohh, shit." Yang winced as she realized what Twilight had figured out.

"What the hell is everyone talking about..?" Alex demanded.

"Let me handle this, Twi.. Alex, you're pulling a 'Blake'." Yang admitted.

"The hell are you implying ?" Alex gagged again.

"I'll take care of him, call Cade and ask him to send cleanup." Yang demanded, dragging Alex off the airfield.

*Yang's Apartment; Los Santos, San Andreas; October 15, 2018; 8:43 PM*

Yang had taken Alex to a hospital to get examined to see if his coughing blood were anything more than an injury caused by their little scrap at the airfield. The doctor didn't find anything too wrong with Alex other than one of his teeth had chipped.

But what he said directly after really got to her.

"Ms. Xiao Long, your friend here has to be in the worst state I've ever seen in an Adenienite since the bridging of all these dimensions. Even though his electric potential is off the charts, he's damn close to just collapsing on the floor. I'm honestly shocked he hasn't had an ulcer or a stroke yet with all of this overwork."

Yang had long since pulled out an air mattress for him to sleep, and reluctantly let him help. Once he was set up to stay, Yang laid next to him.

"If you're going to tell me to stop now, you're fighting a losing battle." Alex began.

"I think we both know you can't stop, but until things get bad, I need you to slow down." Yang answered.

"Yang, I see what you're trying to do here, and thank you, by the way, but I can't stop or slow down until I know everyone's safe." Alex turned to face her.

"You can't protect everyone forever, especially not now. Besides, everyone can handle themselves just fine." Yang sincerely replied.

"Do you know what happened the last time I didn't watch out for everyone?! Pinkie was thrown almost to her death, Applejack broke her spine, Rainbow lost a wing..! Hell, you got slashed across the side!" Alex raised his voice.

"We're all still alive, we can pull through." Yang reassured.

"Most of Evan's friends died, remember? I'm not even sure how they're still with us now, but it's lucky they did!" Alex yelled again.

"Listen for one second! You told me once that you want to stop, why haven't you?!"

"Because everything is still shit! After two years, nothing's changed! I'm still trying to take down the last Inquisitors because they still want to watch everything die because f**k all!" Alex screamed, his eyes moistening slightly.

"I get why you have to stay in this, but constantly?! Alex, look at yourself! You didn't slow down when you went to fight Alpha, and look where it got you!!" Yang retorted.

"Does it look like I wanted this?! No matter what, those ruthless maniacs have to pay, don't you understand?! I lost everything twice now! I tried to stop once, and guess what?! they wouldn't!! I have to work as hard as them just to keep up and stay alive! Do you have any idea what it's like to have to run and fight to even breathe?! One false move and it's GAME F**KING OVER!!!"

Yang actually shook after hearing him. Looking into his ice blue eyes again, she noticed something disheartening.

His appearance, his expression, that fearful look in his eye hadn't changed once since they first met. The only change was that his eyes looked dull, tired, from being in the same state of panic for years.

"As much as I'd like to get into bed and sleep the rest of my life away, I can't. Now, I'll never really understand why everyone suddenly wanted me to die, but I know one thing: Because of them, If I just stop whatever I'm doing now and rest while they're planning, everyone I care about is going to die, including you, and... I don't want to lose everything a third time." Alex sighed bitterly.

Yang trembled, how far would he be willing to go just to spare everyone?

"I guess.. This goes without saying, but... I'd risk life and limb for ya, huh?" Alex smirked, pointing to his robotic arms.

"No. Just... No." A voice bellowed to their right.

Alex turned and gazed in fear

"ULTIMUS?!" Alex reached for his sword and charged at the warrior.

Ultimus grabbed the sword in Alex's hands, only mildly glaring at him.

"Yet you have the audacity to call our rivalry worthless. It seems our business has more of an effect on you than you made it out to be during our last duel, Saigo." Ultimus scowled.

"How much did you hear?" Yang wondered, reaching for her gauntlets.

"Enough. I heard enough." He replied.

"Cut.. The shit... Why... Are you here!?" Alex seethed.

"Saigo. As much as I absolutely despise you. I sympathize with your cause." Ultimus admitted.

"The hell's that supposed to mean?!" Yang stared daggers at her enemy.

"Because, bride of Saigo, I was a lot like him before I joined the Inquisition..."

Author's Note

Before I get the Fall Knight Saga into full swing, I want to add a bit of depth into Ultimus' character, and I'm sure you guys want to know his motives, especially if he was apparently important enough to keep in the story.

In addition, I wanted you guys to get an idea of where Alex is at by this point of the story.

Also, I just wanted to clear up that I own nothing except the original characters.

-The Destoyer

Chapter 16: Rivals
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 16: Rivals

*Yang's Apartment; Los Santos, San Andreas; October 15, 2016; 8:50 PM*

Ultimus sat down on the couch, his cold gaze never leaving sight of Alex.

"What do you mean 'like him'?" Yang wondered, now genuinely curious about their enemy.

"Just like his parents, mine tried to shelter me from the rivalry our family shared. Then, I guess you could say I had a bit of a 'rude awakening', as you Remnant-borns say." Ultimus scowled.

"Let me guess.. Someone killed your family too." Alex concluded glumly.

Ultimus nodded with an infuriated look on his face.

"Saigo's uncle was my assailant. After seeing what he had done, I killed the attackers myself. Afterwards, Supreme Leader Krete decided not to leave me with my family, as someone as 'violent' as myself would've done more damage than he could ever allow. I was taken to an orphanage when I was 15 years old. At nights, I would return to help my family fight Saigo's." Ultimus continued.

"So, what happened..?" Alex asked, curious himself on the subject of his family.

"There was only one of your family that was absent from their raids. Your father, Yurei Emphas. The rumor was he had moved to the other side of Adenien and married the daughter of a mystic there." Ultimus said.

"The 'Sirants'. Someone explained the whole situation with my family already.. He didn't tell me about the rivalry." Alex recalled.

"Eventually, we had exterminated every one of the Emphas clan. That is, save Yurei. None of us were sure where he had gone. At least until an Inquisitor approached me saying they knew where Yurei and his family went."

"Right.. They moved to Earth to get away from the war, didn't they?" Yang asked.

"Yes. I studied their behaviors for years. And it seemed that they were as intent with sheltering Saigo from the rivalry and the Inquisition. I believe you know the rest, Saigo." Ultimus scowled.

"Damn right. What do you want, anyway?" Alex scowled.

"Listen. The Fall Knights are gathering the tools they need to release Arabus. Once they do, this whole island will be nothing but a pile of ash. Their main location is a hideout in the mountain range north of the Zancudo Military Airfield, but they have reinforcements in the form of a yacht armed with an AA gun and have stockpiled ammunition in one of the abandoned buildings in the city." Ultimus informed.

"How the hell did you know where to look?" Yang wondered.

"I'm no fool. I've been working with Cinder Fall for the past two years and watched as she put this plan together. Needless to say, I'm happy Saigo killed her." Ultimus scoffed.

"Why are you helping me?" Alex asked.

"Isn't it obvious, Saigo? I intend to kill you, and no cutesy horse demon will take that honor away!" Ultimus indignantly replied.

"By no means does this make us friends." Alex scowled.

"That's the spirit. I'm expecting you there, don't disappoint me." Ultimus glared, walking out and slamming the door.

"We'd better tell Evan and Twilight." Alex concluded, standing up.

Yang stopped him from standing all the way up.

"You heard the doctor, you need rest." Yang demanded.

"You can't be f**king serious." Alex glared.

"You heard what Ultimus said, he'll kill you!" Yang retorted.

"If I'm not there, Arabus might kill all of you. I won't have that on my conscience." Alex stared daggers at the huntress.

Yang sighed.

"Fine. I guess I can't stop you. But if anything happens, just know I care about you." Yang relented, the slight echo of a smile through her serious tone.

Alex grabbed his chest plate, guns, and a car battery.

"The hell are you gonna do with that?" Yang wondered.

"Lightning powers, remember?" Alex looked back as he searched the apartment for extra batteries.

Yang nodded in reply as Alex grabbed his scroll.

"Unity, this is Alex. We've confirmed Fall Knight presence at all three locations. Mobilize!" Alex shoved the scroll in his pocket and he integrated the batteries with his armor.

"I'm ready." Yang called, arming her gauntlet, as well as the one Cade had integrated with her limb.

"I'm ready too. Any way you can get from here to the Hideout unseen?" Alex asked.

"I had the motorcycle, but I think we'll be seen the second we get there."

"Didn't Cade say something about buying an Adenienite Freighter?" Alex asked.

Cade ran in the front door.

"I came as soon as I heard." He gasped breathlessly.

"Listen, you mentioned having an old freighter, right?" Alex asked.

"Yeah... I brought it to the airport for repairs. Why, you need it?" Cade asked.

"Bingo!" Yang chirped.

"Okay. We'll need another gunner if we're making a full-blown assault." Cade added.

"I CALL SHOTGUN!!" Ruby sped in front of the doorway.

"And that makes four." Cade nodded.

"Alright! Let's get this shit done!" Alex added, putting his weapons away.

"Yes! I love it when you're feisty!" Yang slugged Alex in the arm as the four ran off.

*15 Minutes Later, Former Altruist Cult Hideout*

"Morning Star, We're under attack-!" A grunt shouted as an armored fist emerged from his ribcage.

Ultimus ripped the soldier from his gauntlet, scowling at Morning Star.

"Hello, Delta." Ultimus greeted coldly, raising his weapon.

"That's not who I am. Not since Walker destroyed my home!" Morning Star yelled.

"Don't play dumb. We all know what this is. And I know exactly what you're trying to do. As much as I'd love to join in on the merriment, only I can be the one to kill Alex Walker." Ultimus converted the sword into a rifle and pointed the barrel at Morning Star's head.

"My Arabus will be the only one killing anything momentarily." Morning Star retorted.

"There is one way you survive. Call off the attack, and relinquish the Fall Knights to me. This is your only warning." Ultimus growled.

"Are you threatening me, Crux?" Morning Star's horn glowed a bright yellow-orange, as did several weapons belonging to the dead at Ultimus' wake.

"That depends. Do as I say." Ultimus reiterated.

"Neopolitan. Do what you must." Morning Star smiled wickedly as Neo sped behind Ultimus, cutting through Ultimus' armor and pointing her umbrella at the warrior.

Neo stared coldly at Ultimus, her eyes flaring orange as though they were aflame.

"I see. Cinder gifted you the Fall Maiden's power." Ultimus realized.

Morning Star quickly ran off into a cave as Neo and Ultimus leaped at one another, hacking and slashing each other ruthlessly.

"Send everyone. Tear the hideout apart." Morning Star ordered as she went deeper within the cave.

Author's Note

Not really sure what else to put here.

Chapter 18: Hellraiser
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 18: Hellraiser

*Fall Knight Hideout; 1/2 Mile North of Zancudo Military Airfield; October 15, 2018; 9:23 PM

Ultimus charged again, only to ram into another illusion and lose balance. Neo fired a pulse of orange light that blew Ultimus back 15 feet into a wooden shack of a building.

'This woman is either an impressive fighter or a coward. At least Saigo couldn't conjure up illusions like this..!' Ultimus inwardly complained.

Neo only grinned, a sadistic look plastered onto her face as she charged yet again.

"Die!!" Ultimus swung again, only to discover that this was merely another illusion, made abruptly clear by a metallic scraping on his back plate.

Neo smiled again as Ultimus turned around, only to scowl at the sight of three figures falling towards them.

Alex, Yang, and Ruby landed feet away from the two, concern on their faces.

"Where's Morning Star?" Alex asked.

"She holed herself up inside a tunnel. She's trying to summon Arabus." Ultimus replied.

With a bell sound and a flash, Alex had quickly converted into his Enlightened Warrior form, turning to Yang and Ruby.

"Yang, you have the firepower. Break in and see what Morning Star's up to. Ruby, go with her, she might need backup." Alex instructed.

"Are you insane?! The man who tried to kill us is standing right there!" Yang yelled back.

"We made a temporary truce until Arabus is destroyed, remember?" Ultimus converted himself to his Corrupted Warrior form in mere moments.

"Besides. I have more of a need to kill this one than Saigo at the moment."

Yang and Ruby ran off, leaving both Adenienites to confront the new Fall Maiden.

"Be careful, Saigo. This new maiden is a dangerous enemy." Ultimus warned.

"I've dealt with her before I achieved this form. I should be able to defeat her." Alex replied.

Neo seemed to recognize Alex, but didn't seem at all frightened. She only left a cold stare as her eyes began glowing and a vortex appeared beneath them.

Both warriors leaped out of the way once the vortex exploded, with both charging her at once.

Ultimus swung again, only to miss by a long shot.

Using the opening, Alex swept in, side-kicking her 15 feet and landing on his feet, charging while she was still stunned.

Alex and Ultimus swept in, only for Neo to counter. Two pillars of flame burst from her fingertips, knocking both to the ground and leaving them slightly burned.

"Damn child!!!" Ultimus roared with fury, charging Neo again.

Neo stood at the ready, pointing her bladed parasol at the warrior.

Ultimus stuck once to discover that this was an illusion, Neo herself was directly above him, ready to blow him away.

Alex stood there, arms crossed as Ultimus got torched.

"GAAH!! SAIGO YOU BASTARD!!" Ultimus turned and charged Alex.

Alex ducked, sharply kicking upwards and slamming Ultimus behind him, the latter crashing to the ground.

"What can I say? You tried to kill Yang and Cade. As a certain meme would put it, 'One does not simply try to kill my family.'" Alex scowled.

"Oh no. Do not be that guy right now." Ultimus growled.

"Yeah, screw you." Alex rolled his eyes.

Neo let out a small snicker at their argument.

"You know, if I didn't have to kill both of you, I'd let him go just for that." Neo grinned, pointing the blade at Alex.

"I could literally kill you with a handshake. Don't test me." Alex hardened his tone while raising his left hand, a small electric ball forming in it.

Neo's grin dropped instantly, raising her parasol to the sky blade-down. The blade itself slowly turned orange and started flaring with energy.

"Saigo, this is for letting me burn." Ultimus himself raised his hand, green lightning emanating from his fingertips.

"F**KING SHI-!"

*Meanwhile*

"Where is she?!" Ruby whisper-yelled.

"Stay close.. We don't know what could be going on in there.." Yang peeked over a corner to find the unicorn surrounded by candles that just barely lit the room. Morning Star was reading passages from an ancient book, along with the small gem at the side, which was now beginning to glow an ominous dark purple.

Morning Star was speaking in what seemed to be an ancient language. The gem at her side glowed a little brighter as each word was uttered.

"Oh, dust." Yang winced.

"What..?" Ruby wondered.

The gem had cracked, shadow leaking out of it and reforming into a large alicorn-shaped cloud of black smoke. It opened it's eyes, a glowing red, and let out an inhuman roar.

"Lord Arabus... You are free..!" Morning Star cheered.

"What are we going to do?! We can't do anything about that..!" Ruby worriedly reached for Crescent Rose.

The dark spirit turned around, staring directly at the two huntresses.

"Oh, no..." Ruby gaped.

The monster let out a low growl of hunger, glaring at the huntresses menacingly.

"I CLAIM YOUR SOULS!!!!!" The demon roared, flying towards them and firing a very ominous magic.

Yang dodged just in time to avoid the blast. Grabbing Ruby, she ran back up the winding tunnels in an effort to escape before they could become the monster's first victims.

"BIPEDS!! YOUR SPIRITS BELONG TO ME!!!"

*back at ground level*

The explosion shook apart the entire structure of the hideout, wiping out almost anything else in the way.

Alex landed hard on his back, coughing and staggering back up.

"Forget the Maiden, Saigo. YOU'RE DEAD!!" Ultimus screamed, leaping at Alex and forcing him to attack.

Their blades clashed, sending a shockwave of violet and green lightning around the destroyed ruins of the hideout.

Alex was also quick to notice the massive fireball flying in his direction.

Alex leaped out of the way, firing electric blasts in either direction, that is, until he heard an ungodly scream.

"Oh, crap." Alex powered down immediately.

Ultimus and Neo followed suit, curious as to what could've made such a sound.

"I'm sensing an evil energy... Directly underneath us.." Ultimus pointed to the tunnel entryway.

The three waited in terror at what was waiting for them, tension filling the air.

Ruby and Yang were quick to run away, firing sniper shots and blasts before sprinting.

As the sisters ran, the entrance exploded in a wave of dark energy, sending rock and various other debris flying everywhere.

A dark, shadowy alicorn appeared in the new opening, simply walking towards them now,

"T-That's Arabus..?" Neo gasped.

"Ah, what's this I see..? More bipeds..? Hmm.... It seems your energies are foreign, but exceptionally high..." Arabus noted coldly.

'God, even his voice is scary...' Alex thought in horror.

"I suppose this should suffice as suitable sustenance... DIE, MORTALS!!"

Author's Note

When I discussed adding a G1 villain into the story, I mentioned drastically changing Arabus' character.

This is what I meant.

Instead of being a cloud monster...thing that apparently stole shadows from ponies, he's now a demon who swallows mortal souls to strengthen his magic.

3edgy5me

Also, Fall Maiden Neo.

Only on my fanfiction (to the best of my knowledge).

-The Destoyer

Chapter 19: A Blood Red Shadow, Part 1 of 3
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 19: A Blood Red Shadow, Part 1 of 3

*Downtown Los Santos, San Andreas; October 15, 2018; 9:30 PM*

"All clear! We can regroup at the main entrance!" Liss announced, destroying the last ammunition container.

The Ponies, Vanoss's crew, Kat, Liss, Weiss, Blake, and Skirmish had eventually reached the entrance where everyone had parked their vehicles.

"Okay... Let's see how Alex's team is doing.." Kat grabbed a tablet and pressed a button at the bottom of the screen.

"Andromeda, what's the situation?" Kat wondered.

"Scanning now.... It appears Arabus has been released moments ago. Alex, Ruby, Yang, and Inquisitors Ultimus Crux and Neopolitan are fighting off the spirit." Andromeda replied.

"We gotta help them..! They can't last forever!" Twilight urged.

"F**k that! We don't have our Avatars, and this motherf**ker absorbs people's souls!" Delirious yelled back.

"We have to try. Our friends need us!" Rainbow yelled.

"A massive Fall Knight resurgence has been detected retreating from the complex and seems to be headed straight back to retrieve ammunition." Andromeda announced.

"I have a plan..! Evan and his crew, Skirmish, Rarity, and I can stay here and deal with the Fall Knight threat. The rest of you can find a way there!" Liss decided.

"Rarity's coming with us!" Applejack screamed.

"If we all don't do what we're supposed to, one of these threats will wipe out the rest of us!" Kat realized.

"I'll do my duty. Celestia be with you, Twilight." Skirmish nodded, grabbing her spear.

"Come on, let's get over there..!" Twilight shouted as everyone crowded around Twilight.

Twilight, Applejack, Kat, Weiss, and Blake gathered around.

"Rainbow, what about you?" Twilight asked.

"I can get there in ten seconds flat, don't worry about me.. There's something I wanted to try.." Rainbow smirked knowingly.

"I trust you. Twi, get us over there, please." Kat ordered as the five teleported off.

Rainbow took a running start before flying towards the airport and circling around towards the hideout.

"Agent Liss, I'm detecting two cross-dimensional signatures." Andromeda told Liss.

"What about them?" Liss wondered.

"One of them, for sure, is the backup you requested... The other seems to be drawing in more energy... As if it's trying to move something in from another timeline..." Andromeda shakily replied.

*Meanwhile*

Alex dodged another of Arabus' blasts as Cade swept on from the side.

Cade slashed Arabus across the neck with his sickle before being forced out of the way by Neo, who blocked another of Arabus' attacks with her bladed umbrella.

As Neo blocked, Yang and Ultimus charged from either side and sent barrages towards the shadowy alicorn.

Ruby finally leaped in from above, firing multiple Ray-Gun shots and hacking the shadow apart, to no avail.

Arabus' horn suddenly glowed dark purple as he raised his forelegs above the ground.

"I WILL TEAR YOU ALL APART!!!" Arabus roared as he was hit by a magical attack.

Twilight trotted over to Alex's side.

"Did you guys need help?" Blake asked.

"Blake! Weiss!" Ruby hugged her friends.

"Aunt Ruby... We're not out of the woods yet.." Cade turned his attention towards the monster.

"We need to distract him with magic-based attacks so the physical attacks might have an effect." Twilight explained.

"I have an idea. Alicorn, keep a shield around the monster. The rest of us will swarm it." Ultimus ordered.

Twilight nodded, a lavender aura appearing around the shadowy monster as Ruby, Cade, Alex, and Neo swept to it's sides and struck repeatedly, disorienting the monster until they all leaped backwards.

Yang, Ultimus, Weiss, and Blake stayed back, firing bullets, electric projectiles, and the like, further weakening the monster until Applejack raised her legs, ready to buck.

At the same instant, they heard one loud boom coming from the direction of the city. Alex turned around, curious, to find a certain pony speeding towards them with a rainbow-colored shockwave behind her.

Another sonic rainboom exploded a second after the first, the pony speeding towards Arabus at supersonic speed.

Timing the attack perfectly, Applejack bucked one side while Rainbow slammed into the other, leaving the monster gasping for breath.

"AAAGHH... D-Do you think this is funny..?" The monster growled as the others reloaded, preparing for a second attack.

Alex laughed callously at the monster's plight.

"Well... You're in... For a laugh..!" Arabus roared loudly, the barrier breaking as Twilight fumbled, trying to stay standing.

The monster stood itself back up, glaring at the group for their intrusion.

"It's an interesting strategy, Crux. Thinking you could defeat me so easily.. The only reason I haven't killed all of you is because I'm a bit strapped for power right now... But not to worry, WITH THIS NEXT TRANSFORMATION, YOU WILL ALL FALL!!" Arabus roared again, an ungodly screech filling the air as the ground seemed to shatter.

*Meanwhile, Canterlot, Equestria*

Luna and Celestia were just about to trade off work when suddenly Luna felt a chill run down her spine.

"Sister..?" Luna questioned nervously.

"I know... Something terrible has happened.." Celestia wavered.

"You don't think..." Luna began.

"I know it's Arabus, Luna. At least he is not in Equestria." Celestia sighed.

"Not to be rude, sister, but... Isn't your student, her honor guard, and all of her friends in that dimension?" Luna asked.

Celestia knew exactly what her sister was thinking.

"I guess our citizens can deal with a slightly longer sunset.. Let's move, Luna." Celestia groaned.

Arabus screamed loudly, his inhuman screech filling the air as Alex struggled to stay standing.

Suddenly, the shadowy fog surrounding Arabus turned red as the sky was filled with a crimson light.

By the time they had all come to their senses, they saw an entirely different Alicorn.

"What the hell?!" Alex gaped.

"T-That can't be possible..! H-He shouldn't be strong enough to do that..!" Twilight shivered in horror.

Arabus by now stood another foot taller. His once black coat was now a deep scarlet that faded into black at the extremities, such as the wings and hooves. His horn had doubled in size and sharpened into a deadly point. The most frightening detail were his eyes, now a dimly-glowing dark purple.

"Now you understand, children... I AM YOUR DESTRUCTION!" Arabus roared again, heading straight for Alex.

Alex narrowly avoided Arabus' horn, sweeping underneath and hacking upwards.

Twilight and Weiss tried keeping him in place with magic and glyphs as the rest readied their most powerful attacks.

"Hurry..! I'm not sure how much longer.. We can hold..!" Twilight strained.

Alex, Yang, and Cade charged in from either side, powered up to their Enlightened forms and a ball of electricity or fire in Yang's case.

"TRINITY STRIKE!!!!"

The three slammed their energies into the Monster just before going all out with their other weapons. Alex spun his lever guns so fast all that anyone could see were two circular blurs and purple projectiles speeding towards their enemy.

Yang punched Arabus as hard as she possibly could, screaming in fury as she tried to end the fight there

Cade slashed at Arabus' neck, adding a few charged punches before all three leaped out of the way for the others to make their attacks.

Ruby ran around the monster in a circle with Blake, shooting at the monster before sweeping in, hacking either side, and repeating until the others could do what they had to do. Kat had ran up to the small building overlooking the ruins, and was sniping whenever she had the chance.

Ultimus and Neo stood at either side of Arabus, charging and firing massive green and orange beams of energy at the monster and getting out of the way.

Applejack and Rainbow were last, with the Earth pony repeatedly bucking Arabus as hard as she possibly could with Rainbow speeding around, kicking Arabus with precision before flying towards the coast and slamming hard into him.

By the time the smoke cleared, Arabus didn't even look all that injured.

"W-What?!" Alex gasped.

"W-We threw everything we had at it..! How is it still standing?!" Yang wondered aloud..

"H-He'll kill us... He'll kill all of us..." Twilight shivered.

"Impressive... For a bunch of Second-rate warriors." Arabus sneered.

Alex grit his teeth, letting out a low growl.

"Alex..?" Yang turned to him, noticing how utterly pissed he was by that point.

Alex screamed, throwing balls of electricity towards the monster, screaming bloody murder and making more of a mess out of the wasteland around them.

"WHY WON'T YOU DIE?!" He roared.

"Child, has this ever worked?" Arabus asked, stalking out of the smoke produced by Alex's attacks.

Alex jumped back a little, protecting his chest with his arms so Arabus would just take off the arms.

Arabus instead turned into a cloud of smoke and went through him, leaving Alex worried and afraid for his life.

Blake saw Arabus ready to stab him, and she quickly shoved Alex out of Arabus' path, and faked the monster out using her semblance.

Yang was completely enraged at the idea of losing her best friend or Alex, and punched Arabus as soon as she was able.

The blow almost completely winded the red alicorn, he crumbled downward while staring upwards with rage.

"I WILL OBLITERATE YOU!!!!" Arabus yelled, raising his front hooves and surrounding them with dark magic.

Alex's eyes widened, and staggered upwards as Arabus threw down his front hooves.

From the impact, a wave of dark energy enveloped the small clearing. Several people got idea to jump and avoid the shockwave, but many weren't as lucky.

Applejack quickly evaporated, leaving only time for one pained scream before completely shattering.

"WHAT THE SHIT?!" Alex gaped.

The shockwave dissipated, leaving the others completely shocked.

"Hahaha!! I hope this is a message to all of you... There is no victory here!" Arabus cackled.

Twilight and Rainbow couldn't believe what they saw... Applejack was dead.

Meaning the elements were completely useless.

By extension, their means of properly containing the monster was gone.

Rainbow looked angrily towards the monster, taking off immediately, screaming in rage the whole way.

"Rainbow, stop!" Cade yelled.

Arabus teleported in front of Rainbow, stabbing her with his horn and killing her instantly.

By then, everyone shook. Two of the bravest ponies Unity had were dead.

Arabus laughed.

"TEN. SECONDS. FLAT." The monster mocked them, using Rainbow Dash's voice.

Alex himself was completely shaken.. Innumerable memories ran through his mind of the Pegasus. He had known Rainbow the best out of the Elements besides Twilight, and she had actually saved his life on many occasions..

Just like Karis, or Cloudchaser and Flitter. To imagine Rainbow Dash dead was... unthinkable.

"Alex... Why are you glowing..?" Yang suddenly backed away.

Alex noticed his arms and legs, his entire body, glowing red.

"You.... You soulless... Cold-hearted... BASTARD!!!" Alex had quickly changed from his normal form, to his Enlightened form, and to his Evolved form in a matter of seconds.

Arabus continued to laugh callously at him while Alex gasped and sputtered, too infuriated to say a word.

Yang charged up as well. She knew how badly this got to him.. And besides..

Once he was already at this point, there was no stopping him.

"You son of a bitch... I'll make you PAY!!!" Alex screamed, his purple aura starting to turn red.

"Saigo, you idiot! Our enhanced forms aren't going to make a difference to this demon!" Ultimus warned.

"Listen to him! What can you do that we already haven't done?!" Cade screamed.

With one final scream, his eyes had changed, the whites of his eyes now black and his irises a red-violet. His muscle tone had changed, Alex had gained a slight amount of mass. And his final change was most apparent.

His hair was now like flame, purple towards the roots and bright scarlet at the top.

"Arabus... You're going to pay for what you did to them... IN BLOOD!!!"

Alex flew several feet in the air, Yang close by, as the two pressed their hands together at their sides.

"No... No they're not!!" Cade shivered.

This was the exact attack his Alex and Yang used to try and destroy Cinder!

"What the hell are you two idiots doing?! You'll burn yourselves out!!" Neo, yes, Neo of all people yelled.

"Alex!! Yang!! Don't shoot it!!" Ruby screamed worriedly.

The two separated their hands, a condensed beam of lightning and fire swirled around in their hands.

"T-There's no way they could survive firing that..!" Twilight visibly shook, as she was about to lose two more friends.

"Dammit, Alex! I didn't find us a way out of the militia just so you could die here!!" Kat screamed at the two.

"Yang, think about it! Do you really want Ruby to live the rest of her life without her sister!!" Blake yelled.

"ARABUS!!! YOU'VE TAKEN SOMEONE'S LIFE FOR THE LAST TIME!! SAY GOODBYE!!!!" Alex screamed.

"How can I stop them..? It's over.." Cade shivered, sitting down in surrender.

Suddenly, Arabus screamed in pain.

"What?!" Yang gasped.

Arabus fired magic blasts at innumerable directions before being lanced by another Alicorn, black as the night with a wavy, purple mane and snake-like blue eyes.

This new alicorn fired a dark-blue magic blast that blew him off the cliff.

Arabus staggered back up, seething with rage at this new being.

The Alicorn herself scoffed arrogantly at the monster.

"Arabus, I've grown tired of seeing you harassing these mortals. Your quarrel rests with me. The TRUE Princess of the Night! NIGHTMARE RARITY!"

Author's Note

Because who better to fight an edge-lord than another edge-lord?

Putting Nightmare Rarity into the fanfic was honestly a stretch, but I can probably explain how it happened next chapter.

Also, I think I'm somehow becoming worse than Rooster Teeth.

RWBY killed off three beloved characters in the span of about 4 episodes, where I killed off at least two characters in one chapter, and I'm killing off two or three more.

Well, In the words of Kurt Vonnegut, "Be a Sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them."

Also, Alex's new Super Mode is the 'Evolved Berserker'. The next two chapters are going to shed a bit of light on this one.

-The Destoyer

Chapter 20: A Blood Red Shadow, Part 2 of 3
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 20: A Blood Red Shadow, Part 2 of 3

5 Minutes Earlier; Downtown Los Santos, San Andreas; October 11, 2018; 9:35 PM*

Rarity stood in a small section of the building that overlooked the rest of the city, absolutely terrified at the scene before her.

'My friends... They're all fighting that ruffian Arabus..' Rarity thought in horror as she saw the view past the mountains bathed in various-colored lights.

"Infuriating, isn't it? The fact that your friends are fighting this monster, how quickly they cast you aside.." a voice said behind her.

Rarity turned around quickly.

"Who's there?!" Rarity wondered aloud.

"Even a human was deemed strong enough to handle this monster. Not you, not another pony, not a huntress or Adenienite, just a plain, simple human. I know it angers you, Rarity." the voice said again.

"H-How do you know my name?!" Rarity asked nervously.

"I've been watching you, quite intently as a matter of fact. And I know being held back for something menial like this is infuriating, especially since all of your friends are dying as we speak." the voice mocked her.

"Whatever they're encountering, I know they can handle it!" Rarity shouted at the monster.

"Oh, is that so? Have you any clue what they are fighting against, Miss Rarity? Arabus is not your typical villain. It has no morals holding it back from slaughter. No conscience, no fear. But unlimited, raw power. It took an Alicorn, his army, and innumerable alchemists to finally seal it away. That is, until right now." The voice revealed itself.

Rarity almost couldn't see who she was talking to, but it had the faint outline of a pony.

"Y-You're the Pony of Shadows!" Rarity realized.

"That's right. A bit of Nightmare Moon's lost energy manifested as a spirit. I saw you in my Castle several moons ago, Miss Rarity, and I knew then how important you would be. I was going to use you to enact my vengeance against the Princesses, but there are more urgent matters now." The Pony of Shadows informed her.

"Then why should I trust you?" Rarity asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was given to believe you were the Element of Generosity. Think of it this way, if you join with me, You will supply me with a new host, and you will be able to save at least some of your friends. That in of itself is an act of generosity, plus you will finally gain the recognition you rightfully deserve. Doesn't that sound fair to you?" The Pony of Shadows asked her.

"I-I suppose so.." Rarity stuttered nervously. This deal sounded way too good to be true.

The Pony of Shadows turned her attention to the horizon, where a glowing red-violet light shone in the distance.

"Do you know the source of this power, Miss Rarity?"

"Is that... Alexander..?" Rarity squinted.

"If you join me, your power will surpass his in strength. Together, perhaps we may end Arabus's existence forever." The Pony of Shadows continued.

Rarity weighed the options. Respect, living up to her title, and saving the lives of all of her friends.. Was it worth it?

"Do you know if any of them are dead?" Rarity asked.

"Two of the ponies you call your friends are now dead. I believe their names were Applejack and Rainbow Dash." The Shadow Pony answered.

"Rainbow and Applejack?!" Rarity asked tearfully.

"There will be time to grieve later. For now, we can avenge them as one." the pony placed a hoof on her shoulder. It felt cold and misty.

"I accept.. Just... Promise me you're right about this.." Rarity winced.

"You are a mare of business, are you not? A promise is about as plausible as Pinkamena's sanity." The shadow grinned, absorbing itself into Rarity through her horn...

*Former Fall Knight Hideout*

"So, you mean to tell me that this is..?" Weiss asked doubtfully.

"Rarity!" Twilight hugged the alicorn.

"Twilight, stand back!" Nightmare Rarity warned as Arabus attacked again.

"H-How is a pony able to hold off a monster like that?!" Ultimus asked in disbelief.

"I SAID STAY BACK!!" Nightmare Rarity yelled, the soundwave from her scream able to knock down everyone.

Ruby staggered up, in total disbelief over what she was seeing.

"Yang, we're still going after Arabus." Alex ordered.

"Got your back!" Yang grinned, reloading her gauntlet and mechanical arm.

"I'm going too. Just make sure you don't pull a stunt like that again!" Cade demanded.

"I'm not sure how else we can take down something like Arabus." Alex told Cade.

Cade transformed within seconds, glaring at his father with glowing purplish-white eyes.

"You have three Enlightened Warriors, including yourself, and whatever the hell this 'Nightmare Rarity' is. Don't tell me we can't stop this monster." Cade retorted.

"Make that four. I'm not letting anyone kill Saigo besides me!" Ultimus roared as he powered up to his Corrupted Warrior form.

"Especially not that monster!" Ultimus threatened.

"Fine, but let's keep it short. I have a 5 year old at home and I've been gone long enough as it is." Neo's eyes glowed orange as she spoke, indicating her alliance.

"We need some way to defeat Arabus. If I'm right, that means I'm probably the key to defeating it." Twilight added.

"Twilight!" A yell to their behind indicated someone else's presence.

Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Celestia, and Luna stepped behind them, well. In Pinkie's case, bounced.

"You're all here..!" Twilight gasped.

"Twilight, this Arabus monster is too much for you, any of you, to face alone." Celestia told her.

"WE HAVE FACED HIS CREATOR BEFORE, HIS SPAWN SHAN'T BE MUCH DIFFERENT!" Luna said in her royal Canterlot voice..

"I have a plan!" Kat yelled.

"Thank god! What's the idea?" Alex inquired.

"The ponies need to stay behind here! That means we need Rarity. Everyone who can fight Arabus has to get Rarity to use her element, even if she merged with a nightmare! The rest are support gunners!" Kat told them.

"It's so crazy, it just might work. MOVE OUT!!" Alex ordered as the 4 Enlightened Warriors and Fall Maiden took to the skies to get Rarity back and fight off the monster Arabus.

*Above Sandy Shores Airport*

Nightmare Rarity and Arabus charged each other at full power, their magic attacks exploding or falling to the ground and destroying most of whatever was below them.

"Ah, it's all clear to me now... The souls I absorbed... They left and merged with you." Arabus noted.

"Not that it would matter to a monster like you!" Nightmare Rarity retorted.

"I thought so... Prepare to die!" Arabus smiled wickedly, charging a powerful dark-magic attack.

"MINE MINE MINE MINE MINE MINE..!" a voice shouted in the distance.

"Have at thee, monste- wait, what is that?" Nightmare Rarity turned around, searching for he source of the noise.

"MINE MINE MINE MINE MINE!!" the voice got closer and closer as the seconds ticked along.

"That sounds like..." Arabus noted as Alex side-kicked Nightmare Rarity in the neck, kicking her into the mountain range nearby.

"LEARN TO SHARE, BRAT!!" Arabus yelled, preparing to fire a magic attack directly at Alex.

Yang and Cade punched either side of the monster before the attack could even fire.

Alex smiled wickedly at the monster, laughing slightly.

"I don't care if you are some legendary warrior spirit. You're still going to die. By my hands, or theirs, you lost." Alex's cocky smile turned into an angry scowl.

"DIE MONSTER!!!" Ultimus fired a massive electric attack at Arabus while Neo slashed the monster before finishing it off with an energy blast.

Arabus smiled condescendingly at them.

"Are you forgetting already what I told you? You're done for! I'll eliminate you all in an instant, just like those two ponies!" Arabus roared.

Nightmare Rarity flew back, firing a myriad of magic attacks, buying the rest enough time to charge their attacks and hold the monster at bay.

"Listen, Rarity. Celestia and Luna are there with the other elements of Harmony, you can stop all of this now and help them. It's our best shot at taking care of this thing." Alex said, turning to the Alicorn.

"The Elements of Harmony will not be enough to destroy Arabus. Besides, the honor can only be left to me." Nightmare Rarity scowled.

"No. You're not seriously doing this right now." Alex groaned inwardly.

"And what if I am?" Nightmare Rarity scoffed.

"God dammit! Just go back there and do the thing!!" Alex yelled.

"DESTINY HAS RESERVED THE HONOR OF DESTROYING THE MONSTER TO ME!" Rarity screamed.

"Fine. I'll take you there myself." Alex scowled at her irrational behavior.

"Oh, what can you do?" Nightmare Rarity asked condescendingly as Alex chopped the base of the Rarity's neck.

"That. I can do that." Alex huffed as he roundhouse kicked Nightmare Rarity back in the general direction of the hideout.

"Fall back! Lead him to the lookout!" Alex yelled as he attacked the monster, kicking it towards Mount Chiliad.

The others flew back as quickly as they could to the now-decimated hideout, with a seemingly invincible monster at their backs.

*Meanwhile; Los Santos, San Andreas; October 15, 2018; 9:49 PM*

Liss, Skirmish, and Evan's Squad had loaded up, and now they were awaiting whomever was coming for them.

"Who the hell do you think is after us?" Vanoss wondered.

"I swear to god if it's some more Inquisitor bullshit like last time I'm strangling someone!" Mini groaned.

"Let's face it, we're already this far in the f**king rabbit hole. We're probably going have to deal with dat boi next." Wildcat scoffed.

"Wait, guys! One if the distortions is here!!" Skirmish dove for cover with her spear as the ground shook apart.

Two portals started to appear. One of them poured out hundreds of soldiers in grey and silver-plated masks.

"Surround the distortion! Box them in!" They yelled indistinctly as they swarmed the distortion.

Vanoss and the others waited right with them.

"Call the city's police, tell them to try and set up a perimeter at least 3 or 4 blocks!" A soldier wearing a uniquely detailed mask ordered.

"You! What's the nature of the tip?" The commander demanded of Liss.

"Right now, several Huntresses and Equestrian royalty are fighting a monster called 'Arabus'. We're trying to keep the Fall Knights from getting in their way as we can!" Liss answered.

"Where are they now?" He asked.

"A forest hideaway a half-click north of the nearby Military Airfield." Liss replied.

"See if we can patch in a radio signal to them! We need people on this 'Arabus' informing them of any weaknesses!" The commander yelled to his squad as the second portal shifted and shimmered.

The second portal looked to be on the verge of collapse, but it was still able to produce something.

A large, orange energy attack that decimated most of the Silver Ocelot resistance.

"The f**k just happened?!" Delirious gaped.

"JESUS CHRIST!!" Lui screamed.

A middle-aged woman simply walked out of the portal wearing a simple red-orange dress. Her features were fading and her energy was off the charts, but it was immediately clear who this was. At least, in Liss' case.

"Cannon fodder as always, Silver Ocelot." The woman scowled towards Liss.

"Who the f**k is this?" Moo asked.

"You don't remember me, Brock?" The woman scoffed in mock hurt.

"Wait a second... Oh, shit. Alex is going to be f**kin' pissed." Droidd realized.

"You mean Walker? Oh, he isn't a concern.. Or, at least he wasn't." The woman smiled maniacally, her eyes glowing not only orange, but blue, green, and even purple.

"Is that who I think it is?" Skirmish gaped fearfully.

"Yep." Liss answered.

"And she's stronger in your universe than in ours?"

"Ridiculously."

"Yep, Cade's going to be pissed."

*Meanwhile*

"Wake up, Rarity." Celestia called.

"Come on, get up!" Ruby urged.

"We need your help, wake up!" Twilight added.

Nightmare Rarity slowly opened her eyes to find she was surrounded by her friends.

"H-Huh? W-What happened?" Rarity asked tiredly.

"Arabus needs to be contained, and quickly, so we came in with the other Elements." Celestia answered.

"First of all, we can't contain this monster, it needs to be stopped now. Secondly, how did you even get the Elements? I thought they were in the Tree of Harmony!" Nightmare Rarity yelled.

"Alex and the others have been fighting to get the Elements here. We were all waiting for you." Twilight told her.

"We need to take down that monster before the peace we've all struggled for is gone!" Rarity got in her place with Fluttershy, Pinkie, Twilight, and the princesses.

Somehow, only the Mane 3 were glowing with their Element.

"What..?" Celestia gaped.

"Damn it! You can't use the Elements because you've already shed your connection to them! And Rarity isn't in her right mind!" Weiss groaned outwardly.

"We need three more people who could represent Loyalty, Generosity, and Honesty! Granted, one might be easier to find than the other.." Twilight gasped, horrified

"We still can't imprison Arabus using conventional means.. We might have to do something drastic." Celestia sighed.

"What can we do at this point?! We're going to lose everything we worked for-!" Rarity yelled as a dark bolt of magic pierced her body through her back.

Everyone widened their eyes in horror. Another friend had just died right in front of them..

Rarity struggled to stand, changing back to normal before falling to the ground, coughing and spluttering, before finally breathing her last.

"D-Did she just..?" Blake gasped in horror and disbelief.

Ruby in particular was terrified. A look of horror plastered to her face as she stared at Rarity's remains.

'N-No... Not again... If this keeps up, who's next..? Weiss...? Blake..? Yang?' Ruby thought, terrified

Celestia's eyes widened in horror as she turned towards the city.

"Luna.. Do you..?" Celestia stammered.

"I feel it too..." Luna shuddered in fear.

"Oum dammit, what now?" Weiss gaped.

"Another sinister being's power just appeared in Los Santos.. It's strong enough to kill all of us.." Luna answered.

Ruby couldn't believe it. This could be it.

'No..! As if Arabus wasn't enough.. Now this?! I... I can't do this.. I can't watch anymore..!' Ruby shook, cradling her head in her hands fearfully.

"R-Ruby..?" Blake asked out of worry. Even Ruby was scared. Not even scared at this point, just shell shocked.

'I... I feel something slipping..!' Ruby thought as her eyes flickered a silver color.

"Ruby? Is something wrong?!" Weiss asked.

Ruby's hair started to stand on their ends, with her eyes still flickering silver light.

Her fear quickly evolved into righteous anger. How dare this monster kill her friends! How dare it try to kill all of them! The lives of her teammates, her sister, and her possible brother-in-law were at stake! If only she could help! If only she could do something!!

Then it all just fell away from her.

The silver glow in her eyes eventually spread to her body, and Ruby let out a scream of pure rage.

"ARABUS!!!!" Ruby yelled as her hair brightened several shades from black to silver, her pupils had disappeared, and everything just seemed to have this glow.

Alex had been watching all of this from a distance, along with Yang, Ultimus, everyone! Even Arabus eyed the girl intently.

"R-Ruby..?" Yang asked as she suddenly powered down. Yang's power-up had reached it's limit.

"Crap! I can't fight Arabus now! But maybe..." Yang realized, turning to her sister.

If Alex knew anything about what was happening, it was that Ruby had reached her potential. And now that she had been angered like this, there would be no stopping her.

"Ruby, kill the son of a bitch." Alex ordered.

Author's Note

Okay, so I have a number of things to go over.

I know what you're all thinking: 'If Cinder died last arc, then why is she back now?'
This is the Cinder from Cade's universe. The one who managed to kill everyone but Cade and Liss as far as you know.

The idea is that there are 4 timelines to the BRS continuity. I'll do a basic run-down now to avoid confusion.

Timeline A is where Alpha originally came from. Alex, being the idiot with well-intentions "discarded" Alpha, who later went to the main universe to get his closure/revenge by killing Alex.

Timeline B is the universe where Cade, Liss, and All-Powerful Cinder came from, where Alex is a slightly less horrible parent, died fighting True Maiden Cinder along with Yang.

Timeline C... Yeah, I'll get into that later. Extra spoiler-y stuff..

And Timeline D is the main continuity.

If you read the blacked-out portion, you'll know that I'm going to start using other RWBY OCs. Specifically those belonging to a DeviantART user named Longsean22 and SuperKamek. I put both links in the description.

Anyways, hang in there for Part 3 and please be sure to comment what you liked or didn't like down below!

-The Destoyer

EDIT:
Forget what I said earlier about 'timelines being erased' and crap. It just doesn't work in practice or in theory.

Chapter 21: A Blood Red Shadow, Part 3 of 3
View Online

Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 21: A Blood Red Shadow, Part 3 of 3

*Destroyed Fall Knight Hideout; October 11, 2018; 10:00 PM*

Ruby looked up at Arabus in fury, spinning Crescent Rose in a flourish before leaping up and attacking.

Arabus managed to get a small scrape from Ruby's attack, but was left screaming in agony as the wound poured out shadow.

"Is she doing damage?!" Ultimus gaped.

Ruby raised the scythe above her head in rage. Using the recoil of the sniper-scythe, she hacked and slashed Arabus relentlessly, the monster letting out audible cries of pain when the Silver Eye magic even touched him.

"How the hell is she doing that! We've been attacking this thing for the past 15 minutes and we haven't made so much as a scratch!" Neo gaped as Ruby kept attacking.

Eventually, Arabus worked out the strength to fight back, firing the same attack that felled Rarity moments earlier.

"Ruby!!" Yang screamed in terror.

Arabus' attack merely bounced off her aura like it was nothing.

Arabus looked on in horror, before scowling and screaming in childish rage to the skies.

"DAMN IT!! THERE'S NO WAY I SHOULD HAVE TAKEN THIS MUCH DAMAGE!!!" Arabus roared in fury.

Ruby smirked.

"That's what you get for killing my friends!" Ruby looked down at the monster, who was wounded and spilling shadow from his many wounds.

Arabus shook with rage, and his horn suddenly filled with dark magic.

"I WILL SEND YOU AND EVERYONE HERE TO THE SAME PLACE!!!! NOW DIE!!"

His horn shot a massive pulse of dark magic at the group, with several staring in horror.

Alex fired a pulse of electricity that was quickly becoming overpowered by the attack.

"Bounce it back!!" He ordered the others as Twilight joined in.

Celestia and Luna were also quick to add their magic to the counterattack, as was Cade.

"Concentrate!! We can do this..!" Cade struggled.

Ultimus fired his own attack that mixed in with the others' beam.

"Saigo Emphas is my kill!! Nothing is going to stop me from taking his life... NOT EVEN YOU!!!" Ultimus roared.

Neo stared on at the struggle. She couldn't believe how quick everyone was to rally behind him and the red-cloaked huntress.

"Neo, hurry up..!" Ultimus demanded.

"Are you insane?! Alex isn't going to let us go after something like this!" Neo retorted.

"Dammit Neo, now's not the time!!" Alex indignantly yelled.

Yang stumbled into Alex's shoulder, powering up to a mere Enlightened Warrior before adding her own attack into the mix.

"I won't let you hurt Ruby or anyone else!!" Yang screamed.

Neo finally sighed. She had enough of Arabus threatening their lives. Besides, who would be next to die after them?

She stepped to Celestia's side, adding her own beam to the now multicolored attack.

Twilight, Pinkie, and Fluttershy suddenly started to glow.

"Our Elements.. What's going on..?" Fluttershy wondered.

"They're... They're choosing new Bearers..!" Twilight realized as the Elemental Stones from Rainbow, Applejack, and Rarity's corpses hovered in the air.

Rainbow's stone shifted from the original lightning bolt to Yang's symbol before merging with the huntress and enhancing her attack.

"What the hell was that?!" Yang gasped as she looked down. The element had attached itself to her metal arm.

"I'm not hallucinating from exhaustion, am I?" Cade muttered as his mother's arm started to glow.

"Y-Yang... You're an Element now?!" Blake almost dropped Gambol Shroud in surprise.

"Is Destoyer even trying anymore?!" Neo groaned out loud as the Element of Honesty fused with her.

Rarity's former Element darted left and right, trying to find someone ready to take the mantle.

Kat grabbed her sniper and loaded in Lux Rounds, ammunition that was laced with light magic. She fired at the monster, quickly weakening Arabus' attack.

Weiss and Blake just kept shooting at Arabus, trying to weaken the attack as well.

"Come on..! Have.. To.. Save them..!" Kat put her shoulder back in it's place once she reloaded and quickly got back to shooting.

The element flew over to Kat, fusing with her right glove as she suddenly let out her own beam of energy.

The new Elements' attacks quickly fused together, turning into a rainbow that attacked Arabus from above.

Arabus fired a second beam at both attacks, trying to hold both back at the same time.

Ruby knew what she had to do.

She flew down to Yang, who was the closest element, and Alex, placing a hand on both of their shoulders.

A white glow emanated from both attacks, managing to successfully overwhelm anything Arabus could throw at them.

"DAMN YOU, HUNTRESS!!!!" Arabus yelled as both attacks quickly took their toll on him and he simply evaporated.

Eventually, their attacks slowed down to nothing, with everyone exhausted and powered down.

"Is.. Is he dead..?" Alex panted.

"Yeah.., I think so.." Yang nodded.

"C-Can't sense his presence.. He's gone.." Ultimus confirmed.

Kat staggered downward, barely standing while holding onto a small pile of rubble.

"S-Serves him... Serves him right..." Kat smirked before collapsing.

"N-Need to call... Liss... Medics..." Cade panted.

"How are they holding up... Anyways..?" Alex wondered.

*Meanwhile*

Vanoss and Liss were backed into a corner with Cinder in front of them.

"Okay, look. You're pissed. I get that. Let's make a deal.. What do you want, my Diamond Play button?" Vanoss asked.

"No." Cinder replied as she raised a hand, a ball of multicolored energy pulsating at her palm.

"Oh, crap." Vanoss sweatdropped, this isn't how he thought he'd go.

"Hey! You overpowered psycho!" A girl's voice yelled behind Cinder

"Oh, Salem dammit." Cinder groaned.

Suddenly, Cinder was attacked by two girls, one wielding an Axe-like guitar, and the other holding a metallic viola. Both instruments hit her at once, slamming her into a building.

"What?!" Vanoss gaped.

"Oh, great.. I'm dealing with them now." Liss groaned.

"You know them?" Vanoss asked.

"I know a lot of people." Liss nodded.

Cinder staggered up from the rubble.

"You two again?!" Cinder moaned in exasperation.

"Look, let's make this quick. We're in a crowded city and I really don't want to ruin anyone's late night commute." The viola-wielder, the Faunus girl with black and white hair, shrugged.

Cinder herself was mildly annoyed.

"Yeah. Let's keep it short." Cinder nodded as she flew upwards and fired hundreds of energy shots at the two, who were quick to either dodge or bounce them back.

The three took their fight to the skies, ricocheting off of buildings and striking when they were able.

Eventually, the Axe-wielder raised the axe upwards above Cinder, who was more focused on the Faunus, and hacked at Cinder's arm, blood and energy gushed from the wound.

"Oh, shit!" Vanoss yelled in surprise. How the hell were these normies even doing any damage?

Cinder dropped down, clutching her arm.

"You've gotten a bit more clever since we last fought." Cinder smiled in spite of her wound.

"So..?" The Faunus wondered.

Cinder raised one of her swords at the Faunus, with the other girl quick to uppercut Cinder with the guitar-axe.

The Faunus quickly jumped on the other's guitar strings, propelling her upwards and hacking away as the two landed on the ground.

The two ran at Cinder with everything they had, quickly using both instruments to slam Cinder through several buildings.

By the time Cinder got back, she was holding a wound, walked with a limp, and her arm and shoulder now was bleeding like crazy. The most disconcerting part was the wicked smile.

"I'm going to be honest with you. You're actually the first people to actually do this much damage. I was actually starting to get bored in our old timeline, so maybe here, I'll have a bit more fun... Until then, I'm going to go put my cult back together. You go run home to mommy and we'll put a pin in this." Cinder chuckled psychotically.

"Something's seriously wrong with you. Just... Just go." The Faunus huntress shooed her away in contempt.

Cinder grabbed a small stone, crushing it in her other hand and teleporting away.

"Until next time, Ms. Delsole, Ms. Xiao Long." Cinder said as she disappeared.

Vanoss ran up to he scene, where the two huntresses just stared at him.

"...Dafuq just happened?" Vanoss suddenly asked.

"Let's face it, you've seen weirder things by now, right?" The black-and-white haired Faunus replied.

"Yeah, good point. So, what're you two doing here?" Vanoss wondered.

"We're looking for someone., have you seen a guy with a scar across his face, about this tall-" The Faunus asked curiously.

"You're with Cade..? Alright, who're you related to?" Vanoss face-palmed, interrupting her.

"Er... We'll explain later.. Right now, we need to know where he is." She answered.

"He's with Alex and Yang and a bunch of other people. They'll be in a burnt clearing just up ahead from the Military Base and in the mountains. I can get you there." Vanoss nodded.

"Do you have medical supplies?" The second huntress asked.

"We'll get them to a doctor or some shit." Vanoss shrugged.

"Thanks!" The Faunus smiled.

"Wildcat, these two girls just asked for Cade and the others, I'm flying them in." Vanoss called and told Wildcat, who was busy helping the cops sort the mess out.

"I don't give a f**k, bitch." Wildcat told him.

"Just letting you know so you guys don't get all pissy if I'm not back soon enough." Vanoss retorted.

"F**k you." Wildcat hung up.

"Alright. Let's go." Vanoss rolled his eyes and left with Liss and the other two huntresses.

This was going to be a long couple of hours.

*Yang's Apartment; Los Santos, San Andreas; October 16, 2018; 12:10 AM*

Alex and Yang returned to their Apartment moments ago, with both completely exhausted.

"Damn... I knew Arabus was going to be a pain but holy shit." Alex muttered, twisting off one one his mechanical arms.

"I know, I still can't believe Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow are dead.." Yang shook her head, still in utter disbelief.

"Yang.. We have to talk about this... All of this.." Alex exhaustedly muttered, twisting on a different, more lifelike appendage.

"Okay. What's on your mind..?" Yang wondered.

"Before everything that happened, I was sure it would be just like before, but with three of our friends gone... I don't know if I can say the same.. And I feel like it's my fault.." Alex sighed mournfully.

"Don't say that. We were doing our duty as Huntsmen, shit like this was going to happen eventually." Yang replied with a stern tone.

"This was hardly a hunter's job, this was merc work. No way around it. I put all of you in danger because I was still pissed off. And where did it get us?" Alex asked, turning to Yang.

"You said it yourself. This wasn't any different from two years ago. This group of Inquisitors just got desperate. Because of it, we have two defectors who can help us." Yang assured.

"Ultimus is really just there to kill me once this is all over. And Neo? I can't even tell what the f**k Neo's in it for." Alex shook his head.

"You're just scared, just like you were when we first met. They'll come around." Yang promised.

"Wish I could believe that, but.." Alex muttered, cradling his head in his hands.

"Hey, come here.. We'll get through this, just like we did before. You're still the same headstrong idiot I fell for." Yang smiled, sitting at Alex's side and grabbing his shoulder.

"That's putting it a bit lightly." Alex smirked.

"There you are! Now I know you'll get us through anything in front of us. Just have a little faith." Yang told him.

"Heh.. Right.. What about Cade and those other girls?" Alex asked.

"What, worried about Cade getting a girlfriend already?" Yang smirked.

"Please, as far as I'm concerned, Cade's older than me. He can do what he wants, after all, he was properly raised." Alex smiled at Yang.

"Aww. Anyways, that other girl kind of looked like me, right?" Yang asked him.

"Yeah.. Almost like a carbon copy. And that other one who was talking to Neo looks kind of like if Blake and Liss fused." Alex commented.

"Holy crap, you're right!" Yang laughed a little bit.

"I guess we'll ask them all about it later. For now, what should we do?" Alex wondered.

"I might have a few ideas.." Yang smiled, taking off her jacket.

"What're you- oh." Alex realized.

"I just remembered, we haven't had a lot of time alone.. And I think after a night like tonight, we deserve a break." Yang cooed, massaging his spiky, dark blonde hair.

"I need an adult." Alex muttered.

"I am an adult." Yang winked.

*Meanwhile*

Neo, the Faunus girl, and Ultimus were walking by the Ammunation near the helipad when the lights started flickering.

"Damn, the city's lighting system is horrible." Neo muttered.

"Yeah, I wonder what's going on. I don't remember hitting a power line or anything.." The Faunus girl continued.

Ultimus, all the while, had a look of disgust on his face.

"What's up with you?" Neo asked.

"When Adenienites get 'friendly', they can't control their power output. Electrical systems on Adenien usually compensate for this, but considering how low-tech this 'San Andreas' is, they won't have anything like that." Ultimus explained, obviously sickened.

"Ew.." Neo cringed.

"Calm down, keeping in mind how the power fluctuation isn't too severe, I'd guess Saigo has just moved to-" Ultimus added.

"STOP!!" the Faunus girl shouted, covering her ears.

Author's Note

Yeah... Not sure what to put here besides...

I regret nothing.

FYI, I'll be kinda busy, so chapters are going to have to wait a while.

Until next time!

-The Destoyer

Chapter 22: The Morning After
View Online

Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 22: The Morning After

*Conference Room, ALRIGHT Corporation; Los Santos; San Andreas; October 16, 2018; 1:30 PM*

Alex and Yang shuffled uncomfortably amongst their friends (and two enemies, give or take), as several stared accusingly at them.

"Way to go, sparky." Yang sarcastically whispered.

"Hell if I know what happened! I didn't even..!" Alex whisper-yelled back.

"Do you think we should see someone about that..?" Yang wondered.

"Can we stop talking? I'm not sure if anyone can hear us whispering, but-"

"We can, you fool." Ultimus scowled.

"You're really f**kin' bad at whispering." Vanoss added.

"S-Shut the f**k up." Cade groaned uncomfortably.

As for Everyone else, they were fast asleep, including one of the new huntresses.

The auburn-haired one elbowed the other until she woke up screaming in terror.

"DEAR OUM WHY?!" The Faunus screamed.

Alex held his head in his hands, reaching for the cup of E-Cola to wake him up long enough for him to deal with everyone.

"May we move on to more serious matters now?" Celestia asked tiredly.

"Yeah, I'm with you there." Alex nodded.

"Thank Salem, it's over." Neo sighed in relief.

"Okay, so... Cinder's back and Morning Star is still at large.. That's a thing." Kat muttered.

"That's putting it a bit lightly, especially since Cinder's a f**king god, Morning Star probably has more demons she can send at us, and then there's still other inquisitors." Liss noted.

"Something tells me the Gravity Spikes, Apothicon Sword, and the f**king Siegfried Gauntlet isn't enough." Vanoss shook his head.

"'Kay, guess we're getting more shit." Moo shrugged.

"What type of artifacts are you guys even searching for?" Twilight gaped.

"Like Evan said, we've been killing Ricky Tofen and his friends for their shit, including this weird golden testicle thing." Wildcat explained, holding up a golden sphere adorned with ancient symbols and overflowing with souls.

"Wait, how did you find a Summoning Key?!" Luna gasped.

"Ricky Tofen." Delirious added.

"It's GODDAMN RICHTOFEN!!" Lui yelled.

"Who..?" Fluttershy asked.

"Oh, Edward Richtofen.. So it's you guys who've been killing off a whole bunch of them." Liss noticed.

"Is that a crime?" Vanoss asked.

"I'll let it slide." Liss nodded.

"Bitchin'" Delirious smirked under his mask.

"Okay.. So how are we doing this?" Skirmish asked politely.

"I'm heading back to ask Vinyl for an upgrade on my gear. After that, I'll find Canis and ask him if he knows how I can get stronger. The rest of you can do as you please." Alex explained.

"I'm coming with you." Yang insisted.

"Yeah, take your special fun-times far away from civilization, if you'd please." Kat face-palmed.

"Okay, I'll find Uncle Qrow and ask him to help me get ready for whatever happens next!" Ruby noted.

"I'll look for Winter." Weiss added.

"I'll look for people who have connections to the White Fang, maybe they'll know where Morning Star and the other Inquisitors are." Blake decided.

"What about you, asshole?" Vanoss asked Ultimus.

"I'm going back to Adenien. To let my family know that Saigo is alive. Don't watch your back, Emphas trash." Ultimus scowled.

"Before all else. Cade, Yang, and Kat. We need your Elements. It's too risky having the elements away from Equestria." Celestia asked.

All three threw back their elements to the Princesses, who nodded their thanks.

"Wait..! We have something to say..!" The black and white haired Faunus yelled suddenly.

Cade himself looked at the other huntress, the one with brownish-blonde hair, with a sense of familiarity.

"Okay." Alex nodded.

"N-Neo.. This isn't easy to say, but..." The Faunus began shakily.

"She's your daughter from a parallel future, her name's Oreonna!" Pinkie yelled.

"What?! How the hell did you know that?!" The Faunus, Oreonna, gaped.

"I knew too.. You look exactly like my daughter back at home.." Neo commented with a smile.

"Right, but what about Pinkie?" Oreonna asked curiously.

"Take my advice and don't ask how Pinkie functions, we don't talk about the last guy who tried that stunt." Alex rolled his eyes as he took a sip of E-Cola.

"Poor Stephen Hawking.." Twilight shook her head mournfully.

"Okay, and what about you?" Yang asked, pointing to her.

"That's Auburn, my older sister.." Cade explained.

Alex spit out his drink and gagged.

"Why the f**k didn't you tell me you had a sister?!" Alex coughed.

"I thought you knew already!" Cade defended.

"No!" Alex yelled back.

Vanoss and his friends threw their heads back in laughter.

"Yang, you might want to check yourself out!" Vanoss hollered.

"We didn't go that far, you f**k!!!" Alex and Yang both yelled.

"Okay, Jesus! Relax!" Vanoss defended.

"This is quite a lot to take in at once.." Alex took another sip.

"Besides, Alex isn't my biological father." Auburn said in a monotone voice.

Alex spat out his drink again.

"YANG WHAT THE SHIT?!" Alex yelled.

"Calm down! It wasn't mom's fault!" Cade defended.

"This is the very definition of 'dysfunctional'." Ultimus noted.

"It's kinda like a train wreck." Nogla said as the Walker/ Xiao Long family continued to bicker back and forth.

Long story short, Vanoss and his friends were to collect more weapons and artifacts, Ruby, Weiss, and Blake were to train and/or find help, Twilight and the other Elements would find new bearers for the Elements of Harmony. Finally, Alex and his family, were to get some more gear and train.

Oreonna insisted on going with Auburn and Cade since they were all friends in their dimension.

"Please, mom! We work way better as a team!" Oreonna had begged.

After an eternity of more argument, Neo let her go with begrudgingly.

And with that, the five headed off to the nearest Public Dimensional Gateway with Twilight, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and the Princesses to Equestria.

*Ponyville, Equestria; October 16, 2018; 5:15 PM*

Alex, Yang, Cade, and Auburn were walking up to the front door of Vinyl's house, having recently arrived with the Elements in Ponyville.

Alex insisted on moving quick, but TSA agents at LS International was a royal pain, keeping in mind they were still armed. Alex and Yang in particular had it bad since their limbs were mechanical.

"So, who is this again?" Cade asked.

"This is Vinyl, she's a friend of mine to say the least." Alex replied.

"Don't you remember Aunt V?" Auburn asked Cade.

"Shut up, Auburn." Cade rolled his eyes.

Alex knocked on the door three times and turned back to face Yang.

"Alex..?" Yang asked.

"Listen, I kinda need you to do something for me, okay?" Alex asked.

"Sure.." Yang nervously answered.

"I need you to read this cover-to-cover. I don't care when, just read it." Alex ordered, handing her the 'Predictions and Prophecies book.

"Got ya! I'll have this done by tomorrow!" Yang nodded.

Vinyl carefully opened the door, carefully eyeing the five huntsmen and huntresses over carefully.

"Holy buck, Alex?" Vinyl smiled.

"Hi, Vinyl. Can we come in?" Alex asked.

Vinyl snickered to herself.

"What's so funny?!" Alex indignantly asked.

"Daamn, boy! Puberty hit you like a bass drop! You sound almost like a raspy, badass Mr. Cake!" Vinyl noted.

"God dammit." Alex groaned.

"Wait, she's right!" Oreonna laughed.

"All of you shut up." Alex scowled.

"Aw, c'mon, Alex! We were just playin' with you! We'll kiss and make up later!" Yang slugged him in the arm.

"If this ends up like last time, I'm abstaining." Alex furrowed his eyebrows.

"So, who are you three?" Vinyl asked.

"Vinyl, This is Cade and Auburn, my... Our.. Children from the future." Alex shook his head.

"Oh, really? Cool." Vinyl shrugged.

"Wait, what?" Alex gaped.

"Yeah, Pinkie told me about how Alpha time-travelled to kill you, so I assumed other people can do it too." Vinyl explained.

"Oh, that makes sense." Yang noted.

"And this is Auburn and Cade's friend, Oreonna." Alex nodded to the Faunus.

"What is good in the 'hood?" Oreonna smiled.

"Okay, so I'm guessing you're not here just to talk.." Vinyl smirked.

"Of course. We need some upgrades to our gear." Alex stated.

Vinyl led the four of them down to her and Skirmish's shared basement, the ex-Scratchbolt home base.

And, dear god, it was beautiful.

Back-lit machine guns hung on walls, several prototypes for new Bass Cannons were piled at a corner, and another wall was lined with Iron Man-like weapons and gear. But on a small, alabaster pedestal was a ball of condensed purple energy contained in a metal cylinder.

"So, should I start writing down your wish-list now?" Vinyl asked.

Author's Note

I chose the worst possible name for this chapter. :rainbowlaugh:

Anyways, sorry about the wait! I just got done with this chapter yesterday, and I'm getting started on the next Arc.

To be honest, I wasn't sure about who I really want to be the main antagonist for the next Arc, deciding between about 4 villains planned.

Take care and happy reading!

-The Destoyer

Chapter 23: In The Meantime...
View Online

Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 23: In The Meantime...

*Ponyville, Equestria; October 16, 2018; 5:18 PM*

Alex and the others looked impressed at the weaponry Vinyl had created.

"Damn, some of this shit seems pretty cool." Cade said, grabbing a gauntlet that reached to his elbow. The gauntlet sparked and hummed with untold amounts of energy.

Yang herself grabbed a small canister about the size of a shotgun shell.

"What does this do?" Yang wondered aloud.

"That's what I call a 'Scratch-Shot'. The battery in place of the primer is good for about 100 shots or so. I asked the SDC a little while back if I could integrate this with Dust, and I paid a ton of Bits for the shipment I got!" Vinyl explained.

"Holy crap, what's this shit run on?" Cade asked.

"I made a deal back in 2017 for this stuff called 'Hoofstentium'. Almost unlimited power in such a small battery, but it isn't cheap." Vinyl said.

"Do you think you can integrate these with Ember Celica?" Yang asked, absolutely exited about the idea.

"Sure, but I can't give it to you for free, you know how it is, right?" Vinyl winced.

"How much?" Alex asked.

"About... 1,200 Bits." Vinyl told him.

"Twelve hundred?! I may be a hired gun, but that price is kinda steep for a gauntlet!" Alex gasped.

"Tell ya what, because we're friends, I'll drop the price. 850?" Vinyl suggested.

"Okay, that I can handle. How about upgrading our limbs?" Alex asked.

Vinyl inspected Alex and Yang's prosthetic arms and legs, wincing audibly at the damage done in recent battles, she nodded.

"1150 bits." Vinyl said.

"Deal." Alex shook Vinyl's hoof.

"Okay, so I know it must be a pain lugging those things around, how about I make you something else?" Vinyl asked him, pointing to Alex's lever-guns.

"Like what? It's not like there's a lot to Dual Wield!" Alex insisted.

"How about I model your new weapons off of, hmmm.. Maybe this?" Vinyl levitated an HK MP7 over to Alex, who inspected the weapon.

"Not bad, got anywhere to test-fire?" Alex asked, pointing the gun towards the ceiling.

Vinyl walked over to the uncovered wall and pressed a button, revealing a 50 yard range with several targets already set.

"Let's see what you got." Vinyl commented, tossing him a magazine of Scratch-shot rounds.

Alex loaded the weapon, and fired a burst at the five targets in a matter of seconds, most of which hit around the center in close groups.

"I'll take it. Make sure you can turn it into a sword." Alex told Vinyl.

"Alright... 1990 Bits." Vinyl said.

"This is definitely making a dent in the ol' pocketbook." Alex muttered.

Cade walked up to Vinyl, curious as to what he could get.

"Alright, since you are Alex's colt, I'll find you something cool. See anything you like?" She asked.

"How about that .454 on the wall?" Cade pointed to a Desert-Eagle style pistol with an extended barrel, which Vinyl levitated to him.

"The Dante .454. The barrel's longer to counteract the recoil or something, I'm not an expert." Vinyl shrugged as she tossed him a mag.

Cade sighted in his targets, concentrating deeply, before shooting the five targets.

The targets exploded, sending shreds of paper and splinters flying around the room.

Cade raised the weapon to the ceiling, smirking.

"Nice. I'll take it if this thing can turn into a short sword. I'll keep the sickle as it is." Cade nodded.

"Smart move. 1600" Vinyl said.

"Why does he have that thing again?" Oreonna asked Auburn.

"He uses it to block an opponent's sword, then he opens them up to a counter-attack. Ingenious, if you ask me." Auburn explained.

"What about you two? I noticed they're badass instruments, but mind if I take a look at one of yours just to see what it's made of?" Vinyl asked.

Auburn held out her guitar/axe, which Vinyl levitated to a table under a scanner.

"Abadeer's Flame. Analysis, Dust-Powered core and Dust laced strings. Upgrades: Hoofstentium-Dust core results in 50% power increase. Remnantian Steel blade replacement with Tenacia results in 45% durability increase and 35% sharpness increase." The Scanner chirped.

Auburn, who usually had her trademark uninterested stare, actually smiled a little bit.

"You know your weaponry, Ms. Scratch. I'll admit that much." Auburn said.

"Much appreciated, and I bet I can do something similar for your weapon, Oreonna." Vinyl added.

"Symphonic Discord V2?!" She gasped excitedly.

"If you want it, Alex'll pay for it, but they're each about 1500 bits." Vinyl nodded.

"Just make sure to tell your mother I'm buying you all this cool shit, I'd feel a lot safer without her breathing down my neck with her f**king Mary Poppins sword." Alex commented.

"Okay, Mr. Walker!" Oreonna agreed cheerfully.

"How are you guys doing on armor?" Vinyl asked.

"What's your latest model?" Alex asked her.

"Right here. The Avalon Mk. VIII, equipped with Tempered Tenacia armor, enhanced Bass Cannon exo-leap comes standard with this thing, and it's all powered by the Dust-Hoofstentium V-Core 9.0. Highest power output I could get out of this thing." Vinyl promoted.

"The HUD?" Alex asked.

"I took a page out of the Aura Scanner's book, along with extra-dimensional devices like them and lined the helmet with a visor with some combined capabilities. This thing can get a read on whatever you're dealing with even if they're purposely trying to hide anything." Vinyl explained.

"On-Board weapons systems?" Alex wondered.

"Since you're an Adenienite, the V-Core can act as a power boost when you need it, and it'll automatically enhance your electrical output in battle. If that's not enough, the Bass Cannon Exo-Jump can deliver a pretty strong kick." Vinyl elaborated.

"How much?" Alex inquired.

"For you, 2000 bits." Vinyl coughed.

"I'll take that as well." Alex nodded.

"I'll take one too at that price." Cade added.

"Sounds badass enough for me, I'll take one too!" Yang grinned.

"I'll just take the Exo-Jump. I won't need armor that much. Besides, I'd rather not have that kind of burden on my step-father's shoulders." Auburn said.

"Same here. Also, why would you need armor when you can just as easily dodge?" Oreonna asked.

"Alright, what's the total so far?" Alex groaned.

"For three new weapons, two upgrades, and three models of my best armor, plus six limbs... 14,590 Bits. You just paid my rent for about 3 months." Vinyl said.

"I have 15,000. Do taxes have to be a factor?" Alex moaned.

"No. This is just a personal business." Vinyl grinned.

"Deal." Alex shook Vinyl's hoof.

"Alright. You're not doing anything, are you?" Vinyl asked.

"Well, we were going to Adenien for training, but.." Alex muttered.

"Say no more, just stay at the Ponyville Hotel, It'll take about 6 days for me to get everyone's stuff done." Vinyl clarified.

"Alright... Since I paid for all of our shit, who's buying 2 hotel rooms for 6 days?" Alex groaned.

"I dunno, 410 Bits can go a long way around here. A room there is, like, 67 Bits a night." Vinyl said.

"So that's Yang and I taken care of, what about you three?" Alex asked Cade, Auburn, and Oreonna.

"Do you think Fluttershy will have room for all of us?" Cade wondered.

"Twilight might have some spare rooms." Yang suggested.

"I don't wanna just stay at someone's castle for nothing..!" Oreonna decided.

"Then maybe you could do some chores for Twilight while she does Royal duties and shit. Spike seems like he has his hands full." Vinyl figured.

"A castle stay sounds nice." Auburn agreed.

"Alright, meet me back here in 6 days. I'll have your stuff ready by then!" Vinyl promised.

"On an unrelated note, how often does Equestria use electricity?" Alex asked.

"Tourists prefer a rustic feel for their hotels, so not there. Why?" Vinyl wondered.

"Never ask that question, please..." Cade shuddered.

Oreonna, wanting to pay Alex back for mentally scarring her, leaned in to Vinyl's ear and whispered her explanation.

Vinyl grinned and let out a stifled laugh.

"FUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!"

*Griffin Castle; Werfen, Austria; October 31, 1945; 9:45 PM*

Der Eisendrache: A Group 935 facility centered in an Austrian castle, with views of the wintry Austrian forests littered with rockets nearly ready for launch. This is where Edward Richtofen would make his next move in his plan to kill the original cast. This was where Tank Dempsey would perish by his own hand...

That is, until they showed up.

Richtofen stumbled and fell onto the ground, clutching his knee.

"W-Wait..! Do you have any idea what you are doing?! You're dooming this universe for your own twisted goals!!" He yelled.

Wildcat stood over him with a blood-stained katana.

"Oink Oink, motherf**ker." Wildcat smirked as he stabbed him with the Katana.

Thinking quickly, Vanoss absorbed Richtofen's soul in the Summoning Key before looking at Delirious.

"So, what's the plan?" Delirious asked.

"You, Wildcat, Nogla, and I are group one. Mini, Lui, Basically, and Terroriser are group two. And Droidd and Moo Snuckel are with group 3, as for who else is with them, we'll ask around.

"We have bigger problems, Evan!!!" Nogla yelled, crashing onto the Landing Pad with numerous zombies right behind them.

"Shit! Did you get any of the targets for your Fire Bow?!" Wildcat asked.

"I can't hit shit!! I'M DOWN!!!" Nogla screamed as the zombies crowded him.

"God dammit. I'll handle Nogla. You and Delirious get your bows!" Vanoss ordered as the two ran away.

"You think we'll be ready for when Cinder f**ks us up?" Wildcat asked Delirious.

"We have badass weapons just like her's, so we might be good!" Delirious replied.

Vanoss quickly revived Nogla and ran towards the castle walls and up the stairwell leading to a Wundersphere.

"Evan, what's the plan after this?!" Nogla asked.

"We're definitely going to Gorod after this, then we'll explore some of the Black Ops I and II maps and try to get those wonder weapons from the box. For me, at least, I'm thinking Origins staffs, and maybe the Scavenger from Call of the Dead." Vanoss explained.

"How f**kin' long is that gonna take?!" Nogla asked.

"Based on how long it's taking us to get the bows, probably looking at... 6 months for everybody?" Vanoss figured.

"DESTOYER'S DOING A F**KING TIMESKIP?!"

*Location Unknown, Remnant; October 18, 2018; 8:45 PM*

Blake slowly walked into the stylized hut in the deserts of Vacuo, and had travelled for two days to find this place.

"I figured you would show up.." A feminine voice noticed.

"Yes.. I heard you might have something for me." Blake answered meekly.

Raven Branwen walked out, carrying a slightly rusted, still bloodstained Wilt and Blush, weapons that had once belonged to her long deceased partner, Adam.

"These are the weapons recovered by the Adenien Ryder Corps. I had long since saved these for you, Blake." Raven commented.

"Also, can I ask something of you?" Blake asked.

Raven nodded slightly, turning back to face the huntress.

"You're familiar with Adam's fighting style?" Blake asked.

Raven smirked.

"Adam was not only affiliated with the White Fang, but for some time, he was my student. A prodigy in the combat style I trained him in. Qrow went as far as to say he was my perfect student, on account of my own alliance with the White Fang." Raven explained.

"You were with the White Fang? Why did you leave then? Why did you let the White Fang be influenced by the Inquisitors?" Blake asked.

"I have a plan for this world, Ms. Belladonna, one that will benefit all mankind and Faunus alike. A plan that required the White Fang. One that required the Inquisitors. That required.."

"Alex..?" Blake asked.

Raven appeared slightly disappointed at the mention of his name.

"As annoying and unpredictable as he can be. My plan called for specifically him. As much as the little bastard annoys me, he does serve his purpose. As he is right now." Raven smiled knowingly.

"And what is his purpose..?" Blake asked.

"In his point of view, the Inquisitors are his mortal enemy. After all, they did kill his parents, some of his friends, and destroyed his chance of a full mental recovery.

"With Cinder, this is especially true, she has taken the most from him besides Agent Winchester. Meaning he will go through any means necessary to kill her with his bare hands.

That, Blake, is his purpose. He is a hunter born and made to destroy groups like this. To relentlessly root out every last member and either convert them to our cause, my cause, or kill them. And once he's done.." Raven explained.

"You're letting him go..?" Blake asked.

Raven laughed a little bit.

"Oh, my naive little huntress, that's for me to know and for you to not discover."

Author's Note

Just to let you guys know, the chapter after the next one, there will be a time skip.

It's going to be about 6 months and will deal with how prepared they are for the next threat, and what the next threat will be.

And also, while I think Raven served as the perfect mentor-figure for Alex in the last story, she seems a little more enigmatic to me, don't you agree?

-The Destoyer

Chapter 24: Time for an Upgrade
View Online

Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 24: Time for an Upgrade

*Vinyl's House, Ponyville, Equestria; October 22, 2018; 3:45 PM*

Everyone had come to Vinyl's place to get their gear before moving on, and everyone was talking about what had happened in the past 6 days.

"Y'know, I thought we'd have to actually work at Twilight's, but she does most of it herself or with Spike." Cade noted.

"Yeah, Laundry wasn't much of an issue. Ponies don't wear clothes all that much!" Oreonna smiled.

"I don't think Twilight appreciate your trick, though." Auburn said.

"Aw, c'mon! She just didn't understand it!" Oreonna defended.

"I'm sure there was plenty to understand, especially with the bucket of yellow paint!" Cade yelled.

"You're just mad because you had to clean it!" Oreonna huffed.

"And get the paint out of Twilight's mane and coat! And had to deal with Rarity's f**king ghost!" Cade screamed.

*Flashback*

"Don't worry, this'll be out in no time.." Cade promised Twilight.

"Do it nooooow! Purple and yellow don't miiiiix!" Rarity's ghost moaned.

Cade seethed, combing flakes of yellow paint out of Twilight's coat.

"Caaade! That red cloak with your jacket doesn't look good on yooou!!"

Cade growled, combing the knots out harder.

"Ow! Be careful!" Twilight winced.

"Tell your sister that yellow and blue claaaash!"

"GOD DAMMIT RARITY!!!!!!" Cade screamed.

*Revert*

"Well, Ruby's cloak does look a bit tacky on you." Yang noted.

Cade growled again.

"So, what happened to you two?" Oreonna asked Alex and Yang.

"How do I put this..? This week was a f**king pain." Alex scowled.

"Really? Name one bad thing that happened." Cade demanded.

"Well, as soon as we got to the hotel, we 'took a break'..." Yang began.

"Oh, so that's the one you decided to go with." Alex scowled.

"F**king stop, mom." Cade seethed.

"And then, well.." Yang continued.

*Flashback*

Alex and Yang rolled around, kissing and whatnot, when suddenly Alex felt odd.

"Um... Alex..?" Yang wondered as Alex started glowing blue.

"What?" Alex asked as he converted into his Enlightened form by accident.

"Okay... I can make this work..!" Yang grinned devilishly as she went Enlightened as well.

"Wait.. When did I..?" Alex asked as Yang strolled up to him.

"I guess since we have an older daughter with Cade, we can start..." Yang smirked, leaning in to kiss him.

A bolt of electricity met their lips, shocking them both.

"Dammit!"

"Ow!"

The reactive bolt shot out the slightly ajar window, and shocked Derpy by accident.

The Pegasus pony lost control before eventually colliding into town hall, causing the main tower to topple and crash, sending splinters of wood everywhere.

Alex and Yang powered down quickly, beholding the carnage.

"Let's never speak of this again." Alex concluded.

"I'm telling Cade and the others!" Yang announced.

"F**k." Alex scowled.

*Revert*

Oreonna was rolling around on the floor, laughing hysterically.

"That's the best thing I've ever heard!" Oreonna giggled uncontrollably.

"Hey." Alex scowled.

Oreonna looked up at Alex, cat ears perked.

"F**k you." Alex growled in a low voice.

"What else was I going to tell you..?" Yang pondered.

"Yang's kinda..." Alex stammered.

"Oh, god." Cade recoiled in disgust.

"Ha! Jokes on you, old man!" Oreonna smirked.

"DAMMIT OREONNA I'M NOT EVEN THE FATHER!!" Alex yelled.

"Told you so." Auburn stared.

"Really..? So what happened..?" Cade asked.

"Goddamn Cardin Winchester." Alex seethed.

"Oh, no." Cade sighed.

"I'll tell this one, Yang." Alex shook his head.

Beacon Academy; Vale, Remnant; October 20, 2018; 1:35 AM*

Cardin snuck out of the party with a scared look on his face.

"Oh f**k oh f**k please don't see me Alex..." Cardin whispered to himself as he ran for the cliffs.

"Cardin Winchester." Alex growled angrily.

Cardin sweatdropped as Alex blocked his way out.

"A-Alex..! I didn't mean what happened..! I can expla-" Cardin stammered.

"Explain what?" Alex scowled.

"Please don't kill me.." Cardin pleaded as Alex circled him.

"Kill you..? Okay, you're kind of an asshole, but I wouldn't... Oh, my god." Alex realized in horror and disgust.

It all added up.

The unexpected future daughter.

The fact that Alex himself wasn't her father.

The deathly horrified expression Cardin had.

"You motherf**ker." Alex scowled, red electricity buzzing loudly.

"W-Wait..! We can talk about this..!" Cardin prepared to run.

"Ohoho, don't start running just yet! I have to deal with you first! You remember Tyrian right? How he killed 3 kids? Yeah, that was me, and I did that just because they were in league with Cinder Fall. So imagine what I'll do to you for this!" Alex walked up to him, rage blinding his vision.

"Uh, oh.." Cardin stared in fear.

Alex turned Enlightened in the fraction of a second as he walked up to Cardin, and immediately went Evolved as he grabbed Cardin by the collar.

"You think you can get away with this..? What'll a criminal like you do after this?!" Cardin asked in terror.

"Call me a criminal after what you did?! I'm a dumbass, but doing what you did... I've killed for much less." Alex grinned as he electrocuted Cardin as he choked him, killing the "huntsman" instantly.

Alex threw his corpse off the side of the cliff with a self-satisfied grin.

"And stay... Drown.. I really need work in my puns.." Alex powered down and set out to get Yang out of the party.

*Revert*

"Cardin ran away like a bitch." Yang explained.

"Haha. Ran away. Right.." Alex smirked.

"I don't believe that-" Oreonna said.

"Don't worry, kid. It's fine," Alex leaned in and whispered to her.

"I know you know what happened. We take this to our graves." Alex whispered as Vinyl came upstairs levitating a few crates.

"Alright, here's all of your stuff! Try not to break it all, okay?" Vinyl asked.

"Gotcha." Alex nodded.

"So, what's the plan now?" Oreonna asked.

"We're gonna spar." Alex smirked.

"Don't break it now! I spent-!" Vinyl yelled as everyone ran out with the crates

*Outside Ponyville, Equestria; October 22, 2018; 4:00 PM*

"Ready, Yang?" Alex asked.

"Not yet!" Yang yelled back, strapping on her new limbs, a brushed golden color.

Alex's own arms and legs have been given an overhaul, looking like something out of a Michael Bay movie, and having a dark steel finish adorned with his symbol on the right arm.

Alex heaved as he put on the Avalon VIII chest piece, which reminded him somewhat of War Machine's suit minus the minigun, and weighed surprisingly little despite the technology and hardware.

"Helmets or not?" Alex asked.

"Okay!" Yang nodded, strapping on her own helmet.

The helmets Vinyl had designed were individualized dramatically. Yang's in particular reminded Alex of her motorcycle helmet, with the purple visor wrapped over her eyes.

Alex's helmet was more of a military style helmet, complete with a face guard and enhanced targeting systems elaid within the visor.

"Yang!" Alex yelled.

"Yeah?" Yang wondered.

"Your power level is about 2800 right now! You're at Aura Level 28!" Alex screamed.

"Yours is... Wow.. 2750..! Aura Level 27 isn't bad!" Yang replied.

"Huh. So Alex is slightly weaker.." Cade noted.

"Oh, that makes sense. he has less power but a shorter fuse." Oreonna said with a smug grin.

"F**k you!" Alex yelled.

Yang grabbed a belt of Scratch-Shots and loaded them into her new arm. Grabbing another, she loaded it into her one gauntlet; 'Ember Scratch'.

Alex unsheathed his new sword, 'Thunderbolt', and split it apart into the two SMGs vinyl had picked out for him, appropriately named 'Thunder and Lightning'.

"Ready now?" Alex asked.

"Hell yeah!" Yang grinned, cocking both her Arm and Ember Scratch.

"Here I go!" Alex roared, leaping at Yang.

The two charged, firing their weapons and colliding at impossible speed, but Alex was careful not to hit her in the chest, as little Auburn might get hurt or worse.

Alex swept into the grass, leaping up as soon as Yang leapt in and kicked her in the arm hard enough for the Exo jump to kick in and blow her away.

Yang fired her weapons backwards, sending her back into their fight, with Alex fully aware and firing.

Several shots hit the huntress, but each one only strengthened her as she went in for the kill, punching Alex in the chest.

Alex skidded backwards, shooting Yang whenever he had the chance, and jumped high up to avoid Yang's next attack before letting himself fall, kicking Yang in the leg as he went down.

Yang reared her right hand back as Alex opened fire, only for her fist to meet him quicker than the bullets ever could.

Alex checked Yang's power level again. 2850. It had raised a little bit.

"D-Damn.. Your Semblance is still keeping up.." Alex coughed.

"Yeah! I don't see you using yours!" Yang suggested.

Alex understood her loud and clear.

Slamming Thunder and Lightning together to form Thunderbolt, he charged up at least a little bit before leaping at Yang.

Yang ducked and weaved to avoid Alex's strikes, well placed as they ever were. Still, Alex managed to keep up and eventually nicked Yang in the side.

With a self-righteous smirk, Alex fired an electrical pulse at Yang, blowing her and a bunch of grass back with her.

"D-Damn, kid.. You're getting better." Yang smiled.

"Want to take it up a notch?" Alex asked.

"You know it!" Yang cracked her knuckles.

Both went into their Enlightened forms quickly, staring down one another.

"Let's see just what you've got... 8550. Aura Level 85." Alex noted.

"8250. I'm still ahead." Yang smirked confidently.

"Yeah, but y'know what they say... Strength isn't everything." Alex grinned as he charged at Yang.

Yang flew upwards and down, using the boost to punch Alex, but found herself punching thin air.

Alex, on the other hand, was underneath, and kicking her straight up.

Yang stopped herself at 10 feet, and by that point, Alex was already there.

Each slash made her a bit stronger, but nonetheless wore away at her Semblance.

Yang eventually retaliated, punching thin air as Alex dodged and hacked upwards.

Yang staggered back as a clump of golden hair drifted to the ground.

Alex could only stare in horror.

"Ah, f**k." Alex gaped.

Yang screamed, automatically ascending to the Inflamed Warrior and glaring at him.

"A-Aura Level 330?!" Alex screamed. Her power had increased to exactly 33,000.

"I'LL GET YOU FOR THAT!!!" Yang screamed, gunning at top speed and punching Alex in the crotch.

Alex powered down immediately, being blown across the clearing and back into The Everfree Forest, clear past Ponyville.

Vinyl, Oreonna, and Cade stared wide-eyed back at Yang, who appeared scared that she might've killed Alex.

Auburn stared blank at Yang, and back towards the Everfree forest.

Alex eventually shambled back, barely able to stand.

"She p-punched me in the dick... Why...? Why did she punch me in the dick..?" His legs shook and bent inwards.

"Oh Oum, Alex! Are you okay?" Yang asked as Alex ascended to Evolved Warrior and back-handed Yang into the mountain holding up Canterlot.

"That.... Was for... M'dick..." Alex coughed.

"Please tell me you're okay!" Cade yelled,

"I'm fine! Good hit, 'Lex!" Yang called back.

*Senate Building, Washington DC, North American Federation; October 22, 2018; 4:05 PM*

"Senator Anderson. I heard about what happened in Atlas. You saved my skin back there." Chancellor Hunter Smith thanked her.

"No problem, Chancellor.. I better get back to work.." Kat nodded.

"Actually, I was hoping to see you first." A familiar voice called.

Chairman Mako Cerise stepped inside the room, looking at Kat with pride and familiarity.

"C-Chairman Cerise.." Kat gasped.

"At ease, Senator. I just wanted to talk to you about something. The Chancellor has already been cleared, but I still need a private space." Mako explained.

"Okay.. I make sure to keep my office bug-free, so come in." Kat nodded as the three stepped inside.

Mako locked the door and sat in the chair next to the Chancellor, and hardened her gaze.

"Kat, as you know, the more dimensions we run into, the more difficult it is to defend against these attacks. I've been discussing with Equestrian, Remnantian, and Adenienite officials about what to do with several... Anomalies.." Mako began.

"The CIA held all of it's secrets in Area 51, but as you know, it was destroyed. Hundreds of artifacts a day are being uncovered both in the ruins of Area 51, as well as the debris from Kalos Prime in Atlas. Hundreds of these monstrosities are being contained and brought back to base, but alone, we can't contain them all." Chancellor Smith explained.

"So, I recently cleared a new department for containing creatures like this if possible, a department with agents from all 4 dimensions, working together to keep our worlds safe from incidents such as the recent attack in Los Santos. This department is called the SCP Foundation, and I want you to be it's Director." Mako explained.

Author's Note

Just a couple of world-building things I wanted to make clear.

1: Aura Readers are pretty much Dragonball as scouters, meant to measure how powerful someone is, but they aren't within the same standard. For example, the average human is roughly 1300, at Aura Level 13. This goes for Ponies as well. To find someone's Aura Level, measure in how many hundreds there are in that level.

2: Adding in the SCP Foundation might seem like a shoe-horn, but think about it. Given everything that's happened in the past two stories, with apocalyptic events close to fruition and insane monsters running rampant, not having something like it in place to keep everything in check would be a massive blunder, especially to the governments and police forces.

Also, this is leading into the 'Integral Role' Kat has in the story. From being a runaway similar to Alex to becoming a senator sounds really pathetic and I'm sure many would rather see her in an important spot rather than being on the sidelines as Alex does what he normally does.

CANON CHANGING EDIT:
I've decided to change the circumstances of... certain aspects of the story.. Ethical reasons and such. The Destoyer does not condone... Yeah, you get the idea..

Chapter 26: Back on your Feet! (Slightly Edited)
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 26: Back on your Feet! (Slightly Edited)

*Sokarian Plains, Adenien; May 26, 2019; 3:15 PM*

Alex and Yang skidded to a halt, weapons bared as both collapsed, Alex clutching his side.

"Good hit! You'll be ready for anything Star and that other lackey of Alpha's has planned, Yang! Alex as well!" Master Karos, the armored, near-elderly man smiled.

"Heh... Thanks.." Alex walked away, sitting next to Yang at the chairs in the side.

"Now, I've always been curious as to how strong the kids might turn out to be! I'll have you all fight at once!" Karos shrugged merrily.

Oreonna handed Yang the newborn Auburn as Cade, herself, and Future Auburn walked up to the three corners of the large arena-like structure and took their weapons out.

Cade wearily pointed his modified .454, Conductor, between Auburn and Oreonna. He heard Vanoss' report, they both managed to take out Cinder with only a few minor injuries, whereas even in his Enlightened form he couldn't stop her!

"Begin!" Karos yelled as all three leaped at one another.

Auburn quickly strummed the strings of her guitar, blowing both Oreonna and Cade away from her. Auburn sprinted towards Cade, brandishing her axe as Cade tried to duck and evade his sister's attacks.

Oreonna swept in from the side, playing a chord from Symphonic Discord V2, the sound waves enough to send Auburn skidding to the side. Leaving just her and Cade.

Cade jumped into the air to avoid Oreonna's next chord, slamming his boot mere inches off as Oreonna quickly moved onto bladework. Thinking fast, Cade brought up his sickle to block Oreonna's sword, pointing Conductor's barrel right at her.

Auburn swung the axe strings-first just before Cade could finish her, blowing him into the wall as the two girls attacked eachother, leaving him to pull himself from the wall.

"It looks like Auburn and Oreonna trained more with their weapons than Cade. The girls know their limitations well enough to take on even their Cinder." Alex noticed.

"I will say this about your son, Alexander. His learning style almost mirrors yours. Once he fights more, he'll be more than a match for them even without powering up." Karos smirked.

Cade leaped from the wall, shooting both repeatedly before sticking the landing, gripping Oreonna's sword with his hand.

Auburn noticed immediately and swung for his neck, only for Cade to pull Oreonna away from the blade and kick her directly into his sister.

Cade raised his hand, firing a pulse of lavender-colored electricity towards the two, only for their strings to completely absorb any of his lightning.

"What?!" Alex gaped.

"Ah, yes. Their weapons have iron-coated strings, along with Ms. Scratch's home-brewed power core. It'll absorb almost any amount of electricity and use it for an added power boost! Mighty ingenious if you ask me!" Karos smirked.

Cade stared on in horror as the two girls surrounded him, brandishing their weapons and generating innumerable amounts of noise.

Cade, by the end of the beat down, was lying on the ground with his eyes closed.

"He's tough, but I guess he isn't tough enough yet.." Auburn noticed.

"Do you think we'll have to go a bit easier on him?" Oreonna asked.

Cade's eyes shot wide open.

"I DON'T THINK SO!!" Cade roared.

The two backed away as Cade suddenly went Enlightened and glared directly at them.

The two girls moved to his sides, hacking away at Cade, with Cade managing to finally fight back.

Cade kicked Oreonna right in the arm, causing her to drop Symphonic Discord. Cade picked up the weapon, and forcing all of his power into the sword, played a single chord that blasted both girls away, Cade threw Symphonic Discord aside and leaped right at Oreonna, who swung right for his side. Cade blocked her attack with his sickle, and fired a charged shot right at her, blowing her through the wall and into where Alex, Yang, Present Auburn, and Karos were watching.

"Oreonna, you okay?" Yang asked.

"I'll... I'll be fine... Give Auburn a minute.." Oreonna smirked weakly.

Auburn charged directly at Cade as her hair suddenly stood on end. the second their weapons clashed, she had suddenly gained a bright orange aura. She reared the axe back, swinging it right into Cade's armored chest, and blew him through the two walls, and several feet into the concrete lining their underground training room.

Auburn eventually lost the orange-colored Aura as she placed the axe across her back again, running up to check on Oreonna.

"You okay?" Auburn asked with a mere indication of concern.

"I'm fine... Cade on the other hand..." Oreonna coughed as Alex and Yang pulled Cade out of the wall.

"Y-You're still an absolute monster.." Cade coughed encouragingly at his sister before doubling over in pain, "J-Just like when we were kids.."

Auburn stared at him with a look of sincerity, nodding back to him.

"You've improved." Auburn nodded.

"So... Cade is stronger than Oreonna, but not as strong as Auburn.." Alex tried to figure out the pecking order in his head.

"I got their Aura Levels right here! Oreonna's at Level 26, Cade's at 27 exactly, and Auburn is about 28." Yang exclaimed.

"Well, what's my Aura Level now? I haven't checked since our last battle." Alex asked.

Yang grabbed the Reader, pointing it right at him and reading his out loud.

"You're at Aura Level 28. 2850, to be exact.." Yang quickly pointed the reader at herself, "... And I'm at Aura Level 29, almost 30." Yang answered.

"Now, a few words of advice before you continue, Alex.." Karos stood up to shake Alex's hand.

"Yes?" Alex wondered.

"I wouldn't recommend using your Overcharge alongside your Enlightened Berserker. That combination can prove deadly because it puts what little of your body you have left under a lot of stress." Karos began sternly.

"I understand." Alex nodded.

"Also, the nearest Dimensional Gateway is 123 kilometers to the west. Though I will warn you, that is where the Crux family marks their home. Do not do anywhere near it. Hell, just go north 200 kilometers, and then move west before heading south." Karos noted.

"Wait... Do you know where we can find a Class IV Freighter..?" Alex asked.

"110 Kilometers east in Ochiros. It's a Ryder Surplus shop. I recall you're familiar with the area." Karos nodded.

"Okay, thanks for everything, Master Karos." Alex nodded respectfully.

"Anytime!" Karos replied as the five walked out the door.

"Okay, here's the plan.. Since Cade here left the old freighter with Vanoss of all people, we're going into Ochiros and getting another one. We'll pool our resources and try to get what we can and fly right over Ultimus' little shithole and get where we need to go." Alex explained.

"Did you guys gas up the car?" Yang asked.

"Yeah.. Just yesterday." Auburn replied.

"Well, what're we waiting for, let's pack up and move." Alex ordered as everyone stepped out.

*Gorod Krovi; Stalingrad, USSR; May 22, 1944; 4:15 PM*

"OH DEAR GOD SCOTT!! COVER ME!!" Moo shrieked as he was inevitably surrounded by zombies and downed within seconds.

"I got him!" Ohmwrecker yelled, firing a Pack-A-Punched Death Machine into the massive horde of undead in their midst.

"Hey, where are the others again?" Droidd yelled to Ohm as him and FourZer0 ran and helped him up.

"Vanoss and his group are at Revelations doing f**k-all while Terroriser and his group are screwing around in Buried." Ohm answered.

Vanoss had called in a favor to Mako asking her to send Ohmwrecker and FourZer0 over to help them with their Easter eggs in exchange for Wonder Weapons that her group could use to help them later.

"THREAT DETECTED." An echoing mass of zombies, along with two Manglers roared as they surrounded all of them.

"Oh f**k me!!" Moo yelled as he was downed again, along with everyone but Ohm fell to the ground.

"You got this!" Droids added in encouragement to Ohm as he helplessly gunned down most of the zombies before being shoved onto the ground by a Mangler's shockwave cannon.

The particular Mangler staggered up to him, raised his sickle-arm, and glared down at him.

"FASCISTS MUST DIE!" The Mangler yelled as his arm cannon was completely blown off.

Ohm turned around to find a young huntress wearing a dark robe along with a signature red cloak, hands and face splattered in what seemed to be blood as she pulled back the bolt on her weapon, a large, Pack-A-Punched Scythe with a sniper barrel.

Quickly, The huntress swept in, bisecting the zombies in groups as she got to work reviving everyone.

"Ruby?!" Moo gasped, using his pack-a-punched M1927 Thompson to shoot the last zombie, ending the round.

"I'm glad to see you, Brock! Who are these guys?" Ruby greeted, turning towards Ohm and FourZer0.

"This is Ryan and Scott. You can just call them Ohm and FourZer0, though." Moo pointed.

"And you're Ruby, right? The one Evan invited to that one Infinite Warfare video?" Ohm asked, referring to the literal one video they made for the entire game.

"Yep! Listen, Twilight says it's time for that meeting. Vanoss and the others are already in Ponyville!" Ruby noted.

"Nice, and how did you get here?" Droid asked.

"Through the.. Pod that the zombies... Destroyed..." Ruby's voice trailed off as the next round started.

"Oh, shit." Everyone muttered under their breath.

*Location Unknown; May 27, 2019; 2:34 AM*

"I apologize for my lack of contact these past months, M'Lady.. I have been busy." Cinder began.

A tall woman wearing a thick, black cloak and what appeared to be a white headdress merely stood outwards, facing the crystalline scarlet fields before her.

"Speak, Cinder." The woman demanded calmly.

"The Unity Squadron is arming our enemies in Cairo, and they're meeting up shortly. The Silver-Eyed Huntress is among them." Cinder explained.

"It has been a long time since I've contacted you, my perfect assassin. Tell me, how do you feel having gained what you've desired for so long..?" The woman asked evenly.

Cinder raised a hand, letting the raw power form a ball in her hands.

"Everything you promised." Cinder replied with a wicked smile.

"I'm glad you're enjoying what I have provided you with. Another task lies ahead." The woman slowly turned around, revealing black and red eyes that glowed sinisterly.

"I will do anything as a favor to you, Lady Salem." Cinder bowed.

"Keep gaining followers. Do not intrude Unity's encounter with the Nexus Divisa. If all goes as planned, they won't recognize the folly of their actions until it is too late.." Salem grinned devilishly.

"Yes, Salem." Cinder continued.

"Also, be wary of my other agents. Lately, they have been proving to be more cunning than even you, my perfect weapon." Salem warned.

"I understand.." Cinder stood and left the room, leaving Salem to turn and face the moon.

"Salem..? This Alexander is... Stronger than my own. I cannot destroy him as easily as I did before." Cinder suddenly said.

Salem grinned.

"Alexander Walker is still young, unruly, and blissfully unaware of how close he is to falling apart. The only solace he has are his loved ones. The moment they lose their trust in him is the moment he breaks. I will warn you, he is still headstrong, even then. But just like before, he will thirst for revenge, be cautious." Salem advised.

"Thank you, Salem.." Cinder exited the room, pulling up her own scroll and typing.

Sigma:

Prepare your Armageddon. If Arabus couldn't stop them, it will.

Upsilon:

Armageddon is supposed to be my last resort, Sigma. I can't afford to waste it now.

Sigma:

I suppose it's not my place anyways. Do as you wish.

Author's Note

Edits:

Turns out those edits I have to make aren't as severe as I thought, on account that babies can survive being born a month or so early. I'm still thinking about how I'm going to handle battle scenes.

Chapter 27: Unsecured (Edited)
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 27: Unsecured (Edited)

*Cairo, Egypt; May 30, 2019; 1:45 PM*

A helicopter flew over the smoldering remains of the SCP occupied dig sites, all of which were barren and burning.

Kat looked at the carnage in abject horror.

"What the hell happened here?" Kat stared out of the helicopter in horror.

"Damn Nexus. They've been using a trans-dimensional sun-gun against us for the past 7 months. We tried taking back Dig Site X, but... Something attacked us.." The sergeant explained.

"What attacked you?" Kat asked.

"Field reports suggest an 8-foot tall humanoid. It's described as incredibly muscular, and insanely bloodthirsty. It was last spotted at Dig Site O." He replied.

"Where are the Nexus hiding?" Kat wondered.

"They've fortified one of the Great Pyramids to the east, but they're so heavily guarded that even our largest combined unit couldn't break in."

Kat thought things over for a moment before turning to face her sergeant with a slight grin.

"If they can't turn the tide here, I have people who can. Get a hard line to Equestria as soon as possible!" Kat ordered as the helicopter slowed to a landing.

She stared at the horrid scene before her, of the remaining 1200 or so men, half of them were badly burnt and had makeshift splints and casts running up and down their arms and legs.

"Is this the only base we have left?" Kat asked.

"Yes, Director. The Nexus have been hitting us left and right. If we don't do something soon, we might lose SCP-2807." The sergeant sighed.

"Which one was 2807 again? I swear, there are already thousands of these SCPs running around everywhere." Kat scoffed.

"We'll discuss that later. For now, we best be on the lookout. Send your friends, they may be our last and best hope." A lieutenant muttered, shaking his head.

*Ponyville, Equestria; May 30, 2019; 2:00 PM*

Ruby, Vanoss' crew, and The three original Elements of Harmony had been conversing.

Weiss, Blake, and Alex's crew had been the only ones to not show up, so they sat there in wait, discussing as to what might happen in this next encounter with the Inquisitor Splinter.

"Ruby! I haven't seen you in a while!" Vanoss smirked, shaking hands with the huntress.

"It really has been a long time.. You look different.." Ruby squinted, trying to figure out just what was so different about him.

"Uh.. Personal space..?" Vanoss asked awkwardly.

"Sorry!" Ruby grinned, backing away.

"So.. The Vigil... How did that go..?" Skirmish asked sadly, referring to the memorial vigil several of the Elements of Harmony and a lot of others attended in the night before they had separated.

"We took some time to remember our friends. I know they're still watching us.." Fluttershy nodded morosely.

"We had to choose new Elements, though. Celestia didn't want to risk keeping them away from the tree or Equestria for too long." Twilight explained.

"Really? Who are the new guys?" Wildcat asked.

Three teenaged fillies burst inside the room suddenly, wearing the necklace-like Elements as they entered.

"CUTIE MARKED CRUSADER DIMENSION PROTECTERS!!" They hollered.

"Jesus! I have really bad hearing because I spent 6 months killing f**king zombies!!" Delirious winced, clutching his ear.

"Oh, sorry!" The yellow earth pony, Applebloom, apologized.

Ruby squealed, hugging all three of the new elements.

"Hey..!" Sweetie Belle gasped in surprise and lack of air.

"Can't... Breathe.." Scootaloo wheezed.

Ruby quickly let them all go, apologizing frantically.

"Sorry! Sorry!"

"It's fine..." Applebloom heaved, finally able to breathe.

"Who are they..?" Weiss asked as she and Blake walked inside the castle.

"Weiss! Blake!" Ruby and Fluttershy quickly greeted.

"How was your training?" Twilight asked.

"I can say I'm more prepared for anything that might happen, that's for sure." Weiss replied.

"Well whoop de f**king do, let's just wait for Alex's dumb ass and go." Terroriser dismissively scoffed.

"There are fillies here!" Twilight screamed.

"It's okay. The universal-exchange kids at school talk a lot worse." Sweetie Belle shrugged.

A huge metallic thud could be heard outside the castle as five ragged hunters (and one baby) ran inside, armed and visibly anxious.

"Alex! Yang! Wait... Is that a baby?!" Ruby gasped.

"Now isn't the time!" Cade panted.

"What's wrong?" Blake asked.

"What the hell were you thinking? Flying right over Ultimus' f**king 2 million dollar ranch?! We haven't even had the baby for a month!!!" Yang screamed.

"As if I'm not the only one not thinking shit through!" Alex yelled back

"Yeah right, dumbf**k!" Yang hollered as several transport ships landed.

"...Wat?" Vanoss gaped.

"I swear, you're more of a dunce than Ruby, Alex." Weiss shook her head.

"At least I didn't go overboard at COCO'S STUPID BIRTHDAY PARTY!!!" Alex roared, shooting at a half-dozen transports.

"So, I like to relax a little, big deal!" Yang shot back, gunning down the soldiers coming out of the transports.

"We've been raising your LITERAL bastard child after that idiot Cardin got to you!" Alex yelled back.

"Love you too, Dad." Auburn stated, rolling her eyes.

"WHAT?!" Ruby gasped.

"...Wait, was that sarcasm?" Yang wondered.

"If you're raising a small child, shouldn't you be doing literally anything else? Seriously, I'm not even sure these future ones should be here, same goes for the small child horses." Wildcat asked.

"Speaking of that jackass, you scared him off, didn't you?" Yang asked.

"Yeah, if by 'scared off' you mean 'flat-out killed'." Oreonna rolled her eyes.

"Even better! Why didn't you let me get a kick in?!" Yang added.

"Yeah! Sure! I could've absolutely asked you while you were passed out!" Alex replied scathingly.

"Hold on, phone call!" Twilight ran over to her communicator as everyone set out to defend the castle.

"Great! Perfect! Now if anyone else has something to add, get it out of the way now!" Alex yelled, a vein popping out of his forehead.

"Kat needs us in Cairo. Morning Star is still there, a monster and some sort of super weapon are killing a bunch of her men, and worst of all, the Nexus is holed up in an ancient pyramid." Twilight explained.

Alex stared apprehensively at Twilight.

"God dammit, Twilight." Alex groaned.

Ultimus charged out of his transport, sprinting and punching Alex hard in the face.

"You bastard! Did you think you'd get away so easily?!" He roared as Auburn and Cade held him back.

"We were in a rush, you over-zealous c**kbite!" Yang scowled.

Vanoss and his friend stared in disbelief at Alex's situation.

"Holy f**k, they're parents." Moo gaped.

"I guess that explains how Auburn got so.. Auburn-y.." Droidd added.

"I just... I can't.." Ohm tried to process the incident before him, utterly confused.

Alex turned around to face Ohm and Fourzer0.

"Okay, who the f**k are they?" Alex groaned.

"This is Ohm and Fourzer0." Vanoss introduced.

"If there's anyone here who needs counseling or some shit, it's clearly you." Fourzer0 said.

Alex smirked.

"Yeah, you're getting the idea." Alex nodded in agreement.

"Hi, Mr. Alex!" Applebloom greeted.

Alex stared down at the adolescent ponies in front of him.

"... And who are they?" Alex asked Twilight.

"That's Sweetie Belle, Rarity's little sister." She replied.

"I'm Scootaloo, I was friends with Rainbow Dash." Scootaloo greeted solemnly.

"And I'm Applebloom.. I'm Applejack's little sister!" She added.

Alex audibly winced.

"So... You all knew Dash, Applejack, and Rarity, huh..?" Alex sighed.

These three were still children. And they lost their role-models and family... All because of him.. Being a parent now, himself. Alex suddenly couldn't bear the idea of them dying.

The three nodded.

"Don't worry. I won't make the same mistakes I made with them. Stay close to Twilight, Yang, Ruby, Vanoss, or me. Got it?" He asked them, determined that these fillies wouldn't meet the same fate their families had.

"Okay." Applebloom nodded.

"How charming, Saigo. But we have business to attend to!" Ultimus scowled.

"Can we not do this right now, Ultimus?! " Alex shouted.

"I don't know, can you drop dead?!" He retorted.

"Oreonna, tell him what an asshole he's being." Alex scowled.

"Nah, this is more your problem than mine." Oreonna shrugged.

"Go f**k yourself!" Alex hollered back.

Twilight stared at Alex as he argued with Ultimus and now Oreonna.

"Ahem.. We have work to do, everyone.." Twilight whispered as everyone decided to head out through the back entrance.

"Well, that's my cue. Find the next flight home." Alex shrugged.

Ultimus growled.

"WE'RE NOT DONE HERE, EMPHAS SCUM!!" He yelled.

Alex reached into his pocket and threw $20 in quarters at Ultimus as he left.

"There! Toll's paid! Now f**k off!" Alex shouted over his shoulder.

Author's Note

Welp, Alex is going to earth for the first time in years, and the main villain of this Arc is going to be revealed!

Will Alex break down upon going back? Probably.

Find out for sure on the next 'exciting' chapter of Blood Red Shadows 2!

(I really need to get this into swing, the first 4 chapters of this Arc were basically outlines of prep-time and backstory)

Edit:

This last scene is either funny or sad. Funny being how utterly dysfunctional Alex and Yang are, or sad being how utterly dysfunctional Alex and Yang are.

Chapter 28: Uncontained (Edited)
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 28: Uncontained (Edited)

*Cairo, Egypt; May 30, 2019; 3:00 PM*

Following the incident Alex had experienced even getting to the castle, he took a moment to politely ask Spike and Skirmish to take care of the baby for them until they made it back.

Eventually, though, the time came for all of them to head out on their next mission.

Alex was taking it as well as you'd expect.

"Holy shit, it's hot out here!" Yang panted, using the local gateway for support.

"Yeah, no kidding.." Vanoss said, practically throwing off his owl mask.

"G-G-God dammit..." Alex shook.

Ohm turned around to find Alex on his hands and knees, shaking and muttering to himself.

"Okay, what's up with him?" Ohm rolled his eyes.

Twilight blinked.

"He hasn't been in his home dimension since before we met... He might be having a hard time being back here again.." Twilight explained.

"Still?! We aren't anywhere near Oregon!" Kat added, walking up to the new arrivals carrying her trademark sniper rifle.

"H-Hey, Kat.." Alex kept shaking uncontrollably.

"Jesus, it's like he hasn't been in a desert before, either!" Wildcat groaned.

Yang poked Alex's shoulder a few times before he finally looked up at her.

"C'mon! We don't have time to waste right now! I'll take care of you later!" Yang pulled him up and led him to Kat.

"S-Sorry.. Haven't been here in a while.." Alex commented.

"How's it all look?" Kat asked.

"Well.. Even shittier. Which seems kinda hard since last time I was here, I almost f**king died." Alex scoffed.

"Yeah, The Nexus has been f**king things up here for the past few months. Between attacks from this monster and the sun cannon, it's easy to see why we need you guys." Kat explained with a shrug.

"How the hell are we gonna do this? I mean, the monster I can understand, but the giant magnifying glass in orbit right now seems like a lot to deal with." Cade asked.

"I've been trying to set up an SCP-controlled space program, but Chancellor Smith thinks it's a 'waste of federal tax dollars' or something, so I've been bugging the Russians about borrowing one of their rockets." Kat noted.

"Well, good luck. Where's the monster right now?" Lui asked.

"From what Intel has, he's back in the Pyramid. He only happens to come out at night." Kat explained.

"What's the plan?" Vanoss asked.

"The Nexus is using the power of the sun to it's own gain. If we can reflect the beam into the pyramid's entrance, it can provide us with a way in and give us the advantage we need." Auburn explained.

"The only problem is, where are we going to find a mirror large enough to reflect a beam of that magnitude?" Kat asked.

"Hold on! Do you have any solar panels?" Cade asked.

"We might have a few, but not enough to convert such a high amount of sunlight into energy."

"If we can move the sun gun just a few feet, we might be able to make it fall to orbit, or maybe redirect it towards the pyramid!" Vanoss figured.

"We don't have anything like that just yet." Kat added.

"We can't get into the pyramid without first taking out their primary defenses, and we'd better come up with something by nightfall!" Weiss said.

"Kat, don't you have anything at your disposal? Artifacts, spells, anything like that?" Alex asked.

"We've captured at least 20 potentially lethal SCPs, but I don't think we can get them out here in time." Kat replied.

"Okay, they're probably going to have some method of controlling this 'sun gun' inside their base. If we can take out the Monster and the guards at the entrance, maybe we can overpower them, kill Callan and Morning Star and then we can move on to killing Cinder." Alex decided.

"That might work... Do you guys think you can handle the Monster?" Kat wondered.

"What kind of monster do you think it is?" Alex wondered.

"Definitely something I've never seen or heard of before, It's skin was metallic. Not anything it was wearing, but it's skin." Kat explained.

"Metal skin? What is this thing, Colossus?" Delirious asked jokingly.

"So we're fighting a Colossus knockoff and shutting down an oversized magnifying glass. I can think of a few ideas." Terroriser agreed.

"Alright.. We're gonna need a few minutes to think things through and find a work-around for every counter the Nexus can come up with. And if they find what they're looking for, we'll need to know the Artifact's capabilities, Kat." Blake decided.

"Okay.. Lieutenant, bring me any and all files relating to SCP-2807." Kat ordered.

"Yes, Ma'am." The Lieutenant nodded.

"Cade, I need you to call Liss. We might need backup." Alex told him.

"But, Dad... Liss seems pretty busy trying to get more soldiers after Cinder slaughtered them." Cade answered.

"Then call the Coalition. They'll come running once they find out the Nexus is trying to possibly destroy the continent." Alex scoffed.

Yang turned to Auburn and Oreonna.

"I need you two with Weiss and Blake to do some cool spy shit at the Pyramids. Kat, can you give us any nearby Dig Sites that could be taken back?" Yang asked.

"Dig Sites S, T, and V are nearly recovered. And the Dig Sites closest to the pyramid are M, N, and O." Kat explained.

"We'll do our best, Ms. Xiao Long." Oreonna promised.

"Just be careful out there." Yang insisted.

"We promise." Auburn nodded.

Alex by now had started getting to work on mapping out any vantage points on Kat's war map.

"Alex, a word?" Blake whispered.

Alex nodded, walking with Blake to a small enclave deeper in the tunnel.

"What's this all about?" He asked curiously.

"It's about Raven.." Blake replied in a low voice.

"Raven? Does she know anything about this?" Alex wondered.

"No... If anything, she couldn't care less about the state of your world."

"Couple things. First off, Earth is so f**king far from what I consider a home. Secondly, why do you need to talk about her?" Alex wondered.

"Just... Be on the lookout.. I don't think it's safe to trust her.." Blake insisted.

"Well, to be fair, she did train me to the point I was ready to fight Cinder and win. But then, she is really kind of a prick. Especially considering she didn't do shit when the Blood Red Night came around." Alex figured.

"Look... My point is, she's been acting like Adam did before... Well... I won't let her do what Adam almost did to me.. Be careful.. For Yang's and Auburn's sake." Blake continued.

Alex nodded.

"The hell you think I've been doing any of this for?" Alex shrugged.

Alex stood up.

"Look, I think we've all got work to do. But trust me.. It's just this and one more mission. After that, we'll never need to do this crap ever again." Alex swore.

"Okay.. Just.. Try and look out." Blake nodded as she walked away.

Alex turned and walked back to the map. He pretended to crack his metallic knuckles as he stared down at the war map, now his own personal chessboard.

"Just this and one last mission..." Alex sighed.

*Inside the Great Pyramid; May 31, 2019; 5:25 PM*

Xavier continued to walk in strides, writing in his journal.

Entry 1001, May 31, 2019.

The men are terrified. Our scouts have reported seeing two known affiliates of the Coalition. Two huntresses known to have helped spearhead the Assault on Kalos Prime. I do not believe it matters. Now that we occupy almost every Dig Site, we are expecting to find the Artifact soon enough.

HADES has scorched the desert, and my Apocalypse has been proving especially useful. And now that The Catalyst is here, I can unleash my creations upon them and take back the dominance that rightfully belonged to the Inquisition.

Delta has been proving to be quite an annoyance, especially as of late. So insistent on taking the reins and the credit for my work. I have come to the conclusion that she is too power hungry to possibly continue our partnership and far too dangerous to be left alive.

"Still too busy to talk, eh?" A low voice uttered coldly.

Xavier looked up to see a metallic blob of mass rising from a vat of oil.

"Someone seems to be in a better mood than usual." Xavier commented.

"Who wouldn't be..? Is that bastard here?" The blob asked.

"I believe so.." Xavier shrugged.

The blob dissipated, revealing a liquid metal shape of a young man with dark blonde hair as it slowly assumed it's true form.

"Don't bullshit me. Is he or isn't he?" He demanded.

"Yes.. He arrive with those huntresses. Given the circumstance, I believe they are going to attack tonight, Jakob." Xavier replied.

"That's not my name, Callan. Or do you want me to keep calling you 'Xavier'?" He scowled.

"Fine. What exactly is your deal with the bastard anyways? You aren't a full inquisitor." Xavier questioned.

"My deal is that son of a bitch RUINED my chance for power, FORCED me to take Cinder's offer and get turned into some goddamn FREAK, and DROPPED A F**KING AERO-CARRIER ON MY FACE!!" Jäger yelled.

"I did everything in my power to make you a better fighter than Walker could ever be! I even made spare mimicrite material so you could overpower even a thousand Ratte tanks!" Xavier yelled.

"That's no excuse. But tonight, I take solace in the fact that I get my revenge.. Walker will die, I won't even offer him a chance to surrender." Jäger grinned sinisterly.

Author's Note

Jäger's back, and he might actually cause some trouble!

So... Yeah... I'll try to keep these arcs at just the right length. 'Till then, happy reading!

-The Destoyer

Chapter 29: Unprotected (Edited)
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 29: Unprotected (Edited)

*Cairo, Egypt; May 31, 2019; 7:00 PM*

"We're back!" Oreonna yelled throughout the camp indicating his return from yet another perimeter check with Blake, Weiss, and Auburn.

"So, what's going on out there?" Kat wondered.

"It's not looking good. They look like they're getting ready for something big. Everyone aligned with the Nexus is practically waiting for us to show up." Blake sighed.

"Shit. We'll need some heavy reinforcements if we're going to beat the Nexus in their own base." Kat seethed.

"The coalition said they could help us tomorrow." Cade noted.

"I asked Princess Celestia about any chance of reinforcements on her part, but the Royal Guard is understaffed and most Equestrian Mercenaries aren't willing to come over and fight an army." Twilight sighed.

"We don't have time! If we don't attack first, they'll come over to us!" Kat worriedly replied.

"Can't the NAF send reinforcements? You are still government personnel!" Alex wondered.

"Not from halfway across the world! Even if we could, the NAF itself doesn't even have clearance to travel to Egypt! We had to pose as a scientists to be able to come here!"

"So, we're able to literally travel between dimensions and you guys can't teleport across the f**king ocean?!" Alex yelled.

"It's not like we have teleporters yet! Besides, all the Foundation has so far is creepy shit!" Kat retorted, her tone well beyond exasperated.

"Hold on..! We can do something, right? Kat, give us a run-down of our inventory!" Yang demanded.

"Besides us, we have 1,300 rebels left over from the attacks on the rest of the dig sites. 12 helicopters, and barely enough weapons for everyone. " Kat sighed hopelessly.

"Well, what the shit?!" Yang gaped.

"I have an idea." Auburn announced.

"Well, tell us. At this point, we're willing to take suggestions!" Kat replied.

"How many weapons in total do you have?" Auburn asked.

"About 600 rifles.. All of which are crudely made knockoffs made by local arms dealers. We had the wonder weapons Evan got us, but we were ransacked by the Nexus." Kat noted.

"What the fu.. Do you have any idea how long I spent to get you that shit?!" Vanoss shouted.

"Well, taking a page from Russian battle tactics used in your 'World War II', about 1 in 2 of your men will carry the rifles. those without a weapon will carry the spare ammunition. We'll use the helicopters to take out any machine gun positions or anything else in the way. Evan's squad will lead the charge, since they're equipped with wonder weapons. Father, Mother, Oreonna, Cade, and I will take care of the monster, while Aunt Ruby, Aunt Weiss, and Aunt Blake will assist the assault division. The Elements of Harmony are going to be used to counter any last minute obstacles and to capture Morning Star and Xavier Callan." Auburn explained.

Everyone stared wide-eyed at Auburn.

"Welp. All in favor?" Alex asked.

A resounding 'yes' was mumbled among the group.

"Against?"

Silence.

"Okay. Evan's team up front! Militia fighters, Ruby, Weiss, Blake in the middle! Kat and the Ponies are hanging back! Helos, get ready in 20 minutes! Let's go!" Alex ordered.

*Outside Cairo, Egypt; May 31, 2019; 7:25 PM*

Ultimus stood on a building overlooking the pyramids.

He had heard about Alex's plans to deal with Callan and Morning Star, but judging by the vastly scorched landscape and immense fortress recycled from one of the ancient structures, it would be a challenge even for a warrior of Alex and his caliber.

"That bastard.. He's walking head-first into a trap." Ultimus quickly deduced.

Several armored fighters with the Crux Family Crest, a black eagle on a field of emerald, landed behind him, with several mercenaries quickly running out.

"Ultimus, sir.. We did a scan of the entire fortress. The Nexus Divisa is carrying extra-dimensional weaponry and is numbering within the hundreds." His lieutenant explained.

"Tell me, Lieutenant. Why is this place such a wasteland?" Ultimus demanded.

Ultimus couldn't quite grasp what had possessed Alex to come over here. This place, especially now, was a barren wasteland. From what he could collect from other inquisitors, there was something on Earth that could turn the tide of the war to their favor. But how could he possibly have known?

"The Nexus and a new organization called the SCP Foundation have been at war here for months now. Their director is an ex-senator for the NAF." The Lieutenant replied.

"Of course.. One of Saigo's friends. He doesn't care about the damned artifact..! He just wants the Inquisition gone.." Ultimus realized.

"What're our orders, sir?" The lieutenant asked.

"Assist the SCP Foundation by any means necessary. Find Saigo. And do not interfere with our battle if you value your life." Ultimus ordered.

"Yes, sir." The lieutenant then ran away to hand off the orders to the others.

"Ultimus! Your Uncle is on the line!" Another soldier hollered, carrying a communicator.

"Yes, Uncle Venator?" Ultimus asked.

"Ultimus? Where are you?!" His uncle asked.

"I am in Egypt, on Geo Vector 0-1. I've found Saigo Emphas." Ultimus explained.

"Emphas?! You're delusional if you think I'm letting you deal with them! Don't you remember what happened when you tried to stop Cinder from eliminating his parents?!" Venator yelled.

"My condition is of no concern. I will deal with Saigo, and I will not hesitate to kill him or anyone in my way!" Ultimus bellowed.

"Please, you couldn't handle a 17 year old girl in a skirt, much less Saigo!"

"No more questions, Uncle Venator. I have come too far just to disappoint you again. When I kill Saigo, I demand my rightful place as your heir." Ultimus demanded.

"Are you dense?! You couldn't even kill Saigo's brother! And he was your damn coworker!" Venator scolded.

"'ll have you know, Omega managed to kill Yurei's allies, and gave me the respect I rightfully deserve!" Ultimus hung up and threw the communicator against the Fighter.

"Ultimus, Sir. The SCP and their allies have mobilized." A soldier said as he saw an up innumerable number of soldiers run onto the battlefield, the sun just beginning to set.

"Then you are to head out as well." Ultimus ordered.

"Yes, sir. We were able to retrieve the Family Sword as well." The soldier promptly handed him a meter-and-a-half long broadsword with the Family Crest on it's guard, black leather wrapped around the handle and an emerald fastened to the pommel.

"Thank you, Corporal." Ultimus nodded.

Quickly donning his armor and helmet, Ultimus leaped into the battle, a small shockwave knocking several of his men over as Ultimus leapt into battle.

The tide of soldiers quickly stopped as Ultimus landed in front of them, glaring at them angrily as he drew his sword.

"Where is Saigo? ANSWER ME!" Ultimus demanded.

"He went off to deal with some kind of monster or some shit." Vanoss shrugged.

"Imbecile. I'll deal with him. Until then, I don't particularly care for the Nexus myself. My men are siding with you in this fight. Just ensure you don't interrupt our battle, understand?!" Ultimus glared.

"My sister and her children are with Alex right now! If you lay a finger on any of them, I will hurt you!" Ruby yelled at him.

Ultimus thought for a moment.

"Fine then, feel free to join the fight. Because if they interfere, they die!" Ultimus scowled.

*Inside the Great Pyramid*

"What is that?" Jäger asked as the sounds of boots, helicopter rotors, and engines filled the air outside.

"The SCP..! They're attacking us..!" Xavier realized.

"I'll deal with Walker!" Jäger snarled.

"Wait..! He's too dangerous!" Xavier reached for him.

"'Danger' isn't any of my concern. I just want to see the bastard die, then I can scurry away like the cowards you and Morning Star are!" Jäger scowled.

"You know what? Callan, just go! I'll deal with Celestia's Apprentice!" Morning Star shouted.

"I'm as much a part of this as you, Morning Star! I will fight when needed!" Xavier scowled.

"Xavier, listen! You're not a Huntsman, you're no Equestrian, and you're certainly no Adenienite! It's too dangerous for you here! Get to your safehouse. If I don't call within 2 hours, assume I'm dead and move on to Plan B." Morning Star ordered.

Xavier paled at his comrade's sudden outburst and immediately took off.

"Best of luck to both of you." Xavier nodded as he took off running.

Author's Note

Ultimus and Jäger are hunting Alex, and both forces are ready for anything!

Someone is certain to die, but who?

Find out next chapter!

-The Destoyer

Chapter 30: Ultimatum Part 1 of 3 (Edited)
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 30: Ultimatum Part 1 of 3 (Edited)

*Cairo, Egypt; May 31, 2019; 7:45 PM*

Alex and his group strayed into the city to avoid confrontation in the battlefield, at least for the moment.

"Alright, everyone. Here's the plan. As soon as the fighting starts, get Yang somewhere safe, and you kids stay away. I'll handle whatever's out there until-" Alex began.

"The f**k are you talking about?! Someone or something is trying to kill you, and you want me to get somewhere safe?!" Yang objected.

"One: You're a mother. And two: let's face it, I have a shorter lifespan than Twilight's sane streak." Alex scoffed.

"So what?!" Yang retorted.

"Here we go.." Cade rolled his eyes, grabbing his Conductor and checking the corners of the long deserted buildings.

"The hell do you mean 'so what'?! I can't have someone killing both you and Auburn, Oreonna would kill me!" Alex defended.

"Oh, that's your excuse. Not a colossal tin-man, but a short-ass neko is going to kill you?!" Yang shouted.

"I would, though." Oreonna admitted.

"Wait a second, who's your father..? I don't remember Neo finding a Faunus husband.." Yang wondered.

"Tukson Delsole." Oreonna replied.

"The bookseller?" Alex gaped.

"Yep." Auburn confirmed.

"Huh. Remind me to go back to Vale, I gotta get the next 'Man With Two Souls' book." Alex nodded.

"Wait a second, what were we talking about before?" Cade asked.

"This 'Monster' was found leaving the back entrance of the pyramid and heading into the city." Auburn replied evenly.

"Okay, then... Stay together, watch every entrance, this guy could come from anywhere.." Alex nodded, unsheathing Thunderbolt.

"You won't have to look far." A familiar voice threatened as everyone heard a loud crash to their right.

A large, man-shaped metal blob growled angrily as it started to take shape.

"Wait a second... He sounds familiar..!" Alex gaped as the massive metallic blob started to form a person.

The blob finally converted into the shape of an 8-foot tall, brawny man as it's skin slowly changed from a metallic shine to human skin and hair, before it took on a familiar face.

"Private Walker." Jäger scowled.

Alex stared on in horror.

"J-Jäger..!" Alex gasped.

"You know this thing?!" Cade gaped.

"Oh.. So you're this 'Jäger' I've heard about..! I'm Yang!" Yang waved.

"What, trying to lighten the mood?" Jäger scathingly remarked.

"Aw, C'mon! Can't we just get along?" Oreonna asked.

"Really, this is how you two handle someone trying to kill me!" Alex scoffed.

"You know what..? I'll let Blondie go, besides, Walker's my kill." Jäger shrugged.

A green and grey blur quickly zipped past Jäger, hacking his back and creating a huge spark.

"Would you care to repeat that, you waste of junkyard scrap-metal?" Another familiar voice scoffed.

"Oh, who has the balls?!" Jäger growled.

Ultimus turned back from the store entrance he was facing and scowled at Jäger.

"This isn't your fight, you failed science experiment. Saigo's my prey, back off now while I'm still offering you a chance." Ultimus warned.

"That bastard dropped a carrier on my face, Zeta! I'm not letting you take that away from me!" Jäger shouted.

Ultimus laughed.

"If you think I'll stand by and let my last chance of gaining any respect die in front of me, you're sorely mistaken." Ultimus threatened.

"Oh, crap.." Alex gaped.

From what it seemed, both enemies would be trying to kill him.

"Oreonna, get Yang out of here." Alex ordered.

"Like hell I'm going anywhere!" Yang shouted, loading her weapons just as the others did.

"Auburn and I came too far just to let you die again!" Cade added.

Ultimus scowled at Jäger, before turning back to glare at Alex.

"You will die as you lived. In cowardice, begging for your life." He threatened.

Alex braced himself. He wouldn't let them kill anyone.

"Bring it." Alex growled angrily.

*Meanwhile*

Twilight flew inside the back entryway of the Pyramid with the other Elements. They opted to move away from the battle once this back entrance had been discovered so they could deal with anything Morning Star could throw at them.

"This way..! We should be able to find something to use against the Nexus!" Twilight said as Fluttershy got to work looking for anything suspicious.

Pinkie practically bounced towards a broken-down wall, looking in and finding nothing.

"Girls, stay quiet. We don't know who or what is still in here.." Twilight warned the new additions.

"Okay, Princess Twilight.." Applebloom answered.

"We might need to split up.. To cover more ground.." Scootaloo suggested, peering into an emptied armory.

"Sounds good. C'mon, Fluttershy..!" Applebloom moved to Fluttershy's side as the two crept slowly to the right.

"Sweetie Belle.. This way..!" Pinkie nodded to the young unicorn filly.

"I guess that leaves you and me, Scootaloo." Twilight walked side by side with the orange Pegasus further down into the depths.

Twilight and Scootaloo found themselves lost quickly as they wandered around the darkness of the pyramids.

"It's kinda scary.. Why aren't there anypony guarding anything..?" Scootaloo wondered out loud as the two wandered in the darkness of the ancient pyramid.

"They're all out front... This facility is larger than I thought.." Twilight figured.

"But it isn't completely unguarded, Princess Twilight Sparkle." Morning Star stepped out of one of the rooms with her saddlebags.

"You're the one who killed Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo shouted as she flew at Morning Star, bucking her as hard as possible.

The white and orange unicorn skidded backwards, placing one back leg against a wall to keep her from crashing into it.

"Princess.. I will confess I was a lot like you once.. Accepted as Celestia's student.. Guaranteed to excel at any challenge in front of me! But unlike you or that coward Sunset Shimmer, I have the means and foresight to achieve my own ambitions!" Morning Star shouted, using her magic to pull out both a crystalline red and black crown and a very familiar artifact.

"T-The Alicorn Amulet?!" Twilight gasped.

Morning Star grinned.

"So you aren't completely blind to dark magic. There is one secret about this Amulet that even Celestia was unaware of.. The Amulet was just one of two parts to grant it's user power matching even a Princess like yourself!" Morning Star grinned wickedly.

"But why?! Is it really worth losing yourself to the Amulet's magic?!" Scootaloo gasped.

"I was cast out of Celestia's tutilege for my views on Dark magic! To make things worse, you and that pest Walker destroyed my new home and killed my friends! You will pay for what you've done, Sparkle!!" Morning Star put on the Alicorn Amulet with a loud clink, and placed the crown on her head as soon as the Amulet's magic started to show.

Twilight and Scootaloo could only stare in horror as the Unicorn underwent a painful transformation into an alicorn.

Wings snapped out of her sides as she grew several feet taller, laughing maniacally as her magic overloaded and blew out the back end of the Pyramid.

Several Nexus soldiers looked in horror as their new leader destroyed the area around where she had ascended.

Twilight stared in horror as the final changes took place.

By the end, Morning Star had gained several feet in height and grew large wings. Her coat had changed from pure white to soot gray, and her mane went from yellow-orange to a fiery red-orange. Her eyes had changed as well, from turquoise blue to bright red.

"When I find that artifact, this world is history! And Equestria will be next on the chopping block! There's nothing you can do to stop me, Princess!" Morning Star sneered as Twilight stood to face the Inquisitor.

"I won't let you do this..! I won't let you destroy everything out of your own fury!" Twilight shouted."

"Fine, then! You and your friends will die with this sad little rock!" Morning Star roared, flying at full speed towards Twilight and Scootaloo.

*Earlier, outside the Pyramids*

Vanoss yelled as he tore through the crowd, using his upgraded PPSh to mow through the hordes of enemies before Delirious ran through, firing his Zeus Cannon and throwing other Nexus troops aside.

Kat hip-fired her sniper, tearing through several enemies at once, with her metallic, bird-like Sentinels clawing through more foes.

"Ruby, show them what you've got!" Kat shouted as another batallion charged over a nearby dune.

Ruby loaded her upgraded scythe, Blood Rose, and leaped high into the air, zipping down towards the crowd so fast that her cape could only be seen as a large red line that cut into the center of the crowd, hacking a great deal of Nexus troops apart.

Weiss skewered a few other Nexus soldiers, shoving the bodies off her sword and summoning a giant suit of armor that kicked more troops up and hacked others to bits.

Blake, on the other hand, fired Gambol Shroud into a group before practically teleporting behind them, and hacking the collective bunch into pieces with her ex-mentor's weapon; Wilt and Blush.

Kat ran towards the huntresses.

"The last of my men are dead..! We're the only ones left!" Kat worriedly shuddered, loading her sniper again.

Vanoss and company cornered with them, weapons loaded and pointed towards their enemies.

"Oh, crap.." Vanoss gaped.

"Collaborators of the SCP Foundation! This is your only chance to surrender! Drop your weapons!!" A Nexus patrolman ordered.

"What do we do..?" Ruby stared in awe at the crowd around them.

Kat's face went pale as she looked to see every side littered with Nexus Troops.

"I... I don't know.." Kat gasped.

Suddenly, a large explosion ripped the pyramid apart, leaving behind a grey and red-orange Alicorn standing in the rubble, magic energy destroying everything.

"Oh, shit!!" Moo gasped as everyone quickly ducked down.

By the time Kat had gained the will to look, Twilight and Scootaloo were being bombarded by the Alicorn, leaving the Nexus crew to watch.

"Hey..! Something's happening over in the city, too!" A Nexus soldier gasped.

"Kat..! Any ideas now?" Ohm whispered.

"Head back to base..! There's too much going on, we have to find the Eye!" Kat ordered as everyone shuffled away from the crowds observing both battles.

"What eye?!" Vanoss demanded.

Author's Note

So, just a recap... It's Alex and co. Vs. Jäger and Ultimus next chapter, with The Elements, Huntresses, Gamers, and Kat vs. Morning Star in the last part..

We're in this for the long-ish haul!

(Still, it's good Twilight and the others are starting to be in the spotlight again..! Story was kinda leaning towards Alex and Yang's story arc..)

Until next time!

-The Destoyer

Chapter 31: Ultimatum Part 2 of 3
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 31: Ultimatum Part 2 of 3

*Cairo, Egypt; May 31, 2019; 8:00 PM*

Alex charged at Jäger, punching him as hard as he could before hacking away at the metal behemoth with his Thunderbolt.

Yang immediately went after him, only for Ultimus to kick her in the side.

"Ultimus, what the hell are you doing?!" Yang demanded.

"Interfere and I kill you in front of him, do you understand?" Ultimus retorted, an evil glint in his eye.

While Alex was busy fighting Jäger, Ultimus immediately sped in and slashed Alex in the side.

Alex quickly dodged Ultimus' next strike, blade-locking the Ex-Inquisitor until Jäger kicked Alex in the chest, directly into a building.

"I don't care what Ultimus says.. We outnumber those bastards!" Cade shouted, sprinting towards the Adenienite and shooting him repeatedly.

Ultimus scowled, kneeing Cade in the chest and kicking him into another building.

Auburn steadily walked towards Ultimus, guitar in hand as she played a chord, causing Ultimus to skid backwards, wincing at the sheer volume.

Given a perfect opportunity, Cade and Oreonna fell in either side, the three doing everything within their power to stop Ultimus, or at least slow him down.

Cade round-house kicked Ultimus while Oreonna leapt from side to side, hacking whenever she could as Auburn raised her weapon, ready to deliver a devastating blow.

Before Auburn could strike, Yang charged at the warrior, punching him as hard as she could, causing him to crash through several buildings.

Ultimus staggered upwards, growling in anger before transforming to his Cursed Warrior form.

"WOULD YOU STOP INTERFERING?!" Ultimus roared, using his own raw energy to blow the four hunters away, leaving him to deal with Alex.

Alex himself was entangled in Jäger's metallic lock, leaving him unable to move as Ultimus struck Alex in the gut.

Alex coughed, the wind completely knocked out of him, as Jäger's metallic extensions continued to constrict him.

Ultimus scowled, using a charged fist to punch Jäger off of his rival.

"Heh.. Thanks.." Alex coughed loudly.

"I'm the only one allowed to kill him, Jäger. Got it, you living scrap heap?" Ultimus scoffed as he grabbed Alex by the throat, throwing him towards a building.

Jäger angrily charged at Ultimus, using extensions of his liquid metal body to pummel the life out of the warrior.

"ALEX WALKER WILL DIE BY MY HAND ALONE!!" He screamed, continuing to beat the living daylights out of Ultimus until he powered down.

Alex slowly staggered up, Yang quickly running to his side.

"D-Dammit... Jäger's definitely beefed up while I was gone, and Ultimus seemed even more powerful than before.." Alex wheezed.

"Nothin' we can't handle, right?" Yang grinned.

"Let's hope so.." Alex grabbed his sword again, pulling the weapon apart as they converted to their submachine gun modes.

Jäger quickly noticed Alex and Yang, charging straight at them and kicking Alex as hard as he could.

Alex, still trapped, made every effort to gun down the metallic blob Jäger had become while Yang punched him as fast and as hard as she could.

Ultimus staggered up, coughing blood and transforming straight to his Corrupted Warrior out of anger.

"I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS!!!" Ultimus shouted, swinging at Jäger's head as hard as he could as Yang continued to pummel the metallic strongman.

Cade coughed as he stood up, grabbing his Conductor and shooting Jäger.

"Get off him!" Cade shouted as Oreonna and Auburn hacked Alex out of Jäger's grasp.

Alex turned to look at Ultimus, who was by now gaining strength.

"Oh, right.. Enlightened forms.." Alex realized.

Yang also took notice, crossing her arms and shouting as she transformed to her Enlightened form.

"Come get some, you big chrome f**ktard!!" Yang shouted.

Cade was also quick to transform, wasting no time attacking Ultimus.

"You've made a grave mistake, Son of Saigo!" Ultimus shouted.

"Why don't you just shut up about your stupid, one-sided rivalry!!" Cade shouted, kicking Ultimus aside.

Auburn slid underneath Jäger, swinging her axe up and cutting Jäger into two pieces.

Oreonna was also quick to gain an advantage, using her dust-powered viola to propel herself, cutting through both Jäger and Ultimus as she skidded to Cade's side.

"Yo, Green guy! You look like Shrek with permanent marker all over your face!" Oreonna grinned.

Ultimus only scowled.

"Do you want to die horribly?"

"Wow! No need to get so hung up! Besides, 'it doesn't make sense not to live for fun', right?" Oreonna asked with a smug grin.

Ultimus screamed in rage, kicking Oreonna directly in the face.

"Alright..! Fine! You can be Fiona!" Oreonna continued mockingly.

"Ha!" Alex, now back in his original form, laughed as Jäger kicked him into the skies before leaping up and kicking him back to the ground.

"I've got you, Fathe-" Cade signaled as Jäger grabbed him by the neck and threw him into a coloumn of buildings.

Alex struggled to stand.

"I don't have any choice here..! I'll have to do it..!" Alex stood up, charging straight to the Evolved Warrior form and screaming loudly to the skies.

"OVERCHARGE!" Alex roared as a bright yellow aura surrounded his once whitish-purple one.

"Over-what?" Jäger asked as Alex kicked him

Alex was in the skies within an instant, kicking Jäger to the ground before flying and kicking him back up. He repeated the attack several times before Ultimus leaped up at Alex.

"DIE!!!" Ultimus roared as Alex kicked him down.

Jäger immediately held Alex in a lock, allowing Ultimus to repeatedly kick, punch, and slash Alex until Jäger threw him to the ground.

Ultimus kicked Alex into the sky again, raising his foot and kicking Alex in the spine.

"FUUUUUU-!" Alex screamed, slamming into the ground at full force, powering down back to normal.

Yang charged at Ultimus, punching him in the face as she went Inflamed.

"I'LL MAKE YOU PAY!!" Yang roared, avoiding Jäger's attacks and punching him as hard as she could.

Ultimus swept his leg underneath Yang, tripping her and causing her to crash into a building.

"O-Okay... Not c-cool.." Alex coughed, charging at Ultimus and Jäger with his sword in hand.

Ultimus kicked forwards, only for Alex to leap over the appendage, hacking his neck and ducking to avoid Jäger's attacks.

"Father!!" Cade yelled, brandishing Conductor and shooting Ultimus while Auburn fought Jäger.

Alex crawled over to Yang, picking her up.

"G-Go.. Hurry..!" Alex ordered.

"We've been over this, I'm not going anywhere..!" Yang yelled back.

"Are you dense?! You're fighting two of the most dangerous people I've ever dealt with, and you're-!" Alex shouted.

"You're insane if you think I'm just going to leave you here! Pregnant or not, I'm still following you!" Yang screamed.

Ultimus kicked Alex in the face, sending him careening into a series of buildings. Ultimus powered down and simply walked towards him.

Alex coughed blood, wiping some off on his armor and scowling at Ultimus.

Yang screamed in rage, charging towards Ultimus and punching him in the face.

Ultimus clutched his eye in agony, skin searing underneath.

"H-How dare you!!" Ultimus roared in anger.

Yang braced herself as Ultimus powered up and ran, brandishing his sword.

... Only for Jäger to stand in front of her, extending his arm out and stabbing Ultimus in the chest, grinning evilly as he did.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Crux? Walker is mine!" Jäger shouted, pelting the badly wounded Ultimus at a series of buildings.

"What..? Decided to take out the middle man after all this time..?" Alex scoffed.

"Nothing that Adenienite brute will ever do will make me walk away from this.. For 3 years, I watched as my own life fell apart! You think you had it rough?! I was cheated out of an entire planet all because of you and Kat! After I'm through with you, she's next!!" Jäger screamed as Auburn hacked at Jäger's back.

"Insolent little pest!" Jäger wrapped a metallic appendage around the offending huntress and her weapon, flinging her away with ease.

"Now, tell me.. Was it worth it? Killing the man who tortured you for so long..? Defeating the empire that plagued you with battle after battle? Losing friend after friend? Has this charade redeemed you in some way, Walker? Or did it just feel good killing everything in your way like some kind of psychopath?" Jäger grinned evilly.

Yang ran up to Jäger, hitting him as much as she could before she suffered the same fate as Auburn.

"Oh, right. Everything won't work out in the end. It never does for people like you. Morning Star will live. Cinder Fall will live. And everyone you ever loved or valued will die right in front of you. Now, tell me. Does it drive you mad knowing every glimmer of hope you had was all a cruel joke?" Jäger grinned.

Cade and Oreonna charged at either side of Jäger, hacking off bits of his metallic body, only for whatever was hacked off to slither and merge back with him.

Jäger raised both of his arms, grabbing both hunters by their heads and throwing them aside, leaving Alex completely alone against his enemy.

Alex only stood up, clutching his wound and staring Jäger in the eye.

"Let me tell you the truth, Jäger. The only reason I'm not like you, an incoherent, mentally unstable psychopath, is because of those people you just threw aside. And the people there, fighting what I can only assume is Arabus reincarnate." Alex shrugged, turning to face the ensuing battle behind him.

"Unlike you, I have friends instead of coworkers. Everything that's letting you nearly beat me into submission is all some concoction Cinder and her scientist friends whipped up in the lab. Everything I have, I learned from someone else in the group." Alex continued, walking up and glaring at Jäger.

"One good thing about having this many people actually give a damn is that I'm less effed in the head the more I'm with them. They drive off my own personal issues like the plague." Alex smirked.

"What are you saying?" Jäger scoffed, glaring back at him.

Alex charged up to Evolved Warrior, over-charging mere moments after and clutching Jäger by the neck.

"Lay a finger on any of them, and you will truly understand what I'm capable of, Jäger." Alex grinned wickedly, squeezing the metallic behemoth's neck as Electricity sparked around his fingertips.

Jäger gagged and coughed, glaring Alex right in the eye as Ultimus ran back, sword in hand.

Alex turned back, staring daggers at Ultimus with a smile that just screamed 'Joker'.

"Run.." Alex grinned, a large ball of lightning taking the place of where Jäger once stood.

The lightning ball suddenly exploded, with Jäger wordlessly exploding into a cloud of metal ash, Alex never taking eyes off of Ultimus.

"I don't care how far off the deep end you've gone..! I am the one who will-!" Ultimus shouted, before Alex sped right in front of him.

Alex grabbed Ultimus by the temples, a smaller ball of lightning forming around Alex's free hand.

"You really.. should've ran away.." Alex grinned, slamming the ball of lightning into Ultimus' chest, causing the warrior to be blown out towards the pyramid, merely battered and broken, but not killed.

Alex then appeared in front of Ultimus again, kicking him into the skies and back to the dilapidated city.

"There are only two reasons I let you live... One, I saw your men help mine fight the Nexus and proved more useful alive. Secondly, when we do fight, I want it to be something worth the time." Alex explained, kicking Ultimus in the head and knocking him unconscious.

Alex powered down, moving towards his family and Oreonna.

"Everyone okay..?" Alex asked meekly, the thoughts of what he did seconds earlier running fresh through his mind.

"W-We're okay.. What happened with Jäger and Ultimus..?" Yang asked, helping Auburn stand up.

"I killed Jäger, but I'm letting Ultimus go back and kiss his boo-boos." Alex scoffed.

"You let him go?!" Cade gaped.

"Are you nuts?! Shrek almost freakin' killed me!" Oreonna added.

Auburn nodded slightly, as though thinking something through in her head.

"Come on, Twilight might need our help-.." Alex sighed, grabbing Thunderbolt before turning back and looking at a bright light in the sky that rapidly grew brighter.

"Wait... Is that.. Kat?!" Yang gaped.

Author's Note

And on the next episode, everyone fights Morning Star.. And something happens to Kat.

And that's all you'll know, at least until next chapter.. :pinkiecrazy:

-The Destoyer

Chapter 32: Ultimatum Part 3 of 3
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 32: Ultimatum Part 3 of 3

*Cairo, Egypt; May 31, 2019; 8:05 PM*

Kat stared in terror as Twilight flew up to fight the newly empowered Morning Star. Turning back to face Vanoss and company, she crouched down and motioned them to do the same.

"I have to find that artifact, otherwise Morning Star's going to kill us all..! Delirious, Terroriser, Nogla, and Ohm, come with me. The rest of you cover Twilight and try to slow Morning Star down!" Kat ordered as she ran off with her friends.

"Twilight Sparkle, you are going to fight me alone? How... Gutless." Morning Star grinned as her eyes continued to glow an ominous red color.

"You had every chance to forget all of this and run, but you still didn't change. I don't want to do this, but all I can do now is save my friends... And kill you." Twilight solemnly flew up, firing bolts of magic on her way and bucking Morning Star in the side.

The dark alicorn didn't budge.

"What?!" Twilight gasped.

"Bad move." Morning Star scowled, grabbing Twilight with her magic and flinging her at the pyramid.

In one of the trenches in Dig Site Y, Vanoss had snuck in with his group, loading their upgraded weapons.

"Okay, guys... We'll beat this horse f**ker with a well thought out, air-tight, overly convoluted plan. Lui, what we got?" Vanoss asked.

"The tunnel systems in each dig site are apparently connected by an underground tunnel system beneath the Dig Sites. We could split up, look for vantage points, use whatever the Nexus guys had lying around, and-" Lui figured, now turning to face the crowd.

"DIIIIIIE!!!!" Vanoss screamed, unloading his upgraded PPSh at the Alicorn.

"LEGGO MY WAFFLE!!" FourZer0 shouted, shooting his Wunderwaffe DG-3 at the Alicorn as well.

"What about the plan?!" Lui asked.

"F**k your plans!" Mini Ladd yelled, wielding his upgraded death machine.

Lui shrugged, grabbing his Pack-A-Punched Locus and shooting Morning Star.

"Now, this is unexpected. Do you really think you can stop me with those useless trinkets?" Their enemy asked scathingly, firing a magic burst towards the dig site.

Everyone quickly ducked to avoid the oncoming blast, and ran further underground.

Ruby, Weiss, and Blake themselves leaped up to fight the Alicorn as well. Slashing, shooting, anything they could do to stop Morning Star.

"What did I just say?!" Morning Star surrounded herself with dark energy, which quickly expanded outwards and sent the three huntresses down below.

Ruby flipped, firing her upgraded scythe at the ground, propelling her towards Morning Star, allowing her to easily hack at her neck.

Ruby was immediately surrounded by a dark ball of magic, and flung back down to the ground at such a high speed, that all anyone saw was a blur.

"Ruby!" Weiss gasped, arranging a series of glyphs that encircled Morning Star.

"What is this..?" Morning Star wondered, using a spell to analyze one of them.

Weiss nodded towards Blake, who ran up to the closest glyph with Wilt sheathed.

Blake immediately zipped upwards, bouncing from one glyph to the other in rapid succession. For a second, it looked like Blake would actually kill her.

Instead, as soon as Blake readied herself for a killing blow, she was surrounded by dark magic. The sinister energy constricted her lungs until Morning Star merely flung her into the ground.

The impact left a massive crater in the sand, with a badly wounded huntress at it's epicenter.

"Blake..!" Ruby glared at Morning Star, her eyes beginning to glow silver.

Morning Star instantly teleported in front of Ruby, generating a powerful spell.

"I don't think so." The dark alicorn glared, firing a wave of dark energy at the huntress, obliterating the surrounding area and reducing the girl to a broken heap on the ground.

"I saw everything relating to Arabus and his death. I have to say, I haven't seen magic that powerful from a human before. It's been fun, but you are useless to me now." Morning Star glared, charging another blast that was meant to finish her off.

Sweetie Belle teleported Applebloom at Morning Star's side, who bucked the alicorn away.

Scootaloo flew in from the other side of the pyramid, kicking the Alicorn away again, with Sweetie Belle waiting for her at the bottom, firing a spell that held her in place. The spell held on for only a second until Morning Star broke out of it.

"You brats!!" Morning Star screamed in rage, only for Pinkie Pie to shoot the party cannon at her, blinding the Alicorn with confetti.

"Fluttershy! Now!" Scootaloo yelled.

Twilight fired a spell at Morning Star, leaving the two at a standstill as suddenly, a large beam of white light descended from the skies.

"Everypony, get back!" Twilight yelled as the beam of solar energy crashed down on the Alicorn, the darkening skies now bright as ten suns.

"Now!" Vanoss yelled from Dig Site W.

The mortars and gating cannons from the various dig sites suddenly shot at the Alicorn, firing shell after shell at the Alicorn.

"DAKKA DAKKA DAKKA DAKKA!!!" Basically yelled as the cannons kept blowing the alicorn apart.

Ruby pulled herself up, the black cloak she had been wearing now torn, revealing an under suit similar to what she had worn back in Los Santos when they fought Arabus. Coughing and aiming her scythe, she attacked Morning Star as soon as the solar cannon flickered away.

All the while, Twilight stared hopelessly at the volley of attacks her friends were dealing out.

"It might seem like we're doing okay now, but Morning Star is an immortal on par with the likes of Celestia.. I hope what Kat finds will help.." Twilight thought.

*Meanwhile*

"So, what exactly are we supposed to find..?" Delirious asked, throwing a rock to the side.

Kat sighed.

"This is and should be among the best-kept secrets among the SCP Foundation, but because I know you guys well enough... I'll tell you." Kat began.

The group kept shockingly silent, stopping their search.

"Legend has it that an Ancient Egyptian artifact was buried somewhere near the Pyramids, an artifact which bestowed immense, godlike power to a person every thousand years or so. It's a small jewel shaped like a lion's eye. They called it the 'Eye of Sekhmet'." Kat explained.

"The eye of what?" Nogla asked.

"Wait... Do you guys know anything about- you know what, f**k it." Kat shrugged.

"No, c'mon, what were you gonna say?" Terroriser rolled his eyes.

Kat grumbled to herself in annoyance.

"Sekhmet was an Ancient Egyptian war god! This artifact should give us a power boost capable of turning someone into a demigod! Or, in Morning Star's case.." Kat trailed off in horror.

"An actual f**king demon war god or some shit." Ohm gaped.

"Which is why we need to find it now!" Kat yelled as she hurriedly dug through the rock with her bare hands desperately.

Nobody happened to notice the two Nexus troops in their search, hiding behind another formation.

"Dammit! I shoulda never trusted that pretentious horse piece of shit!" The first kicked at a rock formation.

"We're all gonna die because some idiot kids waged some kinda alternate dimensional Crusade or something stupid..!" The second scowled.

"Well, in times like these, we've gotta make the right choice.." The first decided.

"The right choice..? What would that... No." The second shook his head in disbelief.

"C'mon, it's not like we were gonna use that damn thing anyways! I still think that most of those legends are BS anyway!" The first retorted.

"Dammit, you're right. Give it to the kid." The second groaned.

The first Nexus soldier stepped out of the darkness.

"Hey! Hands in the f**kin' air!" Delirious ordered.

"We're... Look, we get it. Morning Star's a f**kin' psychopath! We just needed the money.." The second defended.

"We found your rock." The first sighed.

Kat looked up from her sniper scope.

"You're bluffing." Kat glared.

"Look, lady! Since that bullshit back in 2016, work hasn't come that easy! We barely had any choice!" The first glared.

"Yeah, it was either this, linking up with some other psychopath, or going through that immigration BS in the Federation!" The second yelled.

"So.. You really want to defect?" Kat asked.

The entire room rolled their eyes.

"Yes!" Everyone yelled back indignantly.

"I can get not having a good job. Give 'em a chance." Nogla decided.

"Yeah, they seem kinda normal.." Terroriser decided.

"Look, just take your gem, kill whatever the f**k is out there! and find us some work!" The first soldier finally begged.

Kat sighed, taking the gem in her hand.

"What are your names?" Kat asked.

"I'm Hughes, and this is Krieger." The first soldier, Burke, told her.

"Listen, Hughes, Find a man named Alex Walker. He's in the city right now and probably could use some backup, help him with whatever he needs. Krieger, you're with us! You two are hired!" Kat yelled, sniper in one arm, and gem in the other.

"You heard the girl, go!" Krieger told Burke as he ran off towards the city.

*Cairo, Egypt; May 31, 2019; 8:30 PM*

*Ten Minutes Later*

"Why don't you flies just give up?!" Morning Star boasted.

Kat loaded her sniper again, sneaking through the dunes nearby with the gem in hand. None of the documents she had been given provided a way to activate it herself, so she kept it safe with her.

"I won't give up! We will stop you!" Twilight screamed, firing magic bolts at the Dark Alicorn.

She crawled, hunkering down on one side of a dune before running to the next one, the desert heat now completely irrelevant.

Blake finally staggered up from her crater, clutching Wilt and sheathing it.

"H-H-Have to fight..." Blake gasped and shook.

"Get back! Get back!" Vanoss ordered, ducking down as the Dig Site was blasted.

"IT'S GOROD TIME, MOTHERF**KERS!!!!" Wildcat yelled, grabbing a Javelin and shooting Morning Star.

Kat ducked, narrowly avoiding the missile as she saw Blake trudge towards their enemy.

Blake continued to press forward, slowly gaining the energy to fight.

"Die.." Blake demanded, charging at Morning Star.

Morning Star charged a spell, and pointed her horn at the advancing huntress.

"Blake!!" Weiss gasped, using her glyphs to catch up.

She had to try. She had to move her out of the way.

Morning Star shot the spell, blowing them both apart.

Kat gasped in horror.. Two huntresses, among the strongest and bravest she ever knew died right in front of her.

Twilight, completely enraged, flew up to avenge her fallen friends, was blown out of the sky with another spell, her right wing blew off completely.

Kat dropped her sniper rifle. Two had died and one was out of commission. She gazed hopelessly at the scene before her.

"Twilight Sparkle. Your demise, like theirs, was an inevitability. A failure waiting to happen. It must be humbling to say the least to have come so far, only to see everything you worked for wiped away in the blink of an eye." Morning Star grinned wickedly.

Kat's fear quickly turned to anger, anger at the loss of her comrades. She quickly picked up her sniper.

"I warned you what would happen, my little princess, yet here we are. Sorry, Twilight, but you're just another one of Celestia's failures." The Dark Alicorn grinned, preparing another spell that would end the Princess of Friendship forever.

Kat suddenly heard a loud 'ping!' from her pocket, the Eye of Sekhmet had shattered inside!

Kat fumbled into her pocket, holding only a lion's eye and shattered glass in her hand.

Then it began to glow a bright yellow-orange color.

The glow surrounded Kat, leaving her feeling warm in the desert heat. Not hot, but warm.

"Young warrior. You face impossible odds, yet you still found the courage to pick up your weapon. Not only that, but lead an army for the cause of protecting the ones you love. I only choose one to bestow my powers every 1000 years, and you are worthy of being the next." A strong, female voice spoke to her.

Kat knew the voice instantly.

"S-Sekhmet.." Kat realized.

Morning Star turned around, irritated, but stared in horror once she saw what Kat held, and what she was becoming.

"Impossible..! You found the Eye of Sekhmet?!" The Alicorn gasped in terror.

The yellow orange glow eventually seeped into her hair, once a darker brown. The light surrounded her body, giving her the outline of a lioness-human mixture, finally she opened her eyes, now like the one in her hand, which turned to stone and crumbled in her hand.

Kat glared at Morning Star, amber outline of a tail flickering side-to-side.

"Furry!" Vanoss yelled.

Kat paid him no mind, only focused on her enemy alone.

"W-Who are you?! What are you?!!" The Alicorn gasped in horror.

"You should know who I am. My name is Katherine Anderson, Director of the SCP Foundation, and you've just signed your death warrant."

Kat sped towards the Alicorn, slashing at her with light-claws, before kicking the Alicorn into the skies.

At incredible speeds, Kat ascended upwards, leaving burnt claw-marks into her side before scratching away at her wings, burning them clean off and leaving Morning Star falling to the ground.

Kat sped towards the ground, spinning around and smacking the now-Unicorn with her tail into the Pyramid, destroying it as Kat raced across the desert, flinging tons of sand at Morning Star and clawing her back and sides.

Kat, expressionless, finally kicked Morning Star over, and using one light-claw, sliced the ex-Alicorn chin to tail, turning as she bled nearly to death.

"You have only a few minutes left to live, Morning Star. While you're on your way to hell, think about what you did." Kat scowled as the amber glow left her body, receding into a tattoo-like mark on her right hand.

Kat took both the Alicorn Amulet and the Crown from the dying unicorn, staring into her eyes as the unicorn finally expired.

Kat turned around to find Alex and Yang's family, Ruby, and the unharmed members of the Elements of Harmony.

"I have a number of questions." Alex commented bluntly.

"Yeah, same here." Yang shrugged.

"That was awesome!! You were all 'hiyaa!' and Morning Star was all 'Aah! You foiled my plans!'!" Ruby smiled proudly.

Kat smirked at Ruby, nodding slightly.

"Well, I'll just say this. I finally closed the gap." Kat nodded.

*Schnee Family Crypt; Atlas, Remnant; June 5, 2019; 3:00 PM*

"... And may we honor the lives of two brave huntresses-in-training, forever." Winter solemnly sighed as the service continued.

Alex sighed, twitching uncomfortably in the suit he wore as he held his two bouquets for the fallen.

Yang sat to his side, clutching his arm rather tightly.

"I know, I'll miss them, too." Alex mumbled, pulling her into a hug.

Ruby held Yang's hand as well, and Alex felt a pang of sorrow for both of them.

"We were stronger and more powerful than they could reach alone.. We should have done more to help them." Alex thought painfully.

He could've saved them, he could've protected everyone.

Instead, he was swept up in his wrathful slaughter of the Inquisition and had been too exhausted to fight after their encounter with Jäger and Ultimus.

Maybe all of this was his fault.

Cade, Auburn, and Oreonna stared in discomfort at the scene before them, and Alex knew exactly why.

They had seem them die once already.

"Is this the first time they've been able to pay their respects..?" Alex wondered.

One by one, the procession moved to the two caskets. It took some talking on Ruby and Yang's part, but they managed convince Weiss' father to have Blake buried with her teammate in the Schnee Crypt.

Alex took the two bouquets and led his family towards the two caskets, placing the white roses with Weiss' casket and the Belladonnas with Blake's. He felt his eyes almost water.

"Dammit, I promised myself I wouldn't do this." Alex winced, blinking as if a speck of dust got in his eye.

Yang, of course, knew better.

"You really weren't kidding when you said you missed them, did you?" Yang asked.

Alex sighed.

"This isn't the time or place to kid." Alex commented.

Kat walked up next to them.

"It's been a pain, but I did get Mr. Schnee his 'compensation fee' from the SCP. I had to sell him some of our safer containments, but it's the least I could do." Kat commented.

"I get 'ya. Mr. Schnee wanted me to pay him 15% of whatever I make for the next 6 months." Alex nodded.

"So... What now..?" Kat asked him.

"I'll find Cinder myself and settle this. I don't want to see another 'Cairo' ever again." Alex told her.

"Like hell. I'm going with you." Yang slugged his arm.

"Yang, this shouldn't even be a discussion." Alex commented.

"If this is about Auburn, I can handle taking care of her, at least for a little while." Kat shrugged, referring to the child she still carried.

"I'm not making you do anything yet. Obviously, I'm going to prepare first." Alex told her.

"Oh, thank god." Kat sighed in relief.

"So, I'll train and do some odd jobs for the next year or so, but then I'm taking Cinder down and ending the bullshit there." Alex confidently figured.

"Odd jobs?" Yang asked.

"I'll find us a place to stay temporarily. That is, if you're willing to deal with my crap for another year." Alex commented.

"I took your crap this long, right? And besides, dimensional gate companies scrape for money so much they'll charge you a fortune for your emotional baggage." Yang grinned.

Alex glared at Yang.

"God dammit, Yang." Alex groaned.

Author's Note

And there! The climax of the Nexus Saga!

Kat's a furry. That's a thing.

Also, I'm a terrible f**king person.

No judgement.

-The Destoyer

Chapter 33: Calm Before the Storm
View Online

Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 33: Calm Before the Storm

*SCP Headquarters, Washington D.C; June 5, 2019; 1:45 PM*

Kat held the artifacts she recovered from Morning Star's body in two air-tight, metal containers and carried them over to the nearest on-site Containment Unit.

"Director!" The commander of Containment Unit 247 ran over to her, his men not far behind.

"Take these two and lock them in separate areas. Do not tell anyone else the location of either of these." Kat ordered.

"What about SCP-2807? Did you recover it?" The commander asked.

"Here's the thing.." Kat's voice trailed off, covering the three glowing orange claw-marks on her right hand.

"You fused with it, didn't you?" The commander deadpanned.

"...Yes." Kat admitted.

"Okay, we'll get these out of your way. If anything else happens, contact one of the Doctors." The commander nodded, taking the package and running as five men in suits went in the front door.

"Are you the director of this organization?" One of the men asked.

"Yes.. Who are you?" Kat slowly answered.

"We're with the real SCP Foundation in Geo Omicron 4-13. We got the call soon after your operations in Cairo ended." The man replied.

"Shit." Kat face-palmed.

"We're here to offer you a deal. We can't have two Foundations running around, so you can either become this dimension's SCP division, rename your organization, or we could just hand you this cease-and-desist letter." The Agent offered.

"Fine, we'll discuss this later, tell your superiors we'll be ready to talk tomorrow." Kat replied.

"We'll be happy to hear that. Also, be careful. An organization called the Chaos Insurgency is insistent on attacking the Foundation and releasing every SCP they can." The Agent warned as he and the other four left the building.

"Hey, Miss Director.. We're ready for our interviews." Kat heard Hughes and Krieger walk in once the Agents left.

"Sure thing, I'll have someone with you soon." Kat replied, groaning slightly.

"Why did I agree to this?" Kat wearily thought.

*Interdimensional Currency Exchange; Crocus, Fiore; June 5, 2019; 1:48 PM*

"So, we have about 1,400 in Equestrian Bits, 945 in Remnant Lien, and... $6 in Adenien Marks. Can I have that converted into Jewel, please?" Alex asked.

"I doubt it's worth that much." Yang added.

"Yeah, but it should be enough for a small apartment somewhere with a bit less people. We'll find work where we can." Alex noted.

"Your total is about... 296,733.40 Jewel." The teller informed.

"Really..? Wow.. Okay, let's find a cheap apartment somewhere.." Yang grinned.

"Thanks for visiting Fiore!" The teller smiled as they left.

The Walker/Xiao Long family decided to head to Fiore to find work. Mostly because they could handle killing a few monsters, and the place was similar enough to Remnant.

"Well, that worked out." Cade commented.

"True. We should ask where to look for a place to live." Future Auburn added as the four moved along.

"Somewhere far away from other people, preferably." Alex nodded.

"Aw, C'mon! It'd be nice to make a few more friends, right?" Yang asked.

"Ah, yes. And how did that turn out for you?" Alex retorted.

"It turned out great!" Yang shouted.

"Yeah, people are so great..!" Alex sarcastically retorted.

"Mom, dad. We need to find a place where you two can settle this in a more private place." Cade interrupted.

"Kids these days, arguing out in public.." A man commented.

"You think they're bad, there's this Guild out in the country where crap like that happened constantly.." Someone else said.

"Really? Where?" The first man asked.

"My old place in Magnolia Town, this young girl across the river yelled constantly, 'What are you two doing in my apartment!!' At least there they didn't yell in front of a baby." the second man replied.

Yang obviously overheard, grinning at him.

"No." Alex scowled.

Yang smiled bigger.

"No.." Alex rejected, more worriedly than before.

Yang practically pleaded to find this town without even saying anything.

"No, no, no..!" Alex begged.

"Magnolia is 150 miles east of the city." Auburn told Yang.

"Dammit..!" Alex wailed.

*Location Unknown, June 5, 2019; 2:00 PM*

"Lady Salem, the Nexus has dissolved." Cinder reported.

"And what of the Unity soldiers?" Salem asked.

"They've long since left, with Alex, Yang Xiao Long, and two of the Time Travellers in a dimension called 'Earth Land'."

"Good. You're doing well, my protégée." Salem grinned wickedly.

"Thank you, Salem. I believe it is necessary to report that three Huntsmen have discovered my group and are planning an attack." Cinder added.

"And who are they..?" asked Salem.

"Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, and Lie Ren." Cinder answered.

"Hmm.. They were teammates with our... Test Subject, weren't they..?" Salem wondered.

"Yes."

"Let them suffer the same fate as their friend, and proceed as planned with the village in East Vacuo." Salem commanded.

"Yes, Lady Salem." Cinder nodded.

Cinder started to leave, and then turned back to face Salem.

"I have seen Walker's growth between his encounter with my Fall Knights and the Nexus. I imagine he will be looking for me." Cinder informed.

"As I have said, Cinder, he is brash and headstrong. He won't relent in a standard battle." Salem replied, as though their enemy meant little to them.

"And as for Zeta..?" Cinder asked, referring to Alex's current rival.

"Think of it like this, Cinder. Why waste a bullet when you can have the guard dog do all the work..?" Salem figured.

*Location Unknown, June 5, 2019; 4:55 PM*

Raven continued to sharpen her many blades, sliding each brightly colored tool back into it's sheath once she had finished.

"Raven, a word..?" A gravelly, yet lighthearted voice asked in the doorway.

Raven stepped out of her small cottage into the fields, where a familiar face had been waiting.

"Qrow. It's nice to see you again." Raven nodded her greeting.

"You too, sis." Qrow smiled slightly.

"So, what have you been up to as of late..?" Raven wondered.

"Ruby needed to train with me for some mission in Cairo. She just got back and is going to meet with Tai soon." Qrow answered.

"I've been working." Raven said.

"On what? Y'know, you've always been pretty tight-lipped about your missions. What do you even do, anyways?" Qrow wondered.

"The Inheritors are growing, Qrow. My work is never over. I need to train them and now I need to doing high profile missions." Raven answered.

"I get 'ya. Training Huntsmen must be easy work compared to what you've been teaching 'em." Qrow nodded in response.

"I need to get back to this, we'll see each other again soon, right?" Raven asked.

Qrow smiled.

"Sure thing. See ya 'round." Qrow waved before transforming into a crow and flying away.

Raven walked back inside, grabbing her sharpening stone and a piercing red blade.

"Indeed, my work is never over. But it should be.. soon."

Author's Note

In this episode..!

I basically confirm this story crossing over with a legit anime...

And I regret it very little.

The Destoyer

Chapter 34: Expanding Horizons (Ever so Slightly Edited)
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 34: Expanding Horizons (Ever so Slightly Edited)

*Northern Mistral, Remnant; June 11, 2019; 1:45 PM*

Oreonna ran towards Neo, dodging an orange-colored energy blast and blocking a kick with her Viola.

The second Oreonna's blade clashed with her mother's, Neo quickly shattered. Another illusion!

Neo leaped over her daughter and sped towards her at lightning speed, trying to work in a quick slash.

The half-Faunus was quicker, side-stepping to avoid the blade and smacking her mother in the back with her literal instrument of death.

Neo flipped onto her feet, shooting multiple energy blasts before racing behind her and trying to gain an upper hand.

Both hunters collided, each one carrying out devastating blows against the other.

Trying to end their spar quickly, Neo swept her umbrella underneath Oreonna's feet, surrounding her with copies of herself.

Oreonna then slammed her instrument into the ground, breaking every last illusion and blowing Neo away.

Neo leaped up to her feet, a proud smile on her face.

"Not bad, kid.." She smiled.

Oreonna returned the praise with a grin and a flick of her catlike ears.

"You've had a lot of time to adjust with the Fall Maiden's power. You almost had me once or twice." She replied.

Neo sat down, taking a minute to catch her breath as Oreonna sat next to her.

"You're still in contact with Auburn, right?" Neo asked.

"Actually yes. She's with Cade and their parents in Fiore. You've been there before, right?" Oreonna wondered.

"I haven't been there, but I do remember Beta being from there. Never really liked him, though.." Neo answered.

"So.. You were asking about Auburn?" Oreonna tried getting back on the subject.

"Oh, yeah. Your friend seems like a good training partner for you. And the weirdest thing is that she's so unlike both her parents." Neo figured.

"I guess that's true, we were able to stand our ground with Cinder." Oreonna agreed.

"Hm... About Cinder.. In your timeline, she has every maiden's powers, right?" Neo wondered.

"Unfortunately. Thank dust she went mostly after Cade, otherwise, we might not even be here."

"And she's followed the three of you in this timeline?" Neo questioned.

"Yeah.. I've heard that Mr. Walker would be the one to take care of her, but.." Oreonna wondered.

"Alex can barely handle a little scuffle with another version of his own son, much less Cinder." Neo scoffed.

"I'm guessing that's why he's been training himself to death.." Oreonna realized.

"Listen, Oreonna. I don't mind you hanging out with Auburn or Cade, but I can't stand those two idiots leading the charge. Even so, if you want to go with them, I'm not gonna get in the way." Neo sighed.

"Thanks, mom..!" Oreonna smiled.

"Just remember that if things don't go well, you still have your father and I." Neo reminded her.

"I promise." Oreonna swore.

A younger Oreonna had been observing their entire conversation with interest, eyes widened at the fact that her older self was so cool.

The older Oreonna grabbed her Scroll and started texting Auburn.

Oreonna:

Mom's letting me come with you guys! :DDD

Auburn:

I'll let Mom and Dad know. Mom's asking what your Mother thinks of her.

Oreonna:

About as well as you'd expect..

Yang:

Even after the apology gift basket?!

*Fairy Tail Guild Hall; Magnolia Town, Fiore; June 11, 2019; 2:00 PM*

Alex looked through the assignment board, looking for a job.

"Hey, Alex!" Yang poked his back.

"Oh, hey. So, how did everything go with the whole 'introduction' thing?" Alex asked.

"Well, on one hand, we'll fit in perfectly.. Most of the people here are orphans, and this one guy's a parent, just like us! On the other hand..." Yang's voice trailed off.

"What did you do..?" Alex grumbled.

"We need to rebuild three tables." Yang answered.

"Why did I even ask? Anyways, I guess you got your mark already." Alex continued.

"Yep!" Yang grinned.

"Okay.. So, where'd you have Mira put it?" Alex asked.

"Left arm." She replied.

"Really? Knowing you, I thought you would've chosen a creepier place." Alex groaned.

"'Creepier' as in..?" Yang asked.

"Not keeping up that minefield of a conversation.. I'm just going to look for a job, and we'll be on our wa-"

Alex was quickly punched in the side.

"LET'S SEE HOW STRONG YOU ARE, NEWBIE!!" Natsu yelled.

"Sit the f**k down, pinkie!" Alex uppercutted the fiery Mage off of him.

"Smart move, new guy." Gray commented.

"Uh, sir... Your clothes.." Cade winced.

Grey screamed and went off to look for his clothes.

Cade and Lucy, another Mage, watched the chaos from the bar, the former completely surprised at the sight.

"How often does this happen?" Cade asked.

"Once or twice a day." Lucy replied.

"Once or twice?!" Alex gaped.

"Oh, hell yeah!" Yang grinned, joining in the brawl nearby.

Alex crawled off towards the bar. He was already used to stuff like this, thanks to Vanoss and his crew. But the fact that they were all around as strong as he was, he found a bit disconcerting.

"I guess being involved in this crap a couple times a day is decent training.." Alex commented.

"Why would you need training?" Lucy asked.

"Well, it's a lot to explain, but the short version is that I have a number of problems I need to fix within a year and a half." Alex shrugged.

"Well, I'd be interested to hear all about it later, but until then, I've already found us a job. Lucy, round up Natsu and Gray. The new recruits can join us if they'd like." Erza decided.

"We'll go. Besides, we need whatever money we can get." Cade nodded.

"Let's hope this mission doesn't end up like they usually do." Alex and Lucy simultaneously mumbled.

Alex blinked.

"Okay, what happens with you?" Alex sighed.

"Natsu sets everything on fire, Gray freezes whatever Natsu missed, and Erza..." Lucy explained.

"If it makes you feel any better, that sounds a lot better than what happens with me. At most, an entire continent was completely wrecked." Alex said.

Lucy screamed.

"AN ENTIRE CONTINENT?! WHAT IS UP WITH YOU?!"

*Location Unknown; June 12, 2019; 1:30 PM*

"Lady Salem. The Unity team is growing stronger and stronger. I think it's almost time we begin Phase One." Cinder confessed.

Salem scowled at the lack of foresight Cinder suddenly had.

"Have your years in power made you so lacking in concentration?" Salem asked.

"Lady Salem.. I.." Cinder began to explain herself.

"I am aware of how strong the Unity Team has become.. That's why I've prepared some... Reinforcements.." Salem continued.

"Reinforcements?" Cinder asked.

Salem nodded.

"No plan can be seen through without supplementary assistance. The Grimm are decent pillagers, but they are inconsistent. Vulnerable. So I've been looking for the perfect assistants to my plan." Salem explained.

She summoned a small glyph, revealing a crystal ball.

"Our enemies have used this to their advantage.. Now, it shall be their downfall.." Salem continued, looking inside the crystal ball.

Cinder peeked inside the ball as well, and grinned at what she saw.

A golden sphere, adorned with ancient markings and pulsating with energy..

The Summoning Key.

Author's Note

And with that, the next part of the story is revealed: The Coven Arc.

A fully powered Cinder Fall, hordes of Grimm, possibly the Apothicons..

Normally, I'd save something of this caliber as the epic conclusion of a story, but I'll be honest..

There's a lot more going on than what I've revealed.

Chapter 35: Prelude
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 35: Prelude

*SCP Foundation; Geo Vector 0-1 HQ; October 18, 2019; 1:55 PM*

"Hey, is Kat Anderson nearby? I need to give her something.." Vanoss told the person at the front desk.

"Are you turning in an SCP?" The man at the front desk asked.

"Well, yeah.. So should I wait here, or..?" Vanoss continued.

Kat had walked out of a nearby office.

"Okay, fine. But just this once. Got it, Dr. Bright?" Kat asked.

"Hey, Kat!" Vanoss waved.

Kat looked towards Vanoss' direction with a smile.

"Just don't do anything stupid.. Hey, Evan!" Kat greeted with a shake of her hand.

"Hey, so listen.. I read up exactly what one of those SPC thingamajigs are, so I wanted to turn this in, finally." Vanoss told her.

"Really? What are you handing in?" Kat wondered.

Vanoss reached into his bag and pulled out a small, golden sphere adorned with glowing blue symbols on the sides.

"Is that..?" Kat gaped.

"The Summoning Key. I found it in my closet along with a bunch of old VidCon shit. I figured it's best to hand in something this crazy-looking to you while I still have a chance." Vanoss told her.

Kat grabbed the orb, letting it float in her hand with golden light.

"This thing's extremely dangerous, Evan! You don't just leave it sitting in the damn closet.!!" Kat chided.

"That's why I'm handing it in!" Vanoss defended.

Kat face-palmed.

"Be more careful with this kind of stuff when you find it, capisce?" Kat demanded.

"Aright!!" Vanoss promised.

"Anything else you want to tell me?" Kat asked.

"Actually, yeah. Apparently Alex went and invited us to Fiore for some kinda thing.. Let me try and remember what it was.." Vanoss figured.

"Oh, god. I think I know.." Kat mumbled.

"Wait, really?" Vanoss gaped.

"You Blockhead! Alex and Yang are getting married tomorrow for chrissake!!" Kat yelled.

Vanoss' face instantly drained of color.

"Come on! We gotta go!!" Vanoss yelled.

"Hughes, cancel my all appointments for the next three days!!" Kat ordered, shoving the Summoning Key into her bag as she ran off.

*Alex and Yang's 2nd Apartment; Outside Magnolia Town, Fiore; October 18, 2019; 1:57 PM*

"YOU DID WHAT?!"

Natsu, Happy, Gray, and Erza had been in Alex and Yang's small apartment, with three carrying a look of horror as Alex looked through his Scroll.

"Come on! You two already have a kid and you're not gettin' hitched?!" Natsu retorted.

"You morons! If you're going to plan a goddamn wedding, you don't invite people a day before!!" Alex screamed.e

"We didn't invite everyone, I just invited this guy named 'Al Contacts'!" Happy defended.

"That's ALL CONTACTS!" Yang screamed, her eyes already a darkening shade of red.

"Look, Cade, Oreonna, and Auburn are going to be back from their mission with Shadow Gear tomorrow, and we had this planned behind your back for at least a month." Gray added.

"But still!! F**kin' hell, even I don't know how many people Natsu and Happy invited!!" Alex screamed.

"It does explain a few things." Yang recalled, remembering Erza asking for her and Alex's measurements.

"Will all of you be quiet?! You're agitating the child!" Erza yelled from across the apartment.

Alex sat down on the couch with his head in his hands.

"F**king shit. Everyone and their mother's gonna be scrambling to make it here.. Do you guys have any idea how long it took for us to get from Crocus to here on foot?!" Alex groaned.

Natsu, Happy, and Gray screamed in panic.

"YOU GUYS WALKED FROM CROCUS TO MAGNOLIA ON FOOT?!"

*Ponyville, Equestria; October 18, 2019; 2:25 PM*

Twilight scrambled for her teleportation spells while Spike worked overtime to find someone who could get them fitted within two hours.

"Come on, come on..! Who invites wedding guests the day before?! I'll have to reschedule my plans.. Or miss.!!" Twilight worriedly mumbled as she dug through her books.

"The pony who bought the Carousel Boutique is interested! They need all of us over in 15 minutes!" Spike yelled as he ran out the door.

Twilight suddenly heard a magic communicator ringing in the other room.

"Skirmish.!!" She called.

"On it!!" Skirmish yelled, running back from the front door towards the communications room.

Twilight dug and flipped through almost every spell book at her disposal, growing more desperate by the minute.

"It's from Alex again!" She yelled.

Twilight levitated the communicator over to her, reading the message carefully.

Alex:

Sorry about the fuss I might've caused. My guild-mates were planning a wedding behind our backs and got to my scroll after one of them forgot to message you guys a week ago. We've talked to all the venues and asked to reschedule, but the soonest they could get was the 22nd.

Again, really sorry about what happened.

Twilight blinked in surprise.

"Everything okay..?" Skirmish asked.

Twilight's horn immediately started glowing a bright magenta as her eyes twitched. The horn exploded pure magic energy as everything around the room was blown aside.

"Holy shit.." Skirmish gasped.

Twilight took a second to regain her composure.

"They rescheduled it for the 22nd. It's still going to take a while to get everything ready.." Twilight told her.

"Rescheduled..?" Skirmish wondered.

"Alex's friends scheduled the wedding behind their backs." Twilight explained.

"Sounds like the type, all right." Skirmish joked.

"Very funny. Now I need to get to the boutique, I need you to bookmark any important teleportation spells." Twilight ordered.

"You got it!" Skirmish promised as Twilight ran out the door.

Skirmish sat down and started thumbing through the books slowly and calculatingly, looking for any teleportation spells that would help them.

*Patch, Remnant; October 19, 2019; 2:30 PM*

Ruby fell onto her bed in exhaustion, hundreds of combat-styled dresses and red cloaks strewn across her room.

She reached for her scroll, and texted a close friend of her's since the battle that took the life of her two teammates.

Ruby:

Hey, Sun! I got an invite for my sister's wedding on the 22nd, you wanna come?

Sun:

Sure! Where's it at?

Ruby:

It's in Earthland, my sis sent a map to the area, too!

Sun:

I'll go! Mind if I bring a couple friends?

Ruby:

More the merrier, I guess!

"Ruby! Did you know about this?!" Taiyang yelled from across the house.

So obviously he got the memo..

*The House, Location Unknown; October 20, 2019; 2:30 PM*

Dr. Monty fiddled around his controls nervously, as though searching for something.

"Dammit! Several Summoning Keys have gone missing, the Apothicons are gone, and numerous other versions of those four idiots are dead!" Monty slammed his fist against the table in a rage.

"How... How did this happen?" Monty seethed.. His perfect world was at risk! This and every other universe could be in complete danger!

A monitor to his side started beeping, as Monty ran over to check. The machine was meant to search every dimension and find each version of the Summoning Key.

Monty found that, strangely enough, the red dots on his screen seemed... Clumped together..

"Strange.. It's almost as if they... Oh, f**k!" Monty realized.

Whoever had been screwing around with those damned artifacts had combined them!

"Let's see... Geo Vector 0-1... Bollocks! Where did it..?" Monty scowled. This person was traveling dimensions!

Monty traced the energies on the wormhole between that dimension and searched for the other end.

According to the path the Summoning Keys had been heading, they were traveling to..

"Mashima 10-22; Earthland..." Monty noticed.

Monty grabbed his journals, shoved them into his side-bag, and headed off.

He instantly ran back to his microphone, trying to find the only crew that had still been standing.

"See, I've run into a small problem. You know how you dumbasses have been messing with forces beyond your control? Yeah.. Believe it or not, some other dumbass one-upped each and every one of you!

That Summoning Key Richtofen's been lugging around, imagine that combined with about ten other Summoning Keys. Yeah, it's that bad.

I'll set up a portal over there as soon as I can. What I need you to do is help me find whoevers' been f**king everything up and get that key before something else rears it's ugly head!" Monty ordered.

Chapter 36: Birds of a Feather
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 36: Birds of a Feather

*Outside Magnolia Town, Fiore; October 20, 2019; 4:55 PM*

"I'm glad you were able to make it with preparations still underway, you two." Ezra greeted.

The three stood in a clearing at least a mile away from town. A nearby river that fed into the sea rushed in the distance, and the wind blew leaves in from the forest about a half-kilometer behind them.

Between missions, Alex had requested training from anyone willing, with Erza being one of now 6 people who stayed at the hall often enough and were strong enough to do so. Yang insisted on coming along to make sure the two weren't doing anything wrong, among other things.

"Thanks for taking time to help out with this." Alex thanked.

"It's no trouble." Erza nodded.

"Woo! Let's see what you've got! You can take 'er!" Yang applauded.

"Yang, not now!" Alex insisted.

Erza didn't respond to either outburst.

"What have you been doing for training since we last worked together?" Erza asked.

"I've mostly been trying to keep up my strength and endurance. I've learned a couple new tricks from that stunt on Galuna. And I've been wearing these," Alex removed his chestplate, removing a block of steel from the core and shoulders respectively, "Since the Tower of Heaven."

Erza stared at the steel blocks on the ground before her, lifting one up with slight difficulty.

"How much do these weigh?" Erza asked.

"About 30 Kilos." Alex replied evenly as he felt his thighs and shins and yanked off two more similarly sized bricks from either leg.

"Each?" Ezra gaped.

"Yeah. He's pretty stubborn about keeping 'em on, too. He only really takes them off to bathe." Yang answered.

"Oh, come on. I've taken them off more often than that." Alex scoffed, removing more weights off his wrists and upper arms.

Erza stared at the pile of weights on the ground, almost perplexed at the sight.

"This has to be 700 pounds at least!" Erza thought.

"Gotta admit, it's better to have these off.. Much lighter, now!" Alex flexed.

"Well.. Hopefully this training exercise is going to be a bit easier on you." Erza grinned.

"We'll see. What's the plan?" Alex cracked his knuckles.

"It's simple. Attack me." Erza requiped to her Lightning Empress armor.

Alex drew his own sword, now remolded into a single-edged scimitar.

Just after the Fantasia parade ended, Alex and his family returned to Ponyville because several of their weapons had broken down from month after month of abuse. Alex requested his next weapon in the form of the familiar SCAR-H, leaving him with a much more powerful weapon.

Of course, it came in handy since most of the guild had been ensnared in another battle with a dark guild by the time they got back.

"I'll let you take the first attack." Alex stood, sword ready.

Erza grinned.

"Very well. Natsu! Gray!" Erza yelled.

"What?!" Alex thought as the other two mages leapt to Erza's side and attacked.

Alex darted backwards, leaping though any attack he could before landing behind Natsu.

"Sup, Pinkie?" Alex grinned.

"WHO'RE YOU CALLIN' PINKIE?!" Natsu swung his fist.

Alex blocked the attack, only to have his metal hand heat up.

Natsu leaped towards Alex, raising another flame-wreathed fist and punching Alex in the side.

Alex doubled over, leaving him open to Gray's attack..

"ICE-MAKE LANCE!!"

Alex had mere milliseconds to evade the offending splinters, landing in front of the Ice Mage and side-kicking him into a tree.

Just as Gray started to stand, Natsu readied his own attack.

"FIRE DRAGON-!!"

"ICE-MAKE-!!"

"Shit!" Alex gaped.

Alex was instantly bombarded by arcs of flame and slivers of ice. He darted towards the ice, knowing well the searing pain that came with getting burned.

The ice slivers bounced off his armor and the bigger chunks dented the metal plate. The largest blocks of ice, he was able to hack in two and attack Gray easily.

Alex swiftly ducked to avoid an ice-covered fist, kicking Gray into the skies and readying his own counter.

Alex reared back his right arm, as though preparing to throw a ball, as a pulsating mass of lightning formed in his palm.

"THUNDERBURST!!!" Alex pelted Gray with the violet-colored ball of energy, resulting in an impressive display of energy as the Ice Mage fell to the ground.

"FIRE DRAGON ROAR!!" Natsu blew a massive gust of fire towards him.

With mere moments to react, Alex unsheathed his sword and allowed his energy to pour into the blade.

With a wide swing, a razor-thin strip of lightning parted the flames, forcing Natsu to evade the deadly arc.

Alex ran past the Dragonslayer, planting a blow onto his stomach and slowly uncurled his fist.

"Shock Breaker." Alex deadpanned as Natsu was blown into the forest.

Alex turned around to find that Erza had been charging an attack in the twenty or so seconds he'd been fighting Natsu and Gray.

"LIGHTNING BEAM!!" Erza fired a pulse of electricity towards him.

At the same instant, Natsu flew towards him at incredible speed, grinning as he reared back his fist.

Alex raised his hand towards the electric pulse Erza made as Natsu grew ever closer to him.

Natsu and Erza both gasped in surprise at what happened next.

Alex absorbed Erza's blast through his palm. Grabbed Natsu, swung him towards Erza, and sent him on his way with his own counter-attack.

Erza leaped out of the way, forcing her to requip into her Heaven's Wheel armor.

She reared back both arms and carried two swords, all the while requipping dozens of others.

"Ah, crap. Blumenblatt.." Alex raised his own weapon to block.

Alex managed to successfully block Erza's initial strike, only to be hopelessly unprepared for the dozens of swords that skewered past. One in particular managed to actually stab around his armor and left behind a nasty cut.

Instantly, Natsu and Gray leapt to the opening like sharks to blood, and bombarded him with ice and fire attacks.

By the end, Alex staggered onto one knee, clutching the wound Erza's sword had made.

"Are you done?" Erza asked.

Alex grinned.

"You wish.."

Alex stood back up, raising himself to Evolved Warrior and glaring at the three mages.

"I don't think you guys have seen this yet... Allow me to introduce you the Evolved Warrior." Alex grinned.

Erza stared at the static light-purple aura, his spiky, purple hair, and the way he now seemed to surge with newfound power.

"Evolved Warrior..?" Erza repeated in curiosity.

Alex blinked.

"Oh, I almost forgot this was a training exercise." Alex quickly powered down.

All three mages were completely perplexed by the sudden changes.

"How did you do that?! Are you some kind of super-wizard?!" Natsu asked.

"Natsu." Ezra glared.

Alex grumbled.

"It's a long story, and I'd prefer not to tell it now." Alex said.

"Alright.. Hey, Yang. What's up with Alex?" Natsu asked.

"NATSU!!" Alex screamed.

"Oh, yeah.. We've had a bunch of problems involving inter-dimensional dictatorships and shit. Alex needed to head over here to train, and I talked him into joining the guild." Yang said.

"For what? If this threat follows you here, we need to know." Erza demanded.

Alex sighed.

"Now, this is going to take some explanation.." Alex groaned.

Alex explained that Cade and Auburn were their children from the future, and that their timeline's Cinder had followed them to this timeline. He also told them about the Maiden's power, and how Cinder had killed all four and become much stronger than even he wanted to deal with.

Erza, Natsu, and Grey were absolutely horrified.

"If this 'Cinder' is as strong as you say she is, we need to tell Makarov, now!" Erza demanded.

"Are you crazy?! I'm not letting another world die because of my bullshit!" Alex yelled.

"You and your family joined this guild, so your problems are our problems, now." Gray swore.

"Is everyone I meet f**king insane?!" Alex yelled.

"What about the wedding?" Yang asked.

"THAT'S YOUR QUESTION?!" Natsu screamed.

"Your friends can help. In case Cinder comes, we need everyone ready." Erza explained, dragging both Alex and Yang by the wrist.

*Crocus, Fiore; October 20, 2019; 5:00 PM*

Twilight, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and the CMC wandered around town, asking around for directions to Magnolia Town.

"Well, so much for being polite." Twilight sighed.

"Aw, cheer up! We'll find our way! Let's ask this guy!" Pinkie pointed to an aging man with white hair and a red scarf. Carrying a sachel, he spoke to four other men.

"...And make damn sure you find those Summoning Keys before..." The man turned around and looked at the ponies.

"Uh.. Hello, sir! My name is-"

"Twilight Sparkle. Former Protégé of Princess Celestia, and a known benefactor of Geo Vector 0-1's division of the SCP Foundation." The man replied.

Twilight gasped.

"How did you know..?" Twilight asked.

"Erm... Dr. Monty, who und what are they?" A man with a moustache and a German accent asked.

Dr. Monty smiled.

"Our ticket for putting everything back into order.. Tell me, where are the Summoning Keys?"

Author's Note

I intend to make this arc quite a bit longer than the others. Let's face it, 10 chapter story arcs of roughly the same plotline isn't going to work any more than three times.

Now, I'm still working on the storyline of this arc and when exactly the crap's gonna hit the fan. But I can honestly say that when it does, it's gonna be epic.

Chapter 37: The Coven
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 37: The Coven

*Location Unknown; October 21, 2019; 3:44 PM*

Salem, Cinder, and two other members of their inner circle, Watts and Hazel, around a table.

"Where's Tyrian? He should be here." Hazel scowled.

"Hmm... If I remember correctly, Tyrian was out getting help from the Chaos Insurgency." Cinder answered.

"For him, I suppose it's fitting." Hazel noted.

"Why would we need help from yet another organization?" Watts wondered.

"Because, doctor. They know the most about a certain number of artifacts that can help us achieve our goals." Salem replied.

"Speaking of artifacts, Cinder's allies in the Nexus were barely able to get that damn Egyptian gem. Why wasn't she there?"

"I was instructed to stay back, Watts." Cinder scowled.

"So, just because you have every maiden's powers, means you can talk to me that way. At least I was able to 'convince' Neo to kill Torchwick." Watts grumbled.

"As if she needed convincing.. That fool is about as useful as a White Fang grunt." Hazel scowled.

"My former associates are not of your concern, you two. And don't think I won't simply kill you for disrespecting me." Cinder said.

"Coming from someone who couldn't kill some imbecile Adenienite kid." Watts scoffed.

"Fight him, and you'll understand he's more of a threat than any silver-eyed warrior you've ever dealt with." Cinder retorted.

"That's quite enough, you three." Salem scowled contempt fully at them.

The three grumbled as the sank into their seats.

"Now, Doctor. Have you made any progress with the children?" Salem asked.

"They're coming along. Conditioning is the harder part, but in due time, they'll work out." Watts explained.

"As they should. Hazel, I need you dealing with the Artifact. Cinder will stay with me until the time comes." Salem ordered.

"What exactly do you need me to do?" Cinder asked.

"We wait. We let Watts, Hazel, and Tyrian do their part. You two may leave." Salem said, turning towards the other two men as they left the table.

Salem waited until the two left the room.

"Yes, Salem?" Cinder asked.

"My pupil. As much as I need every piece of my puzzle. I find that I have a few pieces that, ahem, don't fit." Salem explained.

"And then?" Cinder asked.

"When the time comes, they will have outlived their usefulness. execute them." Salem ordered.

"Yes, Salem.." Cinder stood up.

Salem sat in her seat, thinking things through in her head.

"One other thing, Salem?" Cinder asked.

Salem's eyes narrowed, "Speak."

"What are your intentions with the Artifact?" Cinder asked.

Salem smiled.

"Patience, my protégé, all in due time."

*Fairy Tail Guild Hall, Magnolia Town, Fiore; October 21, 2019; 3:50 PM*

"So, what do we do now?" Alex grumbled.

The guild had welcomed everyone of his friends quickly before pulling them inside, checking the doors for anything suspicious.

"We wait. This 'Cinder' will plan an attack on Fairy Tail to find you. They'll expect all of us in the Guild Hall to take us down in one swift blow, but Fairy Tail gains a significant home-field advantage." Erza stated.

Alex heard a loud knocking on the door, and everyone quietly panicked.

"I'll check." Auburn promised as she went and opened the door.

"So, you sure about this? The guild looks like they're ready to blow any second." Alex asked.

"They'll be fine. Remember the guild war with Phantom Lord?" Yang asked.

Alex felt his latest scar; a ragged, vicious looking cut across his chest from his fight with Gajeel. The fight had left him battered and nearly broken, mostly stemming from the fact that apparently iron attracts lightning.

"Remind me again to never to piss off a Dragonslayer." Alex scowled.

Auburn opened the door, letting in the New Mane 6, and five strange men, one of them appearing much older than the rest.

"Hold on.." Alex stood up and walked towards the older man.

"Who are you? I don't remember sending you five an invitation." Alex glared.

"We've come with the ponies. We're looking for something and we were hoping that you could help." The old man replied.

Alex scowled.

"I'll let this slide.. For now. What's your name?"

"I am Dr. Monty. And you are Saigo Emphas, AKA Alex Walker. I must say that I'm impressed with your work." Dr. Monty replied.

Alex backed up.

"I never told you my name.." Alex glared.

"We'll discuss this later, there are other matters I must worry about." Monty promised, walking past him.

Alex turned to face the other four.

"And you are..?" Alex asked.

"Hmm. Angry, this one.. Probably American."

"F**k you, Takeo."

"Apologies. I am Nikolai. This is Dempsey, Takeo, and the German is Richtofen." Nikolai nodded.

"It's fine." Alex curtly replied.

'Richtofen' instantly went his separate ways towards Dr. Monty, and Alex's curiosity piqued.

He had to know who they were.

"Excuse me. I gotta wash up." Alex left, following Richtofen.

Yang stood up, looking concerned.

"Something wrong?" She asked.

"Just something I have to attend to. It won't be long." He replied.

Alex stalked the two gentlemen cautiously as they trekked slowly through the Guild Hall, conversing about some unknown subject.

As they headed towards the back end of the Guild Hall, Alex was able to get closer. Who were they? And how did they know so much about him?

"...Are you sure he can be trusted, Dr. Monty? I've seen what he is capable of, but he's... Unpredictable.." Richtofen asked.

Alex gasped silently, clenching his teeth.

"I can understand where you're coming from, Doctor Richtofen. But the fact of the matter is, he's dealt with so much similar stuff before, this should be a walk in the f**king park!" Monty noted, turning around and looking back suspiciously.

Alex snuck back around the corner, to prevent being seen.

Alex held his mouth shut and forced himself not to move. He soon heard footsteps again and snuck to follow.

The two were heading up the stairwell as Alex waited for them to move along as he silently crept behind.

The two seemed to be heading towards a deck behind the Fairy Tail Guild Hall overlooking the ocean, private enough to not be seen by the rest of the wedding party.

"Well, I trusted Doctor Maxis with correcting our actions. I led ze souls to ze House with my Summoning Key.." Alex overheard Richtofen tell him.

"Maxis was acting under my supervision, Richtofen. If Walker is able to help us find that damn conglomerate of a Summoning Key, then there's no problem whatsoever. Your comrades seem to be making friends of the other travelers, so what's the issue?" Monty asked.

The Summoning Key... Where did he hear about that before..?

Vanoss!

"Speaking of Captain Walker, you can stop sneaking around like a f**king cat." Monty called.

Alex sighed.

"Dammit." He muttered.

"Eh... Was he following us this whole time?" Richtofen asked.

"Mostly." Alex replied curtly.

"So you know of our situation?" Monty asked.

"Bits and pieces. I know about something called a 'Summoning Key' that you apparently need badly enough to come here." Alex rolled his eyes.

Monty sighed.

"Alright. If you don't mind, Edward. I'd like to recap a bit so Alex here gets the full scoop." Monty stated.

"It is alright. We need as much help as possible." Richtofen replied.

"Sit down, Alex. This might come as the biggest shock to you since you found out about Auburn not really being yours." Monty stated.

Alex decided to ignore that comment as a whole.

"Now, as you learned from a slightly earlier age, the Universe is a big, big big place. Bigger than what I even thought. One of these particular dots in the cosmic paper that is reality, is my own universe..

"Now, That universe in of itself is filled to the brim with dozens upon dozens of other sort of 'Mini-Universes', if you will. Dimensions within dimensions like some kind of Russian Nesting Doll. And it was beautiful.

"The thing about that is, well, I've run into a few problems involving an ancient evil that has been making my life as of late a bigger headache than usual. The Apothicons.

"I know what you're thinking, and yes, the Inquisitors were evil. In fact, most people in general are a little evil if you really look into them. But the Apothicons, holy shit, they're bad."

"Doctor Monty, I can't help unless you get to the point." Alex interjected.

Dr. Monty cleared his throat.

"Of course. Anyways. The Apothicons are bad, so is the guy leading the charge, as they say. The original harbinger of doom. The Shadowman.

"Normally, I would've banished him as always and called it a day, but, as luck would have it. Things got worse.

"Apparently, in addition to my own universe. There are hundreds, thousands even, just like it. Only with some changes, though. Some small, some so drastically different they're barely alike! It was perplexing, at first, but then I wondered how the other 'me's felt.

"The point is, similar things have been going on in these parallel universes. But here's the main problem. Dozens and dozens of other versions of Doctor Richtofen and his Crew have been found, mysteriously gunned down and had weapons stolen off of them!

"The more I looked into it, the more problems arose! Weapons and plans were disappearing, certain elements of certain creations all messed up like your family tree.

"But the absolute worse thing..? A crew of four went to a parallel version of one of my worlds, and captured that universe's Shadowman inside one of the Summoning Keys!! If that wasn't bad enough, they went and merged them all together!! The damn Shadowman could be in any one of the thirteen or so they mixed together!!!"

Alex was hesitant to ask his next question.

"Who or what is this... 'Shadowman'? How powerful is he?" Alex asked.

Monty shook his head.

"Well, in the grand scheme of things. You are at a...uh... Six-point-five.. maybe seven. And the Shadowman is at... Say... 138." Dr. Monty explained.

Alex fell back into his chair.

"Well, shit!" Alex flipped the table.

"Calm down! There is a way to put this mess to a standstill!" Monty yelled.

Alex calmed down and slumped back into his chair.

"I'm listening, Doctor." Alex nodded.

Monty leaned in close.

"Find me that Summoning Key, or else this," Monty gestured to the ocean to their right, "Will be the last you ever see of a peaceful world." He scowled.

Alex stared in horror... How could something like that exist..?

"I need to get to work.. Fast.." Alex stood up.

"Well, if you say so.." Monty handed him a red bottle with a small 'plus' symbol on it.

Alex held the bottle in his hand.

"The hell's this..?" Alex asked.

Richtofen stood up.

"That is Juggernog.. It increases your endurance and strength two-fold at least.." Richtofen explained.

"I had to make these perks special for you. Adenienites can't drink, remember?" Monty asked.

"Huh..?" Alex wondered.

"Oh, right. You didn't discuss that part with Ultimus, yet.." Monty rolled his eyes.

Alex glared.

"Okay, what the hell are you? Explain, now!" Alex demanded.

Monty grinned.

"My name's Dr. Monty, nice to meet you." He replied with a slight grin.

Author's Note

We get an actual view of Salem's group in this Arc, 'The Coven'.

Thank god for Rooster Teeth getting the juicy bits about the new antagonists out of the way early, or I would've actually had to create characters myself!

Also, we get a look into Doctor Monty and his motives, and more and more of Salem's plan is being unveiled as I write!

Happy Reading!!

-The Destoyer

Chapter 38: Chaos Theory
View Online

Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 38: Chaos Theory

*SCP Foundation Geo Vector 0-1 Division; October 21, 2019; 9:30 PM*

Hughes and Krieger stood guard outside one of the Containment Chambers, armed and waiting for anything unusual.

"So... Do you think we really made the right choice..?" Krieger asked.

"About..?" Hughes wondered.

"The Director. We gave her the Eye, and she gave us a job.. Even so, with everything that's been happening.. Were we right..?" Krieger wondered.

"Morning Star would've killed us all. What could we have done? Die?" Hughes asked.

"Still.. I can't help but feel like I'm doing something wrong by taking this job.." Krieger admitted.

"Hey, I know how you feel. I don't care how many times we get to see 999, these people are f**kin' insane!" Hughes threw up his hands in exasperation.

"I nearly got killed just going to the bathroom! And whenever shit's not trying to kill me! it's creeping me the f**k out!" Krieger assented.

"And, I mean, what's next, the Facility gets attacked?!" Hughes yelled.

Suddenly, the pair heard gunfire and explosions from close by.

"Dammit, Hughes." Krieger held his rifle.

The two ran towards the main entrance to discover armed soldiers fast-roping in through the skyline and more breaking windows open and shooting nearby attendants.

"Christ!" Hughes shot at some of the soldiers, two of them getting shot to death.

"Keep me covered!" Krieger told him, grabbing another dead SCP soldier's gun and counter-attacking.

"Where are you going?!" Hughes asked.

"This whole facility is in danger!" Krieger yelled as he dual-wielded the SCP standard issue HK416s and took down as many as he could on his way to a side-room.

"Dammit, Krieger.." Hughes spat, shooting more soldiers who happened to make their way inside.

"Reinforcements inbound!!" A dozen or so SCP guards charged in behind, taking out the rest of that battalion.

"The hell's going on?" Hughes asked.

"The goddamn Chaos Insurgency. They've just tried shutting down our power. Since using the classic internet didn't work, they're trying to do it manually." A commander informed.

"Anything I can help with, Sir?"

"Place the Containment Units on backup power! They'll shut down the main power soon, but we can hope that the Backup power holds out long enough!"

Krieger stepped out of the room.

"Okay. Backup power's on. That... Oh, reinforcements showed up.." Krieger sighed in thanks.

"Now, we need to hold out for as long as possible.. The Insurgency is getting backup from an unknown faction." The commander ordered.

"Yes, Sir!" The soldiers hunkered down in vantage points all over the lobby, some even setting up MGs near the stairs.

"Well.. I guess what we've been doing is better than what we were doing.." Krieger admitted.

"Agreed."

A large horde of Soldiers charged in from either side of the main entrance, all of them carrying pack-a-punched weapons.

"The hell?!" Krieger gaped at the strange weapons the Chaos Insurgency carried.

"Take cover!!" A guard shouted, throwing a Molotov and burning a group of machine gunners.

"We've gotta hold the line! Don't let up!!" The commander ordered.

Hughes grabbed the suitcase at his back, assembling a 20mm cannon at his side as Krieger covered him.

"Hail Mary!!" Krieger grabbed a frag grenade and tossed it at another group.

The group exploded into a pillar of fiery ogre as more and more soldiers piled in.

"Keep holding on!!!" The commander ordered as he was shot in the head.

"Fire!!" Krieger yelled upon seeing Hughes' sniper.

Hughes grabbed the cannon, aimed for a dense crowd of Chaos Insurgency troops, and shot the first round.

The shot pierced through ten troops before ricocheting and killing an eleventh, all of whom died instantly.

"Good shot..!" A soldier congratulated.

Krieger reached for his pistol, a rail-gun that fired a .50 caliber lead ball.

"Last one!" Krieger shouted, finishing off the enemy soldier.

"Is that the last of them..?" Hughes asked, holding a second round in his hand.

"I think so... You guys okay?!" Krieger yelled.

A unanimous 'yes' was mumbled throughout the group.

"Radio's back up!" A soldier called.

The men gathered around the small radio while Krieger kept watch.

"Soldier, do you copy?" One asked.

"Y-Y-Yes, sir... Th-They're tearing us apart here... The Chaos Insurgency... They-" The radio devolved into static as a soldier claymore to get it back on.

"Come on... Don't die on me!" He grunted, smacking it.

As soon as the radio went back on, all they heard were screams of pain and agony.

"Were one of the SCP's released?!" Another soldier gasped.

"No. Krieger turned on the Emergency Power. If all goes well, that should be up and-"

The lights instantly shut off before the flickering red emergency lights turned on as well.

"-Running..."

The men gathered their weapons, watching the front and backsides of the room.

"Stay close.." Hughes ordered.

"Right.. We can't-"

Suddenly, the men began screaming in agony as Hughes was splattered in an unknown fluid, all the while, a ragged, wicked voice cackled with glee at the sudden carnage.

"Blood..?" Hughes gasped.

"Hughes, you there?" Krieger fell in close to Hughes.

"The hell just happened?!" Hughes panicked.

"Calm down! I'll take care of whatever's--"

Krieger screamed in pain before his cries were subsided by gurgling and a dull thud..

"Krieger?!" Hughes grabbed Krieger's pistol, holding it out in front of him..

"Hm.. Seems I've missed one." The voice chuckled.

Hughes turned round to see a figure of a man holding... Claws?

The man walked slowly towards him, scratching the metallic claws against the wall as Hughes fired the railgun.

The killer diverted the shot into the wall, and Hughes could practically see the wicked smile of the psychopath.

"W-Who are you?!" Hughes gasped, loading the cannon with trembling fingers.

Hughes' neck was clutched in the killer's grasp, feeling the sharp metal blades sink into his neck.

"Guess it won't matter anyways.. My name's Tyrian.. And you're the only one who'll ever know.. Before I rip your throat out, where's the Summoning Key?" Tyrian grinned.

Hughes growled in anger and pointed the barrel of the Cannon at Tyrian's chest.

The shot managed to pierce Tyrian's Aura, but it didn't prevent him from clawing out Hughes' throat.

Hughes gasped and spluttered, reaching for another gun so he could finish him off.

"Eheheheh... ahahahah!!! Guess you're not much of a talker... At least, not anymore!!" Tyrian chuckled, pulling the bullet out of his chest as he kicked Hughes over, planting a foot on his chest.

More Chaos Insurgency soldiers poured inside.

"Sir.. The Summoning Key is not located at this facility!" The Chaos Insurgent reported.

Tyrian grumbled in disappointment.

"Well, at least it was worth the visit.." Tyrian grinned as he lowered himself down above Hughes, and lashed his claws across his face.

*Fairy Tail Guild Hall; October 21, 2019; 9:45 PM*

"YOU SONS OF BITCHES!!" Dempsey had Vanoss by the neck, pinning him to the wall while Nikolai and Takeo raised their weapons at the rest of Vanoss' crew at the doorway.

"S-Shit..! G-Get the f**k off me..!" Vanoss struggled under the soldier's grasp to little avail.

"You killed every version of us you found! How about I return the favor?!" Dempsey scowled.

Vanoss swiftly kicked Dempsey where no man should be kicked. Now free, Vanoss stole Dempsey's .45 and held it up to his head.

"It was easy enough killing ya the first 30 times, let's go for thirty-one!" Vanoss grinned.

Erza scowled, twisting Vanoss' arm behind his back and kicking Dempsey in the face.

"As much as I don't mind infighting, I'd rather not have Mirajane mop your blood off the floor." Erza demanded.

"As much as I hate these murderous pigs, we should not kill each other." Nikolai decided.

"Agreed. It is not the honorable way." Takeo agreed.

"That doesn't mean everything's okay, you f**ks." Wildcat said.

"Wildcat.." Delirious raised his hands as the rest of Vanoss' crew walked inside.

Twilight sat in the stool next to Yang.

"So, Princess. How's the new wing?" Yang wondered.

"It's... Still unnatural, but I'll get used to it.." Twilight figured, giving the robotic wing a flick.

"Yeah, I get ya. Thank god Cade was able to build these for me, otherwise I might not have been able to fight!" Yang smacked her metallic right arm and leg.

"Hi, Yang!" Ruby greeted as she walked inside the guild.

"RUBY!!!" Yang ran and immediately bear-hugged her sister.

"Gah.. Y-Yang.. You're crushing my ribs.." Ruby gasped.

"Oh, sorry!!" Yang smiled sheepishly.

"So, how's the Guild working out?" Ruby asked after taking a breath.

"The people here are awesome! Alex

Alex walked back in the main hall with Dr. Monty and Richtofen.

"Hey, Doc." Dempsey nodded.

"So, were you able to figure out why Dr. Monty's here?" Gray asked.

"I was.. Where's Makarov?" Alex asked.

"I'm right here.!! Give me a second.." Makarov exclaimed while climbing up to the railing of the second floor.

"Is everyone here? Where's Kat?" Alex asked.

"Hey." Kat nodded respectfully.

Alex smiled back before hardening his expression.

"Okay. I was able to get Dr. Monty here to tell me why he came to Fairy Tail. And... Well, do you want the good news or bad news?" Alex asked.

"I'd rather take the good news, kid." Dempsey scowled.

"I'm with the weird guys! Gimme the good news!" Natsu demanded.

"A real man would want the bad news first!" Elfman shouted.

"I'm with the buff guy over there." Vanoss sighed.

Alex face palmed.

"For f**ks sake.. The bad news is that Monty's here because someone in this Guild Hall is carrying an artifact called the 'Summoning Key'. Apparently, it's containing a demon of some kind called the 'Shadowman'. For whatever reason, I feel like Cinder Fall's connected with this mess somehow." Alex commented.

A collective gasp sounded throughout the room.

"The Shadowman?!" Cade screamed.

Oreonna's face paled at the mention of his name, whereas Auburn now had a horrified expression.

"Wait, you know about that 'Shadowman'?!" Gray yelled.

"Know him? He's been terrorizing us since Our Cinder let him out! It took me 3 years of training before Flurry and I stood a chance!" Cade explained.

"The Shadowman bridged Future Equestria and Future Adenien when he summoned our timeline's Apothicons. It took everything we had to kill that monster." Auburn added.

"He's the one who killed my mom in our timeline!" Oreonna exclaimed.

"Neo..?" Yang gasped.

The entire guild hall, aside from Monty's crew, was swept in a wave of terror.

"AAHH!!! ANY ONE OF US COULD LET HIM OUT! I BET IT'S GRAY!!" Natsu yelled.

"IT ISN'T ME, YOU HOTHEADED FREAK!" Gray retorted.

"SHUT UP!!" Alex demanded.

The hall was kept unusually silent.

"But there is good news. If we can find the damn Summoning Key, we might be able to stop all of this shit before it even happens." Alex told them.

"Even so, why would Cinder release the Shadowman again if she knows what'll happen?" Cade wondered.

Alex grinned.

"She's running out of ideas. It's just like what happened with the Changelings before we met Alex, They got desperate and invaded Canterlot to survive.." Twilight explained.

"If what you're saying is true, it means Cinder's willing to attack the Guild, and that's where her plan goes to shit. Yang, the kids, and I have been in the Guild for a little over 6 months now, and if I learned anything from being here, it's that if you piss off Fairy Tail, you won't like what happens next!"

The Guild Hall suddenly erupted in an uproar.

"Damn right!" Makarov, Elfman, and most of the Guild Members shouted.

"I'M ALL FIRED UP NOW!" Natsu yelled.

"If she wants this Shadowman released, she'll have to deal with all of us, then!" Mini shouted.

"I'll teach this 'Cinder' person why you don't f**k with a Marine!" Dempsey roared.

"If we managed to recover from everything that's happened, then we can fight this 'Shadowman' or anyone who wants to release him!" Twilight noted..

"CUTIE MARKED CRUSADERS DEMON LORD KILLERS YAY!!!" The three fillies yelled.

"I've dealt with a lot of Grimm, I can help with your Shadowman problem too!" Ruby added.

"Alright! Here's my plan: Tomorrow, the wedding goes on as planned, with someone watching for anyone suspicious while looking for the Summoning Key. Whether or not the Shadowman's released, we'll fight hard, and WIN!" Alex screamed.

*Meanwhile; Outside of Magnolia Town, Fiore; October 21, 2019; 10:15 PM*

Hazel and an armored figure walked through the mountains, overlooking the quaint town of Magnolia.

"And you're sure she's here?" The figure asked.

"Yes. If my people are right, your target should be in that building." Hazel replied, pointing to the large structure overlooking the sea.

"Now. Listen to me carefully, You go ahead and release that Shadow-Whatever on this world, I don't really care. I'll take care of that little silvery eyed shit myself. If you or anyone else gets in my way, they die, understand?!" The figure demanded.

"Don't worry. You get your prize, my superiors get an opening for their plans with Remnant. Alex Walker will die. And that'll be the end of it." Hazel answered.

The figure laughed.

"You expect me to let that bastard escape my grasp? Oh no, I'll take care of him, free of charge."

Author's Note

And here's the official reveal of Tyrian.

.. No, not Alex's alter-ego in the first story arc, but one of the new villains introduced in RWBY Volume 4.

Expect things to start going crazy by next chapter. :pinkiecrazy:

-The Destoyer

Chapter 39: Apocalypse Initiated
View Online

Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 39: Apocalypse Initiated

*Fairy Tail Guild Hall, Magnolia, Fiore; October 22, 2019; 2:45 PM*

Hazel entered the Guild Hall, politely greeting a...flying blue cat...upon entry.

"Thank you." He nodded curtly, walking inside the hall.

"Aye, sir!" Happy grinned.

He overheard two men conversing about their girlfriends or something, not that he cared.

"...So, I'm hanging out with Ruby now.." A blonde-haired monkey Faunus explained.

"Wait.. Ruby..? Huh.. Never thought you two'd make a couple." A man wearing an owl mask figured.

Looking at his scanner, the Summoning Key should be inside this building.

He just had to find it.

*Outside Magnolia Town, Fiore; 2:47 PM*

"Ma'am, I am approaching the city. When shall I activate the portals?" Watts asked.

"As soon as we send out our signal." Cinder replied.

"Alright.. If you insist.." Watts muttered.

He stood out, awaiting the supposed signal as the figure walked out.

"Now, what am I to do with your sick creations, Doctor? Put them out of their misery?" A figure asked.

"We are to wait for a signal to let my children out. I will activate the portals." Watts explained.

"These freaks won't go after me, will they?" The figure wondered, unafraid.

"No. They'll flock with the others." Watts replied.

The figure grinned sadistically under his mask.

"Excellent. The coming storm won't compare to the monumental battle that follows it. " the figure smiled wickedly.

*Inside the Guild Hall; 2:48 PM*

"Okay.. Keep your eyes out for the Key, alright?" Alex asked.

"You can count on us!" Applebloom replied

The crusaders scampered off as Twilight trotted next to Alex.

"Are you sure they can handle the responsibility?" Twilight asked.

"They handled Morning Star decently, they can deal with a game of 'find the needle in a haystack'." Alex noted.

"Right..." Twilight nodded.

"Besides, everyone else is doing pretty much the same thing." Alex shrugged.

"I'll leave you to deal with your special some-pony. Speaking of which, she's coming in 3...2...1.."

Yang tackled Alex onto a table, smiling down at him.

"Ow... Hey, Yang..!" Alex grinned a little.

"Sooo~ you having fun?" Yang smiled.

"Heh... Yeah.. Or I would if we weren't busy searching for something." Alex answered..

"I asked Oreonna and Wendy to help take care of that. Cade's with Auburn and Lucy in the back." Yang said, inching closer.

"What about the door?" Alex asked.

Yang was silent, and she actually looked really nervous.

"Yang... Who's on door duty?" Alex demanded.

"...You probably won't like it, but..." Yang sheepishly smiled.

*Fairy Tail Back Hallway; 2:50 PM*

Hazel kept up his search. Those three teenagers were going to be an issue. He'd otherwise silence them, but this was more of a 'high-profile' mission.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!" Someone screamed in anger.

Hazel immediately ducked into a nearby staircase, hiding.

"That was close.. Don't wanna attract attention.." Hazel sighed.

He went down the stairwell, which led to a library. Hopefully, it was close.

'Let's see.. Once I clean this place up and find that stupid trinket.. I could actually kill Cinder.. If Salem of all people wants it, I must be hitting a gold mine..!' Hazel thought.

He continued his search, thumbing through notes and books.

"Nothing here... Useless... Jobs for 2,000,000 Jewel.. That'll get a cheap mobile home.." Hazel rolled his eyes.

"Please... You must help me..." a voice called.

Hazel looked upwards.

"Who the hell..?" Hazel scowled.

Hesitantly, Hazel walked up the staircase.

*Inside the Main Hall*

"YOU ASKED HAPPY OF ALL PEOPLE TO WATCH THE DOOR?!" Alex yelled.

"Hey, he said I could trust him!" Yang retorted.

"Well, why not just f**king ask?!" Alex grabbed Yang's wrist and dragged her over to Happy.

"Happy?!" Alex asked angrily.

"Yeah?" Happy asked, eating a fish.

"You didn't happen to let anyone weird or unhinged inside, did you?" Alex asked.

Dr. Monty, Richtofen, and Vanoss ran to the three Fairy Tail members.

"What happened?!" Monty asked, worriedly.

"Yang put Happy on door duty!" Alex replied.

"... You mean ze blue cat, right..? Wait, am I hallucinating..?" Richtofen asked.

"Hey! By the way, I did see somebody weird, okay?!" Happy defended, albeit poorly.

Alex, Dr. Monty, and Richtofen sweatdropped.

"Imbecile!" Monty yelled.

"You've doomed us all!" Richtofen screamed.

"Now we have to work overtime just to find the stupid thing! Where's Natsu?!" Alex asked.

"Natsu?!" Vanoss groaned.

"Yeah, what's up?" The pink-haired Dragonslayer asked.

"Happy's gone and let in some stranger! I need your sense of smell to either find that Summoning Key, or find the guy Happy let in!" Alex explained.

"You got it! By the way, I've been smelling something weird since a few days ago.. It almost smells like a mix of Lucy's Keys and Dark Magic." Natsu noticed.

"That could be it! We need to find that Summoning Key before he does!" Vanoss realized, sprinting in-tow with the rest of the group.

"Right! C'mon, Happy!" Natsu yelled from across the room.

"Aye, Sir!" Happy flew towards the team as the party continued.

Ruby and Sun immediately went towards the door.

"We'll keep watch!" Ruby promised.

"Thank you!" Alex screamed.

*Coat Room; 2:54 PM*

Hazel looked through the coats, shoving his hands through the pockets and purses as he went.

"Only through me, can you find your redemption.." the voice promised.

Hazel hurriedly looked for the Key, cautiously feeling through the coats.

Suddenly, the door behind him was opened.

"Ahh!!!! There's some creep in the coat room!!" A straight-haired blonde girl yelled.

"N-No, wait..!" Hazel begged as she grabbed the nearest purse and smacked him with it.

"Lucy!" Cade yelled, unholstering his Conductor pistol.

Cade and Auburn pointed their weapons at the stranger.

"Don't move a muscle, or I'll blow your brains out!" Cade ordered.

Hazel grinned.

"Try me, Thunder blood!" Hazel yelled, shoving Lucy to the wall and grabbing Cade by the neck.

Auburn swung her axe and hacked his back open, leaving the man staggering down and dropping Cade.

"You're dead!" Cade punched him back into the coat room, shooting at Hazel as he dodged the bullets and ripped through the coats.

One particular purse fell over, causing a large, metallic ball to roll out of it.

Cade, Auburn, and Hazel eyed it before attacking each other.

"Don't stop me, Huntress.." Hazel scowled as Cade dove in for the Summoning Key.

Alex, Natsu, Yang, Dr. Monty, Richtofen, and Vanoss stopped in front of the chaos.

"Oh, shit!" Alex charged, kicking Hazel down into the main hall, ruthlessly attacking as he continued.

"Quick, grab it!" Richtofen demanded.

"No! Kick it over!" Monty ordered.

Lucy went and reared back as Hazel leaped back up to get it, grabbing Lucy's whip as he reached.

Lucy stepped on his face with the back of her boot.

"Watch it, creep!" She yelled as he used the whip to pull the Summoning Key closer.

"Natsu! Yang!" Alex ordered, grabbing a hold of his foot.

The two charged, firing at Hazel and blowing up that part of the building.

The group fell to the ground, stunned, as they struggled to find the Key through the smoke.

"Yang..?" Alex coughed.

"I'm here... Cade? Auburn?" Yang replied.

"Yeah.." Cade winced.

The Summoning Key emitted a golden glow as Hazel reached and picked it up.

"Good job, you fools! I did my part, now do yours and DIE!!" Hazel raised the Summoning Key to the skies, only for the golden glow to surround him.

"The hell?!" Delirious gaped.

"Dammit, Natsu!" Gray yelled.

The glow that surrounded Hazel only intensified as it continued absorb him, leaving the ex-Hunter screaming in agony as the glow ripped him to bits and pulled his chunks inside the Summoning Key, entrapping him inside the device.

The entire guild hall stared in awe.

"What happened..?" Sun asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Dempsey added.

"Well, let's hope that's the end of it!" Ohm grinned.

Suddenly, a sinister laugh enveloped the Guild.

"What the..?" Erza gasped as she raised her weapon.

"Now isn't the time for your pranks, Evan!" Terroriser yelled.

"That isn't me!!" Vanoss gaped.

The Summoning Key broke apart again, unleashing another golden glow as a human form materialized from it.

"Is... Is that..?" Twilight shuddered.

"The Shadowman." Monty scowled.

The glow dissipated, revealing an aging man with a dark suit and a semi-long white beard.

"Ah, Dr. Monty. I never thought I'd have the displeasure of seeing you again." The Shadowman scowled.

"Now you listen here! If you lay a finger on my children, I'll teach you a lesson myself!" Makarov threatened.

Alex grinned.

'I thought the old man was above idle threats.' Alex thought.

The Shadowman smirked in reply.

"Ah, Mortals. They do not understand the sheer insignificance of their existence. Right, Monty?"

"You couldn't possibly have planned this all alone..!It was Salem, wasn't it..?" Monty scowled.

"Indeed. Now... Now we have reached the absolute..." The Shadowman continued, raising his hand and breaking the door open.

The Shadowman floated out the door before turning back.

"Now run, hide, or... More preferably, die." The Shadowman stared back and raised his hands..

*Outside of Magnolia Town; 2:59 PM*

Watts felt the ground shake as the city seemed to break apart, it was as though an earthquake shook through the town.

The sky blackened, turning the land dark as night. For an unknown reason, a blue sun appeared in the skies, illuminating the area.

"Looks like the right signal. Tell your boss." The figure said, revealing himself.

"Right then. Let's hope you are worth what we paid for, Primis Crux."

The figure stepped out, revealing scarred features that looked very much like his younger cousin's, his chin was more defined, his eyes were a deep orange color, and his hair had shown signs of greying.

"Trust me. I'll succeed where my cousin had failed. Speaking of, let's invite him.." Primis smiled.

"Your Cousin has proven too weak for our mission, Primis!" Watts declared.

"I don't care. If you want me to stay, you'll allow him to come with." Primis demanded.

Watts scoffed.

"Fine. But you two had better be worth every cent."

*Magnolia Town; 3:00 PM*

Zombies rose from the ground, screeching as they turned the corner towards the Guild Hall.

Grimm fell from portals, tearing up buildings and zombies alike while Apothicons and Nevermores flew side by side, eclipsing the blue sun that lit up the now devastated town.

The Shadowman watched over the chaos closely, as Salem joined him.

Raising his hand, the Shadowman spoke.

"I've been watching.. I have seen each and every one of your misdeeds.. I know who you are.."

Alex, Yang, Cade, Auburn, Ruby, and Sun stood in front of the guild, weapons raised.

The Fairy Tail guild stood at their sides, itching for a fight.

"But.. Questions remain... Why do you do the things that you do? Do you not see the futility in your tiny, insignificant existence? You are all but fragments of a bigger universe.." Salem added.

Dempsey, Nikolai, Takeo, and Richtofen stood behind them, loading their weapons. Vanoss and his crew, too, grabbed their wonder weapons.

"Your sins only serve as an invitation... An invitation to an evil beyond your imagination.." The Shadowman explained as Zombies and Beowolves crowded around the Guild Hall.

"But we'll lead the way.. We'll show you the path.." Salem added.

Kat grabbed her sniper, ready for the worst.

Twilight and the other Elements reared back, readying for a charge.

"Only through us, the Shadowman and the Grimm Queen, can you find your salvation.." The Shadowman finished, unleashing the horde upon the occupants of the Guild Hall.

The group charged at the demons, ushering in a cataclysmic battle.

Cinder stared at the chaos from one of the remaining buildings, with Tyrian at her side.

"Now then.. Shall we begin?" Cinder asked as Tyrian cackled in the background.

Four shadowy shapes landed on the ground past the building, all of them looking strangely familiar.

Dr. Monty watched the carnage unfold, and sighed.

"I'll do everything I can to help, but I can only do so from the sidelines. Alexander, Yang, your daughter will be safer with me. Hopefully I can lead all of you to a solution.. Good luck.. All of you."

Author's Note

And with that, a 10-part saga unfolds!

Ultimus and his older Cousin, Primis, are aligned with Salem and her plans.

The Apothicon and the Grimm have been unleashed upon the world of Fairy Tail, and all hell has broken loose.

Who will live to see tomorrow? Who will fall?

Find out in the next chapter of 'Blood Red Shadows 2: The Crimson Shade'!

-The Destoyer

Chapter 41: The Shadow Wars: Part 2 of 10
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 41: The Shadow Wars: Part 2 of 10

*Magnolia Town, Fiore; October 22, 2019; 3:14 PM*

"Hey, Delirious! You have the most points, so open this door!" Vanoss shouted.

The 'Weenie Boys Alpha' group had been tasked with getting as many doors open as possible, with an end-goal of reaching Juggernog. This meant breaking down every door in the city, searching for anything useful, and writing down anything that stood out.

Wildcat stood back, knowing full well what could happen with this situation.

"Diiiiiie!!!!" Delirious charged, barreling down the cobblestone street.

Delirious swiftly turned, kicking the door down and checking the inside of the building for zombies. Upon closer inspection inside the building, it was a store, one of the few magic shops in Magnolia Town.

"There aren't any zombies or those creepy Grimm motherf**kers!" Delirious yelled from inside.

Vanoss and Wildcat stepped inside first, with Twilight, Applebloom, and Scootaloo not far behind.

"Hey, Twilight? You feel anything standing out?" Wildcat asked, thumbing through the shelves of the disheveled shop.

"It's weird.. I feel a magic energy, but I can't quite find it." Twilight mused.

"Well, I'm sure we'll find something. Wildcat, can you watch the door for us and let us know if anything's happening?" Vanoss asked.

"Alright.. But you're on door duty next time, you owl bitch!" Wildcat groaned as he trudged to the front of the store, Pack-A-Punched M1927 in tow.

"I found a f**kin' teddy!" Delirious shouted suddenly.

Vanoss ran over, eyeing the Teddy Bear with interest.

"What's the use of a teddy bear at a time like this?!" Scootaloo rolled her eyes.

"Oh, you might not get it.. Teddy Bears are Easter Eggs in the Zombies games. If you find three of them, a badass song starts playing." Vanoss explained.

"That sounds mighty creepy.." Applebloom shuddered.

"I think I found that source of magic energy!" Twilight realized, trotting over to one of the back rooms.

"What?" Vanoss took off running behind Twilight.

Twilight bucked open the door, looking inside.

Vanoss' eyes lit up as he looked at the back room while Twilight furrowed her brow in confusion.

A red gum ball machine stood at the wall, with what appeared to be a metallic lion at the top as it's dispenser.

"A gumball machine?!" Twilight groaned.

"No, wait! This is Gobblegum!" Vanoss grinned.

"Gobble- what?" Twilight asked, bewildered.

"GOBBLEGUM?! GIMME THAT SHIT!" Delirious charged past Twilight, leaving her completely frustrated and confused.

"What's Gobblegum?" Scootaloo asked.

"They're like the Perks, but they're much more varied in what they do.." Vanoss explained as a glowing orange gumball popped out of the machine.

"What'd you get?" Delirious asked.

"Crate Power. That'll be useful." Vanoss replied neutrally.

"What does that do?" Twilight asked.

"If I buy a gun from the Mystery Box, it'll be pack-a-punched for free." Vanoss answered.

"Oh!! I got the Fire Sale one!!" Delirious shouted.

"Nice!!" Vanoss cheered.

"Fire sale..?" Applebloom wondered.

"Every Box Location's going to have a box, and they all only cost 10 points! It lasts like 30 seconds, but I have three!" Delirious explained.

"We'd better let the Guild know. Scootaloo?" Twilight trotted towards the teenaged filly, giving her the message via her magic.

"You can count on me, Twilight!" Scootaloo promised, flying off into the distance.

"Hold on.. I think I see something on the other end of the... OH SHIT!!! AAAAAAHHH!!!!" Wildcat suddenly screamed in panic.

Vanoss, Delirious, and Twilight ran out of the building, only to find a large horde of Grimm chasing them, led by...

"Who the f**k is that?!" Vanoss gaped.

"DIIIE!!! AHAHAHAHAHA!!!" Delirious cackled, firing his Pack-A-Punched Dingo indiscriminately amongst the horde of advancing Grimm.

The figure jumped down, dodging the deadly bullets at a horrifyingly fast pace before charging at them.

"Oh, shit!!" Vanoss ducked, avoiding the figure's fang-like blade.

"We gotta go!!" Wildcat urged, avoiding an Ursa's claws and shooting it in the head.

"I'll teleport us out! Get over here!!" Twilight yelled through the chaos.

The figure then leaped at Twilight, grabbing her by the horn.

"I don't think so."

The figure, a young woman with a deathly white complexion with a vein-like black pattern on her cheeks, piercing red eyes and a face otherwise concealed in a Grimm-like face mask. The armor she was wearing seemed... Oddly familiar.

"That... Isn 't who I think it is... Is it..?" Vanoss backed away, weapon raised as Twilight struggled to squirm free.

The figure only glared at them, scowling at them with an expression of cold, bitter hatred.

"I figured you would recognize me, even with my improvements." The woman glared.

Twilight's eyes widened in realization and horror.

"P-Pyrrha..?"

Pyrrha's expression contorted in anger as she slowly tightened her grip on Twilight's horn.

Twilight screamed in agony as Pyrrha's grip left large cracks on her horn. Pyrrha grinned in satisfaction as she threw Twilight to the curb.

"How the hell..?" Vanoss wondered, terrified, how and what happened to the ex-huntress.

"I don't see the point of telling my origins to the dead, but very well. It all started when this body was taken from-" Pyrrha began coldly.

Twilight's horn suddenly glowed in bright purple light, before it turned orange and grew in intensity.

"What in the..?" Pyrrha gaped, suddenly surprised.

Twilight's horn exploded with magical energy, eclipsing the Grimm-corrupted huntress. With the little time they were given, Vanoss and Wildcat grabbed Twilight, and proceeded to run with Delirious and Applebloom back to the Guild Hall.

"After them!!" Pyrrha ordered angrily, pointing her sword towards the group.

*Meanwhile; Alex's group*

"Where the hell is Ultimus?" Alex asked.

"Why the hell would that asshole be here?" Yang wondered.

"I humiliated his ass in Cairo. If I know the kinda one-track mind Ultimus has, he knows the best time to attack would be now." Alex explained.

"You've.. Thought things through.." Kat observed.

"I've had time to think about this crap.. But stay on guard... Who knows what else might rear it's ugly head?" Alex warned, his weapon ready.

"Clever thinking, Captain." A voice mocked.

"Who the hell?!" Vinyl reared back.

Two figures soon landed in front of their path. One of them, of course, was Ultimus.

"God dammit, Ultimus." Alex shook his head.

"What's the matter, Saigo? Upset that you and your friends might actually die this time? Angry that your luck has finally run out?" Ultimus grinned.

Alex narrowed his eyes.

'Ultimus has definitely gotten stronger since Cairo, no doubt about that... As for that man with him... His energy is even more potent.. No matter what, I'd better stay on the offense as long as I can.. Don't want to risk another 'Battle of Fairy Tail' situation on my hands.' Alex thought.

"Anyways, Ulty. Who's your friend?" Yang lightheartedly inquired.

Ultimus scowled at Yang, even growling a little bit as he reached for his weapon.

"Don't let your anger get the better of you, Ultimus. As for you five, my name is Primis." Primis introduced.

"P-Primis..?" Wendy gaped, backing away.

Primis only grinned at the girl's fear.

"Now, there's the reaction I'm looking for. But I will say this. Practically running away with your tails between your legs won't be enough to save you. Make no mistake, I will show no mercy." Primis grinned.

Alex glared at the stronger of the two.

"Yang, you mind if I take on Primis while you deal with Ultimus?" Alex asked.

"Meh, what the hell?" Yang replied.

Primis himself studied Alex as well.

'Hm.. Definitely strong enough to give Ultimus a real challenge, this man. And he hasn't even transformed yet.' Primis figured.

"As for these other three?" Ultimus asked.

"You guys, out!" Alex shouted.

"Hahahah... Don't think you'll get off so easy!"

A familiar girl landed in front of Kat and the others, carrying a large war hammer with a horn replacing it's head. A similar complexion and mask to Pyrrha's, but this girl was clearly much different.

"It... Can't be..!" Yang recoiled, knowing full well the girl was.

Nora Valkyrie..

Alex's eyes widened as he came to the same realization that Yang had.

Kat stepped towards the corrupted huntress before them.

"I'll deal with her. The rest of you should step in if you feel like we need help." Kat explained, placing her three fingers on the claw mark on her hand, sliding them along as she transformed, gaining the glowing amber aura , the light-claws, and the shimmering outline of a tail.

"So, Ms. Valkyrie.. I should make it very clear that I will claw your eyes out if you take another step." Kat smirked.

"Ooh! Legs to break! I LOVE IT!!" Nora gleefully, yet sadistically cheered.

Alex glared at Primis, raising his weapon as Alex immediately turned Enlightened.

"Now then, Primis. We have other business to attend to." Alex scowled.

Primis merely grinned back, not even bothering to draw the Crux Family Sword from it's scabbard on his back.

"I agree." Primis leaped at Alex as the two began their fight.

Ultimate immediately transformed to his Corrupted Warrior, seething with rage.

"WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?!" Ultimus charged after them, only to be knocked to the side by Yang.

"I don't think so!" Yang interrupted as she transformed to her own Enlightened Form as well.

"Don't start fights you can't win, XIAO LONG!!!" Ultimus threatened.

"Come on, Ulty! All I ever see out of you is 'kill Saigo ' this and 'kill Saigo' that! I want a good, clean fight as much as you do!" Yang grinned.

Vinyl and Wendy scrambled to the top of one of the buildings, where they would be able to get a full view of whatever transpired.

"What's the plan, kiddo?" Vinyl asked.

"I'll use my magic to help them in their fight.. I need you to keep the Grimm and the Zombies away!" Wendy decided.

"... Wow, you've actually got a pretty good handle on things for your age.." Vinyl shrugged as she leapt off the building and trotted towards the end of the street.

*Meanwhile; Cade's Group*

"She's gotta be around here somewhere..!" Cade figured, weapon raised as he went across the street.

"Hey! Open some doors on the way, will ya? There might be stuff that can help us!" Oreonna yelled, her speech muffled as she chewed something.

"Is that gum?" Cade asked.

"Yeah.. I got it from this gumball machine in the alley." Oreonna replied.

"... God dammit." Cade scowled. He needed that Gobblegum!

"Not to sound rude, but we have bigger problems." Auburn said with the slightest edge of urgency.

A man was grinning down at them from the top of a nearby building, alongside another Grimm version of...

"Wait a second... Lie Ren?!" Cade backed away.

"Ehehehahaha!!! So, you're the little brats causing Cinder so much trouble!!" He jumped down, with the corrupted Ren not far behind.

Cade shook his head, appearing dissatisfied.

"We're just looking for Cinder. We don't have time for either of you." Cade scowled.

"Is that so?" A familiar voice scowled, lowering herself from the skies.

Cade, Oreonna, and Auburn raised their weapons.

"Oh, don't worry. You won't have to fight this fool." Cinder raised her bow, pointing it at Tyrian.

"What is this..? WHAT IS THIS?!" Tyrian screamed in anger.

"Ah yes, Tyrian. Salem sends her regards." Cinder grinned as she released the arrow, letting it fly through the air and slice through Tyrian's throat.

Tyrian spat blood, glaring up at Cinder hatefully.

"Oh, you still haven't died yet.. It'd be a shame to leave you like this. Ren?" Cinder smiled as the Corrupted huntsman charged up to Tyrian and began tearing him limb from limb.

Cade and Oreonna seemed genuinely horrified at the gory spectacle before them, as Auburn carried the uninterested stare she always seemed to have.

"She's... She's pure evil..!" Cade gaped.

"I... I don't know if we can really take her on.." Oreonna confessed.

"Then I guess Alex had the right idea!"

The future warriors looked up, finding Natsu landing to their side as Happy flew down with him.

"N-Natsu?!" Oreonna gasped.

Auburn turned to look at the Fire Dragonslayer, gaze unwavering.

"Father must have sent you, right?" Auburn asked.

"Aye, Sir!" Happy grinned.

Cinder grinned slightly, curious about this new foe.

"Oh.. So you're the famous Salamander I've heard so much about." Cinder asked.

Natsu's expression suddenly hardened.

"And you're Cinder Fall. Alex kinda explained everything a little while back." Natsu scowled.

Cinder laughed slightly.

"Oh, who else but him? I'll be honest with you, Natsu of Fairy Tail. I haven't had a good fight since my timeline's version of Alexander died, so I'll be expecting a decent fight. Don't disappoint me." Cinder scowled.

"I'm all fired up now! You guys better back me up!" Natsu grinned.

"Eh.. I'll take care of Ren. Speaking of, I like the new look!" Oreonna smiled at Ren, who only scowled back at her.

"You're honestly worse than Nora." Ren shook his head as he raised his weapons.

Oreonna suddenly charged at Ren, while Natsu, Happy, Cade, and Auburn ran after Cinder.

With a grin, she separated her bow into twin swords.

"Finally., a real fight..!" Cinder sighed as she charged after them.

*The House, The Aether; October 22, 2019; 3:26 PM*

"Alright... That should be everything.." Monty grinned, satisfied.

"Brilliant as always, Dr. Monty.. Hold on.." Dr. Maxis nodded, turning to face his daughter, Samantha.

"Samantha, I need you and the others to take care of Auburn for us until her parents come. Can you do that for me?" Maxis asked.

"Okay..! C'mon, Auburn!" Samantha grabbed the seemingly uninterested toddler by the arm and ran upstairs with her.

Dr. Monty's expression suddenly grew restless.

"Something wrong, Monty?" Maxis wondered.

"This... 'Earthland'... Continues to perplex me... I've made a system as of late for your assets. Two wall weapons, a Gobblegum machine, and quick revive in the first room... But for some reason, I couldn't get any of those things inside the Guild Hall!" Monty shrugged, perplexed.

"And why would that be?" Maxis wondered.

"Hmm... It's likely something is fiddling around with the residual Divinium wavelength pattern, keeping me from adding changes.." Monty figured.

"The Shadowman, perhaps?" Dr. Maxis asked.

"And that's the weird part! The Shadowman is with Salem right now, and all they're good for is directing the undead and the Grimm! Besides, he's usually given me some leeway..!" Dr. Monty shrugged, clearly exasperated.

".. What could that possibly mean..?" Maxis inquired.

"The only explanation I can find.. Is some third entry is blocking my intervention with the Guild Hall.." Monty answered.

"A third? But.. Who has that kind of power?" Maxis asked.

Author's Note

Alright, the combatants are set and the real show's about to begin!

Will our heroes survive against the Crux Family, Cinder Fall and the corrupted Team JNPR? And who is the third entity?

Well.. You'll just have to wait and see..

-The Destoyer

Chapter 42: The Shadow Wars: Part 3 of 10
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 42: The Shadow Wars: Part 3 of 10

*Magnolia, Fiore; October 22, 2019; 3:30 PM*

Richtofen's squadron had been mostly swamped with undead and Grimm, but having gotten through most of them, they were left alone to try and find anything important.

"Okay... Let's see... Zombies are out of the way.. Let's get searching.." Dempsey cracked his knuckles.

"Oh, hell yeah.." Moo grinned, flipping a table.

"What's that gonna do for us?" Fourzer0 asked.

"You never know with these... 'Easter Eggs'.." Nikolai muttered.

"Let's see what we got, amigos!" Droidd looked through the shelves of the small bookstore.

Ohm flipped through the books, and once he was unable to find anything, he simply chucked it aside.

"I have found something.." Takeo called.

Ohm and Moo immediately ran over to investigate, curious.

"What... Is it..?" Ohm wondered.

The object Takeo held was a spherical magenta crystal that shimmered slightly in the blue light of the Apothicon Sun. If one looked closely, they would see mere flickers of images.

"Let me have a look at that, Takeo.." Richtofen asked, taking the object.

"So.. Do you have any idea what it is?" Droidd asked.

".. This object is unique to this world.. I believe Dr. Monty called it a lacrima." Richtofen explained, looking at it from all angles.

"Something is moving inside!" Nikolai noticed.

"Hey... I think you're right..." Dempsey looked closer.

Dempsey looked at the object, reaching out to touch it when suddenly it glowed bright magenta and a sort of hologram appeared on the ground.

The hologram took place in a sort of laboratory, much unlike most of Magnolia, let alone Fiore.

A tall, middle-aged man stood facing them, a grim expression on his face.

"Hello.. If anyone finds this Lacrima, please understand.. I only sought the truth.. I never intended for it all to fall apart.!!" He urgently began.

"... What is this..?" Nikolai wondered.

"My name is Dr. Vladimir Kravinoff.. I'm a scientist from Earth on an expeditionary mission to Fiore after I received reports of a dimensional traveller in 2016.. I set out to study the very nature of what connects the individual universes making up the web of reality.. Instead, everything deteriorated.." Dr. Kravinoff explained.

"How could things go wrong? All that happened three years ago was the Inquisitor War!" Moo wondered.

"My fellow researchers came across the hostile Dark Guild, the Red Dawn.. The Guild Master, Lucien Sombra, demanded that I assist him in finding the traveller, or die... So I began using his wizards as test subjects.. Exposing them all to the cosmic radiation that each universe gave off... Most of them... Didn't make it..." Dr. Kravinoff continued.

"This is almost worse than the research undertaken at Division 9." Takeo somberly sighed.

"The Red Dawn... Where have I heard that before..?" Moo wondered.

"Those who did survive.. Weren't all there.. Most of the survivors went insane... Talking about the vastness of the universe itself.. Events of histories in other universes, and what I can only assume are future events... The most talked-about being an apocalyptic battle taking place somewhere in Fiore itself... The survivors didn't need me to keep exposing them to radiation to kill them... Most of them ended up taking their own lives.."

"Gee.. that doesn't sound familiar." Dempsey sarcastically rolled his eyes.

"There was finally one survivor left.. The Guild Master himself.. He insisted he receive more cosmic radiation to become an unstoppable god ... Instead, he ended up becoming... A monster. Some kind of... Horse monster... The shadow magic he used fused with his very being... I had no other option but to cast him inside the portal I was using... Wherever he ended up, I still carry the guilt.." Kravinoff sighed.

"Wait... Sombra..? Didn't Twilight mention him once or twice?" Droidd asked.

"Oh, shit." Moo groaned.

"And then... Out of test subjects... I exposed myself... And I didn't like what I saw. But even then, I was too late.. A rock of some kind burst out of the machine, and turned my fellow colleagues into... Monsters.. The undead... I had no choice but to seal my entire facility underground... I don't know how long I have left, but I---" The lacrima cut off, leaving the eight men stunned.

"Well, that was... Something.." Droidd figured.

".. Agreed.. It is best we continue." Richtofen urged, prepared to step out the door.

"And just where do you think you're going?!" A voice demanded from the doorway.

The eight men stood up, guns raised.

"Who is this..?" Takeo asked.

"Good point.. Who is he?!" Fourzer0 asked.

The man had a large, dark moustache and steadily greying hair, and wore a contemptful frown.

"My name is Dr. Watts, an ally of Salem. Make no mistake, you belligerent fools. I am only here to kill you, and I have no intention of failure." Watts scowled.

Richtofen smirked, raising his Wunderwaffe.

"Another doctor..? Well then, it should do you well to know something about me, 'Dr. Watts'." Richtofen began.

"And what is that?"

Richtofen's confident grin turned into an angered scowl as he raised his Zap Guns.

"I RENOUNCED MY HIPPOCRATIC OATH!!!"

Richtofen fired an intense flurry of bolts from his zap guns, as the others began to fire as well.

"Get that sum bitch!!" Ohm yelled.

"FOR THE MOTHERLAND!!" Nikolai screamed.

Watts merely continued to dodge every shot fired, and by the time everyone had to reload, Watts stood unscathed.

"Impressive weaponry, Dr. Richtofen. But I am leagues ahead of any weapon of yours."

*Meanwhile*

"Come on! It's this way!" Lucy yelled, running through the streets alongside Nogla and Mini as they were being chased by a horde of zombies and Beowolves.

"Where the f**k is Gray and Juvia?!" Mini yelled, shooting at zombies.

"I DON'T FOCKIN' KNOW, MAN! WHAT, ARE THEY GETTIN FOCKIN' SANDWICHES OR SOMETHIN'?!!" Nogla shouted back.

"Hurry! They're gaining on us!!" Lucy yelled, running away from the undead as fast as she could.

"Wait.. Aren't you a wizard or some shit?! Can't you find a spell or something to help us?!" Mini wondered.

Lucy immediately came to the realization.

"Oh..." She blinked.

She reached for her Celestial Spirits, grabbing one particular key that she figured could be of use.

"Open, Gate of The Archer! Sagittarius!!"

A brilliant golden glow appeared beside Lucy, immediately taking form of a.. Man wearing a horse costume.

"Oh, what the f**k?!" Mini threw his hands in the air.

"Howdy-doo, M'lady!" Sagittarius greeted.

Nogla shook his head.

"Oh, that's it. Good luck, f**kers!" Nogla reached for his Apothicon Sword and leaped into the fray.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, F**KCHEESE?!" Mini immediately started shooting, trying to provide cover fire.

"Sagittarius, we need to thin out that crowd, but don't shoot Mini or Nogla!" Lucy pointed towards the horde.

"Not a problem." Sagittarius immediately reached for several arrows, nocking them in and glaring at the crowd.

Wave upon wave of arrows struck their targets, killing the monstrous Grimm by the row.

"WHERE THE F**K WAS THAT SHIT WHEN WE NEEDED IT?!" Nogla yelled in surprise.

"GET 'EM!!!" Vanoss shouted.

"Wait, VANOSS?!" Nogla looked up.

Vanoss, Delirious, and Wildcat immediately ran to help, shooting their upgraded MGs into the throng of undead.

"DIIIE, BITCHES!! Ahahahaha!!!" Delirious cackled.

Between Nogla's attacks, and the support of Sagittarius, Mini, Vanoss, Delirious, and Wildcat, there were only a few zombies left, which Sagittarius shot in mere seconds.

"Alright.. Good job, team.." Vanoss panted.

"I think we got what we needed. Thank you, Sagittarius!" Lucy grinned thankfully.

"It's no trouble, m'lady!" The Celestial Spirit replied as he receded into his key.

"Anyways, what the f**k was that shit with the horse man." Wildcat asked.

"I'm a Celestial Wizard, I can summon spirits with these keys." Lucy explained.

"Well, thank Christ you guys showed up. Where're the others?" Mini asked.

"The Kids had to get Twilight back to the Guild Hall. We ran over here because.." Vanoss began to explain.

"I WILL MOUNT YOUR HEADS OVER SALEM'S FIREPLACE!!!" Grimm Pyrrha yelled.

"... That. We ran away because of that." Wildcat said.

"...Oh, shit." Nogla deadpanned.

*Meanwhile*

"RAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

Alex leaped towards Primis, sword raised as he slashed from either side.

Primis merely dodged every attack, unfazed by the assault.

"Hm.. I've dealt with your kind before." Primis rushed towards Alex and flicked his forehead.

The sheer power behind it caused Alex to fly up into the air as Primis jumped, punching his gut and causing Alex to power down instantly to base form.

'F**k.. I can't even block at this point.!!' Alex winced.

Primis grabbed Alex's neck, throwing him back down to the beach.

Before Alex even had time to stand up, Primis landed, slamming his boot onto Alex's chest.

Primis calmly kicked Alex towards the ocean, leaving Alex gasping for breath.

"Heh heh.. You can scarcely stand, much less fight. I had better kill that brat who was with you and let Ultimus finish you off." Primis declared.

Alex struggled to stand up, and was coughing blood at this point, red pools of mist forming in the clear blue of the water as the waves lapped against Alex's metal arms.

"Don't... Even think.. A-About it..!" Alex scowled, forcing himself to power up to his Evolved State.

Alex's hair first changed from it's usual dark blonde color to a shimmering light blue at the roots, while a purple color luminated the ends, as his skin had changed into the form's signature whitish-purple color. His eyes were mostly white, save for his pupils, now purple.

"Interesting.. You combined your own innate abilities, your soul, and the odd magic signature I detected. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't impressed." Primis stated manner-of-factly.

Alex smirked.

"I'll tell you something too. Not a lot of people can stand up to even my Enlightened Form that easy, let alone in their Base Form." Alex replied.

"Well then, if you're going to power up, then I shall as well." Primis smiled.

"What?!" Alex stood back.

Primis bent his knees as a sphere of dark blue power rushed around him, causing his hair to stand on end and his irises to change from orange to blue as well. His muscles suddenly burst outwards, increasing his size and causing electricity to lash at the ground in front of him.

A brilliant beacon of dark blue power erupted into the sky above, almost mirroring the light that the Apothicon Sun produced.

'This is insane! He's much stronger than I could've prepared for!!' Alex thought grimly.

The light from Primis' Transformation flickered out, leaving behind a 7-foot tall behemoth with shimmering blue hair, glowing white eyes, and a burning red mark on his forehead.

"Normally, I'd say 'prepare to die', but by the look on your face, it seems you've already taken care of that."

*Meanwhile*

"CINDER!!!" Cade roared, shooting at the Maiden as he leaped over her.

Cinder swung her blades, intending to hack Cade in two, only to be interrupted by Auburn's axe.

With a quick strum, Auburn blew Cinder several feet backwards.

"Happy! Now!" Cade yelled, shooting Cinder twice more before the flying blue cat zipped past him and head-butted Cinder.

Stunned, she charged towards Cade with both of her swords raised above her head.

Cade blocked the swords with his sickle and sharply pulled them away, enabling him to convert Conductor to it's short sword form and hacked her in the side.

"Auburn!"

Cade flew out of the way, making room for Auburn to knock her back further.

"Alright, kid. You ready?!" Natsu asked, practically itching to fight Cinder.

Cade reared his arms backwards, a ball of electricity forming between his hands as Natsu puffed up his cheeks, readying a spell.

"Auburn! Take him!" Oreonna yelled, smacking Grimm Ren across the face, blowing him into Auburn's path as she played a few more chords, blowing Ren away and forcing Cinder backwards.

"GOD SHOCKER-..!!"

"FIRE DRAGON.!!!"

Cinder's eyes widened, Cade wondering whether it was out of surprise or fear.

"That's not good!!" Grimm Ren gaped in horror.

"TIMES TWO!!!"

"..ROAR!!!"

The enormous bolt of lightning combined with the arc of flame, immediately clashing with the two, forming a large explosion that decimated that section of town outwards.

'Woah.!!! When did Cade get this strong?!' Oreonna thought.

'Cade's been stubbornly determined to recover from that incident against that 'Vanoss' lookalike from Trinity Raven at the Tower of Heaven. Seems he's gotten past whatever was keeping him back.' Auburn figured.

When the smoke cleared, Grimm Ren was battered and unconscious, leaving behind only Cinder.

"How is she not dead yet?! I threw almost everything I had!" Natsu scowled.

Cinder glared at Natsu as he leaped towards her, punching her repeatedly until he had her backed into a wall.

"I'M NOT GIVING UP THAT EASY, YOU CRAZY LADY!! PUT 'EM UP!!!" Natsu yelled as he continued pummeling her.

Cinder merely grinned wickedly, leaving Natsu completely off guard when she finally countered.

She placed her hand on Natsu's chest, and blew him out of the way with a powerful burst of energy.

The Fire Dragonslayer landed hard in front of Cade, leaving the others shocked.

"Natsu!" Happy worriedly prodded his side.

Cinder laughed to herself, suddenly as close to joyful as someone like Cinder could ever be.

"You... Five... Have been truly impressive. Allow me to reward all of you for your hard work." Cinder grinned.

"Oh, shit.." Cade deadpanned.

This wasn't good.

Cinder suddenly began glowing orange, the color outlining her entire body before the color blue erupted forth, basically pushing the layer of orange out as the multi-layered aura began to uncontrollably rise upwards like a roaring fire.

"What the hell?!" Oreonna leaped backwards, eyes widened and ears flat in horror.

"What?! I never sensed this! What's happening?!" Cade stared in horror at Cinder's ensuing transformation.

The color green usurped the space immediately around her her body as her power continued to skyrocket. the orange, blue, and now green aura continued to pulsate as radiant as the sun.

"Wait.. You guys said that Cinder's got all the Maiden's powers, right?" Natsu asked.

Auburn glared, still stunned by the sight as the color purple erupted from Cinder's body, completing the multi-tiered aura.

"Oh, no..." Happy stepped away in fear as the colors from Cinder's Aura began to combine.

The individual colors molded together as Cinder's skin changed from it's usual color to a silver color. Her hair grew several inches and changed from ash grey to orange, purple, green, and blue while her eyes began to glow. The glow itself was multi-layered as well, with Cinder's actual eyes now glowing white.

Even her weapons began to change, fusing together into a double-sided blade, looking similar to a cross between a European sword and a katana.

"C-Cinder's... Transformed?!" Cade fearfully gasped.

"This form... Glorious, is it not?" Cinder confidently asked.

"What the hell is that?!" Natsu demanded.

Cinder huffed.

"Very well. While Cade and that pathetic Alicorn were busy running away with their tails between their legs, I took it upon myself to advance my power as the All-Season Maiden. What you see before you is the god-like power Remnant's legendary wizards are able to bestow.." Cinder declared.

"Does it really matter?" Auburn demanded.

"Auburn..!" Oreonna winced.

"Do you doubt my godlike powers, girl? Or have you simply gone crazy from fear?" Cinder asked.

"Sis, what the hell are you doing?" Cade asked worriedly.

Auburn turned to face her half-brother, looking him in the eye with out saying a word.

"Holy crap, you're serious.." Cade backed away.

Auburn glared at Cinder, raising her axe to her side.

"Is this what you wanted? Is this...what you were looking for?"

She took another step, promoting Cinder to glare at her.

"Was everything you've ripped away from us, everything you've done to us really worth it?" Auburn asked, the normally emotionless girl practically choked out her words at this point.

"Trying to appeal my emotions... Always such a futile choice of last words. Spare my time and just die like your parents."

Auburn actually scowled at Cinder before regaining her composure.

"Auburn.." Oreonna gaped.

Auburn held her guitar, turning all of the dials to their highest setting before looking back at the Maiden.

"I guess I have no choice now.. I hoped it wouldn't have to be like this, Fall. Just don't say I didn't warn you."

Author's Note

Say what you will about Dragonball Super, the soundtrack is really good, in my opinion, at least.

Advertising aside, things are only heating up from here on out.

Between an Enlightened Primis, Grimm JNPR, and Full-Powered Cinder Fall, the fight scenes are going to be especially intense.

And don't forget about the Easter Egg as The Origins Crew investigates Magnolia Town for more information on Dr. Kravinoff and the Red Dawn's connection to the Battle.

Feel free to comment what you think about the story so far and I'll (probably) reply!

-The Destoyer

Chapter 43: The Shadow Wars: Part 4 of 10
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 43: The Shadow Wars: Part 4 of 10

*Magnolia, Fiore; October 22, 2019: 3:45 PM*

Auburn silently exhaled as an orange light began to radiate around her.

"Is she doing what I think she's doing?" Cade asked.

Auburn grinned at Cade's surprise as she looked back at Oreonna, who smiled proudly at her younger partner.

"Knock 'em dead, Auburn!" Oreonna cheered.

The orange glow suddenly burst, becoming more static as her hair began to stand on end and turn a yellow-ish orange. Her skin began to change as well, gradually shifting to a soft golden tone as her eyes began radiating red light.

"My my, it seems you've grown a bit stronger than your little brother.. Tell you what, I'll entertain you.. For a moment." Cinder condescendingly taunted.

Auburn's expression didn't waver as her aura burst yet again, completing the transformation.

"Don't act so conceited." Auburn reached for her guitar, leaping at Cinder.

Cade was soon to follow, unsheathing his sword and fighting alongside his half-sister.

"ALRIGHT!! I'M ALL FIRED UP NOW!!!" Natsu screamed as he joined them in battle.

Grimm Ren managed to pull himself up as he glared at Oreonna and Happy.

"I'll kill you yet..." He scowled.

"What is up with this guy?!" Happy asked.

"I'm with you there, Happy." Oreonna shook her head as well.

"CATCH MEEEEEEE!!!"

"Wait.. Is that..?"

Yang crashed into Grimm Ren, knocking him out yet again as she pulled herself up.

"Landing was a bit rough... Oh, hey Oreo!" Yang smiled.

"Wait.. Weren't you with Alex?" Happy asked.

"Hey, he might be my fiancé-"

"Husband." Oreonna corrected.

"... Okay, sure... Point is my life doesn't always have to revolve around him, you know." Yang insisted.

"But wasn't someone attacking you two?" Oreonna asked.

"GET BACK HERE, YOU RECKLESS FOOL!!!" Ultimus yelled.

"Ah, crap." Happy groaned.

Ultimus turned to face Yang, only casting an uninterested scowl at the others before him.

"My quarrel is with Saigo and his bloodline. Back out while you still can, or end up dead like this clown here." Ultimus threatened.

"No!!" Happy yelled, standing between Ultimus and Yang.

"Happy..!" Oreonna worriedly led him back.

"I don't know what's going on here, but Yang and Oreonna are members of Fairy Tail! Their fight is ours too!!" Happy declared.

"Happy, this is crazy! I won't let another friend die trying to protect someone else.. Ultimus'll kill you!" Oreonna defended.

"Y'know what. Let him fight, Oreo." Yang smiled.

"Yang, you're insane! You... Oh, right..." Oreonna realized.

"Yeah. I still got a second form. And I'm not dead yet, so I'd say if I can keep up with Ulty of all people, we could kick his ass no problem!" Yang smiled.

Ultimus grinned.

"You idiots. You don't realize my true power!" Ultimus declared.

"And here we go." Yang shook her head.

"I've been training alongside my cousin for months now! And I've ascended beyond this pathetic Corrupted Warrior form before you! Let me show you what real power is-!" Ultimus declared.

Yang instantly leaped at him, punching Ultimus in the stomach, forcing him to power down to his Cursed Warrior form.

"Yeah, Ulty? I've heard that whole spiel like, 8 times already, and at least two of them were from you. I don't think you really know what power is. My semblance is literally getting stronger from every hit, so I've been building up my Aura ever since we've started. Sure, you can charge up, but it takes way, way too long. What, did you think I'd just stand there?" Yang grinned.

Ultimus scowled angrily, gasping for breath.

"And, now that I think about it, you really have no reason to really be all pissed off at Alex in the first place! Sure, your parents were killed by his family, I get that, but Alex really didn't have much to do with it. At least Alex went after Cinder because she actually did kill his parents and screwed him out of having a somewhat normal life at least twice, and the only reason she really did was because she had backup from the Inquisitors, and all of that goes back to Alpha wanting revenge for something Alex didn't really do." Yang explained.

"You really...insist on...speaking to me...in such a manner..?" Ultimus seethed in fury.

"Point is, you're honestly fighting us because of some 'Hatfield-McCoy' BS, and it's getting kind of sad at this point. So just power down, go home, and try to do something more meaningful with your life instead of training year-round for more stupid shit." Yang scathingly replied.

"Ouch.." Oreonna winced.

"Still has kind of a good point.." Happy admitted.

Ultimus growled angrily before finally sighing, and powering down all the way to base form.

"Just get it over with and kill me already." Ultimate demanded solemnly.

"...What?" Yang asked.

"You said it yourself. My motives are pointless. My words are empty, and my actions are based off of little reason. Finish me off, Xiao Long." Ultimus demanded.

Yang grabbed his shoulder.

"I don't think you were listening, Ulty. I said go home and do something worth your time, not have me kill you. Besides, I think thing's are heated enough with this whole 'Apothicon' shit. Or, you could help us out with this. Just saying." Yang shrugged.

"... Fine, I'll help you." Ultimus dismissively shook his head.

"That was... Easy..." Oreonna figured.

"See, maybe this time around, he'll do better. Make some friends, find some hobbies, and probably even join Fairy Tail!" Yang grinned.

"Let's not be so irrational, Xiao Long!" Ultimus scowled.

"... Aaand he blew it." Happy grinned.

"Still progress, though." Yang shrugged.

Kat was thrown into the building in front of them, as the Grimm Arbiters Jaune, Nora, and Pyrrha arrived, picking up the now conscious Ren.

"Welp. We're boned." Oreonna figured.

"These... Grimm Arbiters...are stronger than they were in their original bodies..."

"Hey, Kat!" Yang smiled.

Kat's eyes widened at the sight.

"Greetings, Yang. And... I recall meeting you once, Ultimus." Kat noticed.

"Hmph! Don't waste your breath speaking to me, Anderson!" Ultimus scowled.

"Yang!" Ruby yelled as Erza, Gajeel, Twilight, and Sun ran onto the scene.

"Ruby?! What are you doing here?! And where are the others?!" Yang demanded.

"They're still unlocking the area. We had to divert the Arbiters' course." Erza replied.

"It won't work." Ultimus stated.

"What?!" Twilight gasped.

"Excuse me, Crux?" Kat turned to face him.

"Salem and the Shadow Man treat this area like a chess board. Being alone means losing your life. That's why the undead and the Grimm move so strategically. I'd give those fools about 5 minutes left to live." Ultimus replied.

"You mean that they're somehow controlling everything that happens?!" Ruby gasped.

"I was afraid of this..! I'll have to strategize.. Think up battle plans..." Twilight worried.

"Ruby... What do we do..?" Sun asked.

"I'd say it's simple enough. We play their stupid game.. And we win. By any means necessary." Gajeel decided.

Ultimus grinned at the Iron Dragonslayer.

"I like the way you think." He admitted.

"Alright.. Let's get 'em!!" Happy declared as everyone got ready.

Yang transformed quickly to her Inflamed state, her red aura flaring with violent power.

Ruby's eyes glowed a bright silver as her hair stood upwards and turned a few shades lighter.

And finally, Ultimus's normally green aura gained a bluish tint as his skin turned a light aqua. His hair turned green at the roots and shimmering blue on top as his aura burst outwards.

"Let me show these weak-willed brats the power of the Evolved Zealot!!!" Ultimus declared.

"Requip!!" Erza shouted, equipping her Heaven's Wheel armor.

"Iron Dragon's sword!!!" Gajeel shouted, his arm transforming into a chainsaw-like sword.

Twilight sighed, allowing the foreign magic of Earth-Land infuse with her very being.

"One to another, another to one, the spirits of our worlds immortal, ignite the flame of Friendship, no matter our toil! " Twilight concentrated as her coat turned to a brighter shade of purple and her eyes began to glow pure white.

As they charged off to face the Arbiters, another battle roared above them as Cade, Auburn, and Natsu attacked Cinder.

All of Magnolia, it seemed, was erupted in a state of battle.

Could anyone be able to stop it?

*Meanwhile*

'What the hell is this prick?!' Alex thought as he kept getting pummeled by Primis.

Speaking of, Primis had Alex by the neck and threw him into Mt. Hakobe, leaving him battered and stunned as Primis readied his next attack.

"PREPARE TO DIE, WALKER!!! ION CANNON!!!"

Primis fired a beam of whitish blue plasma, leaving Alex with mere milliseconds to dodge and blowing up that part of the mountain.

Alex leapt in to punch Primis in the stomach, with little effect.

"WHAT THE F**K IS UP WITH YOU?!" Alex demanded.

Primis grinned wickedly as he grabbed Alex's arm and flung him into the ocean.

Landing with a powerful splash, Alex was given little relief when Primis flew in and power-stomped him to the ocean floor, parting the water long enough for Primis to float away and see Alex swept into the ocean's current.

After waiting for about 3 seconds, Primis grabbed Alex by the neck again, throwing him onto the beach with a resounding crash and a small cloud of sand and dust.

"I doubt you understand this form in it's entirety. I'll spare you an explanation and just say this: you, your family, even Ultimus all rely on outside forces as a crutch to reach your Enlightened states and beyond. The absorption of Equestrian magic, in the case of your loved ones. You never use your own energy to advance your powers." Primis explained as Alex forced himself to stand.

"...And what the hell's up with you?" Alex coughed.

"A combination of certain Adenien bloodlines, combined with intense physical training resulted in this form before you. You met the first requirement, being your warrior elite father and your spiritually gifted mother. I can tell you were able to at least train yourself to the level of defeating a few key Inquisitors. But you used the latent powers of the Prometheus Charge to grant you your Enlightened form." Primis continued.

"Then how was Yang able to get it?" Alex asked.

"Simple. You used the Prometheus Charge to modify Ms. Xiao Long's genetic code. Your own DNA, at least in part, is infused with her being entirely. Meaning that now she can pass on the proper genes." Primis said.

"Well then... Time to finish this.." Alex ran up towards Primis, rapidly punching him as much as he could.

"Perish." Primis raised his hand, blowing Alex into a building.

"Dammit... He's way too powerful..." Alex coughed.

"SKY DRAGON ROAR!!!!"

"WUB-A-DUB DUB, MOTHERF**KER!!!"

Primis was suddenly launched into the ocean by two attacks.

"W-Wendy?! Vinyl?!" Alex gaped.

"Come on.. We can't let you die!" Vinyl urged.

"Preaching to the choir.. He'll come after you guys.." Alex warned.

"That isn't the case!" Wendy smiled.

"W-What?" Alex coughed.

Wendy raised her hands as a real flow enveloped him, and he suddenly found himself not in any pain, and his wounds healed.

"What the?!" Alex wondered.

"Sky Dragon Healing Magic.. You should be able to hang in there a little while longer, at least." Wendy explained.

"Y'know.. That would've been really nice a couple minutes ago..." Alex grinned.

"Also, is that the best form you have?" Vinyl asked.

"No, actually." Alex replied.

"I'd power up if I were you.. I'll hold him off!!" Vinyl reached for her Dubstep Cannon as Alex charged to his Enlightened Berserker.

"This is the most my body can handle at any given time.. Thanks, you two..." Alex nodded.

"Wait there.!!" Wendy held out her hands.

"I can't hold him forever!!" Vinyl winced, raising the power on the weapon's dial to eleven.

"Ile Armor.. Ile Arms.. Ile Vernier!" Wendy chanted as she casted the spells on all three of them.

Alex's red-violet Aura suddenly gained an inner blue layer, as he forced out his energy.

"I remember someone telling me not to do this, but here goes nothing..!" Alex grunted, forcing a yellow Aura between the purple and blue

"OVERCHARGE!!!" Alex roared, charging at Primis and punching him as hard as he could.

Primis skidded backwards, facing Alex as an equal.

"Hold on.!! Terroriser and Basically need our help!" Wendy suddenly shouted.

"We did what we could.. Good luck, Lex!" Vinyl waved, running away with Wendy.

Primis charged after them, only to have Alex kick him back, preventing him from going after them.

"Finally.. You roughly equal my fighting power at this point.. Don't disappoint me." Primis demanded.

Alex merely glared at Primis, watching as Vinyl and Wendy retreated.

"We're just getting started, Primis!" Alex declared, charging after his opponent in a brilliant clash.

*The Aether; October 22, 2019; 3:52 PM*

"So far, our allies are making stable progress to the perks and Pack-a-Punch... But they're throwing around a lot of power.. It's almost astounding.." Dr. Monty observed.

"Captain Walker and his allies, I feel, created the perfect storm for the end of that Ancient Evil.. Intriguing that all we needed to do was to bridge a few dimensions..." Dr. Maxis agreed.

"True, but it's this kind of interference that allowed for things like this to happen in the first place.. I can name a few other examples... That incident with Dr. Kravinoff, or even the great Schism that resulted in the Inheritors and the Chronicai finally sealing such connections in the past." Monty stated.

"Do you think the citizens of Magnolia will recover?" Dr. Maxis wondered.

"Ludwig, I've seen another outcome where these events never happened, and even then, the Apothicons were stopped, and, dare I say... I think we found yet another Catalyst Point." Dr. Monty replied.

Dr. Maxis sighed wearily.

"I feel is is best we move on, Dr. Monty.." Maxis said.

"I agree, Doctor." Monty nodded.

"Anyways, I've got a bit more information on this third entity." Maxis stated.

"Thank Me. What is it?" Dr. Monty asked.

"It seems to originate from an Island roughly hundreds of kilometers from Fiore... 'Tenrou Island'." Dr. Maxis explained.

"I'll look into this myself, Dr. Maxis... You take care of the kids.." Dr. Monty solemnly told him.

"I do suppose I need a small break.." Maxis replied, walking out of the room.

Dr. Monty, now alone, looked upon the screen at Maxis' findings...

"Tenrou Island, eh..?" Dr. Monty grinned curiously.

Indeed, the Island seemed to radiate with power, almost as if some form of powerful spirit was hidden deep within.

"Who are you..?" Dr. Monty mused to himself.

Author's Note

The ultimate clash of good and evil continues as Ultimus joins the heroes' side, Twilight gains a new magic form, and Alex uses the dangerous Overcharged Berserker, along with a bit of extra help from Wendy and Vinyl!

The next chapter marks the end of the mini-arc. After that, it focuses more on the "Easter Egg", and the final battle with Salem and the Shadowman!

On another note, I got Adobe CC a little while back, so I might try making some stuff for my profile, and some art for the 'Blood Red Shadows' cast is pretty likely to come out as well.. Possibly.. depends on how good I think stuff looks, just saying..

Chapter 44: The Shadow Wars: Part 5 of 10
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 44: The Shadow Wars: Part 5 of 10

*Magnolia, Fiore; October 22, 2019; 3:56 PM*

Alex instantly ran up to Primis, punching him in the face with no hesitation as the mercenary flew to the skies.

"You think ANOTHER power-up is going to save you now, SAIGO?!!" Primis yelled.

"Weboth know I'm far ahead of your Pure Enlightened form now, you bastard!"

Alex flew at Primis, kicking him in the gut, blowing him through several buildings as Alex started to punch Primis repeatedly until seemingly teleporting away.

"What the?!" Primis gasped.

Alex appeared right in front of him, slamming a knee into his face before rearing back and kneeing his jaw a second time.

Alex decided to take every opportunity he had to beat down Primis as badly as he could, lest Primis power up to a higher form before his energy gave out.

Alex charged again, punching Primis to the skies.

Given an instant, Primis punched Alex in the face as hard as he could.

Alex merely blinked, not even budging.

"You... What are you?!" Primis angrily demanded.

"I'll give you a simple explanation, I'm just some kid from Oregon." Alex answered facetiously.

"SILENCE!!!" Primis tried to punch Alex in the chest again, only to be swatted to the ground like a bug.

Before Primis could hit the ground, Alex roundhouse kicked him through several buildings before crashing onto the Kardia Cathedral.

Given a minute to recover, Primis skidded to a halt on top of the Cathedral, only watching in terror as Alex flipped in midair, kicking Primis again in the jaw as Alex flipped back onto his feet, all in a matter of a couple seconds.

"How the hell did you reach such a level?!" Primis demanded.

"Oh,now you're scared to lose, I thought you were made of sterner stuff." Alex scowled contrmptfully.

"YOU DOUBT MY POWER?!" Primis scowled, charging an attack.

Alex suddenly felt... Weak... He couldn't describe feeling so drained before.

'No..I have to try...' Alex thought, raising his hands to block.

"SAY GOODBYE, EMPHAS!!! GENESIS PULSE CANNON!!!!" Primis shot a beam of pure blue energy from his hands, forcing Alex to block as much as he could.

Even through his sheer will, Alex couldn't help but feel so... frail... Between the sheer pressure in his chest that caused him silent agony, and the nausea that suddenly overpowered him.

Alex was being forced back to the edge of the building as his ailments suddenly became overwhelming...

A sudden burst of lightning blew out of his collarbone, followed by a heavy jet of blood as Alex instantly powered down out of sheer loss of energy.

"AAGH!!!" Alex tossed the beam to the side, placing his hand on his clavicle.

"T-The hell....?" Alex weakly coughed as blood continued to steadily pool out his collarbone.

"Ah, yes.. I see now... You overused your 'Overcharge' technique. The problem with Overcharge is that it puts a heavy strain on your heart and all your blood vessels. Combining such a foolish technique with that high a level on the Enlightened Warrior scale is suicide. Most of your energy, and your blood, is flooding out your body as we speak." Primis glared.

"Y-Y-You... Bastard.." Alex reached for his sword, changing it to it's SCAR form and began shooting Primis.

The bullets merely bounced off Primis as he inched steadily towards him, powering down as he did.

"There's no use wasting such a form on someone at your state, Saigo. You're done." Primis raised his sword as Alex weakly changed his gun to the sword in defense.

Alex raised his sword to block one of Primis' attacks, and swung as Primis raised his own sword.

"I'm... I'm not going down yet...!" Alex angrily declared, charging past Primis and hacking him in the heel.

Primis quickly retaliated, kicking him into the cathedral, wounded beyond repair.

"You know.. This is almost too easy..!" Primis declared raising his sword.

Alex stood up, placing one hand on his wound as he dropped his sword.

Primis grinned, raising his fist and rearing back for one final punch, his fist bursting with electric light.

"DIE!!!"

With his other hand, Alex blocked Primis' fist, and quickly changed to his Enlightened Warrior form

A purplish glow surrounded Alex's hand as he expelled a sudden burst of magic power, breaking Primis' wrist in the process.

Primis recoiled in agony, grabbing the affected wrist.

"SON OF A BITCH, MY MURDERING HAND!!"'

Alex charged up the last of his energy, keeping his hand firmly placed on his clavicle, waiting for Primis' next move.

"You bastard.!! YOU'RE FINISHED!!!" Primis roared, charging at Alex at full tilt.

Alex grinned weakly, pulling his hand off of his wound.

A massive burst of lightning shot out of his collarbone, spearing Primis in the chest as he went in for a killing blow.

Primis collapsed on the floor in front of him, blood pouring out of his chest. Alex had made a direct hit at his heart.

"D...D...Dammit..." Primis coughed, breathing his last as he expired on the ground.

Alex himself panted, at this point having no energy remaining..

'I guess that's why Karos told me not to combine the Overcharge and the Enlightened Berserker... I gotta get back to the Guild Hall..' Alex thought, dragging his marred body out of the cathedral, only to be met by a horde of zombies.

"Oh, F**k off..!" Alex grabbed his Static Fate, shooting at the undead horde as he struggled to reach the Guild Hall..

*Meanwhile*

Cade and Auburn charged at Cinder from either side, weapons raised as the flew through the skies.

Cinder formed glass from the clouds of ash, flinging the grey shards at the two as the dodged each attack. A piece of glass scraped against Auburn's cheek as she ducked underneath and uppercut from underneath her.

As Cinder was hacked upward, Cade swept in from the side and kicked her to the ground.

Cinder stopped herself in midair, pulling back several arrows and shooting at Cade.

Auburn dashed from behind, slamming Cinder with her Abadeer's Flame, bashing her into the mountains.

"You two can't last forever, not against me." Cinder declared.

Cade and Auburn charged in at once, attacking Cinder with a barrage of slashes, punches, kicks, and shots.

Finding an opportunity, Cinder grabbed Auburn by the neck, kicking her away, leaving just Cade to contend with.

Cade ducked to avoid Cinder's left sword, blocking the right with his sickle and shooting her in the chest with Conductor as Auburn blew Cinder away with a complex guitar riff.

Cinder again stopped herself. Instead charging towards the ground, where Yang, Ruby, Ultimus, Kat, and the others fought against the Grimm Arbiters.

"Search the town. Find the Guild Hall." Cinder demanded as the four Arbiters ran to search.

"Cinder!" Ruby exclaimed.

Gajeel scoffed dismissively.

"So she's the one who gave Walker's family all this trouble." The Iron Dragonslayer scowled.

"Why are you doing this? Have you no heart?!" Erza demanded.

"Sigma, withdraw your forces immediately! Look around you! You and your damned Coven have gone too far this time! A neutral world will suffer because of that sociopath and her blind distaste towards Humanity!" Ultimus ordered.

Cinder closed her eyes and grinned.

"Salem's goals are much more than what you perceive. Destroying humanity is only just the beginning. And once I help Salem with killing you all, then I will be a godde--" Cinder smiled.

"Goomba, F**k you!"

Yang sped towards Cinder, punching her through several buildings.

"Anyone else feel like that was too easy?" Oreonna asked.

Cinder stalked out of the crumbling buildings, several arrows strung and directed at Cade.

"Oh, crap!

"Wait, what?" Cade's eyes widened as Yang shoved him to the ground, out of harm's way.

Yang was then hit with a barrage of arrows, most of them directed at her chest.

"Mom..!" Auburn ran to help Yang, who was lying on the ground.

"Heh.. So bold and arrogant, that one.." Cinder mused.

"Are you alright, Yang?!" Erza asked, worried.

"I.. I've had worse..." Yang grinned confidently as she powered down.

Cade's eyes never left Cinder, staring at her enraged.

"Erza. Oreonna. Get Mom out of here. The rest of you get back to the Guild Hall.." Cade ordered, his aura flaring out of control.

"COME ON, CADE!! WE'RE IN THIS TOGETHER!!" Natsu yelled.

"I SAID GO, NOW!!!" Cade shouted.

Everyone stared at Cade, appalled as they ran back to the guild hall.

Cinder merely laughed.

"How gutless of you to shoo away any chance of survival.. You're an entertaining one, so I'll give you ONE chance to leave."

"And I'm giving you no chance. This is for Flurry Heart." Cade roared as his Aura changed from lavender to dark blue.

"WHAT?!" Cinder stood in awe as Cade's energy skyrocketed, and his skin changed to blue and his body gained a muscular tone.

Cade's hair turned to flame as a black circle enveloped his body, exploding before reappearing, and exploding again, each time with greater intensity.

*Meanwhile*

"I'm getting sick of all these Zombies.." Alex muttered as he dragged his bloody body through the streets.

Suddenly, Alex felt a dark energy... A very familiar energy.

"Okay, what the hell am I sensing..? Is that..?" Alex pondered as he suddenly remembered.

'AAAAHH!!! I'LL SHOW YOU DISSAPOINTMENT!!" An old, cracked, yet malicious voice heartened to him from within his mind as he remembered the Blood Red Night, just under 3 years before.

"Alpha?! Wait, he's dead... That has to be Cade..! But... Alpha was just Enlightened during our fight... Unless.." Alex gasped, realizing just how far out of his depth he was three years ago.

"I WENT AND FOUGHT AN EVOLVED WARRIOR WHEN I WAS STILL A KID!!" Alex screamed.

*Meanwhile*

Cade continued screaming as Cinder stared on with interest.

"Intriguing... He's at the exact level as Alpha was..!" Cinder gasped.

The trace amounts of purple in Cade's eyes was now replaced by a deep red color, accompanied by shiny blue skin, and practically flaming hair that smoldered in the breeze.

"Cinder. I won't let you destroy my friends. Not again. Your little cleaning crew has to go." Cade scowled as he teleported away, and sounds of thunder, flames, and screams of terror filled the area.

Cade quickly teleported back, the heads of the Arbiters Jaune Arc, Nora Valkryie, Lie Ren, and Pyrrha Nikos in his hands, and dumped them on the ground. With a resounding stomp, Cade obliterated Jaune's skull.

"What?! But those Arbiters..! They were all at least twice as strong as they were before I killed them..!" Cinder gasped.

Cade grinned, unsheathing his weapons.

"Time to die." Cade scowled, charging in at the Maiden as the two clashed weapons.

Cade hacked and slashed his blades along with Cinder's as the two rose to the skies and began putting more and more power behind their punches until the sky was alight with the full power of the seasons and of thunder.

Cinder moved in to kill Cade immediately, aiming both of her swords at his head.

Cade blocked them all with his Sickle, nonchalantly kicking her away as a yellow Aura enveloped his dark blue one.

"OVERCHARGE!!!" Cade roared, speeding towards Cinder and head butting her to the ground.

"I WILL NOT BE BESTED BY A FAILURE SUCH AS YOURSELF!!!" Cinder yelled.

"If I am such a failure, then why haven't you killed me yet?" Cade smugly asked.

Cinder growled, stringing every last arrow she had and shooting them all at Cade.

Cade easily dodged several, grabbing three and teleporting away.

Cinder looked behind her to find Cade, and slashed at him with her swords as Cade dodged each and every strike.

Cade ducked, stabbing Cinder with one of her arrows.

"This one's for Flurry Heart." Cade asserted.

"I AM YOUR GODDESS, YOU INSOLENT LITTLE MITE!!!" Cinder hacked at Cade, who merely slapped one out of her hand, stabbing her with a second arrow.

"This is for my parents, and their parents before them." Cade kicked the second arrow further inside of her, punching her in the stomach and slashing for her neck, only cutting off some of her hair.

"LISTEN TO WHEN YOUR GODDESS SPEAKS, PEST!!!" Cinder demanded, hacking off The tattered red cloak that belonged to his timeline's Ruby.

"This last one is for thinking you could get away with destroying us twice." Cade scowled, jamming the last arrow into Cinder's back.

"YOU ARE A FOOL TO THINK YOU OF ALL PEOPLE CAN KILL ME!!!" Cinder shouted, purely enraged.

Cade floated backwards, listening intently.

"I AM STRONGER!! I AM MORE POWERFUL IN EVERY WAY!!! I AM YOUR GODDESS!!! NOW BOW!!!!" Cinder yelled angrily, abandoning her swords, flying towards Cade with surprising speed.

Cade ducked under Cinder, punching her stomach so hard that every ounce of lightning and flame came pouring out of his attack, and Cade powered down moments after Cinder herself.

"Maybe so, but I've beaten you. Your power is fading just like mine is. And unlike you, I'm modest about it." Cade smirked.

Cinder scowled angrily, panting and heaving as she silently tugged at one of the arrows embedded in her chest.

"I'll kill you yet.." Cinder angrily puffed.

"Come on, I know you at least have one more in you." Cade taunted.

Cinder's four Auras returned, and she flew at him with every ounce of power she still had.

"WATCH YOUR TONGUE!!!" Cinder yelled as Cade spun around, kicking her in the face and into the woods outside Magnolia.

"We'll let nature take it's course. See how your posturing fares with the wolves." Cade scowled as he returned to ground level.

Alex stood outside of the Kardia Cathedral, dragging something with him.

"Cade..!" Alex yelled, pulling the Crux Family Sword behind him.

"Dad..! You're hurt!" Cade gaped.

Alex shrugged.

"Please, even Wintergreen gave more of a fight than Primis!" Alex sarcastically replied.

"Very funny. I dealt with Cinder." Cade told him.

"I saw. I sensed you got past Enlightened." Alex nodded.

"So, what happened? What's with that hole?" Cade asked.

"Apparently this is the reason you don't combine Enlightened Berserker with Overcharge." Alex answered.

"Oh, shit.. Primis was that strong?" Cade gasped.

"Yep.. He even said some stuff that I think I should look into.. What happened with Cinder?" Alex asked.

"I wasn't strong enough to kill her. I weakened her and kicked her into the forest. Let's see how that plays out." Cade decided.

"Sure.." Alex shrugged.

Suddenly, Richtofen charged out, shooting at who Alex assumed was one of Salem's followers.

"TAKE ZAT!!" Richtofen yelled.

"Cade..?" Alex asked as Cade nodded, shooting the assailant through the head.

"Thanks, Cade.." Dempsey nodded, walking out with Nikolai and Takeo.

"Where are the others?" Alex asked.

"They are at the guild hall. They ran to tell everyone about what we have discovered.." Takeo replied.

"Alright.. Let's meet up there." Alex shrugged, walking back with the ex-Group 935 test subjects and doctor.

"Is this thing on..? Hello, all! I see you've gotten past your enemies! While that's all well and good, there are still a number of problems. Firstly, The Shadowman know now that you've gotten past his Grunts, so now he'll send in the heavy artillery, odds are. Second, there's still an invasion to worry about resolving, but we'll get past all that in say... 5 chapters? 6?" Dr. Monty asked.

"Chapters? Is this some sick storybook?!" Nikolai wondered.

"More like a shitty fanfiction written by some bored kid." Dempsey scoffed.

"One more thing: there's some third entity messing with my outlines for the board preventing me from doing anything to the Guild Hall itself. It seems to be originating from Fiore itself. If you can try... I dunno, F**king talking to it, hopefully it'll make things easier for all of us... Or harder... Just saying.." Dr. Monty added.

"Third entity..? I wonder if Master Makarov knows anything about it.." Cade figured.

"If anyone, am I right?" Alex replied.

*Meanwhile*

Cinder dragged her bloodied body through the forests, dragging one of her swords behind her.

"Cinder Fall. It's time we've met again." Someone called to her.

"Who said that?!" Cinder demanded.

A young woman, roughly 20 years old, with dark hair and red eyes walked out of the brush, carrying with her a large, red-bladed katana-like sword.

"Who are you..?" Cinder gaped.

The woman laughed.

"Surely, you'd remember me?" She stated.

Cinder pondered before smiling in realization.

"It's about time we met again, Corvus. What brings you here?" Cinder asked.

The woman silently grinned herself.

"I have it, Fall." The woman, Corvus, said.

"Ozpin's Artifact? How..?" Cinder asked.

"Let me worry about that. If I were you, I'd be more worried about myself." Corvus answered.

"About myself..?" Cinder asked as the woman suddenly stabbed her through the chest.

"Look at me.. Look me in the eyes." Corvus demanded, holding Cinder's face close to her's with one hand, and twisting the blade deeper with the other.

"Y-Y-You... L... Lied... T-T-To m...m-me..." Cinder gasped, a multicolored light floating from her to the woman as she slowly expired.

Corvus dropped Cinder's corpse to the ground, stepping on the body's neck.

"And with that...Phase one is complete.." Corvus sighed, slashing at the space around her, forming a portal that she walked through.

Author's Note

Hey, everyone!

Sorry I couldn't get this chapter out sooner! I was busy with a lot of busywork and art, so I had to write in my free time.

So, Cinder, Primis, and the Grimmified JNPR are all dead now. And I guess including the rest of the Coven. Leaving just the "Easter Egg" and the final boss between the Shadowman and Salem vs... Everyone else..

I'll try to have the next chapter out within a week. If not, I'll post as soon as I can!

-The Destoyer

Chapter 45: The Shadow Wars: Part 6 of 10
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 45: The Shadow Wars: Part 6 of 10

*Fairy Tail Guild Hall, Magnolia, Fiore; October 22, 2019; 4:00 PM*

Alex had dragged himself through the streets near the Guild Hall, with Cade, Dempsey, and Nikolai not far behind. Yang was patrolling the area when she saw the group and walked up to them.

"Alex!" Yang instantly ran to Alex's side upon noticing the gushing wound on his clavicle.

"I'm fine.." Alex replied, voice tight with pain as he kept his hand on his collarbone.

"Fine?! You're bleeding like crazy!" Yang shot back, wrapping the wound with her scarf.

"Speaking of, I don't remember seeing those before!" Alex retorted, pointing to Yang's arrow wounds.

"Yeah.. I had Auburn pull 'em out." Yang answered.

"I think we have other problems to worry about. Where's Makarov?" Cade asked.

"Gramps is inside with the others. They're trying to strategize how to deal with whatever's left." Yang told him.

"Thank god. Listen, Tak and Richtofen are still out looking for anything we can use. Nikolai and I went back to ask those idiots to help us out." Dempsey explained.

"We should hurry. I don't think we can stay out any longer." Nikolai told them.

Yang took the four inside the Guild Hall, with everyone mostly safe and sound.

Ruby immediately ran up to her sister.

"Yang!! Alex!! You made it!!!" She cheered.

"You're back!" Twilight grinned.

"Thank Celestia.." Scootaloo sighed with relief.

"HELL YEAH! I knew you guys would make it back!!" Natsu cheered.

"Eyy!" Wildcat cheered from the bar stool in between Vanoss' and Cana's.

"Hm.. Knew you'd pull through." Kat smiled .

Alex sighed in relief.

"That makes most of my friends still alive.. Where's Auburn?" Alex asked.

"She's with Oreo and Wendy clearing a path to Electric Cherry. They're pretty much done, I think." Ohm answered.

"Nice..!" Yang smiled.

Fluttershy flew up to Alex, examining the wound.

"I should have a doctor look at this.. What happened?" Fluttershy asked, trying to stay calm despite the growing pool of blood on Alex's chest and Yang's Scarf.

"I was at Enlightened Berserker and used Overcharge. Really f**ked myself over." Alex replied.

Yang promptly smacked Alex.

"What the hell?! You know that might've killed you!!" Yang shouted.

Natsu punched him immediately after.

"YEAH MAN!! THE HELL'S UP WITH YOU?! I'M NOT LOSING A SPARRING PARTNER!!" Natsu yelled.

"That's your reason?!" Lucy screamed.

"Look, Primis was f**king strong. I would've died if I didn't go all the way!" Alex retorted.

"So.. You've killed Primis. Huh, Saigo?" Ultimus questioned from the corner.

Alex scowled.

"Ultimus."

"Dad, calm down! He's with Fairy Tail, now!" Cade grabbed Alex's shoulder.

Alex shook his head, still glaring at Ultimus.

"You know, I was a bit surprised when they let goddamn Gajeel in the guild, but I figured at least then Makarov had his reasons. But now, I guess the guild just lets in anybody, these days." Alex rolled his eyes.

"Watch your tongue, Saigo. I'm only with this pitiful excuse of a guild until this 'Apothicon' mess blows over. Besides, I've given up on trying to kill you." Ultimus retorted.

Alex shoved Ultimus into the wall.

"Call Fairy Tail pitiful again, I dare you." Alex threatened with a death glare.

Dempsey reached for his gun.

"What are you doing?!" Yang demanded.

"I've seem how this shit goes down before, and that's without the lightning and shit." Dempsey replied.

Kat walked over and between the two, Amber glow surrounding her as she pointed a light-claw at Alex.

"You. Take your 'dead family and friends' issue elsewhere. That was years ago, and here you are, still whining about it as though you're a child." Kat told Alex in a harsh tone.

"You. Are you aware of just what an alliance is? Have some respect for those around you." Kat glared as she powered down and blinked.

"When did I get over here.?" Kat wondered, utterly confused, as the entire room stared at her in shock.

"Daaaamn, son!" Wildcat gaped.

"They just got f**kin rekt!" Nogla added.

"That was harsh.." Nikolai added.

Alex stood, blank faced, in surprise at what he was just told. Ultimus merely shook his head.

"Speak to an Adenienite Elite in such a manner again, and I toss this 'alliance' out the window." Ultimus threatened, storming off.

Alex went and sat down next to Vanoss at the bar.

"Damn.. You wanna talk to him..?" Dempsey asked Yang.

"Meh. I'll let him sort this mess out himself. He's not a 6 year old." Yang replied.

"That does beg the question.. What the hell is up with that girl, anyways?" Dempsey wondered, referring to Kat.

"No idea. Might just be tired of all this fighting." Yang reasoned.

*Meanwhile*

Kat went outside to the pool area. Though the pool itself had long since been drained, it was still a relatively quiet place.

Kat traced a finger along the left claw mark, then the right, and finally the one in the middle as they all glowed a brilliant amber.

A lioness materialized out of the orange glow, materializing in front of Kat.

"You summoned me, Katherine?" The lioness asked.

"What the hell, Sekhmet?!" Kat demanded.

"I did only what I must, girl. Both your friend and his rival are acting like children." Sekhmet replied evenly and callously.

"Did you have to?!"

"As a god, I expect the highest standard, even of my, our, subordinates. It's about time those two fools learned their lesson. Be thankful I let them take the easy way." Sekhmet explained.

"And what would've been the hard way?!" Kat demanded.

"I've killed for less, Katherine. Lucky for the Adenienites, I've grown fond of their need for perfection. It's necessary for their survival, isn't it?" Sekhmet asked.

"I guess it has.. That's no reason to go off on them like that."

"Them, Katherine, or him? I understand you care for Alexander, but I was only acting as their judge for their benefit." Sekhmet inquired.

"I... Don't follow.." Kat stated

"See through my perspective, Katherine. Alexander is strong and talented with his abilities, but he is being held back by his own self-pity." Sekhmet began.

"What do you mean, self pity?" Kat asked.

"Alexander surrounds himself with family and friends during the calms and storms of life. Not a bad thing of itself, but he's grown too dependent on them. If what you know is true about him, this stems because of his trials in the past. He is unable to cope without someone by his side, coddling him. This will hold him back until he learns that there are some things one must do alone. Only then will he be able to grow to greater heights." Sekhmet explained.

"What about Ultimus? I get that he's a prick, but.." Kat wondered.

"Where Alexander's sin is codependency, Ultimus' is pride. The way he carries himself implies that he goes through life thinking he and his family is the most powerful. Knowing his blood rival was alive and well was enough to intervene. This only worsened after his initial defeat at the hands of Alexander, and Ultimus was humiliated into attacking again. Ultimus' ego is his driving force, and until he learns that he is not as strong as his competition, he will not put actual effort into improvement."

"I think I get it.." Kat nodded.

"I'm glad you understand. Now to deal with the threat at hand." Sekhmet nodded, materializing back into Kat's hand, the three claw marks glowing as the goddess receded into her hostess.

"Now, where's my phone..?" Kat muttered, thumbing through her purse until she found her Scroll, calling the SCP headquarters.

The phone rang about five times until someone picked up.

"Director?" Dr. Christian, Kat's medical advisor, answered.

"Dr. Christian? Why did you pick up? I thought Ava would've answered." Kat stated, referring to her secretary.

"You didn't hear? Almost the entire Facility was wiped out yesterday! Most of the SCP's are out causing chaos or they were killed in the assault!" Dr. Christian asked incredulously.

"What?!"

"The Chaos Insurgency attacked yesterday, along with the assistance of an unknown Huntsman. The two mercenaries you hired managed to lock down most of the Keter Class Containments before much else could've gone wrong, but they were killed before The NAF Enforcer Corps could arrive." Dr. Christian explained.

"What happened with the Enforcers?! I though we had a hotline!" Kat exclaimed.

"The call only came in when about half the facility was overtaken. I was hoping you'd call sooner, to help us decide the next course of action." Dr. Christian stated.

"I'd help if I could, but I've got bigger problems in Magnolia, A 'Summoning Key' was opened and now the entire city's a cesspool of death and destruction."

"There must be something you can suggest!" Dr. Christian pleaded.

Kat thought for a moment, then replied to Dr. Christian's request.

"Contact the Original Foundation and tell them we need assistance rounding the Escapees back up. Contact the Enforcers and tell them I need help in Fiore." Kat ordered.

"I'll get to it, but the Enforcers are busy dealing with the local threats." Dr. Christian replied.

"Dammit..." Kat sighed.

Her friends were in danger and they were Fiore's last line of defense! Magnolia itself was already doomed the second the Apothicons tore the city apart, but they had to make sure that their infuence didn't spread!

"Wait.. Dr. Christian.. What's the current status of the Silver Ocelot organization?" Kat asked.

*Fairy Tail Guild Hall, Magnolia Town, Fiore; October 22, 2019; 4:20 PM*

"Is this everyone?" Alex demanded.

Yang, Ruby, Twilight, Vanoss, Richtofen, and Makarov sat inside one of the infirmaries in the Guild Hall. They'd gathered some of the chairs around in a circle and asked for at least 10 minutes of privacy.

"I think so.." Ruby shrugged.

"Ja.. I think ve should move this along." Richtofen urged.

"So.. First things first.. That 'Dr. Monty' guy Richtofen's always talking about mentioned a third spirit blocking Monty from helping us. If nothing else, I think you might know something, Master Makarov.." Yang stated.

Makarov sighed, shaking his head.

"I know exactly what is causing this 'Dr. Monty' his disruptions.."

"Then you can talk to... It...?" Vanoss asked.

Makarov scowled.

"The cause of these disruptions is a secret kept by all the Fairy Tail Guild Masters.. The last guild master told me, as I shall tell whomever I choose to lead Fairy Tail when I pass.." Makarov began.

"Master Makarov, please understand. The lives of my friends.. Your Guild... All of them are at stake.. Surely, you can make an exception?" Twilight pleaded.

Makarov began to explain.

"The source of these 'disruptions' is a magic stronger than the Three Great Fairy Magics. A magic known as 'Fairy Heart'. And it is Fairy Tail's ultimate weapon." Makarov explained.

"Ein Weapon?!" Richtofen shouted.

"You had a 'Weapon' this entire time?! There are f**king squid monsters floating around the sky, I've been chased down by 3 f**kin' Margwas at once and you had a weapon?!" Vanoss threw his hands up in frustration.

"WILL YOU SHUT UP?!" Makarov demanded.

Vanoss immediately ceased his tirade, and sat back down in the chair.

"Just what kind of weapon are we dealing with?" Alex asked.

"Fairy Heart technically isn't a weapon, but she holds the key to ending this siege." Makarov corrected.

"You just called your weapon a 'she'." Yang noted.

"Meh, I don't mind.. I call Blood Rose a 'she' once in a while too, and she's a classy lady." Ruby smiled mischievously. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

"Wait.. When did you change Crescent Rose's name?" Yang asked.

"As soon as I got it to that Pack-a-Thing!" Ruby answered

"You've Pack-a-Punched zat glorious piece of machinery?!" Richtofen grinned.

"I AM TRYING TO TELL YOU CHILDREN HOW TO CLEAN YOUR OWN MESS AND HERE YOU ARE, CHATTERING LIKE-" Makarov stormed.

"I figured you'd get used to this kinda chatter, Master Makarov." Alex stated.

"The stakes weren't as high as they are now!" Makarov stated.

"Are we gonna ignore the fact that Ruby probably does terrible things at night with her scythe?" Vanoss asked.

Alex cringed at the mere thought.

"If there's Ruby x Scythe fanfiction out there after this chapter is posted, I'm quitting FIMfiction." Destoyer muttered to himself, shaking his head in disgust as he writes this chapter.

"THAT'S BESIDE THE POINT!!" Makarov shouted again.

Everyone then shut up and listened to Makarov again.

"Anyways... Fairy Heart is actually our First Guild Master encased in Lacrima underneath the original Fairy Tail Guild Hall." Makarov finished.

"Oooooooo..." A female voice emanated from the halls outside.

"Who was that?" Yang asked.

"That better not be the Masturbating Fisherman.." Vanoss shook his head, grabbing his sawed-off shotgun.

"Maaaaakarov.... I am the ghost of Fairy Tail's paaaast..." The voice said again.

"Oh, god dammit." Alex rolled his eyes.

"Heh.. Ghosts aren't real-" Twilight scoffed.

"BOO!" Mavis suddenly appeared in front of Twilight.

"AAAAAHHH!!!" Twilight screamed in terror, firing magic bolts all over the room.

Alex dodged the magic bolts, and looked at the 'ghost' before them, a young woman with wavy blonde hair, green eyes, and wing-like ornaments around her ears..

"So... Who's this..?" Vanoss asked.

"This is Mavis Vermillion.. Fairy Tail's first Guild Master... Wait... How can you all see her?!" Makarov demanded.

"I think that's besides the point." Alex stated.

"Mirajane." Yang told Makarov.

"Who are you talking to?" Richtofen asked.

"Wait.. So Richtofen can't see the little blonde girl, but we all can?" Ruby asked.

"Who, Miss Xiao Long?" Richtofen asked.

"Actually, Mrs. Xiao Long-Walker, and no." Yang corrected.

"By the way.. Congratulations, you two!" Mavis smiled.

"Oh, thank you.." Alex grinned slightly.

"Anyway.. I think Richtofen and Mavis need to chat.." Ruby stated.

"Wunderbar! Where is she?" Richtofen asked.

"Can he not see me?" Mavis asked.

"Um.. Turn around.." Vanoss told him.

Richtofen turned around to face Mavis... Almost.

"Close enough.." Yang shrugged.

"Anyways.. I hear you've been disrupting my friend's attempts to help us..you aren't letting in certain... necessities.." Richtofen explained.

"Ask him if he's talking about those weird magic signatures trying to enter the guild hall.." Mavis whispered to Makarov.

"Mavis is asking if this is related to the magic signatures.." Makarov asked on Mavis' behalf.

"Ja.. If you could just let Dr. Monty move his devices inside ze guild hall, zat would be great.." Richtofen pleaded.

"Tell him sure... I like his funny accent." Mavis smiled.

"She says yes... And she likes your funny accent.." Makarov told him.

"Don't tell him I said that.!!" Mavis' eyes widened in embarrassment.

"Ach, great.. another little girl." Richtofen dismissively walked away.

Mavis began tearing up.

"First Master!!" Makarov shouted.

"I'm not crying..! I'm not!!" Mavis sobbed.

"Alex! Comfort the First Master!" Makarov ordered.

"WHAT?!" Alex shot back.

"Laxus isn't here, and you two are uncannily similar.. So comfort the First Master with all your might!' Makarov demanded.

"I resent that!" Alex shouted, kneeling down next to Mavis.

"Well.. That happened.. What next?" Vanoss asked.

"Okay, that should take care of your 'Perk' problem..! I'm moving every single perk at my disposal over to the Guild Hall! There's a catch, though.. You can only take three.. Well, best of luck!" Monty announced.

"God dammit!" Vanoss shouted.

"We wait until the First Master is ready, and we arrange a plan with her help.." Makarov stated.

"How's Mavis gonna help? I'm not being mean or anything.." Ruby asked.

"Let's just say they called her the 'Fairy Tactician' in her time.." Makarov grinned.

"Until then, shouldn't we give them some space?" Yang grinned.

"Don't even think about ditching me here!" Alex indignantly whisper-yelled.

Everyone, of course, left the room by that point.

Alex scoffed.

"F**kin' assholes.." Alex shook his head, and turned his attention to the First Master.

Author's Note

No. Seriously. If there is Ruby x Crescent Rose fanfiction out there. I quit on Fimfiction.

Anyways, enjoy!

-The Destoyer

Chapter 46: The Shadow Wars: Part 7 of 10
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 46: The Shadow Wars: Part 7 of 10

*Fairy Tail Guild Hall, Magnolia Town, Fiore; October 22, 2019; 4:26 PM*

Alex and Mavis stepped out to the Main Room of the Guild Hall, where all of the perks, the Gobblegum machine, and the Mystery Box had been relocated.

"Look who's here!" Yang grinned as everyone else turned in surprise to see the pair, including Dempsey, Nikolai, Takeo, and Richtofen.

"That's who was preventing Dr. Monty's assistance from reaching the Guild Hall?" Richtofen asked.

"It doesn't seem unlikely.." Nikolai shrugged, referring to Samantha.

"Hello, Alex. Who is that next to you?" Erza asked.

"WHAT'S A LITTLE GIRL DOING IN A PLACE LIKE THIS?!" Natsu shouted, obviously concerned.

"Clam it, Natsu!" Gray scolded.

"SHUT UP, GRAY!!" Natsu retorted.

"They're hopeless.." Lucy sighed.

"Are you going to pay attention, you two? Or are you just going to bicker until one of those Apothicons tears it's way through here?" Ultimus demanded scathingly.

"My name is Mavis Vermillion. Fairy Tail's first Guild Master." Mavis introduced.

Needless to say, the entirety of the guild started screaming.

"STOP SCREAMING!!" Yang shouted over everyone.

After a few moments, the guild silenced.

"First Master is a brilliant tactician. She may well be the key to Fairy Tail's survival in these dark times. Do we have a plan, First Master?" Makarov asked.

"What sort of enemy are we dealing with?" Mavis asked.

Richtofen cleared his throat.

"Ze Apothicons. Ze ancient evil that has been plaguing my universe, and now yours as well, for untold millennia. These monsters are capable of raising the undead and causing untold destruction upon entire universes. They are led by ze Shadow Man, often considered the one and only, original Harbinger of Doom." Richtofen explained.

"If that's not bad enough, The Shadow Man is also using the Grimm to his advantage. The Grimm themselves are also a literal f**king horror show themselves, to the point where they could tear down entire kingdoms with just three people helping from the sidelines." Alex explained.

"O-Oh.." Mavis' smile gradually faded.

"But.. Think of it this way..! We have... 20 or so Battle-fit Mages, 14 zombie-killing super soldiers, 5 Grimm-Hunting warriors, 6 magical ponies capable of defeating the likes of gods, and... Whatever Alex, Ultimus, and Cade are.." Kat quickly tried to regain Mavis' confidence.

"Keep in mind, we've also got access to all the perks and weapons now, thankfully." Dempsey added.

"Don't you mean 'tank-fully'?" Yang joked.

Most of the people in the room groaned at Yang's terrible pun.

"Can we just go through one mission without a single pun?!" Cade begged.

"Hmmm.... Nope." Yang smirked.

"... Moving on." Makarov shrugged.

"Anyways, what can we use to our advantage?" Mavis asked.

"The perks? Well.... Uh... Y'know what? Here." Wildcat decided, handing Mavis a pamphlet.

"Why are you giving her the pamphlet?!" Terroriser groaned in annoyance.

"How else is she gonna know about all the perks? It's not like they're native to this universe!" Wildcat defended.

"No one reads the pamphlet!" Moo rolled his eyes.

"Why did you even make the pamphlet when I had a little coloring book prepared?!" Basically added.

"Or we could've just use Mini's forehead as a billboard!" Nogla insisted.

"F**k off, Nogla!" Mini retorted.

"Oh, come on! We know Evan could've just made an educational animation with the Source Film-whatever!" Delirious added.

"For your information, Delirious, I don't have my shit with me!" Vanoss shouted.

"Can we just show her a Zombies tutorial and hope she gets it?" Fourzer0 shrugged.

"I don't care, I'm using the box." Ohm decided.

"I-I could make a stage play with the guys at Cockatoos.." Droidd said in a low voice.

"I'd use the pamphlet, just saying.." Lui stated.

"WILL EVERYONE SHUT UP FOR TWO SECONDS ABOUT THE STUPID PAMPHLET?!" Wildcat shouted.

Ruby pulled out her scroll, set a timer, and by that point, two seconds had passed.

"Aww.." Ruby pouted.

"It's okay, Rubes. You did your best." Sun smiled.

"Okay.. I get it.." Mavis nodded.

"See?! The pamphlet was okay!" Wildcat yelled.

"Alright... Moo? Did you find anything of importance?" Alex asked.

"Well... We found an audio recording.. Kat, you remember the Red Dawn guild?" Moo asked.

"Oh, god.. They're not here, are they?!" Kat asked, shaking with fear.

"Oh, no, they're all dead. Except for their Guild Master, who's apparently King Sombra." Ohm stated, grabbing his Death Machine.

"Wait.. The Red Dawn?! That Dark Guild that mysteriously disappeared?!" Erza gasped.

"It seems that they tampered with forces beyond their control, under the research of a 'Dr. Kravinoff'." Takeo explained.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Gray asked.

"Dr. Kravinoff found a 115 Meteorite in his experiments and was forced to seal his facility underground." Nikolai explained.

"My beloved Gray found something that might help this quest!" Juvia declared.

"Oh, yeah.. Gray found this while we were searching for the box.." Lucy stated, handing a Lacrima to Richtofen.

"A lacrima?" Alex pondered.

Everyone watched as another recording soon appeared from the Lacrima.

"H-Hello... My name is Andrew Davis... One of Dr. Kravinoff's research assistants.. Dr. Kravinoff stated that while a great danger is trapped underneath Magnolia Town, he didn't want his research completely gone.. He hired an independent guild to clear out a section of the underground ruins, and downloaded his mind onto a computer containing all of his research. I don't know what Dr. Kravinoff is doing, but I'm hoping it's for the greater good. The entrance to said facility is hidden near Magnolia Station. To anyone willing to find Kravinoff's research... Good luck.." The recording stopped, leaving everyone watching dumbfounded.

"We need to push to the Station, but we'll need everyone if we're going to pull off even getting a small group inside.." Alex decided.

"The Station is completely infested. It's suicide." Gajeel stated.

"What choice do we have?!" Natsu demanded.

"You know... Normally we would have trouble with this, but thankfully, I called for someone, and they're coming to help us!" Kat declared.

"F**kin' A, kiddo." Dempsey grinned.

"ALL RIGHT!!" The room was in a uproar of cheers as Airships landed outside the Guild Hall.

"These are Adenien Class V Battleships!" Ultimus stated.

A combined unit of Faunus of the Silver Ocelots and Adenien Ryders poured out of the ship, armed and fighting off all the Undead outside.

"Guess who's back?!" An armored, white haired cat Faunus grinned, opening the door.

"Liss?!" Cade gasped.

"Cade? Auburn? You guys are in Fairy Tail now?" Liss asked, curious.

"You know her?" Erza asked.

"She's the leader of a.. What exactly are the Silver Ocelots again?" Alex asked.

"The Silver Ocelots are Remnant's premier Paramilitary group." Liss proudly declared.

Another figure entered the room alongside Liss, carrying a machine gun.

"Hello Saigo, Ultimus." The man, a 7-foot tall cyborg with a mostly mechanical face, greeted.

"Who are you?" Alex asked.

The man grinned.

"My name is Protá. Protá Krete, Current Leader of the Adenien Ryder Corps, and son of the Supreme Leader." Protá introduced.

"Hm.. What's your business here?" Ultimus scowled.

"I was called to assist because an extra-dimensional threat is currently plaguing the town. Along with Agent Kitmai, I was called by the Supreme Leader to contain the conflict." Protá explained.

"You're all here to help?!" Lucy smiled.

"Seems like it.. Hello, Dr. Richtofen." Liss smiled.

"Agent." Richtofen greeted.

"You two know each other?" Yang asked.

"We had overlapping goals during my research after sat whole mess with ze Giant Robots." Richtofen explained.

"Anyways, what's the plan?" Alex asked.

"Okay.. I need three Groups, Groups A and B are going to be pretty big. I need all of Fairy Tail in Group A, and the Ponies, Huntsmen, and Mr. Fong's men in Group B. Dr. Richtofen's Group C will be able to go into the Ruins and find anything that could help. Alex, you and your family will stand by unless Richtofen needs the help. Ultimus and Kat, I need you co-leading the Ryders and the Silver Ocelots respectively." Mavis decided.

"Listen up! The Ryders will be co-led by Ultimus, and the Ocelots are being led by Kat! I need all of Fairy Tail in one group, and Huntsmen, Ponies, and Weenie Boys in the other! Richtofen, I need you to go into the Ruins and call Yang and I if you need help!" Alex explained for everyone who couldn't hear Mavis.

"Everyone needs Jugg and Speed Cola! Use that third slot for anything! Buy a Gobblegum, too!" Vanoss added as everyone rushed towards the machines.

"WOO HOO!! LET'S PARTY!!" Pinkie cheered.

"Magic in the form of a drink? How does Dr. Monty make these?" Twilight wondered.

Alex, taking a swig of the Juggernog, gagged as he swallowed, coughing it all back up.

"Heh.. Looks like someone didn't quite get biology." Ultimus smirked.

"The hell you talking about?" Alex asked.

"Adenienites can't drink, Emphas. Our bodies treat alcohol essentially like poison." Ultimus explained.

"Oh, you're kidding me! That would've been useful a long time ago!" Alex groaned.

Alex had once challenged Cana to a drinking contest for Yang, in which the loser had to select a job chosen by the winner. The job she had chosen for him had left him scarred for life since.

Dr. Monty suddenly appeared, carrying with him a mini-fridge.

"Hello! Terribly sorry about all that, I didn't realize you had backup, much less Adenienite backup! Here.. This should be potable for you guys." Dr. Monty apologized, placing the Juggernog mini-fridge

onto the bar.

Dr. Monty then teleported and reappeared, each time carrying a variety of different Adenienite-friendly perks.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't make a non-alcoholic Deadshot.. Oh, well.. Not my most popular anyways." Dr. Monty shrugged, teleporting out the room.

Alex grabbed Juggernog, Speed Cola, and Electric Cherry. Collecting his things, he sat down next to Yang and Auburn.

"Hey, Alex!" Yang smiled.

"Heya.. So, we've got help now.." Alex smirked.

"Heck yeah! We might actually win this! Cheers!" Yang raised her Juggernog and cheered with Alex, the bottles making a resounding 'klink'! as the two took a swig.

"Wait, no, don't smash the-" Mirajane winced as everyone reflexively smashed their bottles on the ground.

"NO!! EVERYBODY SMASHES THEM! WHY CAN'T YOU GUYS JUST DRINK THE REST OF IT LIKE THIS NICE GENTLEMAN HERE?!" Dr. Monty reappeared, gesturing to Alex.

"Hey." Alex waved awkwardly.

"Well.. I've said my piece, good luck, all!" Dr. Monty waved, teleporting away again.

"First Master?" Auburn began.

Mavis directed her attention to Auburn.

"Yes?"

"What are your plans for us once we're ready?" Auburn asked.

"I'm still working on it.. Where are most of the zombies and Grimm?" Mavis asked.

"A large group has taken up each route, meaning we can't get to the Station without encountering heavy resistance." Auburn explained.

Mavis sat in thought for a few moments.

"How many per street?" Mavis asked.

"Mostly Ursai and Margwas, unfortunately.." Auburn sighed.

"Hmm... So this 'Shadowman' really doesn't want us at that station.." Mavis figured.

"Wait..! If we have jets now, then why can't we just fly over them to the station?" Vanoss asked.

"Air superiority. Those Apothicons in the sky are going to keep us at ground level. I'm not even sure how the Ryders and the Ocelots got in." Cade replied.

"Hold on.. We could trap one Apothicon like in Revelations, why can't we hold off three?" Wildcat wondered.

"Might I suggest something?" Protá asked.

"We'll take what we can get." Alex shrugged.

"The dark energies the Apothicons have are similar to the Grimm, and according to Remnant legend, a silver-eyed warrior could paralyze Grimm with fear, yes?" Protá wondered.

"How did you-?" Ruby gasped.

"- If that is the case, surely such a warrior can keep the Apothicons at bay while we fly to the station, correct?" Protá wondered, turning to face Ruby.

"S-Sure!" Ruby smiled.

"That's my sis!" Yang cheered, hugging Ruby.

"We need troop transport vehicles at our location ASAP! Extra fighters should be able to flank them!" Liss shouted into the radio.

"Wait! We need Pack-A-Punch!" Dempsey demanded.

Ruby turned back and smiled at Dempsey.

"No problem." Ruby confidently smiled.

"Damn, Ruby's in the zone..!" Sun grinned.

Ruby stepped outside, glaring up at the three Apothicons as she began to glow with a silver light.

"That's so awesome!!" Scootaloo gasped in awe.

"Who knew humans could do stuff like this?!" Sweetie Belle agreed.

"What kind of Magic Power is that?!" Natsu wondered.

Yang smirked at Natsu.

"Let's just say things are looking... Grimm.. For those things."

"OH COME ON!!"

Ruby's hair began to stand on end, turning a light gray as her eyes began to glow.

"SILVER SHINE!!" Ruby shouted as a wave of bright light burst out of her eyes.

The silvery energy flowed up from Ruby's eyes all the way to the three Apothicons, their inhuman screeches filling the air.

"Woah!!" Vanoss gasped, covering his eyes.

"I don't believe it..! How can a child do that much damage to such monstrosities?!" Ultimus gasped.

"Wait..! It is slowing them down, but it is not stopping them.!!" Richtofen gasped with terror.

"Girls, get your elements..!" Twilight whispered.

Twilight, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and the CMC ran out alongside Ruby, watching as the Apothicons began to fly towards them.

"Alex..!" Yang gasped.

"Oh, shit!" Alex shook, readying an attack.

"Quick, girls..! We need to fight back before those things kill us all!" Twilight urged.

"We'll do it together, Twi! Three... Two.. One..! " Ruby charged another attack as The elements began to shine brightly.

"Will that work?!" Nikolai gaped.

"Just in case, Everyone get your defensive spells ready!" Malaria urged.

"HARMONIAL SILVER SHINE!!!" Ruby yelled as the combined energy of the Elements and the Silver Eyed Warrior's powers took their toll on the Apothicons, as all three fell in front of them, with one coughing out a familiar machine before passing.

"Pack-A-Punch!" Vanoss cheered as everyone piled in to upgrade their weapons.

"Alright. Wonder Weapons are of utmost importance! Upgrade those first!" Takeo advised.

"Wait, can we Pack-A-Punch the Bows?" Wildcat asked.

"HOLY SHIT! WE CAN!" Lui cheered.

"Guys! Try going for Dead Wire when you Pack-A-Punch! Alex and his other thunder buddies need that shit!" Terroriser shouted.

"Reminds me.. I forgot my Gobblegum.." Alex shrugged, placing a Jewel inside the coin slot.

Alex picked up the Gobblegum in his two fingers, looking at the little emblem.

"Nice! You got Pop Shocks! Whenever you melee, you shock all the zombies!" Vanoss told him.

"Well, at least it'll let me save up some energy." Alex figured as Yang carried her Gauntlet and Arm and upgraded them both.

"Nice! 'Celestial Detonator'!" Yang cheered, placing the weapon on her wrist with the recovered arm, with now had a cosmic blue and red finish.

Alex put his weapon, the 'Static Fate', inside and waited for the upgrade to finish.

The scimitar floated out of the machine with a similar color, carrying the weapon and reading the weapon name out loud.

"'Agartha's Thunder'." Alex noted, converting the weapon to it's Battle Rifle form.

"Hey, Alex? You wonder what that one sign on the Pack-A-Punch is implying there?" Yang asked, pointing to the one sign on the machine with the Ray Guns. One of the ray guns had the barrel drooping downwards.

"Real mature." Alex shook his head.

"Alright! That about covers everything! The transports are here!" Liss shouted as four Troop Transports landed in front of the Guild Hall.

The masses charged into the transports as the jets circled around, with Alex, Yang, Cade, Auburn, Ruby, Sun, The Elements, and Vanoss' crew in one, all 24 watching Fairy Tail, the Ryders, and the Ocelots get inside their own transports from their window as it closed, shrouding the interior in darkness until a red light flickered on above them.

"Just like old times, isn't it?" Ruby smiled.

"Yeah.. Ain't it just." Alex sighed.

"Well, whatever happens, at least we're all together." Fluttershy said, voice shaking nervously.

The group suddenly felt lighter as the Transport shifted upwards.

*Meanwhile*

Makarov watched from inside the Guild Hall as the transports took off. Silently praying that his 'children' would all survive the endeavor.

"I understand how you feel, Makarov." Mavis suddenly said.

Makarov sighed.

"It never gets easy. But The Guild is strong enough to overcome such a challenge. And from what I've seen with Natsu, Gray, and all the rest, they can end this disaster." Makarov admitted.

"And what if they don't?" Mavis wondered.

"First Master?" Makarov asked curiously.

"Fairy Tail was always strong in the face of opposition. Against other guilds, monsters, and even itself. But our opponent is a force of evil that Earth-Land has not seen until today. Lucky for us, a true tactician always has a contingency plan!" Mavis explained.

*Meanwhile*

"We are still the victors here, I assure you." The Shadowman promised.

Salem slammed her fist down on the table.

"With all due respect, Harbinger, my Arbiters, my followers, are all dead..! For my sake, even three of your Leviathans were killed!" Salem shook her head.

"Relax, Lady Salem. I have my own plans." The Shadowman promised.

"Plans?" Salem demanded.

"Indeed. You remember that fool, Lucien Sombra?" The Shadowman asked.

Author's Note

Reinforcements have arrived, and the pieces have been rearranged! Mavis and the combined might of Salem and the Shadowman decide to play their own trump cards, but what could they be planning?

Tune in next time on Blood Red Shadows II!

-The Destoyer

P.S: I might actually invest time doing art and stuffs. Maybe even a comic of some of the highlights of the BRS Series, if that's your thing. \_(ツ)_/

Chapter 47: The Shadow Wars: Part 8 of 10
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 47: The Shadow Wars: Part 8 of 10

*Magnolia Station, Magnolia, Fiore; October 22, 2019; 4:45 PM*

The trapdoor of the Adenien Class V Transport Vehicle opened to reveal the shattered urban area around Magnolia Station, where buildings had crumbled and blood had been splattered indiscriminately amongst the ground.

Within a few moments, the four transports had landed near the station, an army now 100 strong had marched out over the ground.

Fairy Tail was among the first faction to step out onto the cracked cobblestone that once lined the street.

"Oh no..." Lucy gasped, having been one of the first to actually run out of the Transport.

Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy rolled out onto the ground due to motion sickness, Natsu in particular looking relatively close to vomiting.

"It seems not even children were spared.." Erza sighed, voice shaking when she looked inside one of the war-torn buildings.

"We'll make those squid bastards pay for what they did..!" Gajeel scowled.

Kat and Liss, along with the Silver Ocelots, ran out next, quickly joining Fairy Tail.

"I doubt there'll be any survivors. Tell the others to set a perimeter." Kat ordered.

"How big?" Liss asked.

"As much as we can get. Richtofen and the others need some space." Kat replied.

Ultimus, Protá, and the Adenien Ryders ran alongside the Ocelots, the four now at a sort of strategy meeting.

"That's the least of our problems. Those monsters will be charging at our doorstep any second!" Ultimus scowled.

"Ultimus, now is not the time to show fear. I recall Grimm being attracted to such emotions. We must stand bravely." Protá chided.

"You don't know what I've seen! Cinder has spent more than a few months planning such an attack! And now that her superiors know we've defeated her and her associates, they'll come after us at full force!" Ultimus shouted.

"Oh yeah? So will we." Gray interrupted.

"BRING IT ON, YOU BASTARDS!!" Natsu shouted, effectively rallying Fairy Tail to battle.

"Protá, I'd advise you tell the transports to head back. Keep the fighters in the air in case the attack is too much for our ground forces to handle!" Ultimus demanded.

"Already sent the order. Ultimus, don't you have your own men?" Protá asked.

"Your father already forbid my use of my Militia for conflicts of interest." Ultimus sullenly explained.

"This is much more than a simple conflict of interest. The Supreme Leader will understand." Protá promised.

"Ocelots! Help the Ryders barricade Lavender Street! Fairy Tail's already bordering Violet Road, and we'll have The Elements of Harmony assist Vanoss' squad with defending Rose Way!" Liss commanded as everyone immediately mobilized to their designated main road.

Alex, Ruby, Yang, Cade, Auburn, Oreonna, and Sun ran out next, searching for a street to border while Richtofen and the others ran, searching for anything that could lead them to the Passageway into Dr. Kravinoff's lab.

"Ruby, Sun, You guys deal with Rose Way. Cade, Auburn, and Oreonna, help Fairy Tail with blocking off Violet Road. Yang and I'll worry about Lavender Street! Richtofen!"

The doctor looked back at Alex, who smirked at the four.

"Good luck down there!" Alex nodded, running next to Yang as the three groups stood past the main roads.

"Danke, Alexander." Richtofen silently thanked him.

"We gotta go, Doc!" Dempsey shouted.

"Hurry, Richtofen!" Nikolai urged.

"Here they come!!" Vanoss shouted, as a massive horde of Zombies, Grimm, Parasites, and Margwas swarmed through the streets.

"Open fire!" The Ryders shouted.

Bullets, magic, and electricity collided with the hordes, eliminating only a few as their adversaries continued the charge.

*Meanwhile*

"Come on..! Where ze hell is this 'secret entrance'?!" Richtofen seethed.

"Dammit! Not in this bush!" Dempsey cursed, kicking over the aforementioned shrub.

"Wait, Doctor? You remember Division 9? How they had that elevator?" Nikolai asked.

"Ja... Ein secret entry in ze wall? Could it be possible?" Richtofen wondered.

"Doubtful. But Dr. Kravinoff does want someone to discover his research." Takeo figured.

"We must hurry..! We have no idea how long our allies will hold!" Richtofen shouted.

"Doc! I don't know how important this might be, but look at this!" Dempsey yelled, showing Richtofen a piece of string hidden underneath a bush.

Richtofen pulled on the piece of string, and a trapdoor was revealed, pushing away some of the dirt.

"That may well be it, Dempsey!" Richtofen cheered, climbing inside while the others followed soon after.

*Meanwhile*

"THERE'S TOO MANY OF THEM!!!" Vanoss yelled, dual wielding upgraded Desert Eagles while the others sent a torrent of gunfire into the ever-advancing horde of monstrosities.

"Die!!!" Delirious laughed maniacally as he ripped apart a Margwa's head with his PPSh.

Mini and Nogla fought side-to-side, blowing apart Beowolves, Ursai, and Creeps with their Breccis and Haymakers.

It seemed hopeless for those at Rose Way, as their horde seemed to be the largest.

"Evan.. I don't think we can last that much longer!" Wildcat shouted.

"Twilight!! If you have anything that can help us, DO IT NOW!!" Vanoss screamed.

Twilght concentrated on a powerful spell.

'I've been saving this one since before the Battle of Atlas... This is easily my most devastating spell, but... It's so unstable.. I might not be able to control it.' Twilight worried.

"Oh, dear.!! We need help! We're being overrun!!" Fluttershy shouted in mortal terror.

Erza, Natsu, and Ultimus gaped in horror at what was happening at Rose Way, as the undead and soulless continued pressing their charge towards Vanoss' crew.

Suddenly, air sirens began to blare overhead.

"Oh, f**k.." Vanoss gasped, now actually shaking.

Behind the Apothicons, wave upon wave of Panzer Soldats, large tank-like exo-suite containing zombies, crashed behind, charging through and burning everything in their path.

"We'll buy you guys time to reload! Hurry!!" Natsu ordered.

Vanoss' crew, and the Elements, fell back as Natsu inhaled the flames, spewing them back out to little effect.

"WHAT?!" Natsu gasped. Normally, even Gajeel's Iron Dragon Scales would be at least cracked, but it seemed these Panzers didn't even budge.

"I'll take care of them! You two get the hell back!" Ultimus roared, powering up all the way to his Evolved Zealot form, charging a powerful attack.

"IN THE NAME OF THE CRUX FAMILY, AND THE ADENIEN RYDER CORPS!! I COMMAND YOU TO DIE!!! HYPER DEVASTATION WAVE!!!" Ultimus shouted, firing wave upon wave of electricity, managing to clear out several of the advancing cybernetic atrocities.

Twilight's horn glowed a brilliant rose color, having Earth Land's energy stored within her horn, and her magic energy at 101%. She was literally about to explode!

"C-Can't... Hold... Much... Longer..!" She winced, as the magic burned away at her horn and sapped the rest of her energy.

Vanoss backed away, noticing Twilight's spell reaching an uncontrollable maximum.

"Guys.. This might be it.. Twilight's about to blow, and the Apothicons are about ready to rip us to bits.." Droidd sighed.

"W-We can help! We have to-!" Pinkie insisted.

"Listen, you horse f**ks! We can't hold out forever! Those things just keep coming!" Vanoss shouted.

"Dammit, Evan! I'm not gonna die getting eaten by f**kin' zombies!" Wildcat yelled back.

"Look.. Droidd's right.. We won't be able to hold out for this long.. Our best hope is that.. Everyone else can keep up, Richtofen can find whatever he's looking for, and someone, I don't give a shit who, but someone, has to kill those two motherf**kers in charge! And f**k it! Dying in a magic explosion sounds a million times better!" Fourzer0 suggested.

"What, do we just carry Twilight like some kinda f**king battering ram into the massive horde of Zombies?" Basically asked.

"I DON'T CARE!!! JUST GET ME AWAY FROM THE OTHERS!!" Twilight shouted in anger, barely able to control the magic blast that would surely devastate the street.

"Well, how bout it?" Mini asked, grabbing Twilight by her front right hoof.

The Vanossgaming Crew stared at one another in shock. Twilight was clearly about to die, and by the looks of it, so would everyone else..

"This is literally the worst idea ever, but count my pig ass in!" Wildcat smirked, grabbing Twilight'a back left hoof.

"I'm in." FourZer0 insisted, Grabbing Twilight's back hoof.

"We can't just leave!" Scootaloo insisted.

"Y-Yeah..! We won't lose Princess Twilight like we lost our sisters!" Applebloom added.

Vanoss knelt down, looking Applebloom in the eye.

"The best thing for you kids to do, is run like hell. Call someone, and hopefully, the explosion will wipe out only a few of us and most of them. Go! Now!" Vanoss shouted.

"We need covering fire!" Ohm shouted, grabbing Twilight's other hoof.

"Oh, shit.. I'll do it." Terroriser smiled, grabbing his Upgraded M60.

Twilight, Ohm, Fourzer0, Wildcat, and Mini ran towards the newly arrived horde, charging down the street as Twilight readied her spell.

The others could only watch and cover as they ran down, faster and faster as Twilight's horn began to glow brighter and brighter.

"OOOOHH F******K!!!!" They all collectively screamed.

Twilight' shorn reached to practically a singularity as all the magic stored within her body suddenly absorbed itself into a pea-sized little ball, slowly expanding until it would make contact with something, anything.

The pea-sized ball of condensed magic energy made it's way down the street, colliding with the nearest Margwa as they continued running towards the advancing crowd.

And when the magic ball hit, boy, did it hit.

The ball grew to enormous size, with Fluttershy, Nogla, Basically, and Droidd getting caught in the ball and simply evaporating.

The massive sphere eventually exploded, knocking down almost every building in the immediate radius, eliminating scores of Apothicons, Grimm, and anyone unlucky enough to just so happen to be in the explosion.

"Holy shit!" Cade gasped, staring at the explosion.

Vanoss, Delirious, Pinkie, Terroriser, Lui, Moo, and the CMC hit the back wall of the Magnolia Station building, mostly unscathed, saved for a few burns and scratches.

"H-H-Holy shit.." Delirious gasped, shaking and hyperventilating.

"I-I-Is Twi..?" Applebloom gasped before passing out.

"God... Dammit.." Terroriser coughed.

Alex ran over to check on Vanoss and the other survivors.

"Evan! Evan, wake the hell up!" Alex shook him.

"I'm fine.." Vanoss coughed.

"What the hell just happened?!" Yang demanded.

"T-Twilight used a spell... It went out of control.. Ohm, Fourzero, Wildcat, and Mini ran her into the horde.." Moo explained.

"What?!" Cade gasped, how could this happen? At least 9 people just died in front of him.

"Oh, no..." Ruby gasped in shock, beginning to cry.

"I-I'm the only one left... I-I'm the last Element..." Pinkie sobbed, her usually poofy hair deflating to a straighter hairstyle.

Oreonna coughed as the dust blew out over the Station, racked with disbelief and horror.

"This isn't much better than the old timeline..!" Auburn coughed.

"No.." Erza winced, being reminded of what happened at the Tower Of Heaven, and the loss of her childhood friend, Simon.

"God damn.." Kat gasped.

"The Silver Ocelots will never forget the sacrifices Princess Twilight and her friends took to preserve the lives of this world. I swear." Liss raised her right hand.

"Nor will the Adenien Ryders. Their bravery shall not be forgotten." Protá swore.

The screeches of the undead once again filled the air.

"This isn't over." Ultimus scowled.

The Ryders, Ocelots, Fairy Tail, everyone, came to the same conclusion.

After the explosion, there was no plan, there were no choke points.

There was only one objective left.

Kill them all.

Natsu growled, seething with rage.

"I'll.. I'LL MAKE SURE THOSE CREEPS PAY FOR WHAT THEY DID!!!" Natsu roared, blowing a massive torrent of flame at the hordes, continuing to advance on them.

"Attack!!" Kat shouted, letting the Spirit of Sekhmet overtake her once more.

Ruby's hair stood straight on end, growing to a shade of pure white as her eyes glowed with a brilliant light.

"YOU MONSTERS!!!!!" Ruby shouted, silver light pouring out her eyes as she repeatedly blew apart dozens of Beowolves.

Yang went directly to her Enlightened Berserker, blowing apart the ensuing horde in front of them.

Alex stared in horror at what had happened. He just lost nine more of his friends, and several others might very well follow.

"ALEX, HURRY UP!!" Yang shouted.

"Father! There will be time to grieve later!" Auburn added.

"There's no time!" Cade yelled.

Alex sighed. They were right.

As he walked towards them, joining his comrades in battle, he was left to wonder about the circumstances this apocalyptic battle would transpire.

'How many more of us are going to die before the day is over?' Alex solemnly thought.

*1 Minute before*

"Doc! We got undead in here!" Dempsey shouted, killing the zombie with his Colt .45.

"Verdammt! We'll have to fight our way down there!" Richtofen scowled.

The four walked cautiously down the stairs gunning down any zombies they could.

There are four doors here, check all of them!" Richtofen ordered.

"Da. Let us continue." Nikolai nodded, blowing apart the door to his left.

Takeo, Richtofen, and Dempsey all took their own doors, stalking through and killing their way through their own routes.

Eventually, the four met back in one central room, with several zombies blocking the path.

"Dammit! Open fire!" Dempsey shouted.

Suddenly, a large earthquake shook the inside, causing rocks to fall down and kill the zombies in front.

"What the hell?!" Richtofen demanded as he fell to the ground.

It seemed as though the ground had collapsed in on itself, rocks and debris now littered the room, leaving the four heroes stunned.

"The hell just happened? Everyone okay?" Dempsey asked.

"I feel like I will throw up.." Takeo grumbled.

"Our allies are in trouble.." Richtofen concluded.

"Then we should get going.! Now!" Nikolai demanded, dragging Takeo with him.

Dempsey tossed down a couple Trip Mines, and pulled the pin on a grenade.

"Get back!" Dempsey shouted, tossing the grenade and blowing apart the rocks, making the door visible.

The zombies behind them roared and screeched, trying to get past the rocks keeping them away.

"Hurry!" Nikolai shouted, blowing away zombies with his KRM.

"Get inside, now!" Richtofen ordered, tossing a Lil' Arnie behind him as the Origins Crew climbed inside the room.

"Holy shit.." Dempsey gaped.

"What... Is that?" Takeo wondered.

In front of them was a massive computer, connected to what looked like a massive server with several hard drives attached. Obviously all of Dr. Kravinoff's research.

"Should we activate it?" Nikolai asked.

"Ja... It seems like ze best course of action.." Richtofen concluded.

*Princess Celestia's Castle, Canterlot, Equestria; October 22, 2019; 4:55 PM*

"Your Highness!!"

Princess Celestia's looked behind her to see Princess Luna, Supreme Leader Krete of Adenien, and Qrow. The group in it's entirety looked deeply concerned.

"Is this about the Incident in Fiore?" Celestia asked.

"You and I both know it is, Celestia." Supreme Leader Krete stated.

"Tai told me everything as soon as I got to the Dimensional Gate. Said that some kind of demon was released." Qrow explained.

"Then why aren't you there, helping your children along with Taiyang?" Luna asked.

"Tai insisted on gathering as many Inheritors as he could find. I'm not there because I'll literally only make things worse." Qrow replied.

"I'm familiar with your Semblance, Mr. Branwen. Tell me, are you aware of what has just transpired?" Supreme Leader Krete asked.

"The explosion?" Qrow sighed.

"Explosion?" Celestia asked.

"Don't tell me you are so uninformed, Princess. Your student is dead, as well as 8 of her fellow warriors." Krete stated.

"Dead?!" Princess Luna gasped.

"It appears so. My son, Protá, is the current head of the Ryder Corps. He told me everything." Kreme stated.

Celestia shook, shocked that her student, who she had known so well, had suddenly died.

"How..?" Celestia asked.

"Twilight used some kinda spell. Does this look familiar to you?" Qrow asked, handing Celestia footage of the explosion.

"It seems she used a highly concentrated form of the Teleport spell. She intended to drive the Apothicons out into another dimension. She lost control, it appears." Luna elaborated.

"Then there's-!" Celestia gasped.

"I don't think so. The possibility of even one person in the blast radius surviving that spell is extremely low." Krete explained.

Celestia and Luna both faced each other, deeply shocked at what Krete and Qrow told them.

"Send the Royal Guard. All of them!" Luna demanded.

"Sister.. I believe there is a better way... You know what we have to do.." Celestia explained.

Luna sighed.

"The new Nightmare Forces are extremely volatile! Who knows what could happen!" Luna yelled.

"We have no other choice! Send them out." Celestia commanded.

*Outside Magnolia Station, Fiore; October 22, 2019; 4:58 PM*

Alex ducked underneath a Margwa, shooting at a Horde of undead, being careful not to attack with his sword. He figured he would save that for the Salem.

The Margwa grabbed Alex by the leg and raised him up, only to be dropped when Yang took out all the Margwa's heads with one hit.

"Here, get up!" Yang demanded, pulling Alex to a standing position.

"Transform, Saigo! Don't you want to avenge your friends?!" Ultimus demanded.

"I have to recharge! If I transform now, I'll pass out!" Alex yelled.

"Recharge, huh?" Vanoss grinned, grabbing a Wunderwaffe.

"Brilliant! Men! Raise your electric wonder weapons at Alex!" Protá commanded.

Alex raised his arms out.

"Let's do this!" Alex smirked.

"Delirious! Moo! Terroriser! Lui! Any of you guys have anything lightning related, now'd be a good time!" Vanoss shouted, shooting Alex with his Wunderwaffe.

"I got Electric Cherry!" Terroriser shouted, reloading his M60 as Moo and Delirious shot their Lightning Bows at Alex.

"Lightning Staff, bitches!!" Lui yelled, shooting Alex along with Vanoss.

Alex continued to raise his electric energy as Vanoss and his remaining friends continued to pelt him with lightning.

Before long, Alex reached his Evolved Warrior form.

"That's good! I think I have plenty in me!!" Alex shouted as Vanoss and friends returned to the defense.

Alex raised one finger, pointing it straight into a horde of Grimm, particularly at a Griffin leading the charge.

Merely shooting a tiny spark out his fingertip, The Grimm Griffin collapsed, and a massive arc of lightning spread to each of the others, causing most of them to explode.

"Woah, what?! That was Alex?!" Natsu gasped.

"I didn't know he was that charged up!" Gray added.

"Impressive.. Mind if I add to your power?" Erza said, transforming to her Lightning Empress armor.

"I'll take what I can get!" Alex grinned, charging up his power.

"LIGHTNING BEAM!!" Erza shot a massive bolt of Lightning at Alex, raising his energy up to further heights.

"This should be enough! Thanks, Erza!" Alex waved.

"You're welcome." Erza smiled.

"Wait for us!" Someone shouted.

"What the?!" Pinkie gasped.

Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack, now appearing as spirits, surrounded by a dark fog, waved at the group.

"Dash?!" Yang gasped.

"The one and only!" Rainbow Dash replied.

"YAY!!! I GET MY FRIENDS BACK!!" Pinkie cheered.

"How are you guys here?!" Delirious asked.

"It's easy, my hockey-masked friend! Arabus did kinda absorb us, so when he died, we were pretty much released... So now, we're the new Nightmare Forces!" Applejack explained.

"And Cade? Remember what I told you to tell your sister?" Rarity asked.

"God dammit.. I told you guys I heard Rarity's ghost!" Cade shouted.

"I didn't think you were serious!" Oreonna indignantly retorted.

"What were you meaning to tell me?" Auburn asked in her monotone voice.

"Darling, Weiss' jacket and your otherwise yellow wardrobe clash! Without my glasses, it all looks like a green smudge!" Rarity explained.

"Explanations aside, why are you guys here?" Alex asked.

"Luna sent us to help you guys!" Rainbow explained.

"Great! 'Cause..." Vanoss began.

Gesturing towards the revived horde of Parasites and Ursai, Vanoss glared at the Nightmare Forces. The three quickly stared in shock.

"...We actually need it." Vanoss finished.

"Yeah! Let's get 'em!" Sun shouted.

"Spawn of Salem! Meet your end!!" Kat shouted, unleashing a barrage of light claws and flaming attacks.

"FIRE DRAGON TALON!!"

"ICE-MAKE LANCE!!"

"DANCE, MY BLADES!!"

"THUNDER CANNON!!"

A barrage of attacks from the Fairy Tail Wizards, Ultimus, and Kat, reduced the first wave to piles of ash skewered by ice slivers and swords.

"Auburn.. Let's finish off this next wave!" Cade grinned.

"Agreed. Oreonna, get behind us." Auburn nodded.

Cade and Auburn held their hands out, forming a condensed ball of fire and lightning that ripped apart the ground underneath.

"Whenever you're ready!" Cade shouted, pouring a vast amount of energy into the attack.

"Let's end this!" Oreonna shouted, playing an elaborate song with her viola, causing small flecks of the energy ball to fly off and incinerate the individual Parasites, waiting until a Deathstalker charged into sight.

"Now!"

Cade shot the ball of energy right into the Deathstalker's maw, blowing it and several other Grimm to pieces.

Yang and Ruby charged in, wiping out entire groups of Zombies with their attacks, before Ruby used her silver eye powers to freeze a Nevermore in place, with Yang leaping and punching it's stomach, blowing it to bits.

Alex, on the other hand, suck with the CMC and Wendy, who launched spells, apples, anything to keep them at bay. Alex shot down several Ursai, preferring to save his energy for fighting Salem and the Shadowman.

'Weird.. I should be able to power down, but I can't.. It's almost like I've charged up too much and this is my base form, for the time being.. I wonder if this means I can step up to a higher form than even Overcharged Berserker..' Alex thought.

*Meanwhile*

"Alright... Let's see if this works.." Richtofen pulled the switch on the power, and the computer gradually turned on.

"Hello, soldiers, I am Dr. Kravinoff. I wish to thank you for discovering my laboratory and my research, but there is more to worry about. I have been surveying the battle above, and it seems the worst is yet to come." Dr. Kravinoff began.

"What's going on here?! And why're you saying that when the whole city's up in flames?" Dempsey asked.

"It appears that Lucien Sombra is trying to reach Fiore, and letting him do so would be catastrophic. If Sombra does make it back, then my calculations show little chance of survival..." dr. Kravinoff answered.

"How can we prevent Sombra's arrival?" Richtofen asked.

"Ah, yes.. You must... Wait.. I'm detecting a vast amount of energy above, it is likely Sombra coming to take his revenge on the Traveller. Do not allow The Shadowman and Salem to reach Sombra. Take my research, Richtofen, and give it to The SCP Foundation or Dr. Monty. If you are unable to do so, destroy it all. Good luck." Dr. Kravinoff explained.

"Thank you, Machine." Takeo nodded, removing several hard drives and placing them into his pockets.

"Grab as many as you can und head to ze surface!" Richtofen ordered, grabbing another bunch of Hard Drives and running away.

"Stay back!" Dempsey commanded, wiping out a path with his Zeus Cannon.

"We must hurry! Who knows how long our allies have?!" Nikolai shouted.

"Come on, we're almost there!" Richtofen yelled, tossing a grenade behind him in case more zombies decided to show.

*Meanwhile*

"WUB A DUB DUB, YOU SQUID PUNKS!!" Vinyl yelled, unleashing a massive soundwave that blew the undead clear across the horizon.

"Woah!! You can do that?!" Sun cheered.

"Hell yeah!" Vinyl cheered.

"ALRIGHT, YOU SQUID PUNKS, BRING IT ON!" Nasty roared.

"Wait. What is that..?" Lucy asked.

A dark purple vortex suddenly appeared as everyone crowded around it. Except for the Silver Ocelots, who knew well what happened the last time they surrounded a portal.

A shadowy, royal-looking unicorn walked out as the portal closed behind him.

"Is that..? Sombra?!" Kat gasped in horror.

King Sombra glared at Kat with a furious scowl.

"Katherine.. You foul traitor.. We meet at last." Sombra greeted, obviously disgusted at the mere sight of her.

"Nein! He cannot be here!!" Richtofen shouted.

Sombra glared at the Origins Crew, causing spikes to rise from the ground, blocking their path.

"And why is that, Doctor?" Sombra dismissively asked.

"Because we have been waiting for you, King Sombra." Salem greeted.

Alex's eyes widened in shock as he looked behind him, seeing Salem and The Shadowman float down in front of them.

"You." Dempsey scowled.

Ruby growled angrily, leaping at Salem's throat.

"SALEM!!!!!" Ruby shouted, Blood Rose in scythe form, ready to tear Salem limb from limb.

Before Salem could look past to see her attacker, The Shadow Man teleported to Salem's right side, grabbing Ruby by the neck, causing her to power down and fall unconscious until he simply cast her aside.

"Ruby!" Yang immediately leapt to Ruby's aid, powering down.

Yang checked Ruby's pulse. She was definitely still alive.

"Still alive?" Yang gasped.

"I need her for later. But for right now, Sombra. Would you care to join us?" The Shadowman explained.

The entire crowd stared in awe at King Sombra, mostly glares.

"And why should I concern myself with the demands of you pests?" King Sombra asked, deeply dismissive.

"That is not your choice. Shadow Man, if you will?" Salem asked.

The Shadow Man cast a sadistic grin, as he transformed into tentacled, monstrous being with a sun-like symbol on his chest.

"With pleasure." The Shadow Man, now in his true form, cackled.

Author's Note

The Shadowman And Salem have arrived!

What does this mean for King Sombra? Will their combined power be too much for our heroes?

Find out next time on Blood Red Shadows 2!

Chapter 48: The Shadow Wars: Part 9 of 10
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 48: The Shadow Wars: Part 9 of 10

Magnolia Station, Fiore; October 22, 2019; 5:01 PM*

The Shadow Man formed shields around himself, Salem, and King Sombra as he raised the three to roughly his level, and slowly pulled them closer to him.

"What the shit?!" Vanoss gasped.

"What are they doing?!" Gray wondered in horror.

As the three dark figures were pulled in towards each other, their shields fused into one as well. A dark, pale purple light began to shine from the shields as their once teal coloration darkened to an opaque black, shrouding them all in darkness.

"Oh, scheiße." Richtofen barely whispered, horrified and curious as to what was transpiring in front of them.

"It appears to be a form of fusion." Kat concluded.

"You mean to tell me that those monsters are combining?!" Protá demanded.

"It appears so, Protá. Tell your men to fall back." Ultimus ordered.

"Ultimus, we can't-!" Protá glared.

"If you don't your men will die with us! Tell them to fall back!" Ultimus ordered.

The shields suddenly glowed with a sinister red light, the bubble-like shield reforming to roughly the shape of a human being. Within, unholy screeching and growling could be heard within, from Salem, The Shadowman, and Sombra.

"Alex.." Yang gasped, actually shaking at what was occurring in front of her.

"Yang, if by some miracle we survive this, let's try to plan our wedding as soon as crazy shit doesn't happen anymore." Alex joked.

"Doc... You've always been the man with the plan, but... How in the wide world of f**k are we gonna stop this?!" Dempsey demanded.

"Dr. Monty will know.. He has to..!" Richtofen replied, rather pleadingly.

The screeching of all three voices seemed to overlap eachother, as wings, a horn, and piercing red eyes emerged on the figure's 'face'. Because the whole being's facial structure seemed to be resembling that of a skeletal goat.

Eventually, the black shield exploded in a blaze of dark purple light, revealing the creature that the Shadowman, Salem, and King Sombra had fused into.

Needless to say, the end product was horrifyingly surreal.

The fusion wore a pure black robe, with red detailing on the front, with a very familiar trinket on the life form's chest: The Summoning Key.

It's wings were like that of a pony's, yet skeletal, and we're likely there more or less for show rather than actual use, because it could float just fine on it's own.

The being's arms bore red and black vein-like tatooing, especially towards the wrists, and the hands were essentially horrifying, three-fingered, and carrying balls of pure black energy.

Finally, the creature's face was reminiscent of a unicorn pony's, yet it's teeth were sharp, it's complexion was not unlike Salem's, and it's mane was made up of tendrils of sorts.

Long story short, this... thing... Was essentially the stuff of nightmares, and it seemed it's power was limitless.

"This form is darkness incarnate. This form is true harmony. Go ahead, mortals. Run. Hide. Buy yourselves just a little more time.. It won't matter. Not to me. Not to your true god: Lilith!"

"Wait, wait, hold on! Aren't you fused from two men?" Vanoss asked.

"...Fine. I'll entertain your foolish question. I let that fool, The Shadowman, fuse me into this beautiful being, but make no mistake, I am Salem's true form!" Lilith replied.

"I was just thinking that Lilith was a girl's name, but whatever floats your boat. We all know what happened 2016, so I'm going to avoid that touchy subject-" Vanoss shrugged.

"YOU DARE MOCK ME?!" Lilith demanded, floating horrifyingly close to Vanoss.

"AW, HELL YEAH! BRING IT ON, CREEP!" Natsu yelled, leaping towards Lilith at full force.

Lilith merely blocked Natsu's punch, casting him aside relatively easily.

"YOU FOOL!!!" Lilith charged towards Natsu, a pulsating ball of dark purple energy spewing from it's fingertips.

Alex looked at Yang with a sad look in his eye.

"No." Yang shook her head.

"We both know I have to. Cade, Auburn, Oreonna, help Yang wake up Ruby. Give me a signal when she wakes up. Now hurry!" Alex commanded.

"Did you completely lose your mind?! Lilith'll kill ya!" Applejack pleaded.

"Like I have any other option! You three find some way, any way, you can to help me! Everyone with a gun, aim for that Summoning Key!" Alex ordered.

Protá and Ultimus walked towards Alex.

"SAIGO, ARE YOU COMPLETELY BRAIN DEAD?!" Ultimus demanded.

"Ultimus, get Kat! She's the only other person who can help us!" Alex replied.

"I'm not letting you fight Lilith yourselves!" Protá stated.

"Protá. I suggest you power up." Alex demanded.

"What you're suggesting is suicide!" Protá retorted.

"So that's it? We're just gonna let that thing kill us all?" Alex asked.

Protá glared at Alex, eventually transforming to his own Enlightened State.

"Katherine?" Protá summoned.

Kat ran towards the four Adenienites.

"This 'Lilith' is a pompous fool. I will help you destroy it." Kat told them.

"Great! Fairy Tail! If you have any powerful offensive spells, how's the time to use 'em!" Alex shouted.

"Alexander is right! Fall back to a safer position! We'll launch our spells at long-range!" Erza ordered.

"You heard the lady, MOVE!" Elfman yelled, retreating along with the rest of Fairy Tail.

"Okay... I was just powered up earlier.. Let's see how well they did..!" Alex shouted, charging all the way to Enlightened Berserker.

"I suggest we leave Alexander to charge his own energy. Let's go!" Kat ordered as she, Ultimus, and Protá flew into battle.

"Why do you persist? Do you not see how futile this is?" Lilith confidently went into a fighting stance.

"Lilith! I am the current hostess of the War Goddess, Sekhmet! Make no mistake, this is where you fall!" Kat charged, slashing at Lilith with her light claws.

"Ultimus! Get to it's left!" Protá ordered.

"Of course!" Ultimus nodded as the two Adenienite Warriors charged to Lilith's sides.

Both warriors charged an electric pulse, aiming for Lilith's side, only to have their attacks completely negated by Lilith's shields.

"Pathetic. Accept your fate.. And suffer!" Lilith grinned, kicking Ultimus away and punching Protá towards the sea,

"Time to die!" Kat charged, slashing at Lilith's shields.

"C-Come on..! I... I need more.. POWER!!!. Alex shouted, drawing electricity from every fiber of his being.

His Aura temporarily flashed cerise as his hair suddenly grew another inch thicker.

Vanoss and Delirious looked up and saw Alex struggling to maintain his new form, looking at one another.

"Come on! Get your bow!" Vanoss shouted as Terroriser, Moo, and Lui kept trying to shoot the Summoning Key off of Lilith.

The two friends grabbed their weapons and shot Alex as many times as they could. Alex's power eventually skyrocketed enough to achieve the new Enlightened Form.

"Thanks Vanoss, Delirious! Time to end this shit!" Alex yelled, finally achieving what he labeled the quickly 'Enlightened Demigod'.

"What the..? SAIGO?!" Ultimus gasped as Alex sped past him.

Alex kicked Lilith as hard as he possibly could, managing to make it gag a little bit.

"You can't even grasp how much more powerful I am, Adenienite." Lilith grinned, replying to Alex's assault with it's own.

Alex tried to dodge, but only succeeded in getting blown backwards 20 feet, aggravating his recent wound against Primis!

"I'm just getting warmed up!" Alex shouted, grabbing his sword and placing all his excess power into his sword, hoping he saved up just enough melee attacks to help Kat and the others.

Alex slashed at Lilith's neck, which it managed to block, but it's shield took significant damage.

Kat charged behind Lilith, slashing at it's back while Alex swung his weapon at the other side of Lilith's neck

Lilith merely teleported, and responded to the attack by placing it's hands in front of it.

"UNHOLY WRATH!!!"

Lilith fired wave after wave of energy balls, which Alex had to dodge in order to avoid dying. The ones Alex avoided ended up completely decimating what remained of Mt. Hakobe and most of the range beyond.

"THUNDER CANNON!"

"TRUE TECHNO RAY!"

Both Ultimus' and Protá's attacks exploded upon impact, leaving Lilith unharmed.

The perfect distraction for Kat's attack.

Kat's assault was unrivaled, hacks, slashes, kicks, and flips came close to shattering Lilith's shield.

Behind her, Alex charged again, piercing Lilith's shield and barely scraping against the Summoning Key.

"Dash, Rarity, AJ, Now!" Alex shouted as the three ponies charged up towards Lilith.

Rainbow flew around in a circle, trying to gather as much momentum as possible while Rarity held her in place.

"Sweetie Belle..! Hurry!" Rarity commanded as her little sister helped keep Lilith in check.

Lilith struggled to break free, with Ocelots, Ryders, and what remained of Vanoss' crew tried to shoot the Summoning Key loose.

"WOULD YOU ALL STOP INTERFERING?!" Lilith commanded.

"Scoots! I'm gonna need some help!" Rainbow shouted as Scootaloo flew alongside her sister figure reborn.

"We can't...hold it much...longer.!!" Sweetie Belle yelled, struggling to keep Lilith trapped.

"Applebloom, now!" Applejack urged, as the two earth ponies stood, back facing Lilith as Rainbow and Scootaloo sped towards them.

As Applejack and Applebloom were in mid-buck, Rainbow and Scootaloo practically exploded in a colorful Sonic Rainboom, now darkened by Rainbow being a Nightmare Force.

The two Pegasi kicked Lilith in the chest as the Earth Ponies kicked the crotch area, causing Lilith to be blown backwards several feet.

"YOU MORTALS HAVE OUTLIVED YOUR USEFULNESS! NOW DIE!!!" Lilith roared as Cade, Yang, and Oreonna waved towards Alex, who flew back to his family.

"You okay, Ruby?" Alex asked.

"Y-Yeah... I'm okay... W-What happened..?" Ruby asked.

"It appears Salem, the Shadowman, and King Sombra have fused into a singular being. Lilith." Auburn stated.

"They what?!" Ruby gasped.

"Which is why we have to go all out! Fairy Tail's moved a few kilometers away, and they're trying to hit Lilith at long range! Kat, Protá, and Ultimus are trying to take it out closer up." Cade explained.

Ruby grinned, returning to her Silver Eyed form.

"I have an idea." Ruby smirked.

*Meanwhile; Fairy Tail Guild Hall*

Makarov and Mavis stared in horror at what was occurring from the Station. An explosion blew away a better part of the town, and now everyone was fighting this monster.

"First Master, we have to act now! Our guild is in danger!" Makarov shouted.

Mavis merely smiled to herself.

"I know." Mavis smiled.

"What do you mean, 'you know'?! You knew this would happen?!" Makarov demanded.

Mavis turned to face Makarov in response.

"Being able to be undetected by anyone but Fairy Tail members means I can see what our enemies were planning. I saw all of Dr. Kravinoff's research. And eventually, I saw Sombra of the Red Dawn guild become corrupted by the cosmic radiation." Mavis explained.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Makarov asked.

"When Dr. Richtofen told us about Sombra, I put two and two together: Salem and the Shadow Man were planning for Sombra to arrive because Katherine was present at the battle. Brilliant planning, if I must say, but I've planned ahead." Mavis continued.

"How so, First Master?" Makarov asked.

"Simple. Those three beings, now fused into one, are forces of darkness, pure evil incarnate. And you recall Three Great Fairy Magics, right?" Mavis asked.

"Those spells gather light!" Makarov realized.

"Indeed. Since Lilith is only one target, it is easier to perform Fairy Law, yes?" Mavis grinned.

"You're a genius! I will perform Fairy Law, but finding someone to perform Fairy Glitter will be a challenge." Makarov figured.

"Not exactly true. Fairy Glitter requires intense concentration and a lot of magic power. I've narrowed my choices down to two extremely powerful wizards." Mavis replied.

"May I ask who, First Master?" Makarov asked.

Mavis smiled.

"That should remain to be seen. Prepare for your battle, Makarov." Mavis grinned as Makarov exited the Guild Hall.

*Magnolia Station, Fiore; October 22, 2019; 5:15 PM*

"I will eliminate you, Lilith!" Ultimus roared, swinging the Crux Family Sword as Lilith blocked it, making room for Alex to throw a pulsating ball of electric power.

Protá and Kat took turns slashing Lilith's new shield, only for Lilith to grab their ankles and smash them together, tossing them aside like garbage.

Cade, Auburn, Yang, and Ruby watched as the fight continued to drag on, charging their own attack.

"Now?" Cade asked.

"Not just yet.. Wait for The Guild." Ruby ordered.

Rainbow Dash flew around, Kicking at Lilith's shield until she eventually grew tired.

"Weakling! This universe is MINE!" Lilith grabbed Rainbow by the mane, kicking her to the ground.

"LILITH!!!" Alex roared, charging at Lilith with everything he had.

Lilith merely dodged Alex's attacks before four thin tendrils shot from her back and grabbed Alex by his arms and legs, slowly pulling them outwards.

Alex turned behind him and saw a series of offensive spells fly in from Fairy Tail's direction as he tried to break free of Lilith's grasp.

"Now! SILVER GOD SHOCKER!!!" Ruby yelled as their combined attack launched towards Lilith.

Alex quickly broke free of Lilith's grasp as soon as Fairy Tail's attack and his family's broke off Lilith's shield completely.

Alex, noticing he had one more hit with Pop Shocks in effect, he nodded towards Kat, Ultimus,mind Protá, who all launched themselves at the monster, their strongest attacks at the ready.

"TRUE THUNDER BREAK!" Protá shouted as his attack, a dark blue ball of lightning launched towards Lilith.

"FINAL CROSS CANNON!!" Ultimus launched a teal-colored energy beam.

Lilith was blown backwards, providing room for Kat to attack Lilith with her light claws. Lilith managed to dodge most of Kat's attacks only to be disoriented by Kat's light-tail. Given a moment, Kat slashed at Lilith's eyes, only for it's shields to block Kat's claws, leaving an opening for Lilith to blow Kat away.

Alex forced as much energy as possible into his blade, causing his sword to glow bright red as he powered down to Evolved Warrior.

Now having enough energy not to blow himself up with his next technique, he advanced.

"OVERCHARGE!!!" Alex roared, swinging the Agartha's Thunder right at the Summoning Key, which was blown out of Lilith and onto the ground, where Vanoss could easily pick it up.

Lilith was knocked to the ground, absolutely furious.

"Y-Y-You.... You think that can stop ME?! I was just toying with you fools! That's why I merely defended myself! LET ME SHOW YOU WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU MESS WITH A GOD!" Lilith roared

Lilith raised a hand towards Fairy Tail's direction, wickedly grinning as a dark purple and black energy ball appeared on it's fingertips.

"SHADOW PULSE WAVE!" Lilith shouted.

The energy ball exploded into a black and purple beam that seemed to loom closer and closer to the Guild.

"Oh, no..!" Lucy gasped.

"Everyone, get back!" Erza yelled, requipping an armor similar to the Adamantine Armor, which had been destroyed during the battle with Phantom Lord.

"ICE-MAKE SHIELD!!"

All of Fairy Tail, it seemed, scrambled to defend itself, those who didn't chose to counterattack.

Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy used their breath attacks to strike back at Lilith, who shrugged off the attacks with little repercussions.

"Now's our chance..!" Alex stood in a line with Yang, Cade, and Ruby.

"Oreonna! Vinyl! Auburn! Combine your attacks and distract Lilith!" Yang shouted.

"Got it!" Oreonna promised.

"Vanoss..! I got a plan!" Delirious whispered.

"What?" Vanoss asked.

"This better be good, Delirious.." Moo added.

"Get to Richtofen and the bois! I'll tell ya there!" Delirious urged.

Vanoss, Delirious, Moo, Terroriser, and Lui scampered off towards Richtofen as soon as they say an opening.

"READY?!" Cade asked, having charged an energy ball with Yang and Alex.

"FAMILY GOD SHOCKER!!!" Alex roared as their attack launched towards Lilith.

Lilith teleported in front of them, glaring evilly down at them.

"SHADE CRUSHER!" Lilith shouted as she raised her hand, ready to throw a ball of energy down at them.

A loud wave of sound blew Lilith away, leaving the creature screaming in agony as Alex, Yang, and Cade flew off.

"YOU DARE RUPTURE MY EARDRUMS?!" Lilith yelled, levitating numerous shadowy crystals and pelting them at Vinyl, Auburn, and Oreonna.

"Oh, crap! Crap!" Oreonna winced feeling a crystal slice past her arm.

Lilith forced out hundreds of tendrils all of them lashing out at the numerous members of Fairy Tail, the Ryders, The Ocelots, and the main group themselves.

Lilith quickly threw them all into the air, using her whip-like tendrils to rip, tear, and lacerate the entirety of the group before finishing them off with her own attack.

"TRUE MALEVOLENCE CANNON!!!" Lilith shouted, blowing the entirety of the fighters onto the ground, mostly wounded.

"Tch... D-Dammit..." Alex coughed.

"What is this thing, anyway?!" Gajeel coughed weakly.

"This thing... We all fought as one, but.." Ultimus sighed.

"It wasn't enough..." Ruby coughed.

Lilith merely laughed at their loss of hope, glaring down at them with a malevolent smile.

"HA HA HA HA!! You fools never even stood a chance. I will admit your courage, but none of you could ever come close to overpowering a GOD!" Lilith laughed casually as she so scathingly mocked the efforts of the group.

"HERE COMES ARNOLD TO SAVE THE DAY!" Terroriser shouted, holding something in his hand.

"What the?!" Yang gasped.

"THE SUMMONING KEY?!" Lilith gasped as Terroriser opened the Summoning Key, pulling Lilith inside slowly, but surely.

"Ha... Ha... Take that, you bitch..!" Alex mocked.

"H-HOW CAN THIS BE?! YOU ARE BUT MORTALS!!!" Lilith tried flying away from the Summoning Key to little effect.

Lilith, in a fit of desperate rage, shot energy beams, crystals, and did anything it could to escape.

Eventually, attacks took their toll.

And The Summoning Key broke apart.

Author's Note

The Shadow Wars Arc is nearing the end, and our Villians have fused into an overpowered instrument of destruction! Every attempt thus far to stop the resulting monstrosity have all been for naught!

Is there any hope left? And how will Mavis' Trump Card affect the outcome?

Find out next time on Blood Red Shadows 2!

Chapter 49: The Shadow Wars: Part 10 of 10
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 49: The Shadow Wars: Part 10 of 10

*Magnolia Station, Fiore; October 22, 2019; 5:28 PM*

The group stared in horror at what had transpired before them. Lilith had destroyed their one shot at containing it and ending the battle.

And it seemed there was nobody strong enough to finish Lilith the old fashioned way.

Lilith panted, gasping for air, seemingly traumatized at it's near containment.

"H-H-Heh.. Y-You foolish mortals.. After you've realized there is no hope, you still try to contain me.." Lilith growled.

Alex glared at Lilith, anger beginning to override his sense of terror.

"Don't think this is the end, you narcissistic omnicidal maniac." Alex scowled.

"Alex, don't..!" Yang implored.

"Y'know what? F**k the Grimm, f**k the Apothicons, f**k that useless, golden kinder-surprise.." Alex cursed, transforming to his Evolved Warrior form.

"And F**K YOU!"

"Is he out of his mind?!" Ultimus demanded.

"More importantly, did he just call ze Summoning Key a kinder surprise?" Richtofen asked.

"Let's be honest. He isn't that far off." Vanoss shrugged.

"DON'T START THIS WITH ME, OWL!" Richtofen retorted.

"Do you dare defy me, Alexander? Or has the fear finally driven you as insane as everyone knows you are?" Lilith scoffed.

"That remains to be seen. And don't think for a second that you can threaten my friends, or my family, literal or otherwise." Alex retorted, casting a glance towards Fairy Tail.

All of Fairy Tail cheered in response, and were roused back into the battle.

Kat transformed, and cast a glare at Lilith.

"Hm.. You're a fool, Alexander, but at least you are not a coward."

The two rushed towards the dark god, trading attacks and avoiding Lilith's.

Alex ducked under Kat so she could hack away at Lilith's shields.

As soon as Lilith went to counter Kat's attacks, Alex swept his leg and tripped Lilith, propping himself up and kicking it away.

Lilith shouted in anger, charging towards Alex again.

Only for a silvery-white blur to cut Lilith across the cheek.

"WHO DARES?!" Lilith demanded as the blur returned, slashing Lilith with an 'x' shape and shooting it back.

Ruby glared at Lilith, carrying her upgraded scythe.

"You're pretty smart, Lily. But I found a nice little way to counter you. I can already move really fast, but a really nice guy handed out Perks, so now I can move faster." Ruby grinned.

Kat leaped over Ruby, kicking Lilith in the face, hitting it with her light-tail before scratching Lilith across the side.

Alex slid under Lilith's legs, striking upwards in a wide arc.

Natsu, taking any opportunity, blew himself past Ruby and Kat, and was barreling towards Lilith.

"CRIMSON LOTUS!!! FIRE DRAGON'S FIST!!!!"

Natsu punched Lilith in the face with the force of a dozen cannons, blowing it backwards into what remained of the town.

"YANG! BLOW IT APART!!" Alex shouted.

Yang quickly went Enlightened, and started blasting her Celestial Detonators in Lilith's general direction.

Lilith leaped out towards Yang, blasting her with dark energy.

Auburn herself went Enlightened, countering Lilith's attack and blasting it with a deep guitar riff.

Oreonna ducked behind Lilith while Auburn had it distracted and simply smacked Lilith on the back of it's head.

"WOULD YOU ALL KNOCK IT OFF?!" Lilith demanded angrily.

Suddenly, Lilith was assaulted by a barrage of swords.

"ICE-MAKE UNLIMITED: ONE-SIDED CHAOTIC DANCE!!!"

An innumerable amount of ice-swords were flung at Lilith in a circular motion, having an equal effect as Erza's attack.

Rainbow sped around in a Circle, careening towards Lilith and clocking it in the face.

"Open fire!" Dempsey shouted as every remaining soldier with a gun unloaded everything they had at the monster before they reloaded, giving Applejack and Applebloom a spare moment to buck Lilith to the skies before Scootaloo head-butted Lilith back down.

"Guys... I have a plan.." Vanoss whispered, pulling out an AK-47 like machine gun.

"We're using that shit here?" Terroriser asked, pulling it out himself.

"'Bout time we started using Gmod shit." Delirious figured.

"We should do, like, a firing squad sort of thing." Lui suggested.

"Let's f**k shit up!" Moo added.

Ultimus, Protá, and Alex all charged at Lilith, punching and shocking Lilith all at once.

"Now!" Vanoss shouted.

The remaining 5 members of the Vanossgaming crew looked up and started shooting. Instead of acting like a typical assault rifle, what appeared to be either shotgun projectiles or flechette exploded out at an extremely high rate of fire, breaking through Lilith's shields entirely.

Alex then back-handed Lilith to the ground, glaring down at the fused monstrosity.

"It seems we've reached the end. Surrender, and maybe I'll think about sparing you." Alex scowled.

"DEFIANT LITTLE INSECT!!" Lilith shouted.

"Shock Breaker." Alex deadpanned, raising his hand and releasing a bolt of lightning that blew Lilith back to the ground.

Or it should've, if Lilith hadn't teleported.

Instead, Lilith teleported behind Alex, grabbing him by the neck and crushing his throat, causing him to power down instantly.

Alex struggled to escape, but was instead handed to a tendril and batted against the ground in a rather humiliating fashion.

"Alexander. " Lilith grinned.

"Oh, crap." Alex barely choked out.

Lilith punched Alex in the kidney with the force of a train, causing him to cough blood.

Lilith hit Alex again in the spleen, turning him around and placing a hand in the center of his rib cage.

The next blast of energy assured that Alex probably wouldn't be fighting again for a while.

"YOU'RE GONNA REGRET THAT!!" Yang roared, aiming for Lilith's heart.

Lilith dodged Yang's punch, using a tendril to hack Yang's robotic arm off before slashing it back across her side and finishing her off with a kick to her neck.

Natsu leaped behind Lilith, only to be grabbed by two of her tendrils and slammed into the ground at full force.

Ruby shot Lilith twice before moving in for the kill. Lilith ducked past Ruby's blade, and slashed her across the back, tearing off a large section of her cloak before grabbing her by the leg and flinging her into one of the few remaining buildings.

Auburn and Oreonna leaped into the fray together, before Lilith grabbed them both, slammed them into each other, and flung them below.

Cade fell back in an attempt to strategize while Rainbow, Applejack, and Rarity attacked.

'Odd.. It's as though Lilith's shed that sense of superiority, and is just trying to disable them.. They keep attacking head-on, and they're definitely getting pummeled for it.. I'm gonna have to think this through..' Cade figured.

Makarov ran next to Cade, pulling on his sleeve.

The two ran towards the rest of Fairy Tail, greeting them all with a sense of urgency.

"Listen, children! I need everyone to distract that monster! Cana, Cade, I need you two to stay here while the rest of the guild gets a move on!" Makarov ordered as the rest of the Guild charged out to attack.

"Hic... Whaddya need..?" Cana asked.

"Listen, you two! I'm going to use Fairy Law against that monster. First Master will guide you two on how to use Fairy Glitter." Makarov explained.

"What?!" Cade asked, surprised by Makarov's order.

"Here's the deal. In case Lilith catches on to First Master's plan, she'll go for one of you, but the other can cast it!" Makarov ordered.

"Y-You sure that'll *hic!* work..?" Cana asked, obviously drunk.

"We have to try.. Good luck, children." Makarov sighed, running out while Mavis snuck inside.

Alex rolled over, coughing blood, by the time Wendy caught up to him.

Wendy ducked down next to him and Yang, placed her hands almost directly over them, and a blue light rose from the two.

Alex and Yang quickly perked up, coughing blood as Wendy's healing spell ceased.

"That was the best I could do for now.. We need help!" Wendy explained.

"Thanks, Wendy! Get back to your friends!" Alex waved.

"Alex... I don't think we can hit Lilith dead-on.." Yang decided.

"You think? Listen, I have an idea, but it's gonna take everything we've got. You know how to use the Overcharge technique?" Alex asked.

"Yeah.. Why?" Yang asked.

"We take turns. One distracts Lilith, the other tries to land a hit. Sound good?" Alex asked.

"It could, but those tentacles.. Lilith'd pummel us before we get he chance!" Yang exclaimed.

Alex looked out towards the Guild, watching as they attacked Lilith with everything they had.

"It seems like it's distracted enough.. Full power." Alex urged, transforming all the way to his Enlightened Berserker.

"Hold on, Alex! I need you to do me a favor." Yang asked.

"If it helps. What's your favor?" Alex wondered.

"Hit me as hard as you can." Yang demanded.

"Hit you? Why would I..- Oh." Alex sighed, remembering Yang's Semblance.

"Right. Just do it!" Yang grinned.

Alex pulled his fist back all the way, charging at Yang and practically falcon-punching her in the gut.

Yang was blown out the wall and back about 80 feet, but she was all charged up.

That being said, Yang quickly went to her Inflamed Warrior, charging up more energy and eventually exploding in yellow light.

"ALRIGHT! WHO WANTS A CLASSIC 'XIAO LONG' ASSKICKING?!" Yang roared, leaping towards Lilith.

"YANG! WATCH YOUR LEFT!" Alex warned.

Yang saw Lilith's back tendrils, dodging them and hitting Lilith at the base of it's spine, breaking her shield.

"Yang's broken Lilith's defenses!" Erza shouted.

Gajeel grinned, summoning his Iron Dragon sword and charging at Lilith.

Alex eventually caught up, hacking away at Lilith alongside Gajeel until the moment Lilith's shields went up.

INGRATES!!!" Lilith roared, summoning a large glyph over her head.

"Oh, no." Gray gasped.

Lilith's glyph grew larger, and began glowing dark purple.

"THIS IS MY ULTIMATE ATTACK! THE DARK CRYSTAL ERASER CANNON! GO AHEAD, LITTLE INSECTS, PRAY TO YOUR GOD THAT YOU SURVIVE!!!" Lilith laughed, firing the dangerous spell.

From the glyph, a black and purple beam of energy spewed onto the land below, making a trail of fire and ash as the beam dragged along.

"Oh, shit." Alex gasped, teleporting to the unconscious Natsu, Auburn, Oreonna, and Ruby.

Yang flew next to him and the two quickly carried their friends to safety.

Large amounts of Ryders and Ocelots died instantly, and the beam quickly redirected towards the Origins and Vanoss crews.

"MOVE!!" Nikolai shouted as the nine ran away from the beam.

Vanoss and Delirious quickly started shooting Lilith with their Admin guns, trying to make it stop the death beam.

That is, until Ultimus eventually kicked Lilith in the back of the head when it wasn't looking.

The beam stopped immediately, as Ultimus glared at his enemy.

"I strongly suggest you end this, Lilith." Ultimus scowled.

Lilith merely grinned, instantly skewering Ultimus several times with her tentacles.

"It does pain me to do this, Ultimus. Truly, it does. But the fact is: you chose the wrong side at the worst possible time." Lilith grinned.

Ultimus coughed up blood, and it quickly became apparent that he was going to die.

"H-H-Heh... I t-thought so... It will truly p-pain to do th-this...." Ultimus gagged as a trickle of blood trailed out of his mouth.

"Oh, Ultimus, you're the one who's been skewered. How will that affect me?" Lilith grinned confidently.

"H-How sh-should I know..? M-Makarov put m-me up to th-this.." Ultimus smirked.

"What?!" Lilith gasped, dropping Ultimus and darting it's piercing, red eyes around until she spotted a shining, yellow light.

"MAKAROV!!!" Lilith roared, firing a dark purple beam of energy at the light, unknowingly blowing a hole through a young, brunette-haired Fairy Tail Mage.

"Cana!!" Cade gasped, running to Cana's side, trying to plug her wound.

"C-Cade... T-Tell G-Gildarts... M-my dad.... That I'm sorry..." Cana gasped, taking her last breath.

Cade was stunned. The daughter of one of the strongest members of Fairy Tail, not to mention one of his closer friends, had been ruthlessly killed right in front of him.

"LILITH!!!" Makarov roared in anger, as a shining light formed in his hands.

"That's Makarov?! No matter! I'll kill him too..!!" Lilith raised her finger towards Makarov's direction.

Suddenly, Auburn leaped behind Lilith, pinning her down with her Abadeer's Flame Mk. 2, and glaring at her.

"Don't think you can antagonize, frighten, or slaughter my friends and family anymore." Auburn growled.

HOW DARE YOU!! UNHAND ME THIS INSTANT!!" Lilith shouted.

A shining yellow light rose from from Makarov's hands as he clasped them together, washing the landscape in a golden glow.

Once the glow reached near Auburn, knowing she would be completely unharmed, escaped. And Lilith was left to suffer.

The screams of pain that rose from Lilith were nightmarish as the bonds between the three dark entities started to dissipate.

Taking that as his signal, Cade transformed, all the way to his Evolved Warrior form.

Cade turned his arm over, examining the red symbol that unexpectedly adorned his arm, and rose his fist skyward, gathering as much of his energy as possible.

"OVERCHARGE TIMES THREE!!!" Cade roared, summoning as much power as he could.

Alex and Yang turned and gasped at what they saw.

"That's Cade?!" Alex gasped.

Oreonna woke up, pulling herself to a sitting position and watched Cade summon his spell.

"D-Do it, Cade..!" She cheered, her voice barely above a whisper.

"GATHER! O RIVER OF LIGHT THAT'S GUIDED BY THE FAIRIES!!!"

A large ring of light gathered and shone in the sky. All the surviving warriors watched as large bolts of lightning were added, causing the spell to quickly spark with electric power.

"Woah..! I haven't seen.. anything like this.!!" Yang gasped.

Cade lowered his fist, aiming it at Lilith.

"No you don't!" Gray shouted, freezing Lilith's hand in a block of ice.

"Quick! We need to keep Lilith right there!" Lui urged, causing the Vanoss and Origins crews to raise their wonder weapons and spam them at Lilith.

"DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!!" Rainbow Dash shouted, as the new nightmare forces grabbed Lilith's right hand and trapped it at Lilith's side.

"HOW DARE YOU!! LET ME GO!!" Lilith roared, trying to force it's way out of everyone's grasp.

"SHINE! IN ORDER TO PERISH THE FANGS OF EVIL!!" Cade yelled. His hand releasing bolts of lightning simultaneously, adding power to the already immensely strong spell.

"STAY RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE, LILITH!!" Auburn shouted, playing several chords in an effort to keep Lilith pinned.

"RYDERS! ATTACK!"

"OCELOTS, ADVANCE!!"

The eight remaining Ryders and Ocelots opened fire, further keeping Lilith in place.

'Father.. Mother.. Neo...Flurry.. All of my friends..All of my family... This is for you.' Cade solemnly thought, before unleashing the spell.

*For dramatic effect, politely skip to 0:53. You'll thank me later. *

"FAIRY GOD GLITTER!!!"

The ring descended in a matter of seconds, quickly wrapping around Lilith, causing the demon to scream wildly in pain as the spell constricted, burned, and electrocuted it.

"He did it!" Delirious cheered.

"F**k yeah!!" Terroriser yelled.

"That's how you do it!!" All of Fairy Tail cheered.

"GYAAAAAAAHH!!! HOW CAN THIS BE?!!!!!!" Lilith screamed in agony.

The ring exploded in a brilliant glow of light and an electric shockwave, revealing that the creature was still there, albeit greviously wounded.

"EVERYONE! BLOW LILITH INTO THE SUN!! IT'S OUR LAST CHANCE!!!" Dr. Monty shouted.

"YOU HEARD THE MAN! KAT! NATSU! DASH! YANG! LET'S END THIS!!" Alex shouted as all 5 rushed towards the demon, punching it into the sky one after the other.

Kat swept past Lilith, launching it further with her Light Tail.

"CRIMSON LOTUS!!! FIRE DRAGON'S FIST!!" Natsu roared, launching Lilith further still with a fiery explosion.

Rainbow Dash blew through Lilith with a Sonic Rainboom-fueled punch.

Yang quickly hit Lilith in the stomach, using her Celestial Detonator to blow Lilith further still.

"THE NIGHTMARE IS OVER, LILITH!!! GOD SHOCKER!!!!"

The beam from Alex's attack launched Lilith into the blue Apothicon sun, filling Lilith's last moments with agonizing pain.

"DAMN YOU, WALKEEEERRRR!!!!!!!!" Lilith screamed as the Blue Apothicon sun imploded, immediately disappearing and returning the sky to normal..

Alex, panting heavily, powered down.

"Is it over..?" Alex asked.

"Yeah... Think so.." Natsu nodded.

"W-We did it.." Lucy smiled.

"T-Thank goodness..." Yang grinned, trembling.

Multiple transports and medical helicopters arrived on the scene, investigating the surrounding area.

Walking out one of the vehicles was Yang's father, Taiyang, who rushed towards his children.

"Are you girls okay?!" He asked worriedly.

"W-We're fine, dad.." Ruby smiled tiredly.

"Alex.. Alex did everything to make sure we were safe.." Yang added.

Taiyang looked upwards, towards Master Makarov.

"Is this true?" He asked.

"Alex did defend both of them, but better still, he recognized that they could take care of themselves and stepped in when he had to." Makarov replied.

Taiyang nodded, and turned to face the medics.

"Take care of the wounded." Taiyang instructed.

The sun shined brightly over the coastline, illuminating the sky in a brilliant display. A sunset over the darkening sky.

To the survivors of the Shadow Wars, though, it was a symbol. A symbol of hope.

*Ruined Fairy Tail Guild Hall; October 23, 2019; 6:40 AM*

Dr. Monty looked towards the shining yellow sunrise, thinking through the events that occurred the day before.

"With the evil vanquished, I can start making my universe all nice again. No more undead, no Apothicons, no Grimm, no Salem or Shadowman. All gone, thanks to you and your friends." Dr. Monty said, turning to face Alex.

"I did everything I could, and I can tell everyone did too. Sadly, some of us didn't make it." Alex sighed.

"True, but their sacrifices, their actions, weren't for nothing. I'm absolutely sure that they're cheering you all on, somewhere." Dr. Monty replied.

"I suppose so." Alex figured.

"Speaking of which, how's your family doing?" Dr. Monty asked.

"They're all getting some well-deserved sleep. I'm just up this early by habit." Alex shrugged.

"Ah, well. 'Early to bed, early to rise', as they say." Dr. Monty replied.

"Heh. Right... While you're still here, I still have a number of questions." Alex stated.

Dr. Monty turned to face him.

"Sure, then! I haven't had too many people to make small talk with besides Maxis and the kids." Dr. Monty nodded.

"Thanks. So, I was wondering, y'know how Apothicons were corrupted Keepers, right?" Alex asked.

"Yes?"

"Well, I was given to believe that Keepers were a sort of multi-dimensional society before they split into the Inheritors and Chronicai. Is there some kinda correlation?" Alex asked.

Dr. Monty cleared his throat.

"Well, here's the interesting thing.. There is, actually! Ages and ages ago, a group of humans, ponies, and otherwise, looked to the original Keepers as a sort of guide. They were inspired by these extra-universal guardians, and sought to act like them.

"Problem is, mortals have differing opinions as to what 'guardians' do. One section thought it was preserving the timeline, and passing the mantle of 'Keeper' down the bloodline, a sort of 'Inheritance', hence their name.

"On the other side, another group decided that they wanted to protect the past and future from threats, and sought out highly trained, highly skilled mortals to defend it, basing the title of 'Keeper' on ability rather than whose DNA was mixed with who's. They ended up becoming the Chronicai.

"Cade, for example, is an odd mix of both. Both versions you encountered of the lad traveled back from the future to prevent calamity, whether that meant killing you or Cinder is up to the 'Cade' of the different timelines. And yet, he is the son of two of the most powerful warriors, Inheritors on both sides. You understand?" Dr. Monty explained.

Alex nodded.

"Yeah.. That makes sense." Alex smirked.

"Anything else?" Dr. Monty asked.

"That spell Twilight used.. When I sensed that magic signature, it was definitely a type of high-powered teleport spell. Is it possible that anyone in the blast radius survived?" Alex asked.

"That's a trickier one, but I still have an answer.. See, Twilight's teleport spell, although immensely powerful, was incomplete. When a Unicorn teleports, they have to imagine the exact location, down all the way to the detail, otherwise, they're stuck somewhere between point A and point B. She intended to teleport the horde into a pocket dimension, but she lost control of the spell.

Everything in the explosion, it seems, was teleported to a bunch of other dimensions, some easily survivable, some a land of paradise, or some entirely uninhabitable. That or they were teleported between dimensions. Just kind of floating around.

Fortunately, the type of technology used to transport things from dimension to dimension are basically wormhole generators. Meaning that they'll be picked up by any gateway that forms around them. From there, they can find a way back." Dr. Monty elaborated.

"Huh.. Last question, and.. well.. This is kinda tough to ask.." Alex figured.

"Well go right on ahead then! If it's a favor you want, I certainly owe you that." Dr. Monty grinned.

Alex sighed heavily, before asking his question.

"I know this isn't the end of my adventures and shit.. Somewhere along the line, I'm 100% sure that someone's going to screw me over again. My friends, the strongest people I know, are beginning to drop like flies. I need to know if there's a way to prevent anything bad from happening to my family and friends. I have to get even stronger, or everyone I care about is gonna die." Alex demanded.

Dr. Monty's expression grew a bit more grim as he faced Alex again.

"Your... Father.. He told you about an 'Oracle', yes?" Dr. Monty asked.

Alex nodded.

"When the Inheritors knew the Inquisitors were starting to look shifty, they contacted this 'Oracle'. An ancient being capable of seeing into the future. But even what this Oracle sees is uncertain, so it gives you a 'trick answer', so to speak.

If you want even a chance at saving the people you care for should a threat grow out of hand, go to Kai 0-05. Oracle's lookout is located on a mountain top perch. Oracle's a very selective person, so tell her that oil' Doctor Monty sent you." Dr. Monty grinned.

"Thanks, Doc." Alex smiled.

"In the meantime, if you're looking to get stronger. Protá's father should give you a good lesson on the Enlightened Transformations, as well as some basic Adenienite Physiology lessons. If that's not enough, there are a lot of close friends who could help you! Hell, Katherine is fused with a 5000 year old spirit of war who's been studying the subject since after her creation!" Dr. Monty suggested.

"I understand, Dr. Monty. And.. Thanks." Alex smirked.

"You're welcome, kiddo." Dr. Monty nodded back, standing up.

"Y'know.. I think my wife and kids have the right idea.." Alex yawned.

"You earned it. And Alex..?" Dr. Monty asked, causing Alex to turn back in curiosity.

"Yeah..?" Alex inquired.

"No matter what, stay strong. That's the best life advice I can give to you."

Alex grinned.

"Thanks... I'm gonna need it."

Author's Note

And with that, the Shadow Wars Arc has come to a close!

Truthfully, this is the kind of Arc that good authors normally reserve for the end of a series, but y'know what? There's still a lot more coming up.

More unanswered questions, and new villains coming along the way. Some expected, some... Not so much.

Happy reading and "keep 'er goin'!"

-The Destoyer

Chapter 50: Consequences
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 50: Consequences

*Ruined Magnolia Town, Fiore; October 24, 2019; 3:45 PM*

Several news trucks, contractors, and medical aid to all the wounded people who managed to escape the city had been littered across the recently ruined landscape.

Several news reporters spoke about the incident, and not in such a positive light.

"The Magnolia Massacre less than two days ago has raised numerous questions, not just for the local merchants of the once thriving city, but for the warriors and mages called to defend the city just after the outbreak." One reporter lectured.

"The Fairy Tail Guild, notorious for it's previous instances of property damage, are currently being held responsible for the battle that has killed 23,000 residents and decimated over 50 acres of residential and urban landscape." Another reporter stated.

"Fiorian reports suggest that Fairy Tail's Guild Master, Makarov Dreyar, is currently in Era, discussing the terms of Fairy Tail's punishment with the Magic Council. It is highly believed that Fairy Tail may be disbanded." A journalist stated.

"Our investigation has also discovered that Alex Walker, former Admiral of the E.R.C, had been employed by the guild, and was a somewhat prominent member along with his current wife, Yang Xiao Long, despite both of them not possessing Fiorian Magic."

Alex sat inside one of the remaining buildings, wearing a cloak so he wouldn't get recognized.

Letting out a sigh, Alex recalled the numerous times the Media brought him into a negative light. Not that it was surprising for him, given he was involved with the Kahn Militia, already a known Paramilitary antagonist of the Former United States, had killed C.I.A-employed mercenaries, and was involved with the incidents in Atlas, Los Santos, and Cairo already, all of which caused a myriad of negative press, and property damage bills.

No wonder Natsu said he'd fit in.

Not to mention that Fairy Tail was composed of roughly 70% orphans.

Yang sat down next to him, looking out the window at all the news trucks.

"Yikes, that'll leave a mark on our public record, am I right?" Yang asked.

"Welcome to the club, you want your complimentary bumper sticker?" Alex bleakly joked.

"Oh, come on, it can't be that bad!" Yang scoffed.

"You really have no idea how much media affects my world, do you? These parasites practically slither from one rock to another, causing trouble for anyone who politically doesn't see eye-to-eye with them. Heh, imagine how they reacted when America finally collapsed and it's replacement didn't take handouts from the press. I think it was the first time that NSMBC and DOX actually agreed on something." Alex smirked.

"You... really... Don't care about your old world, do you?" Yang asked.

"Getting me into Cairo is about all you'll ever get of me going back quote-unquote 'home'." Alex scoffed.

"Next hour, our dictator-in-chief, Chancellor Hunter Smith, gives his fascist thoughts on the recent incident at Magnolia, here on NCC." An anchor on one of the monitors grinned.

"Well, I'm gonna head back and pack. I really can't stand to see this kinda crap." Alex shook his head.

"Pack? What do you mean?" Yang asked.

"Permanent honeymoon." Alex simply replied.

Yang stood up, grabbing Alex by the arm.

"Look, if this is about what Evan said..-" Yang immediately started.

"A little column 'A', a little Column 'B'." Alex scoffed.

After everyone had woken up the day before, Vanoss walked up to Alex, and was obviously quite unhappy with him over what during the incident.

"Look, man! Like seven of my friends are f**king dead, alright?! Like hell I'm gonna keep this shit up!" Vanoss had yelled.

"Look, Evan. I can respect what happened. You didn't have to help." Alex had said.

"I thought we were all going to a f**king wedding when shit hit the fan! Ever since LS, we've all been f**king dying! That bitch Lilith almost killed us at least a dozen times!" Vanoss retorted.

"Look, man, I'm actually f**king sorry about what happened! I've lost people too, more than you could count!" Alex shouted.

"Maybe, but at least you killed the asshole that did it! This shit is, like, 110% on your ass! I'm done helping you do shit for nothing and dying for it! F**k you, I'm leaving!!" Vanoss yelled, having slammed the door behind him.

"Listen to me, for Dust sake! Nothing that happened in the past 2 years was your fault!" Yang pleaded.

"Tell that to Rainbow, Applejack, and Rarity." Alex scowled.

"Sure! While I'm at it, maybe I'll talk to Weiss and Blake for you, too!" Yang retorted.

"Yang. It's over. There's no evil Inquisitors destroying everything in sight, no demons, nothing! Everything that happened in the past 2... No, 3 years, it's all on me!" Alex pointed out.

"What are you saying?" Yang demanded.

Alex stopped, not saying a word.

"Alex... Turn around and look me in the eye... What are you trying to tell me..?" Yang pleaded.

Alex turned around, casting Yang a sorrowful gaze.

"I'm saying that I'm done hiding what I really am. I'm a f**king liability." Alex replied.

"That isn't true!" Yang shouted.

"Then what am I then? Someone competent? A hero? Because heroes don't go and get their friends and family almost f**king killed." Alex asked, not even waiting for an answer before walking away.

"A-Alex.." Yang stammered, completely lost for words.

Alex let out a long, quiet sigh.

"Ever since my parents were killed.. I swore to myself that I'd never let a single person I cared about die... And I failed. Then, after what happened to Equestria with the Rogue Guard, I swore to never let any more innocent people suffer because of me. And I failed at that, too."

Alex sighed, walking off towards their apartment outside of Magnolia, when he was suddenly swarmed by reporters.

"Captain Walker! What do you have to say about these recent attacks?!"

"Is it true that former Inquisitors were involved with this outbreak?!"

"Does Fairy Tail routinely destroy public property on purpose?!"

Alex cursed under his breath, turning to face the crowd of reporters.

"No comment, Yes. Not on purpose. F**k off." Alex deadpanned, quickly turned Enlightened and flew away.

*Ruined Fairy Tail Guild Hall; October 24, 2019; 5:45 PM*

Mirajane walked out, holding a letter from Makarov.

"I just read the message from Master Makarov, The Guild isn't going to be disbanded!" Mirajane announced.

The entire guild cheered loudly.

"But... They said we do have to help rebuild the town.." Mira added.

"Yeah... I think it'll be a while before anyone from this place does any fixin'." Dempsey scoffed.

"Da.. You are all very nice people, but..." Nikolai agreed.

"Your affinity for destruction seems to come... Naturally.." Takeo added.

"HEY! WE DID THE BEST WE COULD, BUT IF THEY WERE GOING ALL-OUT, SO WAS I!" Natsu yelled.

"Y'know, with a few of those mountains out of the way, Travel here might actually come easier." Gray pointed out.

"Yeah, but with most imports coming by flight, things already come here easier. Also, stuff comes easy anyway, since this is more of a coastal town." Cade added, walking in alongside Auburn and Yang.

"Oh! Hello, Cade!" Erza greeted.

"Erza." Cade smirked.

"So, where's Alex? I figured he would at least come with you guys." Wendy asked.

"Dad's a bit stressed out, so he went out to blow up some steam." Cade replied.

"Uh, isn't the phrase 'blow off some steam'?" Lucy asked.

"Well, I'm sure he's... Well..." Yang shrugged.

*Meanwhile, in the Mountains outside Magnolia Town*

Alex stood on top on one of the mountains, in his Enlightened Berserker state, as massive arcs of lightning swept across the landscape, making huge burn marks in the rock.

Eventually, Alex started screaming as more and more energy surrounded him.

"GOD DAMMIT!! AAAAAAAARGH!!!!" Alex roared at the top of his lungs as the surrounding mountains exploded around him in a literal thunderstorm of pent-up rage.

*Back in the Guild Hall*

"... Yeah, he's fine." Yang grinned.

"Father's probably made more space for potential residents to move in from." Auburn stated.

"Cool, cool." Sun shrugged.

"Meh. I'm sure you guys'll figure something out. In the meantime, I think we should head back to Equestria." Rainbow decided.

"Now, hold on, Rainbow! These people need a new town built up! As a good ol' workin' pony, I say we stay!" Applejack disagreed.

"I am with Rainbow Dash. I apologize, but I could never be able to stand all that... Mess." Rarity shuddered.

"I'm gonna go with AJ on this one! These people are probably really, really sad about what happened! If making a new home for them will make them smile, then so be it! Besides, I think someone needs a certain someone else to make cakes for everyone!" Pinkie cheered, grinning ear-to-ear at Erza.

"I like the way Pinkie thinks! It's official, Fairy Tail will do the best they can to rebuild Magnolia from the ground up!"

"A real man takes responsibility for his actions!" Elfman cheered.

"Well, glad that's settled! How's just the matter of finding things for you guys to do!" Yang grinned.

"Speaking of which, we really should be going.." Richtofen stated.

"You're already leaving?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah.. We really gotta get back to our families." Dempsey shrugged.

"Actually, before you left, Dr. Richtofen.. I was hoping that I could offer you a job.. Group 935 seems kinda like a bust, now." Kat figured.

"Ja... I suppose.." Richtofen decided.

"Oh, thank god.. The Foundation is a little under-staffed nowadays.." Kat sighed in relief.

"Und why is that?" Richtofen asked.

"Cinder's friend, the Chaos Insurgency, that's all you need to know." Kat shrugged.

"You know... Good luck, Doc. I'll go check on Little Auburn. Maybe Alex went home by now." Yang decided.

"Before we do, Mom... We've been thinking.." Cade quickly ran up to Yang, actually somewhat nervous.

"Cade, Oreo, and I have been thinking about staying with the Guild permanently." Auburn explained.

"Oh, ok!" Yang smiled.

"Wait, really?" Cade wondered.

"Yeah! You're all old enough to do what you want! Besides, the Guild's a perfect second family for you guys! Just call us once in a while, 'kay? Oreo, same with your mom.. But, y'know, I don't think she'd like us around you that much.." Yang sheepishly grinned.

"Yeah, I get ya." Oreonna smiled back.

"Alright! Bye, everyone!" Yang waved as she left the guild hall.

*Alex and Yang's Apartment, Magnolia, Fiore; October 24, 2019; 6:00 PM*

Yang stepped inside the small apartment, thanking whatever gods there were for leaving their apartment standing.

Yang stepped inside the main room, where Alex was holding the baby Auburn in a blanket, having rocked her to sleep.

"Hey.." Yang smiled weakly.

"Hi, Yang.." Alex sighed.

Yang sat next to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"How's Aubby?" Yang asked.

"Same as usual. She's been in good hands, thank god.." Alex smirked, albeit slightly tired.

"That's good. Cade, Older Auburn, and Oreo decided to stay with the Guild." Yang told him.

"Good for them. They'll go far here." Alex figured.

The three sat in silence as Alex stared blankly out the window, watching the lights of the news helicopters and transport boats flicker outside.

"Fiore's good for the old ones. The little one, probably not.." Alex added.

"Yeah.. You really only agreed to come here to train.. And you took care of that.." Yang shrugged.

"Either way, we should probably help with some of the rebuilding, anyways. Don't want to just leave when they need us, right?" Alex decided.

"Yeah.." Yang nodded.

Alex blinked slowly, having sapped himself of energy between his 'tantrum', as Yang might've described it, and the walk back.

"You still okay? Cinder did shoot you.." Alex asked.

"I'm fine.. How about that hole in your chest?" Yang replied.

"It'll be fine.. Just have to let it sit, first." Alex said.

Alex moved Yang off of him and went to put Auburn in her crib, then went back and hugged his... Wife... Even Alex himself was in disbelief. Unfortunately, the once happy ceremony had been overshadowed by the sudden attack.

"So... What now?" Yang asked.

"I... I'm hoping that was the end of our problems.. But, just in case, I spoke to Dr. Monty yesterday about this.." Alex began.

"What'd he say?" Yang wondered.

"He told me to ask Kat if I ever really needed to train again, maybe even Supreme Leader Krete." Alex replied.

"Really? I get Kat, but why Krete?" Yang asked.

"Monty said he'd know all about our Enlightened forms. I remember Primis telling me that the Prometheus Charge was more of a crutch, I'll have to look into it." Alex explained.

"You have any ideas?" Alex asked.

"I remember Summer taking on Jobs across Remnant while Dad taught at Signal. Maybe we could try something similar?" Yang asked.

"'Teaching' really isn't my strong suit. Remember when I tried teaching Cade the Overcharge Technique?" Alex asked.

"He still pulled it off, though.." Yang corrected.

"Almost killed himself the first time, though." Alex remembered.

"Yeah, but still. You'll get better. You've always been able to." Yang smiled.

"Maybe... You think I should still take care of some training beforehand?" Alex asked.

"Like what?" Yang wondered.

"The training we've had so far was good, but there's harder training out there. You remember those SEALS we talked to on the Iliad?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, but they're more 'soldier' oriented, and you passed that mark as soon as you went Enlightened." Yang replied.

"Yeah, but if it can take inexperienced high school graduates and turn them into the best fighters in the NAF, imagine what that could do for me." Alex shrugged.

"Yeah..that's the one thing I never got about you. Back when you were flat-out 'on the run', you fought CIA Spec-Ops in Ponyville, right? They've had more training than you have right now, how the hell haven't you died?" Yang asked.

"..Y'know, back then, I put it all on luck, but now... I know I had a lot of help. Kat, Dash, Karis, Evan.." Alex recalled.

"That kinda explains things.. So... What're you actually thinking?" Yang asked.

Alex thought for a moment before making his reply.

"For now, we'll help Fairy Tail rebuild the Town. I'm thinking we could find a nice place, maybe on Adenien somewhere. We could be mercenaries, working for the Ryders and Kat's Foundation. We could take turns. One of us on mission, the other at home, taking care of the kid. If we have enough big-time jobs, maybe we could retire. But, y'know, You'd still be doing stuff." Alex decided.

"Y'know.. That doesn't sound terrible." Yang smiled.

Author's Note

Click the like button for more off-brand major news agencies!

Seriously, though. Did you think I'd let Alex and his friends get away with f**king up another place?

So yeah, Vanoss and co. kinda had it with Alex's shit, so they'll be on hiatus on the story, for a while, at least.

The Future Hunters are staying with Fairy Tail, but they'll still be actively involved in the story.

Despite all that, Alex finally feels at rest, and ready to move on..

... Or so he suspects.

Stay tuned next time on Blood Red Shadows II!

-The Destoyer

Chapter 51: Memories
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 51: Memories

*Emerald Forest, Vale, Remnant; October 15, 2016; 1:15 PM*

Earlier that day, Team RWBY had been assigned routine patrol of the Emerald Forest. The Grimm's numbers had been growing, and Ozpin had ordered a particular part of the forest cleared out to make way for the first years without many deaths.

Yang, of course, had been on board with the mission since Ozpin uttered the word 'Grimm', a clean sweep against that many Grimm, even as a Huntress-In-Training, was hard to come by.

Unfortunately though, it also meant scanning through the forests, walking around predetermined trails until they found something of interest.

Speaking of which...

"Yang... I hear something.." Blake, her partner, whispered.

"Hey, you're the one with the cat ears..!" Yang replied.

Yang listened closer, hearing the familiar sound of gunfire, coupled with roaring sounds and flesh tearing.

Someone was in trouble!

"Call Ruby and Weiss.."

Thinking quick, Yang grabbed her scroll, and called her sister. Immediately notifying her of the ensuing carnage

"AAHHH!!! WE'RE GONNA DIIIIIE!!!!"

"WHAT THE HELL ARE THESE THINGS?!"

"DAITHI, COVER ME!!"

"I'M TOO FAT!!!"

The two Huntresses snuck through the forest, ducking past a bush.

"Found 'em.. We'll have to step in." Blake decided.

A group of about 11 people, mostly guys in their 20's armed with standard, relatively old machine guns, and another man in armor, attacking the Grimm with a...

"The hell's that guy carrying?" Yang asked.

The weapon he carried appeared to be a heavily modified revolver that made a bass drop that fired a bullet at the Grimm. Honestly, more effective than anything the group had.

Blake poked her shoulder and pointed to Ruby and Weiss.

Yang's Scroll buzzed with a simple message.

Lil' Sis :D:

On 3, take them out.

Yang watched as Ruby slowly counted down from 3, and all hell broke loose.

Yang leaped backwards, blowing apart the Grimm as the rest of Team RWBY took out the Grimm from closer up. Clearly, the men were surprised.

"Friendlies! Friendlies!" The armored one shouted, somewhat unsure.

'Does he not know who we are?' Yang wondered.

Ruby and Weiss quickly made their way next to them.

"Hi, Yang!" Ruby smiled.

"Hey. So, what's the plan with these guys? Take 'em to Oz?" Yang asked.

"They're probably just a group of outlaws. Look how outdated their weaponry is. The only huntsman there is the guy in the suit." Blake figured.

"I say we introduce ourselves." Yang decided.

"Alright, let's give them the Team RWBY Treatment!" Ruby cheered.

"Don't be so direct, you dunce! Think about it, they're-!" Weiss scolded, clearly against the idea of helping them.

"Hello?" Ruby called as Weiss dragged her back.

"Are you trying to get us mugged?!" Weiss demanded.

"Ha. 'Mug'? Weiss, these guys clearly didn't expect the Grimm. Maybe they're from Atlas." Blake figured.

"Hey! Over here!" The armored one called.

"Yo!! Come over here!!" Another man yelled.

The four cautiously stepped out to the men. Most of them were dressed in unfamiliar, honestly ridiculous outfits. Especially the guy with the suit and sandals.

The armored man Yang noticed was shorter than the others, maybe even younger than them under the helmet.

The armored one took off his helmet, revealing a scarred face, spiky blonde hair, and striking blue eyes. He reminded Yang of Blake in the times she worried about Torchwick and his gang, the way his eyes seemed baggy.

"Hey..." The young man's voice trailed off, as if he wasn't expecting help. Maybe not even wanting help. Yang noticed the telltale glint of fear in his eye, as if he was searching the four huntresses for any sign of a threat.

"Hello, sir!" Yang greeted, at least trying to make a good impression.

"Who are these guys?" Weiss asked.

"Well, it would seem best to introduce ourselves. We have no idea who these men are.." Blake figured.

The younger man nodded in agreement, though still guardedly.

"Of course... I'm Alex. Alex Walker.." The younger man, Alex, introduced himself.

"I'm Vanoss," The Owl-Masked one greeted, "And this is Delirious, Lui, Mini.."

'Delirious? Who names their kid after a sickness? And what the f**k is a 'Vanoss'?!' Yang privately demanded.

"Well hello, Alex and Vanoss, and.... Ah... Others, I'm Ruby!" Her sister greeted.

"I'm Weiss."

"Blake."

"Are you sure those are your actual names?" Yang asked.

Blake nudged Yang sharply in the arm.

"Oh, I'm Yang!" Yang adjusted instantly.

"Well, It's been nice meeting you, but... We have no idea where we are..." Alex admitted.

While RWB dealt with where the hell these guys actually came from, Yang looked at Alex with a special interest in mind.

'Well, he doesn't look that young... The scar's pretty cool, and he kinds reminds me of my ex..' Yang blushed silently.

This was going to be interesting..

*New Magnolia; Fiore; November 12, 2019; 4:25 PM*

Alex quickly finished screwing the drywall on the interiors of one of the houses while Yang installed the carpet.

Since the 25th, Alex and Yang, along with the rest of Fairy Tail, had been rebuilding Magnolia Town from the ground up. Presently, they've shared the building of a residential district with Erza and Gray. So far, they were almost done, except for one house.

"And I think that takes care of it! Who's on that last house?" Alex asked.

"I dunno.. Hey, Erz!" Yang shouted.

"Yes?" Erza asked from across the newly paved street.

"Who's gonna take care of this last house?!"

"Don't worry about it! Gray and I will handle it! Besides, I don't think either of you had your Honeymoon yet!" Erza replied.

"Wow... Really?" Alex blinked.

"Hey, c'mon. We both need this. We built, like, 30 houses between Erza, Gray, and the both of us!" Yang smiled.

"Won't it be kinda expensive, though?" Alex asked.

"Not really. I saved up a bunch of money we made off of our Jobs. And we get paid, like, 20000 Jewel for this." Yang shrugged.

"You do know 20,000 Jewel is, like, 240- something bucks, right?" Alex asked, referring to the exchange rate between the Fiorian Jewel and and the Adenien Mark.

"Yeah, I think we learned that the hard way.. But still, a little extra cash never hurt!" Yang figured.

When Alex and his family had first moved to Magnolia, rent for even a mediocre apartment was anything but cheap. It wasn't until the family had completed the first few jobs that they could actually not have to worry about keeping up on rent.

Alex remembered that they moved to their current apartment some time after that whole mess with the Tower Of Heaven. If rent started to slip, then they would have to complete their missions as a small group and let Team Natsu be the ones that drained Fairy Tail's bank account.

"With that in mind, where were you thinkin'?" Alex asked.

"I'm sure there's lots of places in Remnant now! The Grimm aren't that much of a problem anymore. At least, that's what Dad's telling me." Yang shrugged.

"Heh. Go figure." Alex scoffed.

"How about you? You've gotta have some ideas, here!" Yang smiled.

"How about the... Well, I was gonna say the Florida Keys, but then I remembered I'm not on good terms with Earth." Alex recalled.

"So that's a no, then.. Anywhere on Adenien?" Yang asked.

"... Maybe.. There's a place on the coastlines of the Euclid Islands called 'Litus'. Some places there should be within our price range.." Alex decided.

"Oh, that won't be necessary." A familiar voice called from outside.

Alex and Yang quickly ran out the door. Right in front of the house they were building was Raven Branwen. Yang's Mother and the Inheritor who helped train Alex. The weirdest thing Alex had noticed was that Raven actually appeared a little younger..

"Mom?!" Yang gasped.

"Hello, Yang." Raven smiled only slightly as Yang ran up and hugged her.

"I haven't seen you in two years." Alex noted

"... So it seems. How have you been since then?" Raven asked.

"Oh, y'know. Lost more than a few friends. Fought off a Demon, Cinder, a shapeshifting metal blob man, a couple people of my race, and a literal fused God of Darkness... I can see all that not-helping served you well." Alex coldly replied.

Raven walked towards Alex with an innocent-seeming smile.

"You don't remember my lessons, do you? An Inheritor must be able to fight their own battles. While you've been busy ripping up cities over petty battles, I've been training the next generation of Inheritors." Raven stated.

"Huh. I guess that makes sense, but why didn't you show up to our wedding?" Yang wondered.

"While I have to worry about the Inheritors, I'm also the leader of my Tribe. Surely, you understand the importance of family, right Alex?" Raven evenly stated.

Alex shrugged.

"Yeah. Sure. Whatever. Why are you suddenly here?" Alex demanded.

"I heard you children are no longer children, anymore. Yang, I missed your childhood entirely during my work.. And Alex... When you needed help the most, I simply wasn't there.. I wanted to make an apology, so I'll worry about your expenses." Raven promised.

"Wait, really?!" Yang gasped.

"... Wow... T-Thanks..!" Alex thanked, surprised at Raven's sudden goodwill.

"No need to thank me. Do you have any ideas of where you want to go?" Raven asked.

"Well, I was thinking maybe somewhere in Remnant, while Alex wants to go to Litis." Yang shrugged.

"There are plenty of resorts in Remnant. Some of the Coastal Cities in Sanus have wonderful vacation resorts." Raven suggested.

"That doesn't sound like a bad idea.. Okay. I can go with that. How about you, Yang?" Alex asked.

"Hell yeah! Let's do it!" Yang cheered.

"Sounds like you're in agreement, you two.. I'll be nearby, I actually have a proposition for you two.." Raven insisted.

"We'll talk it over at some point. Sound good?" Alex asked.

"I'm glad you're in agreement. I'll meet the two of you in, say, 5 days?" Raven asked.

"5 days? Seems short notice, but sure." Alex figured.

"Nah, 5 days is plenty of time." Yang disagreed.

"Wonderful. I'll see the two of you by then." Raven smiled as she started to leave.

"Bye, mom!" Yang waved.

"Huh. And I thought In-Laws were horrible." Alex blinked.

"I worried about Inlaws, too. But then I remembered you're a Batman xerox." Yang replied.

"Oh, f**k off." Alex rolled his eyes.

"Na-na na-na na-na na-na, Alex!" Yang joked.

"Stop."

"Oh, that's why Dad always tells me you're a 'bat' influence!" Yang punned.

Alex scowled, quickly regaining his composure.

"Give me a break. I might not have parents, but at least I don't pass out and get 'gang-Yanged' at every party I go to." Alex punned back.

"That was one time!" Yang shouted, her eyes glowing red and her golden hair shining brighter.

"Wow, Yang. You really do have a 'hair trigger'." Alex joked.

Yang promptly punched Alex in the face.

Author's Note

And so begins the Corvus Arc! It starts off innocently enough, but god, it's really dark in concept.

Just a small taste of what's to come this time around, the Corvus Arc is really going to flip Alex's character on it's head. I won't say how, but it will.

I also had an idea of a new story. Yes, a new story, a spin-off, to be specific. It would cover the wacky misadventures Twilight, Fluttershy, and most of the Vanoss Crew (no, Vanoss isn't going to be in this new story, I can't come up with a name for the rest of the group) are wrapped into after they were teleported and/or killed during the Shadow Wars.

Conceptually, it's going to be similar to the upcoming Han Solo movie, in which the spin-off is mostly going to cover those characters. Let me know in the comments if you guys would want to see that!

-The Destoyer

P. S. No, the BRS series isn't the only thing in development. I'm planning a story right now to celebrate my 2 year anniversary on the site in a few weeks. It's mostly for laughs, though.

Chapter 52: Field Trip!
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 52: Field Trip!

*Helios Falls, Coast of Sanus, Remnant; November 7, 2019; 11:45 AM*

Helios Falls, one of the most populated settlements on the coastlines of Sanus, hundreds of kilometers away from The Kingdom of Vale. The area had been well-known for it's high cliffs, host to a Waterfall around which the settlement was located. While most of the Continent had been settling in for the winter, Helios Falls was hot and humid year-round, making it an excellent rest stop for Huntsmen weary from traveling town to town.

Or, in this case, a superb vacation cite for Tourists...

"We're here!" Yang grinned.

"About time. Those IDTS crooks kept me for 2 hours just because I insisted on keeping my weapon." Alex griped, recalling how much of a pain the Inter-Dimensional Travel Security agents made going from universe to universe. A pain he'd learned to live with, since he always found himself dimension-hopping.

"Hey, calm down! This is our honeymoon, remember? Besides, there's mom. Let's say hi!" Yang grabbed Alex by the wrist, dragging him to see Raven.

"Hey, Raven." Alex greeted politely.

"Alex, Yang, I'm glad to see you two showed! How are you?" Raven replied.

"Not bad, actually. Alex's just pissy because the IDTS people kept him back, he'll come around." Yang figured.

"I suppose. I've booked you two for a 4-night stay at the Requies Hotel." Raven explained.

"THE REQUIES?!" Yang gasped.

"How the hell did you afford that?!" Alex wondered.

The Requies was famous for it's proximity to the springs near the Waterfall, it's customer service, and it's expensive price.

"Don't fret about it. Just remember our meeting, will you?" Raven asked.

"I'm practically obligated to at this point.. Thank you, Raven." Alex decided.

"No need to thank me, just have fun, and remember, our meeting's on the 10th at 2:45 PM at the Otium." Raven informed.

"So you're telling me you booked us a 4-night stay at the most expensive hotel in Helios Falls, and we're having a meeting at the most famous restaurant in the area.. How much do you make in a week?!" Alex demanded in surprise.

"We can discuss this at a later time. Until then, I suggest you two get to your hotel. I'll see you on the 10th." Raven promised, leaving the area.

"Thanks, mom!!" Yang waved frantically.

"Thank you, Raven." Alex called as well, walking with Yang towards the hotel.

"So, isn't Mom cool?" Yang asked.

"Yeah.. She's practically paying for the entire trip. It's... Kinda odd.." Alex thought.

"What's odd?" Yang wondered.

"Nothing, it's just... People don't normally treat you to this kinda stuff unless they want something from you." Alex thought.

"I dunno. I'm honestly more worried about Little Auburn." Yang figured.

"She's in good hands.. Cade and the older Auburn are taking care of her, I'm sure." Alex stated.

One of the first concerns Alex and Yang had for their honeymoon was that whether their child would be in safe hands. The future kids agreed to take care of her along with the Guild, but Alex still had his suspicions on whether the Guild could handle an infant.

"I hope so... What were you saying earlier?" Yang asked.

"Oh, right... Since Raven's taking care of our entire goddamn honeymoon, she must want something really important. When I took missions after the Blood Red Night, I remember this one job I had outside of Expectans.

"My clients took me to this fancy buffet. They wanted me to, ahem, take care of a high-ranking politician. By then, I was so full, I didn't exactly mind agreeing to snuff this politician. The kinda crap Raven's pulling is basically 'Manipulation 101'." Alex explained.

"I think you're worrying too much. I get it, but you gotta slow down. Hold on, there's our hotel." Yang called as soon as they were at the building.

The two stepped inside the lobby, walking towards the help desk.

"Hi, we're here under 'Walker/Xiao Long'. We wanna head up to our room." Yang said.

"Let's see... Oh. Wow..! Looks like you two ordered the Penthouse..! Already paid for, too!" The woman at the front desk gasped in surprise.

"So, how soon can we head up there?" Alex asked.

"I just need your signatures here." The lady handed Alex and Yang some papers to sign.

After scribbling their signatures onto the documents, the two headed up with their room keys towards the elevator.

As the two stood in the elevator, Alex wondered how he would be able to train. He couldn't slack off. For Yang's sake, he needed to train every day if he had to.

Once the two made it all the way up, their room was down a long hallway. Husband and Wife walked side by side to the penthouse suite.

"Well, then. Let's see how much Raven wants us to do her dirty work." Alex figured as he opened the door.

The Penthouse Suite was rather expensive-looking, complete with a 70-inch, plasma widescreen TV (with Netflix), couches, a kitchen setup, and a stairwell leading to the upstairs pool. The Bathroom was next to the stairwell, and their bedrooms were a little ways down a hallway connected to the laundry room.

"Holy crap..!" Yang gasped.

"Damn. This place does not slack in the comfort department.." Alex figured.

"True that..! Only big-time celebrities got to stay in this room!" Yang told him.

"I've actually been thinking. How have Grimm not completely wrecked this place? Does this shit have auto-defenses or something?" Alex asked, placing his Agartha's Thunder on the table.

"Huntsmen usually come and take on jobs whenever they're here. Now that the Grimm are mostly dying out, The Huntsmen are moving to other universes to find work." Yang told him.

"Great. So Remnant's going to end up a Los Angeles-esque tourist trap. That's a thing." Alex noted.

"I dunno. Schools like Beacon and Shade are still turning out decent fighters. They're saying something else is screwing up Atlas these days." Yang shrugged.

"Really? What the hell could be messing up Atlas more that it already is? Alex asked.

"No clue. You wanna go walking around town after we're done unpacking?" Yang inquired, eager to explore the area.

"Sure, why not? I'm sure there's some cool new stuff going on." Alex replied.

*Rose/ Xiao Long Household, Patch, Remnant; November 7, 2019; 12:35 PM*

Ruby stepped inside the house alongside Sun, eager to finally see her father and uncle again.

"Hi, Dad!" Ruby called.

Taiyang and Qrow were quick to welcome the huntsman and huntress inside.

"Listen, Ruby.. We heard about what happened. Were you hurt?" Taiyang asked.

"Hurt? No, I'm fine!" Ruby shrugged.

"What about the other kid?" Qrow asked.

"Oh.. I'm fine. I just caught up with Ruby a little while before we made it here." Sun replied.

The two huntsmen led the children inside a more closed-off room, and moved as though there was something they needed to talk about.

"Listen, kids, do you have any idea what's going on in Atlas?" Qrow asked.

"No... We haven't heard much from Atlas since last year at the Tournament." Ruby confessed.

"Well,.. Turns out that the Grimm were just the tip of the spear." Taiyang replied.

"What?!" Sun gasped.

"It's true. Something's sprung up from underneath Atlas. Something worse than the Grimm. They're called the Furies, essentially Lava Grimm, but a whole lot stronger." Qrow explained.

"We need to help..! How can we-?" Ruby stammered

"Most of the prospective Huntsmen are too scared to fight or they're flat-out dead. We'll have to call in help from the other universes until we have enough huntsmen ready." Taiyang answered.

"Well then, I'd better go. Don't want to outstay my welcome." Qrow stated, taking his leave.

"How are we going to help?" Sun demanded.

"You can start by training more for the fight. I suggest finding a mentor in Adenien. Yang and her idiot husband got that far by doing so, and he's kinda... Out there. Imagine what you, the infamous 'Silver Eyed Warrior', could do with that kind of training." Qrow smiled.

Ruby sped behind her uncle, hugging him goodbye.

"It was nice seeing you again, Uncle Qrow.." Ruby smiled.

"You too, kid. You too."

*Location Unknown; November 7, 2019; 1:32 PM*

A man stood inside his laboratory, holding up two vials, one that glowed bright blue, and the other glowed green. Pouring 10 mL of each into a beaker, he watched the concoction as he carefully stirred them together, the two mixtures forming a cyan color.

"Doctor Callan?" A female voice asked.

The doctor jumped a little bit, but turned around to face his client.

"Ah, Corvus! How pleasant to finally see you!" Dr. Xavier Callan, the Ex-inquisitor, greeted.

"Likewise, Doctor. I've come for the device I requested." Corvus replied.

Dr. Callan reached through the drawers searching for the device in question.

"Is it true? Have you gained all of Cinder Fall's powers?" Dr. Callan asked.

"Indeed. The energy output is unprecedented. Even I can hardly contain my tremendous power." Corvus replied.

"It would seem that way, yes. I would suggest finding ways to limit your energy until it is necessary." Dr. Callan explained.

"Trust me, Xavier. We both know that what I have planned requires my energy to be used at it's fullest. No less." Corvus shot back.

"I.. I understand.. Here's your device, Corvus."

Dr. Callan handed Corvus the device she requested, a thick, golden circlet with a brilliant, aqua colored gem at the center. He reached back and retrieved a ring that fit around Corvus' right hand, with a similar gem at the center of the palm.

"Do you like it? I modeled the device after a similar device used to contain the powers of a truly destructive being. If the device can handle legendary power such as this, it will surely be enough to handle your suspect." Dr. Callan promised.

"That remains to be seen, Doctor. I will be headed off." Corvus nodded, getting ready to leave.

As Corvus left, a curious though struck her.

"Anyways. What is that you're doing, Doctor?" Corvus stopped herself.

"It is merely a side project. Don't worry about it." Dr. Callan shrugged.

Author's Note

Alex and Yang, with Raven's financial assistance, are on their first honeymoon. Yet Alex's suspicions haven't let up. Will all go well for our young lovers? How much stronger will Ruby Rose and Sun Wukong become? And who is Corvus? Is she really who you think she is?

Find out on the next exciting chapter of Blood Red Shadows 2!

-The Destoyer

P.S; Blood Red Shadows Spin Off is in development. I'll keep it short, though. Say... 15 chapters?

Chapter 54: Taking Control
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 54: Taking Control

Author's Note

Title relatively intended.

Chapter 54: Taking Control

*Helios Falls, Sanus, Remnant; November 10, 2019; 11:45 PM*

Alex had went to the Gym for the day, leaving Yang inside the room alone, watching TV.

"Let's see... No... No... NAF Election 2020 BS... Spongebob..? Ugh... Modern Spongebob..." Yang sighed, dissatisfied with the choices the tv had to offer.

Yang continued to flip through channels, when she suddenly heard a knock on her door.

"Just a sec..!" Yang ran up to the door and looked out the peephole, only to see her mother.

"Hey, Mom..!" Yang grinned as she opened the door.

"Hi, Yang... Is Alex here?" 'Raven' asked.

"Nah. He's at the Gym again. He did say he'd be back in time for our meeting." Yang replied.

"Wonderful... Now, Yang... There's something you and I need to discuss.. In private." 'Raven' explained.

"Is this about the birds and the bees?" Yang asked.

"Wha-?"

"Okay... Is it about the fact that Alex and I have a kid already?"

"Are you-?"

"Belated birthday gifts?" Yang suggested, at least partially joking.

"I... Uh.. Yes..! Actually.. Don't mind that I haven't exactly bothered to wrap anything.." 'Raven' shrugged.

"Oh... Okay..! What you got?" Yang asked, now actually kind of excited.

"I had someone outfit this extravagant circlet for you." 'Raven' smiled, handing Yang the pure golden circlet, the Aqua gem shining brightly at the forehead.

"Woah..! This thing looks cool..! Thanks, mom!" Yang smiled back.

"Go ahead, try it on..!" 'Raven' encouraged.

Yang slowly placed the circlet on her head.

"Y'know.. I don't get why there are little buckles at the sides.." Yang stated, fumbling with the circlet.

"Here.. Let me help with that.." 'Raven' placed the buckles with a metallic click, as Yang stared forward with a purely blank expression...

*The Otium, Helios Falls, Sanus, Remnant; November 10, 2019; 2:41 PM*

Alex ran inside the restaurant in his formal suit, walking once he reached the desk.

"Hi, I'm reserved under 'Walker/Xiao Long'. Do you have a table ready?" Alex asked.

"Hmm... Let's see.. You're seated in the private dinner hall upstairs. Mrs. Branwen sends her regards." The hostess told him, leading him up the stairs into a hallway.

The hostess led him to the end of the hall, turning right.

"Enjoy your meal." The hostess smiled.

"Thank you." Alex nodded, opening the door.

Yang and Raven had already made it, the two were sitting next to each other, leaving one seat for Alex.

"Hey, Alex!" Yang smiled.

"Hi, Yang. Hi, Raven. I see you two made it earlier than expected." Alex greeted.

"Indeed. It's best we start this meeting as soon as possible. Water?" Raven suggested raising a glass bottle of water.

"Thanks.. I'm kinda parched.." Alex smiled, taking the glass.

"So, how was training?" Yang asked.

"It wasn't bad. Gym training doesn't beat good ol' sparring matches, but it's close to what I need." Alex replied.

"I'm glad to hear. Have you two been enjoying your vacation?" Raven asked.

"Yes." Yang replied, suddenly rather blank.

"I... It's been fun." Alex nodded in agreement.

"Glad to see you two have been enjoying yourselves." Raven grinned slightly.

"Thank you." Yang blankly grinned.

"Hey, Yang, you tired or something? I haven't seen you like this since after you woke up from Coco's party like a year ago." Alex asked.

"Huh..? Kinda zoned out for a sec.. I'm fine." Yang blinked.

"Alright then, if you're sure.. I mean, I figured you were still a bit worn out from the club the other day." Alex shrugged.

"Ahem.. Children.. How about we continue with the meeting?" Raven asked.

"Sure.. I mean, if you were giving us all this stuff, I figured there would be a reason behind it." Alex figured.

Raven cleared her throat.

"Alright then. I have an offer for you two.. See, my Tribe has fallen on hard times. I've scarcely been able to make ends meet. Only my service to the Inheritors makes suitable to supply an income." Raven explained.

"That's terrible..!" Yang gasped.

"This.. Tribe.. What is it? I haven't heard you mention much about it before." Alex asked.

"The Corvus Tribe is one of the most extensive in all of Remnant. It's bloodlines can be traced from Atlas, to Mistral, even Vale. The tribe as a whole does business for a variety of clients: Huntsmen, Settlements, entire organizations such as the Schnee Dust Company even called upon us." Raven explained.

"What kind of work has this.. Tribe.. Done in the past?" Alex asked.

"The Corvus Tribe acts very similar to your Fairy Tail. We take jobs, no matter how big, or dubious they may be." Raven proudly declared.

Alex sighed.

"Look at it this way, I joined Fairy Tail because it was necessary. Because I knew all hell was going to break loose sooner or later. Now, my little 'rampage', as some... Okay, a lot of people would call it. That shit's over." Alex stated.

"What?!" Raven demanded.

"You heard me! I'm done with the Inheritors using my friends and I to tie off their loose ends, and I'm done losing people I care about because the Inheritors won't fix their shit themselves! I just want to settle down, Maybe go back to school, get a meaningful job, and provide for my famil-!" Alex practically shouted, standing up to face the two.

"That was.. A bit uncalled for.." Yang stated.

"What do you mean, 'uncalled for'?" Alex asked.

"Look, I get why going back to the way things were before would seem nice, but.. You know, I'm a free spirit. I don't think I can stay all tied down like that.. Mom just wants to give us an opportunity to have a bit more fun. I bet you were never as fit as you were before, right?" Yang asked.

Alex shook his head.

"Maybe that's true, but I've never been as done with something as I am with this 'adventure' shit. The Inquisitors, Arabus, even The Shadowman, Salem, and Sombra. They're all dead. Keeping this shit up can't possibly be more masochistic for me." Alex stated.

"Well, fine.. I'll go and help Mom, then. You can stay home and worry about Auburn, then." Yang shrugged.

Alex sighed.

"Y'know, that doesn't sound horrible. I mean, I've been training without you for two years, and you seemed fine." Alex decided.

"I'm glad we're all in agreement, here. Alex, I would go back to your room and pack. Yang will be coming with me." Raven smiled.

"Alright.. Listen, good luck out there, okay?" Alex asked.

"Sure thing. Bye, Alex!" Yang smiled.

Alex quickly hugged Yang, kissing her cheek before heading back to pack.

"Well, take care of yourselves." Alex smiled earnestly.

"Bye!" Yang waved.

"Farewell..!" Raven wished him well.

*Fairy Tail Guild Hall, New Magnolia Town, Fiore; November 10, 2019; 6:50 PM*

Alex quickly ran inside, panting with exhaustion.

"Dad..!" Cade ran to the door with Auburn.

"Where's Mother?" Auburn asked.

"Well, she's with Raven doing god knows what for her Tribe." Alex explained.

"Really? She isn't coming back with you?" Lucy asked.

"Looks like it. She was always the adventuring type." Alex mused.

"I'm happy for the two of you, Alex, buddy." Natsu grinned.

"Alright, thanks. Where's the smaller Auburn?" Alex asked.

"She's right here!" Mirajane raised the infant from under one of the tables.

"Thank god, little mite was crawling all over my feet." Gajeel grumbled.

"Alright.. I had kind of a long day, so I'mma head home." Alex yawned.

"Wait, did you seriously walk from Crocus to here again? You know you could just borrow Erza's Magic Mobile." Gray asked.

"Yeah, but she charges interest on that shit. I'm going back home.." Alex stretched, taking the baby with him.

*Alex's Apartment, New Magnolia, Fiore; November 10, 2019; 9:02 PM*

Alex had just put the baby Auburn to bed, deciding he'd watch some TV and go to sleep at about 10:00.

Don't ask how he set up a TV in a mostly magic setting, that was a pain to set up itself.

"Great... Let's see what we have on tonight.." Alex muttered, grabbing the last Dr. Pepper out of the fridge.

Surfing through channels, tonight's news caught his eye.

'Well, probably won't say anything nice about me, anyways... F**k it.' Alex thought.

"Breaking news over The coast of Helios Falls tonight as raids suddenly sprung up and quickly decimated the city earlier today..."

Alex nearly choked on his Dr. Pepper.

"The assailants haven't yet been identified, but the attackers were two powerful hunters assisted by an unknown group of bandits. Furies sprung up in the area not too long after. Authorities only have an anonymous tip suggesting that Alex Walker, most famous for his feats as Admiral of the Equestrian-Remnant Coalition, was one of the attackers."

"WHAT?!" Alex shouted as he heard Auburn start to cry.

"The Coastal Settlement Union plans to call a bounty of unidentifiable amount Multiverse-wide, effective tomorrow morning at 12:00 noon."

Alex quickly changed the channel to another station, with no relief in sight.

"The Bounty will be effective tomorrow.."

"I can't believe he would do this..!"

"So no one told you life was gonna be this waaaaay..! *clap clap clap clap*"

"So, If Alex Walker is watching this, he has about 15 hours to get his shit and go. Anyways, that's it for tonight at Magnolia News Network... 'The Simpsons' is brought to you in part by..!"

Alex sharply inhaled, rage slowly building as he prepared his loudest scream possible.

"FUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!!!!"

Chapter 55: On the Run...Again
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 55: On the Run...Again

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 56: The Dark Descent
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 56: The Dark Descent

*Crystal Castle, Crystal Empire, Equestria; November 11, 2019; 2:15 PM*

"Shining. Cadence. It's been a while." Alex greeted.

"It has... How are you?" Cadence asked.

"I've... Had better days.. I'm sorry about what happened with Twilight.." Alex admitted.

"It wasn't your fault. You had your hands full with protecting your own family. Besides, you're one of Twily's friends." Shining Armor replied.

"So.. Why are you here?" Cadence asked.

"Something went wrong, and I need to train again." Alex answered.

"Our Royal Guards aren't strong enough to train you. Not even Skirmish, and she's the most experienced I know." Shining told him.

Alex sighed.

"This... Is a different kind of training. This Castle still has it's fair share of secrets. One of them is perfect for what I need to prepare for." Alex stated.

Cadence's eyes widened in realization, and whispered to Shining. The two had a momentary exchange, with a few scared glances at Alex, before turning to Alex.

"What do you need? Besides.. We owe you one." Cadence asked.

"First: No one. Absolutely no one, can know I'm here." Alex demanded.

"I understand.. We just got news of your bounty. Luckily, I didn't hear reports of any humans in town." Skirmish said.

"Thank Christ. Second, I don't need much food. Once a day is enough. But water is going to be really important." Alex sighed in relief.

"No problem.."

"Third: I need 12 weights. All 50 Kiloes. Small enough to fit into the compartments of my armor." Alex finished.

"That's more than 1000 pounds!" Shining gasped.

"I can handle it." Alex smirked, pulling a lever on his armor and releasing the heavy, rectangular weights. All of them leaving cracks in the crystal floor.

Shining Armor, Princess Cadence, and Skirmish all stared at Alex in shock.

"How much were those?!" Skirmish gasped.

"30 Kiloes each." Alex replied.

"Are you insane?!" Cadence demanded.

"Better yet... Better bump it up to 60 Kiloes." Alex figured.

"Skirmish... Lead him to the stairwell." Shining ordered.

"Come on, Alex." Skirmish motioned him with her tail.

The two walked down the blue, crystalline hallway, leaving Alex to marvel at the scenery along his way.

"So.. Can you tell me anything about who's after you this time?" Skirmish asked.

"You remember Raven?" Alex replied.

"She's after you?!" Skirmish gasped.

"Apparently." Alex sighed.

"No wonder you need to keep up your training..! Though... I don't understand what you want with... this.." Skirmish shook.

"Discord said my training needed to be psychological as well." Alex answered.

The Honor Guard stopped at a large intersection in the castle.

"Well.. Here we are.." Skirmish told him.

"Thank you, Skirmish." Alex smiled.

"I don't understand.. How are you going to get there?" Skirmish wondered.

Alex raised his hand, letting the fear and anger within him combine with his Magic, causing a wave of Dark Magic to ripple over the floor, revealing a grey-crystal staircase.

Skirmish backed away in sheer horror.

"What the hell are you..?" She whispered.

Alex didn't reply. Merely unsheathing his sword, hacking through the stairs, and jumped, using the blade to slow his fall.

Once he made it to the bottom, he unleashed another wave of dark magic, sealing the way.

Walking through the dark hallway, he unleashed wave after wave of dark magic. Until eventually found a wooden door.

Alex sighed, dropping his backpack to the floor. He laid out a sleeping bag, changes of clothes, armor repair kits, and his old Pocket Dimension.

Tossing it to the ground, he unloaded a bench press kit, heavy dumbbells weighing in at mostly 700 pounds, and lastly, his old journal.

"Well.. I guess this is my home... For the next year.." Alex solemnly said, writing in his old journal for the first time in years,

Entry #93, Nov. 11, 2019

Things have gotten much worse. Raven's turned against me.. Yang's turned against me... Worst of all, I've been forced into hiding again. I won't be able to go anywhere without bounty hunters and hunters trying to kill me. Desperate times call for desperate measures, I guess.

I've been forced to hide Auburn to where even Yang would never think to look, with Neo of all people. Under Discord's advice, I've sealed myself under the Crystal Castle, near a door leading to my worst nightmares, where I'll be training for the next year. If all goes well, I can deal with those two... things... and maybe I'll have a fourth chance at life...

At any cost.

*22 Miles outside of New Magnolia, Fiore; November 11, 2019; 2:30 PM*

Cade, Auburn, and Oreonna had quickly escaped the town upon realizing it was under attack. Cade had been the first to sense something was wrong. Two high-leveled Auras were responsible for most of the damage.

But he wasn't sure which one scared him the most; The All-Maiden? Or his own mother's?

"What the hell was that all about?!" Oreonna suddenly demanded.

"How was I supposed to know?! We were caught completely by surprise!" Cade shouted back.

"You said you beat Cinder! You told us she was dead!"

"She is! I felt her die in that forest!" Cade recalled.

"I checked that Aura reading, Oreo. That wasn't Cinder." Auburn corrected.

"Then who?" Oreonna asked.

Auburn sighed.

"Our grandmother, Raven. But... It was weird.. When we met her, her Aura didn't feel this... dark." Auburn told them.

"Here's my question, Why would Raven and our mom come after us?!" Cade inquired.

"Because they aren't after us. Yang told you that father had a price on his head, right?" Auburn questioned.

"... Oh my shit. They're after Dad." Cade realized.

"So, let me get this straight. Your Grandma... and your Mom are trying to kill your Dad. And your Dad, panicked as always, went into hiding again." Oreonna figured.

"He probably took my counterpart with him." Auburn nodded.

"Let's think... Why would Dad have to hide? I'd like to think he's strong enough to handle all this.." Cade decided.

"If he was, he'd have settled this already. You saw them train, Dad literally can't beat Mom. Their fighting styles are too similar. By the time Father would have tired out, Mother would have gained enough power out of his attacks. And.." Auburn suddenly stopped.

"...Killed him?" Oreonna asked.

Auburn stayed relatively silent afterwards, troubled by the mere thought.

"So... Dad's probably training somewhere.." Cade figured.

"What are we gonna do, then? We can't go back to Fairy Tail, Yang and Raven would probably kill all of them!" Oreonna demanded.

"What, you think they'd actually massacre the entire guild? Please, we were all at the battle. Mom and Raven might be able to take down a few key members, but not the entire Guild. But... Even so, it isn't safe for us to stay there." Cade stated.

"So, what's the plan, hot shit?" Oreonna asked.

"We have to find Dad. And if anyone can find him, it's Grandma and Mom. We'll need to keep our Aura Levels low so we don't get discovered." Auburn stated.

"That was actually better that what I was gonna do.." Cade nodded.

"Okay... I can just barely sense them... They're on the outskirts of town and they're headed towards Hargeon." Auburn replied.

"Hey, guys!" Natsu shouted, running in through the mouth of the cave.

"Natsu?! How did you find us?!" Oreonna asked.

"I heard you two from a mile away. I'll help you get to the bottom of this..!" Natsu promised.

"You're not the only one, Firebreath!"

Gray, Lucy, Erza, Happy, and Juvia stood at Natsu's side.

"We've got your backs, guys!" Happy shouted.

"If Alexander knows anything about why Yang helped attack Magnolia, it's our job to find him." Ezra added.

"Alright.. Where we headed?" Gray asked.

"Hargeon Town." Cade answered.

*Ultimus' Hideout, Yuriko, Adenien; November 11, 2019; 3:00 PM*

"Impressive attack, Illiya. Though you will need to increase your strength. Sun almost blew you to the ground." Ultimus gave his critique.

"T-Thank you, Ultimus..!" Illiya panted, the raven-haired Adenienite now exhausted in her recent battle.

"And Sun. You almost had Illiya where you wanted her. You're too overconfident. Consider your defeat a lesson in humility." Ultimus instructed.

"F-Fine.." Sun nodded, limping off the training room.

"Julius. Spyden." Ultimus called.

The two young men, 13 and 14, respectively, stepped up to the small proving ground. Julius and Spyden looked eerily similar, but Spyden had shorter hair than Julius. Julius himself also had emerald eyes, where as Spyden had the family's red eyes.

"Weapons out."

Julius unsheathed his xiphos, and Ruby was immediately reminded of her late comrade, Pyrrha. Spyden himself carried an elegant short-sword with an plain, circular guard.

"Begin!"

Julius leapt first, forcing Spyden to counterattack and slash at Julius' legs.

Julius leapt over Spyden's blade, slashing at his opponent's neck.

Spyden, surprised that Julius was prepared to use such an attack, stepped backwards. Pressing a button on his sword, Spyden's blade split apart and moved to the other side of the sword, while the Guard split as well, causing the sword's guard to become a full circle.

Julius leaped above Spyden, clashing his sword against Spyden's guard. Spyden forced Julius off of him, and with a few key strikes, reduced Julius to a kneeling, wounded child.

Julius growled in anger, swinging his sword sharply upwards.

Spyden ducked around, pressing another button on his sword, causing both blades to spin not unlike a helicopter, making short work of Julius' sword.

Not wanting to kill, Spyden merely kicked Julius to the ground, planting his boot on Julius' neck.

"The fight is over. Spyden, I'm impressed with your mastery over your weapon. But not making a killing blow when you should will cost you." Ultimus stated.

"Are you saying you wanted me to kill Julius?" Spyden demanded.

"No. I'm saying you hesitated to even make a mark on him. At least Illiya managed to give Sun his proper punishment." Ultimus replied.

"I understand." Spyden nodded.

"Julius, your use of high-energy attacks was.. Admirable.. However, you're not making tactical decisions. You're just rushing into the fight at full-tilt." Ultimus stated.

"Okay... Thanks, Ultimus."

The two eventually got off the mat. Leaving Ultimus to stand at the center.

"All of you will make competent fighters.. Someday. Let me show you what a real battle is. Miss Rose, if you will?" Ultimus asked, raising the Family Sword towards her.

Ruby sprinted up in front of Ultimus, Blood Rose at her side.

"No holding back, understand?" Ultimus demanded.

Ruby immediately went to her Silver Eyes form, grinning at Ultimus eagerly.

"Let's do it!"

Ultimus then transformed into his Enlightened Zealot form, glaring at Ruby.

"Wonderful. Let us begin."

*Yang's Mind, November 11, 2019; 5:01 PM*

Yang's mind had essentially been under gridlock, meaning that... Thing on her forehead was doing most of the work, leaving Yang's soul, personality, and memories trapped within some unknown corner of her mind.

As you can imagine, being trapped within your own mind as you're being forced to hunt down the people you love and destroy everything around you was less than fun.

"Dammit, Mom!" Yang sharply kicked at the small crystal in front of her.

Enraged by her failures to break out of Raven's control, she punched the crystal repeatedly, hoping for at least a dent.

"That isn't going to work." A voice said behind her.

Yang sharply turned around to see a... Somewhat familiar face.

"Alex?! What are you doing in... Wait.. Alex has more scars.. And you don't look evil, so you can't be Alex's older brother... Who are you, anyways..?" Yang asked.

The young man cleared his throat.

"Well, I am Alex's older brother. But not the evil one, trust me." The boy raised his hands defensively.

"Wait a second.. Alex did mention him having two older brothers.." Yang recalled.

"You're on the right track. My name's Chūkan. Saisho, the oldest, killed me about 14 years ago, and I've been watching over both of you since." Chūkan shrugged.

"Wait, really?!" Yang gasped.

"Well, yeah. The afterlife is nice, no doubt about it, but it gets kinda boring after a while." Chūkan stated.

"Okay... So what are you doing here?" Yang wondered.

"Well, I was helping you to find a way out, but this stupid thing on your forehead keeping us in is... really good at it's job. The only way we can break out is if someone breaks the circlet from the outside." Chūkan explained.

"So... Now what?" Yang asked.

"You... Wanna know what Alex is up to?" Chūkan figured.

"Well, I guess it'd be nice.. Is Auburn okay?" Yang wondered.

"She's with Neo and Tukson right now. Alex flipped his shit when he realized you and Raven were responsible for the bounty, so he stashed Auburn with her, and Alex snuck over to the Crystal Empire to train." Chūkan suddenly stopped himself.

"What... Kind of training?" Yang asked.

"It's.... Best if we don't talk about it..." Chūkan replied.

Author's Note

So, Alex made it to the Crystal Empire, Cade, Oreonna, and Auburn are following Yang and Raven along with Team Natsu, Ruby and Sun are training with Ultimus and three of his cousins, and Chūkan is taking a short break in Yang's head. Did I miss anything?

Anyways, it's obvious some messed up shit is gonna go down eventually. Exactly what's going to happen, though?

I guess we'll find out next chapter or so..

-The Destoyer

Chapter 57: A Slippery Slope
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 57: A Slippery Slope

*The Crystal Castle, Crystal Empire, Equestria; December 21, 2019; 12:00 AM*

Alex was thrown into a crystal, gasping in shock as he dodged a shadowy fist.

"Don't try to run.." A voice called to him.

Alex was suddenly overtaken by a hard hit to the chest, blown into another crystal as he struggled to force himself up.

"It's no use trying to hide..."

A smoky blade struck Alex in the back, blowing him into a fist...

Looking up, Alex saw a shadowy version of Yang, glaring down at him with a sadistic smile.

"You worthless piece of shit. Why didn't I kill you when I first saw you?" The apparition demanded in Yang's voice before punching him in the face.

Alex slammed up against the door, completely exhausted and defenseless.

"That's it... Just feel the blood seeping from your wounds.. You're dying right now... Just hurry it up, already.." Another apparition spoke, this time resembling Raven.

Using his last burst of strength, Alex opened the door, crawled out, and closed it.

As soon as Alex closed the door, his strength began to slowly return, but that didn't change the fact that he was purely exhausted.

"Gah... D-Dammit... At this rate, I won't stand a chance..." Alex puffed.

Pulling the lever on his suit sharply, the 12 weights slammed against the ground, providing his body with some relief.

"Eheheh... I.. Haha... Won't sta-hahaha-nd a chance..!" Alex laughed to himself.

As Alex pulled himself up, tears began streaming down his face as he continued to laugh.

His laughter continued for several minutes until he had pulled himself together. Shrugging off that slight moment, he dragged his body to the bench press.

These spells of laughter and tears happened more and more often these days. Sometimes, these laughing spells happened more if he stayed in the chamber for longer than he should have, or if he hadn't slept or eaten in a long while.

His eating habits became less like consistent meals and more like short, sporadic pig-outs followed by long, long periods of fasting. Alex scarcely even slept, spending hours, even days awake before passing out for some unknown amount of time.

Hell, the past month barely even felt like a month. Alex just wasn't aware of how much time he passed. One day seemed to melt into next.

Suddenly, Alex was curious. He wondered how much stronger he'd gotten since he started this new regiment.

Pushing the weight off of him, he raised one hand and launched a ball of lightning into the wall, completely incinerating several rooms ahead of him! Out of the corner of his eye, he even spotted the Crystal Heart.

Alex was surprised. Usually, a small attack like that would ruin a table, but that blew through entire walls! Even though, he tried to hide his excitement. He tried to act indifferent...

Some days. He tried to act.

He would act out conversations between him and someone else. He challenged himself to try and at least act sane. It was good practice for when he would speak to Skirmish, or Cadence, or Shining. Of course, that didn't change the fact that they were still relatively concerned for his well-being.

He remembered once when Cadence invited him upstairs for dinner between him and the couple.

"I'm fine." Alex assured.

"Are you sure? You've spent your entire stay in that little room. Doesn't it seem cramped?" Cadence had asked of him.

"Don't worry about me."

"But.."

"Cadence, I'm fine. Alex had stated again.

Alex went back to lifting weights. Suddenly bored by his memories.

One.. Two... Three.. He forced each weight up and down, up and down..

Suddenly, Alex felt tired again.

"Welp... Time for bed.." Alex muttered, passing out and falling asleep.

*10 Miles north of Ponyville, Equestria; December 21, 2019; 9:01 PM*

Raven charged right at Yang, who blocked her mother's blade with her gauntlet before launching a blast at Raven.

Raven flew out of the way, sending wave after wave of energy blasts against Yang, who blocked them all, sending them past her and destroying the landscape.

Yang fired a torrent of shots at Raven, who immediately took to blocking all of them before Yang leaped in for a full-powered shot.

Yang punched her mother in the chest, launching her towards a distant mountain.

Raven stopped herself in mid-air, barreling down towards Yang and planting the pommel of her sword sharply into Yang's side.

Yang responded her mother's attack accordingly, punching her in the face and slamming her into the ground.

Instantly, Raven transformed, four auras, Purple, blue, green, and orange, all blended together to form a dark violet color.

"Most impressive, my daughter. I feel my powers growing each time we spar. You will be much stronger than Alex could ever hope to achieve, so long as you follow my instructions." Raven grinned.

"I understand, mother.." Yang bowed.

"I already know you've grown stronger thanks to our training sessions. Show me your power." Raven commanded.

Yang grinned sinisterly, raising to her Inflamed Warrior form in an instant.

Raven backed away one step, proud of what Yang has achieved thus far. She's far surpassed the abilities she's displayed in Fiore.

Yang roared loudly as her bright red Aura began to darken. The whites of her eyes faded into a black color as her hair stood on end, darkening several shades. However, her skin returned to it's natural tone, leaving behind a new level of Enlightened Warrior.

"I expected no less, daughter. Are you aware of your skin tone?" Raven asked.

"It's normal..? Usually, my skin changes color along with everything else." Yang noticed.

"Precisely. The glowing that usually accompanies your Enlightened Transformations is pure, raw energy leaving your body through your skin. The transformation does this anyways, with hair, but energy leaving through the skin is merely wasted potential. It is something I learned whilst speaking to the Mercenary, Primis." Raven explained.

"And Alex has yet to figure this out?" Yang asked.

"Most likely. You are ready to face him, my daughter. I will leave him to you." Raven promised.

"And what will you do?" Yang questioned.

"I have my mission. You have yours. Now go. You should be able to sense his energy. He was always woefully bad at hiding it." Raven commanded.

"I'll do what I have to, mom." Yang promised.

*Los Santos, San Andreas; December 21, 2019; 9:10 PM*

Vanoss stood on top of a building, overlooking the city of Los Santos with a proud expression, and black tactical gear followed by a yellow parchute/'utility belt'.

Ever since the death of most of his friends, Vanoss decided he should probably avoid dealing with Alex, at least until he gets his shit together and calms the fuck down. But either way, he still found himself bored.

So he and his friends, thanks to having unlocked their Auras, decided to use their newfound abilities as superpowers, and become... Well...

"My name is Bat Owl, and I must defend this city."

H20 Delirious walked next to him, wearing a raccoon mask and a Party City Batman costume.

"And I am the Batcoon!"

Lui himself walked out of the shadows, wearing his monkey mask and red sweatshirt.

"I am Mega Monkey!" Lui introduced in his squeaker voice.

Then, Terroriser stepped out next to Delirious, or 'Batcoon', I guess..

"And I am the key to your liberation." Terroriser raised his hand, while holding a Pringles can in the other.

"Aren't you a villain, though?" Lui asked in his normal voice.

Most of the group started laughing right afterwards.

"And I am Early Bir- OH SHIT!!" Moo shouted, jumping off of a helicopter before promptly slamming against the edge and falling off the building.

"You're late again, Early Bird!" Delirious laughed.

The remaining four jumped off the building, parachuting to another building before running off and leaping for the next.

"ALRIGHT! Grappling hooks ready!" Vanoss ordered, firing a grappling hook at a light post and swinging to the ground.

The others did a similar tactic, rolling onto the ground as they detached.

"Alright! So I heard that the evil Green Goblin gang has taken over the construction site, and it's up to us to take out the trash!" Delirious stated.

"And how far away is it?" Lui asked.

".. It's near the Maze Bank, dipshit. We're at LS Customs right now." Terroriser replied.

"So we'll need to barge in.. With finess." Vanoss figured.

*15 minutes Later*

"SURPRISE, MOTHERFUCKERS!!"

Moo Snuckel and Vanoss plowed into the construction site in an armored car with a top-mounted .50 Cal machine gun, ripping apart several members as Terroriser drifted into another group with his car, a heavily modified sedan with machine guns, missiles, hydraulics that actually caused the car to jump, and a Parachute for when he needed to fly in.

Lui and Delirious piloted a Valkyrie helicopter, with Lui as the pilot and Delirious as the gunner, of course.

"DIE DIE DIE!!! AHAHAHAHA!!!!" Delirious cackled as his 'gifts' all but decimated several outlying groups at the site.

"How many more?! How many more?!" Lui demanded.

"There's, like, a hundred of these bitches!!" Terroriser replied.

"AAAAAAHHHH!!!" Vanoss yelled as his machine gun blew a bunch of the 'Green Goblins' to pieces.

"Hop!" Terroriser's car jumped on top of a condensed group and blew apart another in mere moments.

"And we're good!" Moo announced, using his Mini SMG to finish off the last one.

"Yeah..! Show me the money!!" Vanoss cheered as he grabbed a briefcase full of cash.

"Fuck yeah, bois! That's how we do it!" Delirious cheered, grabbing fistfuls of cash and stuffing them inside of his pockets.

"Ah, yes. These criminals had my permission to die." Terroriser stated.

"Wait, what's that?" Lui asked.

Vanoss heard quite a lot of gunfire, and the lights in the city were suddenly flizzling and sparking out of control.

"Oh, god dammit. Are Alex and Yang playing the fields again?" Terroriser groaned.

"Actually, I don't know what the fuck is up with them nowadays." Delirious added.

"Whatever. I hear the shooting that way." Vanoss rolled his eyes, getting back in the gunner seat.

In less than a moment, the Vanoss Superhero Crew drove/flew towards the LS Airport, watching as a portal started spewing out what appeared to be Grimm, but they were... Glowing orange?

Sure enough, the monsters charging out of the portal looked like Grimm, but were much, much different. Their fangs were way more pronounced, their eyes were beady red, and their claws left scorch marks on the concrete. The Police nearby scrambled to fight them off, but were quickly, and quite literally, being eaten alive.

"What the fuck are those things?!" Vanoss gaped.

"They look like The crawlie things from Gorev!!" Lui screamed.

"Take 'em out!!" Terroriser screamed.

Torrents of gunfire ripped at the monsters spewing out of the portal, but were still pouring out in large numbers before the portal finally closed.

Eventually, they leaped up, taking out Lui's and Delirious' Valkyrie, forcing them to jump out.

Vanoss and Moo, by this point, ran out of the car and shot at the monsters with miniguns, to shockingly little effect.

Terroriser even charged out, unloading shot after shot at the monsters until he turned tail and ran.

The five superheroes ran to the nearby highway to try and gain a better vantage point, but it seemed the monsters were everywhere.

"Oh, crap..!" Vanoss braced himself for a sure to be grisly death.

Until, suddenly, Vanoss heard a blade swinging through the air.

Ruby rolled into a dive, hacking and slashing until she had taken out an entire group of them.

Sun Wukong eventually landed at the other side. Helping three children clear out another group.

"Hey, guys!" Ruby greeted.

"The hell are you doing here?" Delirious asked.

"These things, the Furies, they're literally everywhere. We have no idea what's going on!" Sun replied.

Suddenly, the crew heard a loud roar.

"What was that..?" Lui hesitantly asked.

"Oh, shit..." The younger girl, Illiya, muttered.

"That better not be what I think it is.." The younger of the two boys, Julius, gasped.

"What?! What could possibly be worse than..?" Terroriser demanded.

Out from the ocean, a large, lizard-like monster crawled out of the depths, looking like the Furies they had just fought, as it let out a giant shriek.

"The Fury Komodo.." The elder of the two, Spyden, gasped.

A silhouette of a man leaped at the monster, wreathed in aqua-colored light as he blew part of the Komodo's face off with similarly hued lightning.

"Is that Ulti-whoever?" Delirious gasped.

Ultimus, wearing a full suit of armor, glared at the group.

"I would highly suggest you either leave, or help." Ultimus ordered.

Vanoss pulled out an RPG, glaring at the wounded monster.

"Fuck it. Why not?"

Author's Note

So, Alex's training is driving him kinda insane, Yang's training might mean bad news for Alex, and Vanoss has rejoined the fight... Sort of.

What will happen when these two immensely strong ex-lovers finally meet again, on the battlefield? Will Vanoss and his remaining friends survive their new battle? Where are Cade, Oreonna, Auburn, and the rest of Fairy Tail? How will Sunset and Starlight further change the playing field?

Find out next chapter of Blood Red Shadows 2!

-The Destoyer

Chapter 58: Life and Death
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 58: Life and Death

Author's Note

I am so going to hell for writing this chapter.

If the title wasn't already enough indication, holy hell, this is going to gut anyone with a soul. Probably not as bad as that one Futurama episode with Fry's dog, but still...

Don't say I didn't warn you from this point on.

-The Destoyer

Chapter 58: Life and Death

*The Crystal Empire, December 23, 2019; 4:19 PM*

Alex continued to struggle against the apparition of Yang he fought so hard against the past month or so, struggling to finally conquer his challenge.

"Alex, your death has been a Xiao Long Time coming!!!" The apparition yelled.

Alex growled in anger, building up a decently sized attack behind him.

"Is that so?!" Alex roared in fury, raising his right hand to his shadow-y opponent, the ball of electricity buzzing with intense power.

"THUNDERBURST!!!"

The ensuing blast decimated not only the shadowy copy of his ex-wife, but the room itself, the black magic surroundings eventually broke down, as Alex began to laugh crazily. The shadows seeping down from the walls settled around his feet.

"King Sombra... I broke your illusion... Hehehe.... Hahaha... HAHAHAHA!!!" Alex laughed.

Alex blew his way out of the room, back to the hallway, to where he had been living.

"Hm.. Disappointing, now that I lost my one training component... No matter... I'm ready for anything that pun-bitch can dish out!" Alex grinned to himself.

Alex quickly went to the bench, adding another 1000 pounds to each side, totaling in at about 4000 pounds, plus whatever the bar weighed.. Whatever it was made of, it was nigh invulnerable, as the bar stayed completely straight no matter what.

*Meanwhile*

Yang strolled into town, loading her Celestial Detonators.

Yang's wardrobe had changed quite a bit since her training with Raven began. She now wore a jet-black armor, emblazoned with her insignia at her right shoulder. The armor trailed down to her knees, similar to a trench coat.

"So... This is where you ended up... You probably won't come out yourself.. I'll have to draw you out.." Yang decided.

The Crystal Ponies looked at Yang in surprise. It was common knowledge in Equestria that Yang was among those who helped fight off the Inquisitors alongside Cadence and Shining Armor. Surely, Yang wasn't here for anything dangerous, right?

... Right..?

*Inside the Crystal Castle, 5 Minutes Later*

Alex suddenly heard frantic pounding above him. Focusing a dark magic pulse, he opened the gates to find a dense cloud of smoke covering his view.

"What the..?" Alex wondered.

"Alex.!!" Skirmish yelled.

Immediately, Alex flew upwards, trying to find out anything wrong.

"What is it? Did Shining burn his toast again?" Alex asked.

"We're under attack! Cadence and Shining are fighting.. Someone..!" Skirmish shouted.

Alex immediately realized who might be attacking.

Either Raven, or...

Alex froze in panic.. He hadn't expected her to actually be the one to kill him!

He ran out alongside Skirmish, only to see the once bustling city a near-desolate ruin.

Houses and business had erupted into flames as clumps of dead Crystal Pony laid still on he ground.

Alex quickly spotted a dense cloud of smoke. Balls of fire burst out, decimating the city.

Cadence flew up to Alex in fear.

"Alex.!! We can't hold her off much longer!!" Cadence told him.

The cloud grabbed Shining Armor by the neck, a prompt explosion followed, reducing the unicorn to ashes.

Eyes clouded with terror and grief, Cadence flew down towards the ash cloud before a fireball blew off her leg.

Skirmish leaped down, spear at her side, as she charged towards the cloud, only to have another shot blow her into the castle.

Yang leaped out, punching Skirmish in the neck, killing her instantly.

She seemingly teleported to her original spot, glaring down at her wounded victim.

'NOW LOOK AT THIS SONG, THAT I JUST FOUND!'

With cold-hearted malice, the figure quickly finished off Princess Cadence with a simple step to her head.

"Well, now... That was disappointing." The hauntingly familiar voice grumbled.

"Grr... THAT DOES IT!!" Alex roared in anger, charging outside.

Clouds of ash intermittently blew past, revealing his former wife..

Yang.

"I knew you might be here, Alex. Isn't it so nice to see each other again, after so long?" Yang greeted in a mocking tone.

Alex didn't even bother with demanding a reason why.

He didn't care about why.

All he knew was his life was in danger.

Alex immediately transformed to his Evolved Warrior state, charging at Yang with his sword raised.

Yang blocked his sword, punching him in the face as hard as she could.

Growling in anger, Alex launched a one-handed barrage of Thunderburst attacks before leaping at Yang, roaring in fury as he kicked her in the side.

Yang leaped sideways, sharply turning around and punching him in the stomach.

Alex skidded to a halt, powering down to conserve energy.

"What..? She hasn't even transformed..!" Alex spat.

"Attacking me without so much as saying 'hi'. I guess it goes to show how much of a good husband you were." Yang mocked.

"HOW DARE YOU?!!" Alex screamed in rage, assaulting Yang with a barrage of hacks and slashes, further enhanced by his new powers.

Yang blocked his attacks with only her finger, smacking him with her metallic arm before disappearing.

Alex immediately darted around,trying to find where Yang was before he felt a sudden burst of pain on his back.

Yang spin-kicked him several feet before bashing him through a few dozen buildings, grabbing him by the foot and kicking him aside.

Alex skidded to a halt, panting in exhaustion.

'How?! Yang's stronger than I am and she's still in her base form!'

Yang grinned at him, cracking her knuckles.

"I'll go easy on you. As long as you give me everything you've got." Yang confidently told him.

Alex transformed to his Enlightened Berserker, launching himself at his former wife.

Yang blocked every attack Alex had to offer. No-selling every kick, punch, blast, and swing.

Alex leaped straight backwards, leaping to Yang at top speed, kneeing her in the chest as she laughed.

Alex ducked again to avoid Yang's next attack, and punched her in the temple as hard as he possibly could.

Yang had been fazed by his attack, a bit of blood trickling from her mouth. She wiped it away and glared at him.

"Not bad, but that can't be everything you have to offer." Yang grinned maliciously.

Alex laughed a bit himself, raising himself high above the ground.

"Really? If you want my full power, then don't move a muscle!" Alex roared back.

Alex charged his energy, putting everything he had into two electric balls he had. Dark Magic, spare energy, even drawing magic from the shield protecting the city from the outside world.

He eventually slammed his hands at his sides, letting the two glowing orbs of lightning condense into one.

Yang merely raised her hand at the attack, glaring at him in smug hatred.

"GOD SHOCKER!!!" Alex roared as the beam reached Yang.

The blast completely enveloped Yang...

And then split into two separate blasts at her hand, leaving her completely unharmed.

"WHAT!?" Alex gasped.

Yang smirked at him.

"Look. You've definitely gotten a bit stronger since we last met, but I'm past anything you have. Face it, Alex. You're completely, utterly, royally screwed this time around. The only difference is; nobody's here to save you now." Yang shrugged indifferently, adding insult to very, very near injury.

Alex gasped, glaring at Yang with sheer anger, and also a hint of fear.

Alex raised his hands, launching blast after blast at Yang.

"WHY..! WON'T...! YOU..! DIE?!!!" Alex screamed as he kept up the torrent of electric attacks.

Yang floated out of the blasts, entirely unaffected.

"Oh, Alex. Has this ever worked?"

Alex leaped backwards as Yang back-handed him, grabbing him by the neck before he reached top speed.

"Any last words?" Yang asked.

"J-Just f-four...SHOCK BREAKER!!" Alex coughed, placing his hand at Yang's stomach.

The shock blast was enough to level the rest of the city, but Yang was left unscathed, save for the mark at her stomach that burned through to her skin.

"What?!" Alex gasped.

"That. Was. five." Yang glared, throwing him into the ground and kneeing him in the stomach, causing him to power down to base form.

Yang threw him against the Crystal Castle so hard it destroyed two of four legs supporting the castle, causing the once shining tower to fall on top of him.

Floating over the ruined castle, Yang dug him out, glaring at him as she slammed him against a wall.

"Now, Alex... Let me show you some real power." Yang glared as she powered up all the way to her Inflamed Warrior.

"The... Hell?! " Alex coughed. Yang's power far overshadowed his, and by the looks of it, her power was continuing to rise.

Then, her glowing red skin faded to it's original hue as her hair darkened along with her Aura to a dark red. Yang still kept her... Aqua-colored eyes?

Alex then realized: Yang's eye color hadn't changed from aqua colored at all! Not since he last saw her at Helios Falls... And strangely enough, her eye color matched that new circlet she had...

Oh, shit.

"Now, Alex. How do you like my new form? At this point, I'm roughly equal to even the likes of Princess Celestia..! I call it the Inflamed Demigoddess. Now bow." Yang smirked.

Before Alex even had time to react, Yang punched him in the stomach.

Just as Alex coughed up blood, Yang hit him in the chest, breaking his ribs.

Yang pounded Alex's chest repeatedly as Alex found himself being punched almost through the crystal walls as he groaned in pain.

Yang then smacked him so hard the skin on his face started to rip off. And that was before she ripped out one of Alex's mechanical arms so he couldn't fight back as well, not that it would have counted.

Laughing as she continued beating the life out of him, Alex could only watch as his former wife kept bashing his ribs to dust and pried off another one of Alex's mechanical hands.

Yang eventually let up, glaring at him pitifully as he struggled to pull himself upwards.

"Look at you. You were able to defeat Alpha, then Cinder, then Arabus, Jäger, and even Lilith. Yet you still can't stand up against your own ex-wife??" Yang asked with a mocking grin.

"G-G-... Go.. To h-hell.." Alex barely managed to choke out.

"In due time.. Besides, ladies first." Yang continued, grabbing a small sliver of crystal and raising it above Alex's scarred eye.

"Now I know what you're thinking... 'Should I stab his eye out?' And the answer... might surprise you.." Alex winced as he realized what Yang was about to do.

The following has been censored by the Destoyer on the grounds that... Jesus Christ, did Yang really put out Alex's eye?!

Alex let out a pained scream as Yang sharply tore out the Crystal.

"You know what they say? 'If your the victim, keep the knife in. If you're the killer, take the knife out.'" Yang grinned, tossing the Crystal aside as she raised both fists, put all her power into them, and finally punched out his chest.

Alex, by now beyond simply being crushed and broken, could only let out a small whimper of pain as he curled to the ground, bleeding out of his chest, face, eye socket, and mouth.

Yang eventually powered down, casting a pitiful glance at him.

"Well. My work here is done. I only really give you about eight seconds to live, but you're still alive...ish... Now, where's that little Princess?" Yang demanded, referring to who Alex could only assume was Flurry Heart.

"No!!" Alex heard someone scream as his world faded to black.

*Meanwhile, Cade's POV*

Cade attacked Yang alongside Auburn and Natsu, leaving the rest to find Flurry Heart.

"Oh, great. Children." Yang spat.

"WHAT THE HELL IS UP WITH YOU?! WHY DID YOU ATTACK FAIRY TAIL?! YOU WERE ONE OF US!!" Natsu demanded with tears in his eyes.

Yang teleported in front of him, smacking him out of the Crystal Empire entirely.

"If you two are smart, you won't keep following me." Yang scowled, flying away.

"GET BACK HERE! WHAT DID YOU DO TO DAD, YOU DEPRAVED FUCK!" Cade shouted, enraged beyond words.

"Cade.." Auburn pointed to Alex, who, by this point, was seconds away from death.

"My god, Dad!" Cade ran to Alex's side along with Auburn.

The two hunters sat next to Alex, clearly scared of what had happened.

"Auburn, put as much of your Aura as possible into Dad! I'll worry about his arms!" Cade ordered, grabbing spare tools from his pockets.

Auburn placed her hand on Alex's chest, trying to heal him as fast as she could so Alex wouldn't die immediately.

Cade continued to tinker with Alex's arms, making new holes for screws to go in as he tried to repair his nearly dead father's limbs.

"Shit.. Auburn, did you see his eye?!" Cade gasped as soon as he looked.

Alex's eyes were closed, but there was a fresh wound in his eyelid, and the way it rested told him that the eye socket was quite literally hollow.

Auburn winced, a single tear dropping down from her cheek as she placed another hand to Alex's right eye.

"Cade?! Auburn?! We found Flurry-! Oh, no.." Oreonna gasped, the infant Flurry Heart still in her arms as Gray, Happy, Juvia, and Erza ran out with her.

"Where's Lucy?" Cade demanded as she returned with Natsu, who was himself pretty badly injured.

"Oh my...." Lucy immediately covered her eyes as she saw Alex at death's door.

"Holy..." Natsu gasped.

"How can anyone do this? Especially to someone they loved?!" Erza demanded.

Cade eventually got finished fixing Alex's arm, a relatively easy feat. His hand would be trickier.

"Gray, Juvia, remember where we left our things?" Cade asked.

"Yeah?" Gray asked.

"Get the Magic Mobiles. Hurry!" Cade ordered.

The two immediately ran off.

"Gray, I promise I won't do anything like this to you after we've married.." Juvia promised.

"OH, NOW YOU'RE JUST JUMPING THE GUN!" Gray screamed in response.

"What now? Where the hell do we go from here?!" Oreonna demanded.

"Ponyville." Cade replied.

"What?! Raven and Yang are definitely there by now!" Oreonna gasped.

"Ponyville's still standing, though. If we're discreet, we can get Flurry to Sunset and Starlight, and Ponyville honestly has some of the best doctors in that area. Plus, Vinyl can probably give him some new arms and legs." Cade explained.

"If we're discreet?! Cade, Yang would have literally killed Alex if we hadn't shown up the second we did! Once we get back to Ponyville, she'll probably impale us or something else really fucked up!"

"It's a risk I'm willing to take. They were only looking for Alex, and now that she thinks he's dead, Yang and Raven'll move on!" Cade retorted.

"HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YANG THINKS HE'S DEAD?!" Oreonna demanded.

Cade shivered.

He truly didn't know..

*Yang's subconscious; December 23, 2019; 4:59 PM*

Yang was sobbing loudly, curled into a ball on the ground crying her eyes out.

Chūkan himself was stunned. No matter how much Yang's personality resisted and outright fought the device, it still managed to not only defeat Alex, but seemingly kill him.

"Y-Yang... I..." Chūkan stumbled on his words, too lost to even speak.

How the hell do you comfort someone who was forced to watch as they killed someone they loved?

Chūkan pulled Yang up, and hugged her. If nothing else, he could at least wait until she finally tired out.

Yang kept crying onto Chūkan's shoulder. The once strong woman he respected and admired from Elysium, reduced to a sobbing mess.. For a really, really good reason..

"I... I killed him... I-I gouged out his eye... And k-killed him!!" Yang bawled.

"Look.. Cade and Auburn got there moments after... Y'know... There's still a chance he could've survived!" Chūkan stated.

"C-Chūkan... Even if I get out of this f-fucking thing... Even if Alex d-doesn't flat-out kill me for what I d-did... T-There's no way he'd l-let this go...." Yang choked out.

"Listen, Yang. You've been through even worse. Alex figured out what's going on, I know that for a fact! If I know my own brother, he can't hate you forever. Winchester, definitely. Cinder Fall, God yes! But his own wife? I'm not saying it won't be a mess, but.."

Yang sniffled, wiping her eyes.

"W-What makes you think he won't?!" Yang demanded.

Yang was... Right...

For everything good about Alex that Chūkan could list, he could also think of something bad. If it was one flaw that stuck out the past few years for him, it's that no matter what, he'll ruthlessly hunt down and kill whoever was responsible for hurting him..

The scariest part about that whole experience was the way Alex acted.

Sheer, uncontainable impulse. It was almost as if..

"Oh God, no..!" Chūkan gasped.

"What?!" Yang wondered.

"The Crystal Empire..! The massive amount of Dark Magic..! Alex was prepared, not with his strength, but with his mind! He used that door that leads to your worst fears!"

"I don't get it, why would...? N-No..."

It had been more than a month since the incident.. Who knows how long Alex has spent in that room, driving himself more and more insane?!

"Y-Yang... I'm so sorry..." Chūkan gasped.

*Canterlot Castle, Canterlot, Equestria; December 23, 2019; 7:09 PM*

"So, Princesses, have we reached an agreement?" Raven asked.

"Indeed. A list of every current leading Inheritor, along with addresses, possible offspring, and passes formally declaring immunity for you and your associates. These 'Furies' are highly dangerous, so I fully understand if you need everyone you can find." Luna stated.

"Raven, might I ask what you intend to do with such information?" Celestia asked.

Raven smiled at them, unsheathing her sword, the glimmering purple and black blade shining in the light of the sunset.

"Oh, Princesses. My true name isn't Raven Branwen. My true name.. Is CORVUS!" Corvus yelled launching herself directly at Princess Luna, stabbing her through the neck and hacking her head clean off.

"LUNA!!!" Celestia shouted, enraged, launching magic attack after magic attack at Corvus, enraged at what she had done.

"Before I kill you, and provide Equestria's citizens with the true means to evolve, I intend to do to them what I did to her." Corvus grinned sinisterly.

"You monster..! Why are you doing this?!" Celestia demanded, infuriated.

Corvus didn't grace Celestia's rage with a response.

"ANSWER ME!!!" Celestia commanded in her Royal Canterlot Voice.

Corvus transformed, stabbing Celestia in the neck the same way she killed Luna.

"So that the world may truly stand a chance... For what comes next." Corvus darkly replied, slicing Celestia in two.

Corvus powered down, spat on Luna's corpse, and walked away.

"And for the record. Even my own daughter could have killed you. So she's still more prepared than anyone else in this backwoods little hovel." Corvus scoffed.

Chapter 59: Aftermath
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 59: Aftermath

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 60: The Trials have Begun
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 60: The Trials have Begun

*Capsule Corporation Headquarters, West City; December 28, Age 770 (2019), 11:45 AM*

Alex tapped his artificial eye again, fidgeting nervously.

Since Alex knew he had to be punctual with his timing, so he asked Vinyl and the doctors at Ponyville Hospital to install his eye early in the morning. He spent the few hours after his surgery packing, saying his goodbyes to his children and friends, and left for this other version of Earth at 9:30... On the other side of the planet.

After flying his way above the clouds, where he wouldn't be spotted, Alex landed after a 2 hour flight.

The eye, one that replicated his old one almost perfectly, still felt a little out of place at times. Thankfully, Erza offered her advice on the matter.

"It felt weird for me, too. You'll get used to it after a while." She had said.

Alex, trying hard to gain his confidence, opened the door and spoke with the receptionist.

"Hi, I'm here to see Dr. Bulma Briefs and her husband. Where can I find them?" Alex asked.

"You must be Alex! Mr. Vegeta and Dr. Briefs are with you downstairs at Level 1." The receptionist answered.

"Thank you." Alex respectfully thanked her, walking down the hall to an elevator.

He pressed the button that led to 'Level 1', waited for the doors to close, and stood.

Deep in thought, Alex thought what would happen if Yang and Raven traced him here..

Meh, Vegeta'd probably just kill them.

But... Did he really want that to happen?

Alex growled.

'That bitch broke all my ribs, ripped my face open, blinded me, and left me to die! Why should I care about her?!' Alex internally demanded.

Yet... He couldn't just ignore the possibility that Raven had something to do with her betrayal.

That gem on Yang's new Circlet matched her eye color perfectly.

'Who am I kidding? That thing on her head is just a power boost. The Prometheus Charge was a little rock that housed a crap ton of Magic power. There were definitely ways of hiding power gems on a person. Hell, even Cinder laced her clothes with Dust.'

The doors opened, revealing a sort of greenhouse-type room, where a woman in her early 20's with light blue hair stood next to...

"Hmph.. It's about time you got here." Vegeta scowled.

"Shut it, Vegeta. This young man was nice enough to pay for his training, and here you are, still acting like a jerk." Bulma chided.

"Woman, I have serious training to do, and I can't have this scrawny fool holding me back!" Vegeta retorted.

"That 'scrawny fool' you mentioned managed to fight off other-dimensional demons when you can't swat a giant, green bug." Alex smirked. Quickly realizing the error in his retort, he covered his mouth.

Vegeta cast a deathly glare at him.

"How did you know about Cell?" He demanded coldly.

"I get news even from this dimension. Once you start traveling, you start to get the gist of things." Alex replied evenly, trying to contain his fear.

Vegeta never even took his eyes off of Alex, as Alex himself could only manage to stare back.

"Well, I see you two are busy, I have work to do. Have fun, boys!" Bulma waved.

"Wait no-!" Alex held out his hand as Bulma closed the hydraulic door behind her.

Alex was stunned. He was actually going through with this.

"Come with me." Vegeta ordered.

"Huh?!" Alex gaped.

"You paid for this, you're getting it. Follow me." Vegeta repeated, leaving the room through a separate door.

Alex was quick to follow, making sure not to step too close or too far. Lord knows he didn't want to die pissing off a Super Saiyan.

Vegeta led him to a wide room with a module at the center. The room, otherwise, was relatively plain, monochromatic metal lining the walls and the module seemed to dip into the room.

"Close the door behind you." Vegeta demanded.

Alex complied immediately, hearing a hydraulic hiss as he closed the giant, metal door.

Vegeta eventually walked in front of the module, typing in a few numbers without saying a word.

Suddenly, Alex felt an enormous weight pushing him to the ground.

"Ack!! What is this place?!" Alex demanded, straining even to pick himself up.

The Saiyan Prince walked comfortably to the struggling Alex, glaring down at him.

"This is 25 times Earth's normal gravity. It's no problem for the average Saiyan warrior, but since you probably have no experience with hyper-gravity, it's going to be more difficult for you. Now fight me." Vegeta ordered.

"Fight you?!"

"You will need to learn to acclimate one way or another, and I have yet to know your true power, Mr. Demon-slayer." Vegeta cast a mocking glare at him.

Surprisingly, Alex managed to pick himself up, only able to transform to an Enlightened Warrior.

The pressure he felt on his body was lifted somewhat, but Alex still felt like he was being crushed.

"Hmm.. This form merely doubles your power. Super Saiyan will only be wasted on you. Attack me."

Alex ran at Vegeta, punching and kicking thin air as the Saiyan dodged his attacks at practically light speed.

Alex swept his leg, only to be crushed by the sheer weight of his attacks.

"Pathetic. You aren't even worth my time. Normally, I'd tell people to leave, but just for you, I'll make an exception." Vegeta explained.

"E-Exception..?" Alex groaned, straining to pick himself up.

"I will have you live and train the Hypergravity Room. For the next two months, I will leave you inside this room undisturbed. I'll have Bulma seal this place shut, so forget about escaping. For simplicity's sake, I'll only start you off at 15x gravity. Every 10 days, I'll increase the chamber's gravity until you are equal to my usual regiment of 450x. Once you've acclimated, then our real training will begin. Don't slack off on your training, or I'll actually have to come in. Let me make it clear that you don't want me to come inside until the two months have passed, got it?" Vegeta explained.

Alex was stunned. At 450 times earth's gravity, he would hardly be able to even move! How was he expected to go that far?!

Vegeta then set the gravity back to normal, giving Alex a spare moment of relaxation before he left.

"And, while you're in here, learn to watch your mouth." Vegeta scowled as he closed the door.

Alex stood in shock for a moment, barely able to speak. So much had happened in the past few moments that he had barely been able to stay on track.

How could he keep up with the likes of him?!

'No. I can't think like that. Yang beat me at her base form, and she was only training with Raven. If I'm going to stand up to both Raven and Yang, I have to set newer heights. If I don't, They'll kill me without even trying.' Alex thought.

An attendant suddenly ran into the Hypergravity Room with a small capsule. The attendant pressed a small button on top and tossed it on the ground. The capsule popped open, which unleashed Alex's basic necessities. Only a bed, some food, water, and a bunch of weights. Said attendant left as quickly as they walked inside.

"Alright. I can communicate with you through this speaker system, and I have cameras in there watching you 'round the clock. You'd better not waste the 10 days given to you to acclimate, or the next 3 months will be difficult for you. I don't care if you make it or not, just get to work!" Vegeta stated over the loudspeaker as Alex felt a pressing weight against his body.

The strong pull keeping him down wasn't nearly as bad as before, but it was going to be hard getting used to it.

"Alright... Besides, you get what you pay for, right?" Alex smirked.

"What did I say about watching your tongue, smartass?! Start off with as many push-ups as you can!" Vegeta ordered.

*Crux Family Complex, Sokarian Plains, Adenien; December 28, 2019; 2:40 PM*

Raven and Yang glared down at the corpses of the entire Crux family, grinning sinisterly.

"This has been the most entertaining battle I've experienced since this crusade began." Raven admitted.

"It's a shame we could not find those three other children. It's as if they disappeared." Yang noticed.

Raven suddenly perked up.

"Yang. I'm detecting 10 immensely powerful energies on their way here. At least 7 are from Fiore, but the other three..." Raven narrowed her eyes.

"It's Cade, Auburn, and Oreonna... I'll meet you at the next objective. They're mine." Yang grinned.

Raven smiled.

"Very well, then. Enjoy yourself." Raven smiled as she flew off.

Cade and Auburn flew down, followed by Oreonna, Natsu, Gray, Wendy, Lucy, Happy, Juvia, and Erza.

Yang glared at all of them with clear intent of killing them.

"You shouldn't have followed us here, children." Yang scolded.

Cade and Auburn both transformed, glaring at their mother.

"Why?! Dad sacrificed life and limb for all of us! For you!" Cade demanded.

"You don't understand. Raven holds the key to the Universe's Survival. There's a bigger threat at hand than either of us combined, and only the strongest will have the right to survive. And looking at all of you... It's better if I just killed you right here, just like I killed that ADENIENITE TRASH-!" Yang shouted.

Auburn hit her mother in the clavicle as hard as she could with the blades of her Axe, the blast sent shockwaves that knocked out the building around them.

When Cade saw that his sister's attack barely even scratched Yang, he leaped into the fray.

Repeatedly kicking and punching, Cade uppercut his mother to the skies, teleported behind her, and kicked her back down.

Before Yang could hit the ground, Natsu charged at Yang, punching her away as Gray readied his own magic attacks.

"ICE-MAKE LANCE!!" Gray shouted, bombarding Yang with Ice-blades as Erza leaped high above her.

"DANCE, MY BLADES!!"

Yang's eyes widened as Juvia held Yang in place, leaving her open to Erza's attacks.

"CIRCLE SWORD!!"

Yang smirked as the blades collided with her body, collapsing to the ground and pretending to lose.

"FIRE DRAGON ROAR!!"

"WIND DRAGON ROAR!!"

Both Dragonslayers' attacks collided with Yang and sent her flying away from them.

Thinking fast, Oreonna leaped high above Yang, slamming the Viola into Yang and blowing her into the ground, leaving a crater with Yang at the Center.

Cade pointed his index finger at his mother as his thumb pointed skywards.

"LIGHTNING CANNON!"

Cade launched an arc of lightning from his finger, connecting with Yang's chest and blowing up a better part of the area.

"Open, gate of the Water Bearer, Aquarius!" Lucy shouted.

Yang suddenly appeared scared, she raised her fist, only for Auburn to slam her into the ground again, trying to keep her from Lucy.

Aquarius appeared, glaring at Lucy.

"I was in the middle of something." Aquarius scowled.

"Lucy, I won't be able to keep Mom down for long!" Auburn urged.

Yang punched Auburn, blowing her far past the destroyed complex and leaped to deal with her.

"NOT SO FAST!!" Cade grabbed Yang's leg and threw her back down.

"Yang's way too strong. If she gets a moment to recover-" Lucy explained.

Aquarius dumped a massive amount of water at Yang and Cade.

Yang readied a shot to try and divert the water, but Cade grappled her into a full Nelson.

"Let.. Go of me!!" Yang demanded.

"If I'm getting drenched, you are too!" Cade retorted, bracing himself for a literal tsunami.

The wave crashed into the two of them as the impact blew water at the rest of the group.

"There. Now, don't interrupt me again, or I'm aiming my next wave at your head." Aquarius warned.

"S-Sorry!" Lucy stammered as Aquarius receded into the key.

"Is... Is it over?" Oreonna asked.

Yang staggered up, completely drenched, and grabbed Cade by the neck.

"Interesting. You may prove more worthy to survive than I thought. Let's test you out some more." Yang grinned, tossing Cade aside and transforming to her Inflamed Demigoddess.

"This is crazy..! Yang has a new form?!" Wendy gasped.

"This form is a highly advanced version of her Inflamed Warrior form. No wonder she was able to kill Father." Auburn stated.

"Hey, what gives, didn't Alex survive?" Nastu whispered.

"Yes, but it's ultimately better if she isn't aware." Erza scolded.

"Prepare yourselves, Fairy Tail. For your real test has begun."

Author's Note

Hey, Everyone!

So, if you look back at Chapter 25, you'll find some important announcements I made.

If you guys don't have time to read through craptons of text, I'll make a long story short and say I have to change nearly an entire story arc because I got Auburn's birthday wrong.

Also, there's another thing I wanted to mention. I thought about putting this in with the big edit announcements, but nobody's going to go back about 35 chapters just to read through announcements of a side project.

Anyways, here's the deal.

This story is pretty much just as, if not a bit more, convoluted than Dragon Ball Z (Especially since DBZ itself is included in the story now).

Why not go all-out and make short, ambiguously canon movies about it?

By this, I mean I'm going to be writing short stories that take place at certain points in the Blood Red Shadows series.

I plan on calling these bunch of side-stories 'Blood Red Shadows: Scarlet Entries'.

The 'Scarlet Entries' are really just short, 15-18 chapter long stories that fall within a set time in the BRS Universe.

I already have one in the making, and a second one under heavy, heavy consideration and planning.

The first Scarlet Entry is going to be 'Undertales of the Vanished', which is the story of how Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Wildcat, Mini Ladd, and the other members of Vanoss' crew find their way back home after seemingly being destroyed during the Shadow Wars.

The second is basically a crossover of a crossover (Crossover-Ception :derpyderp2: ) that combines elements of 'Blood Red Shadows' and SuperKamek's story, 'Legend of the Grimmwalker'.

The story takes place in Future Cade, Future Oreonna, and Future Auburn's timeline where Cinder took all the Maiden's powers, three years before they're introduced in 'The Crimson Shade'.

A power struggle between All-Maiden Cinder and Salem resulted in Future Alex and Future Yang being hired by an unknown entity for one last mission: to hunt down the Grimmwalker and kill her before Cinder has a chance to absorb her powers to form her own personal army of Grimm.

I'm actually wondering whether or not I should even do this second story, mostly because A: I didn't get permission to do this yet, and B: I should probably finish up this Arc of BRS 2 anyways before I do anything crazy, and C: This is FIMFICTION, an MLP Fanfiction site, and, let's be honest here, Blood Red Shadows is becoming less and less MLP related as time goes on, and I'm too lazy to start a Fanfiction account and repost all of my work to that account.

Well, I've rambled on long enough, and I have other priorities anyways.

Take care!

-The Destoyer

Chapter 61: Strategy, Strength, and Speculation
View Online

Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 61: Strategy, Strength, and Speculation

*Former Crux Family Complex, Sokarian Plains, Adenien; December 28, 2019; 2:50 PM*

Yang charged directly at Cade, landing a hit on his chest and knocking the wind out of him.

Cade reared back, clutching his chest as Auburn immediately leapt to his defense.

Auburn kicked her mother away, aiming her weapon at Yang.

"Don't even try it." Auburn threatened.

Yang merely grinned at the response, and teleported directly in front of Auburn.

At the same moment, Auburn and Oreonna swung their instrument weapons at Yang, hitting her at once, leaving a residual sonic boom and temporarily deafening Yang.

"Now!" Oreonna yelled.

Natsu grinned as Grey, Erza, and Cade stood back up.

"Wendy! Support!" Cade ordered.

Wendy deeply concentrated as she summoned her support spells.

"Ile Armor.. Ile Arms.. Ile Vernier..!"

The mages all glowed with a strange teal light as they all charged Yang at once.

Natsu and Erza kept Yang gridlocked at close-range while Cade, Gray, and Wendy attacked at long-distance.

Auburn and Oreonna waited patiently for an opening as Lucy, Happy, and Juvia watched from the side.

"Don't just stand there! Do something!" Oreonna demanded.

"R-Right..! Open, Gate of the Maiden, Virgo!" Lucy yelled as she summoned a.. Young woman with short, pink hair.

"You summoned me, Princess?" Virgo asked.

"Y-Yes! You see that crazy lady with the dark... Okay, darker red hair?" Lucy specified, so Virgo wouldn't confuse Yang for Erza.

"Yes."

"Beat her up!" Lucy commanded.

"As you wish, Princess." Virgo nodded, digging underneath the ground.

"I SAID ATTACK, NOT BURROW UNDERGROUND-!" Lucy yelled.

"Hold out just a moment longer, Gray!" Juvia shouted as she placed her hand against the ground, absorbing the residual groundwater from Aquarius' prior attack.

"Erza, now!" Cade ordered.

Erza reared back, glaring at Yang as she raised her sword.

"Requip!"

Erza's armor immediately changed to her Morning Star armor, a leather-like armor composed of orange, wing-like pauldrons, and two short swords.

Yang's eyes immediately widened in shock.

'They'll be attacking me with everything they have..! Hehe... Let's see how this goes..' Yang thought with a sadistic grin.

As Erza combined her two short-swords, Virgo suddenly shot out from underground, kicking Yang in the chest with a drill-like attack that nearly winded her.

Oreonna and Auburn leaped up instantly and swatted Yang back to the ground as Erza unleashed her attack.

"PHOTON SLICER!!!"

A powerful beam of energy struck Yang, forcing her backwards as Natsu leaped at her head-on, mere moments after Erza had finished her attack.

Natsu joined his hands together as a massive fireball formed between his palms.

"FIRE DRAGON BRILLIANT FLAME!!!"

Yang was blown away before she had time to react. Only having a moment to recover, she noticed Erza and Natsu rounding back for a finisher, and glared.

Leaping towards them, Yang slammed Natsu to the ground and launched Erza away with her gauntlets.

Auburn flew past, readying her own strike as Yang clotheslined Auburn with her mechanical arm.

Yang wasted no time slamming her to the ground as she readied her own attack.

"This ends here! MIDNIGHT BLAZE!!!"

Yang's energy beam was a swirling dark-orange color, burning away the ground as Auburn struggled to defend against it, holding the blast back with her guitar.

"ICE-MAKE: COLD EXCALIBUR!!!"

Gray materialized a large ice sword and leaped to Auburn's defense, slashing Yang in the back and ducking to avoid Yang's counterattack.

"Don't stand in my way." Yang coldly demanded, punching Gray directly in the chest.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!!!" Juvia yelled.

Yang looked behind her, surprised at what she saw.

Juvia had risen to tremendous size, rearing back a massive fist.

"Make me." Yang confidently grinned.

Yang flew into Juvia's watery fist, blowing the water Mage into puddles with her energy.

Yang, though soaking wet, was still at full power.

Wendy stood back before running at Yang full-tilt.

"WIND DRAGON CLA-!"

Yang slapped Wendy aside, scowling contemptfully at the Mages.

"And I was expecting a challenge." Yang scoffed.

Cade kicked Yang in the back, blowing her away at least 10 feet before she picked herself up.

"Think twice before you think I'll let you kill them! OVERCHARGE!!!" Cade roared.

Yang smiled, preparing her own attack as Cade charged his energy to his absolute maximum.

"LET'S SEE WHAT YOU'VE GOT, YOU LITTLE BASTARD! FLAMING ECLIPSE!!!"

"VOLTAGE CRASHER!!!"

Cade and Yang's attacks collided in seemingly a stalemate.

Yang laughed as she took another step forward, lording an advantage over her son.

Cade continued to brace himself as Wendy's power-up slowly faded out, leaving him nearly powerless against Yang's beam.

"I CAN FEEL YOU SLIPPING!!!" Yang smiled menacingly as she furthered her attack.

Eventually, even Cade's Overcharge gave out, and he was less and less able to stand up to his own mother's attack.

'No..! This can't be the way this ends..! I can't let it..! I.. I wasn't able to protect Flurry Heart.. I couldn't protect Cana.. I can't even save myself.." Cade sighed, letting the attack inch closer to him.

"I'LL KILL YOU UNLESS YOU FIGHT BACK! JUST LIKE THAT WASTE OF FLESH AND BLOOD WALKER!!! NOW DIE!!!"

'B-But if I can't save myself... I can't save Auburn.. Or Oreonna..! Natsu, Gray, Erza.. Everyone..! I'm going to lose them all!!' Cade realized.

Cade suddenly felt a deep, pressing anger in his heart. At Raven. At Yang...

At himself..

"I WON'T LET THIS BE THE END! NOT ONE DEATH WILL GO UNAVENGED, NOT ONE!!!!!"

Cade's aura suddenly grew brighter, nearly outshining his mothers and he forced back Yang's energy beam all the way to her.

Yang dodged, avoiding the ensuing blast as it sped past her, wiping out the nearest hill.

As quickly as Cade's power up came, it expired, leaving the young man exhausted.

Yang herself powered down, casting a cold glare at her son.

"There may be some hope for you, after all. Continue training, and you might be able to survive what comes next." Yang admitted.

"I.... I don't.. Get it.. Why..?" Cade demanded.

Yang glared at him, slightly angered at his question.

"Very well. Listen carefully, because I'll only say this once. There is a project afoot. A project being conducted by an unknown ex-Inquisitor.

"This former Inquisitor has spent many years now collecting the genetic material of some of the most powerful people the universe has ever known to create a monstrosity. An ultimate lifeform with immense power.

"Countless trillions died in the lifeform's ensuing rampage, and a warrior from that timeline traveled back from the year 2035 to 2018, where she formulated a plan to kill the life form the moment it appeared.

"This warrior, was that timeline's version of my own mother.

"After she had travelled back, she took the name of 'Corvus' to conceal her true identity, used other-dimensional magic to restore her youth, and obtained one of Remnant's four Relics."

After Yang had finished her explanation, Cade rose up, scowled, and threw a weak punch.

"Y-Y-You bitch.. If y-you wanted t-to save people.. W-Why did you k-kill Father?" Cade spat.

Yang shrugged.

"The weak die, the strong survive. It's a pity Alex merely trained himself into insanity instead of focusing on his physical prowess."

"W-What?!" Cade demanded.

Yang scoffed.

"Didn't you know? Your father spent a month at the Crystal Empire, used the Room of Fear to be able to stomach having to kill me, and let himself go. If Alex couldn't handle me, then forget about him fighting a physical god." Yang answered, flying away.

Cade was shocked at hearing this. If what he heard was true, then he was actually scared for Yang, no matter how much she's changed.

'God.. A month's worth of mental conditioning, and at least a year of training with a Saiyan..! Father isn't going to kill her..! He's going to wipe her from existence..!' Cade realized.

*Capsule Corporation, West City; January 18, 2020; 7:00 PM*

In the 20 days since Alex had begun his training alongside Vegeta, things didn't get much easier.

Because Vegeta felt he was starting to feel bored with training in normal gravity, he decided that Alex shouldn't hog the Gravity Room for an entire 2 months, so he shortened the 2 months into one. Meaning that in another 10 days, Alex was going to train at the full 450 times gravity.

Presently, Alex was currently training at 210x Earth's Gravity, and was in the middle of his pull-ups when suddenly, he felt his weight increase dramatically.

After struggling to complete his last pull-up, Alex fell flat on his back, completely exhausted.

"What, 300x Gravity too much for you? And here I thought you were starting to improve." Vegeta scoffed.

Alex grit his teeth, rising to his feet and panting breathlessly.

"I c-can do this..." Alex forced himself to walk.

"Hm. Is that so? You have 6 seconds to run 3 laps around the Gravity Room, go!"

Wasting no time, Alex used his energy to force himself into his Enlightened Form, running around the chamber once in a mere 2.5 seconds.

'Still... behind..!' Alex winced, running around the second lap at another 1.5 seconds.

Charging around the room, he dived to the ground at his last stop, just under 6 seconds.

"Not bad. I'd say you're about as strong as Piccolo now.."

"Wait, rea-?"

"Before the Earthlings went to Namek." Vegeta added last-second.

"Dammit!" Alex kicked the bed.

"What? You think you're doing better? Fine, I'll test you out for myself." Vegeta threatened.

"Oh, shit, no!" Alex begged, before suddenly feeling an immense weight lifted off his shoulders.

Within the minute, Vegeta opened the door to the Gravity Room, only wearing a blue training suit, leaving his battle armor behind.

"I... That's weird. I never see you with that armor off." Alex noticed.

"It's unnecessary. Besides, the armor was getting old, anyways." Vegeta scowled.

"So, insults aside, how am I honestly doing?" Alex asked.

Vegeta merely scoffed.

"Well, we'll just have to find out, won't we?" Vegeta challenged with a grin.

"This is the first time I'm saying this, but 'I like the idea, Vegeta.'" Alex stood in a battle stance.

Vegeta leaped into action immediately, punching Alex everywhere he was able to, since Alex himself was moving and deflecting a few of his attacks anyways.

It wasn't until Alex was backed into a wall that he decided to counterattack. Using the wall as a launch pad, he kneed Vegeta in the chest, to little effect.

Ducking to avoid Alex's kick, Vegeta grabbed Alex by the ankle and threw him upwards.

In an instant, Vegeta flew into the air, slamming Alex back into the ground.

Alex flipped back up, throwing a barrage of electric attacks that a Vegeta managed to dodge, causing several electric explosions behind the Saiyan.

Seemingly teleporting, Vegeta punched Alex in the gut, causing the younger Adenienite to collapse.

"C-Crap, you're strong.." Alex winced.

"Hmm.. You aren't too bad, but you're still too slow. I might have to ask a few... Ugh, 'friends', to help properly increase your power. I'd ask Kakarot's Brat, but he's too busy 'studying'." Vegeta mocked.

"Anyone else in mind?" Alex wondered.

"Well, there's the Bald One, but he's too busy dealing with his marriage with that bucket of spare parts. And the other Earthlings are likely too weak to handle training with you. Oh, Dammit." Vegeta cursed.

"What?" Alex asked.

"I'm going to have to ask the Namek." Vegeta scowled.

"I wouldn't worry about it now. I still have another 10 days before I'll be on-par with your usual training, anyways." Alex shrugged.

Vegeta smiled, very, very, very slightly.

"I suppose. Besides, if you training with the Namekian gives me some time in here, I don't care." Vegeta shrugged.

"Wait, hold on a second.." Alex raised his hand.

"What now?!" Vegeta demanded.

"Can you give me your hand for a second?" Alex asked.

"This is Elite Training, not Brokeback Mountain." Vegeta scowled.

"Just... Let me explain. You know how you said earlier that 'if I had Saiyan Biology, this wouldn't take so long'?" Alex asked.

"You have five seconds."

Alex took a deep breath before his explanation.

"I had a magic artifact smashed on my chest that lets me, among other things, copy and paste my DNA onto another person. What if I could do it the other way around?" Alex suggested.

"So, what?" Vegeta asked, actually interested.

"If I copy-paste your 'Zenkai Boost' gene onto my own DNA, then this training should go by a lot quicker. Plus, I should be a lot stronger by the end of your training." Alex finished.

"Hm... You are aware that Zenkai Boosts only work when a Saiyan is near-death, right?" Vegeta asked.

"Yeah, wouldn't be the first time I've been there." Alex shrugged.

"But do you understand what that means?" Vegeta inquired.

"Uh huh... What?"

"It means I won't hold back when we fight." Vegeta grinned malevolently.

*Castle of Friendship, Ponyville, Equestria; January 28, 2020; 9:00 PM*

Sunset Shimmer and Starlight Glimmer stood in a living room of the castle, eating salad or drinking tea.

"You ever wonder why we're here?" Sunset suddenly asked.

"I... Honestly don't know. Is the universe just a randomly-created space, decorated with flaming balls of gas with a few rocks orbiting around it, some of those rocks with a happy accident called life? Or is there really a god watching over us? If so, is this 'god' some bored college student with nothing better to do with his free time, or a bunch of crazy-talented writers with brilliant ideas? Or somewhere in between? I don't know, but it keeps me up sometimes.." Starlight wondered out loud.

"Um... No... I meant why are we here? As in, the Castle, when Twilight's old War Buddies need our help wiping out those crazy lava-Grimm. Speaking of, where in Fausticorn's name is Twilight, anyway?" Sunset asked.

"Probably in the middle of a crossover with some niche game that was cool about a year ago." Starlight shrugged.

"Oh, that makes sense. Kinda..."

Author's Note

So, Yang has decided that Cade's worthy enough to survive... Something. We also get to learn about Corvus' origins a bit, something I'll go into further detail by the time the Arc ends.

Alex is still training with Vegetable, and he's probably going to train with Piccolo soon. And Alex is just getting more and more 'Gary Stu'-ish.

And Sunset and Starlight? Well....

I better get to work so that last reference makes sense...

-The Destoyer

Chapter 62: Outside Help
View Online

Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 62: Outside Help

*100 miles outside of West City; January 15, Age 771 (2020), 2:15 PM*

Vegeta had entered the Gravity Room earlier that day and insisted Alex come with him.

The two had been flying in the same general direction for the past few minutes or so until Vegeta landed on the ground.

The arid, rocky wasteland, combined with the heat of the desert area gave Alex some relief from the wind that had chilled him as he flied.

"Alright. Now, we wait for the Namek. Don't get comfy." Vegeta demanded.

Alex silently nodded, unsheathing his sword.

Ever since he stepped out of the chamber, Alex felt like he was more relaxed than he had ever been. Being cooped up in a Gravity Chamber for entire weeks at a time provided him with instant relief.

"So, where did you say you were from?" Vegeta asked.

"It's a long story." Alex replied.

"Just tell me, Adenienite." Vegeta scowled.

"Okay.. My parents raised me on another version of Earth, and I started traveling dimensions around 4 years ago. Since my Earth wasn't so hospitable, I really don't have a home." Alex shrugged.

"I'm assuming you've heard about the fate of Planet Vegeta. You knew about Cell when we first met." Vegeta deduced.

"Yeah."

"I'm curious as to how you know that. This planet's populace is ignorant to the fact that there are other races." Vegeta stated.

"See, here's the thing.." Alex began to explain when suddenly, he felt an extremely high energy heading towards them.

"Hmph.. The Namekian." Vegeta scowled.

Alex was surprised to see a figure descend from the skies near them. The figure had green skin, two antennae on his forehead, and a icy glare similar to Vegeta's. Alex honestly hadn't expected Piccolo to be so tall, as Alex himself was only roughly 6'1" while Piccolo was at least a foot taller than him.

"Piccolo." Vegeta greeted coldly.

"Vegeta. I'm assuming the kid is your apprentice." Piccolo assumed.

"Heh. You aren't wrong. He's been staying in the Gravity Room constantly for the past month. As a Super Saiyan, I'm too much of a challenge for him right now, but I trust you will show him just how much he needs to grow." Vegeta told him.

"Fine.." Piccolo grumbled, turning to Alex.

Alex took a step back, but otherwise held Piccolo's glare.

"Hmm.. If not for that odd power, I'd almost have confused him with Tien." Piccolo stated.

Alex 'cracked' his metallic knuckles, grinning.

"I've been kinda eager to show this off. It's been a while since I've used this.." Alex smirked, transforming straight to his Enlightened Berserker form.

Both Piccolo and Vegeta looked mildly shocked.

"I wasn't aware he had more than one Enlightened Form." Vegeta stated.

"Impressed?" Alex grinned.

Piccolo regained his composure, and teleported in front of Alex.

"You've increased your power, but not dramatically. Shall we?"

Alex leaped, striking Piccolo in the side with his sword to little effect.

Piccolo kicked him out of his way, grabbed his leg, and threw him into a plateau.

Bouncing off the side, Alex charged some of his energy into the sword, and swung the blade in a wide arc, causing a paper-thin burst of lightning to lash across the ground.

Piccolo dodged again, kicking Alex hard in the stomach and forced him to try and move away.

Alex landed on the ground, flash-stepping behind Piccolo and punching him in the back.

Piccolo was barely affected, grabbing Alex's midsection with his legs and throwing him into the skies, only to teleport and slam him back to the ground.

Alex, thinking fast, charged directly at Piccolo, thinking that the Namekian would attack from the same angle.

As soon as He teleported behind Piccolo, Alex felt a sharp pain in his chest, as Piccolo punched Alex in the chest.

The punch was enough to launch Alex into the side of another mountain.

"OVERCHARGE TIMES THREE!!!" Alex roared, bashing Piccolo in the chest as he launched at the Namekian.

Piccolo kicked Alex in the back with enough force to blow him into another mountain.

Kicking up as much dust as he could, Alex charged his attack.

Two balls of red lightning sparked in his fingertips, accented by flashes of yellow.

Piccolo, of course, knew what was going on immediately and raised his hand to the attack, charging his own ball of energy.

As soon as the dust parted to reveal Alex, he had immediately flew to a better angle, and launched his attack.

"GOD SHOCKER!!!"

Piccolo blocked Alex's attack with his own beam, only to find Alex speeding towards him, and slamming his fist into his side.

By then, Alex's overcharge gave in, leaving him unable to stand against Piccolo.

"Oh, no.." Alex sighed, knowing what happened next was gonna hurt.

Piccolo grabbed Alex's arms, and kicked his chest with both of his feet.

Before Alex could react, Piccolo assaulted him with vicious attacks. Kicking, punching, and grabbing Alex by the throat as his last move.

"Finished yet?" Piccolo demanded.

"Shock Breaker." Alex smirked, raising a hand to Piccolo's chest.

The attack leveled out a large portion of the mountainous landscape, but only left a scratch on Piccolo.

Having a final opportunity, Alex headbutted Piccolo away, and charged another attack.

Piccolo grinned, placing two fingers on his forehead and charging his signature attack.

"SPECIAL BEAM CANNON!" Piccolo roared, launching the drill-like attack at Alex.

"THUNDER FLASH!" Alex launched the two lightning bolts in his hand, and blocked the Special Beam Cannon in his hands, moving it a few inches past him and letting it fly with a great deal of effort.

"Well... L-Let's call that a draw-!"

Piccolo elbowed Alex in the back, causing him to collapse onto the ground.

Powering down, Alex looked up at Piccolo, battered by his next defeat.

"You're not bad, but I've seen a lot better out there. You'd be able to take on any of the Earthlings just fine, but everything else is off the table. You still have a lot of training to do." Piccolo stated.

Alex let out a pained groan before pulling himself back up.

"N-Not bad... We should try this again.." Alex coughed.

Suddenly, Alex felt a sharp pain in his back, and was knocked to the ground with little effort from Vegeta.

"It's for his training, Namekian. If you can train Kakarot's brat to his level, I shall do the same with him." Vegeta explained.

Piccolo shook his head, promptly flying off.

Vegeta grabbed Alex by the back of his neck, pulling him to eye level (which honestly wasn't much).

"Pitiful. I have no idea the kind of lounging around you Adenienites do for training, but I expect much better from you!" Vegeta shouted, punching him in the face.

Alex was kicked to the ground again, left nearly defenseless as he used up all his energy fighting Piccolo.

"Tell me, 'Alexander', what drove you to train with me?!"

Alex could barely speak.

"E-Ex-Wife... W-Wiped the f-floor with m-me... N-Nearly died.." Alex answered, coughing up blood as he spoke.

Vegeta grinned, kicking Alex into a mountainside.

"So... How strong was this... 'Ex-Wife of yours?" Vegeta demanded.

"S-Strong enough... Even in my l-last form... She beat me without having to transform..." Alex choked out.

Vegeta growled, he knew the feeling of being surpassed and humiliated before.

"How much time do you have?" Vegeta asked.

"T-Time?" Alex gasped.

"Surely, she knows if you're still alive."

"S-She nearly killed me.. She would have done it, had my kids and their friends not showed up.." Alex replied.

"I have an idea, Adenienite." Vegeta announced, grabbing him by the neck.

"W-What?"

*15 minutes later, Capsule Corporation*

Vegeta walked inside, dropping Alex onto the ground.

"Vegeta! What happened to him?!" Bulma demanded.

"I'll get to that later. We'll be going out for two days." Vegeta told her.

"What are you going to be doing for two days?" Bulma asked suspiciously, knowing full well what Vegeta was thinking about.

"Training." Vegeta answered.

"As long as it's only two days. And I'll need you to take care of Trunks when you get back." Burma smirked.

"Grr.. Fine." Vegeta grumbled, walking out with Alex still in tow.

*Ponyville, Equestria; January 15, 2020, 3:00 PM*

Cade, Oreonna, Auburn, and the rest of Fairy Tail had gathered in the conference room alongside Sunset Shimmer and Starlight Glimmer.

"So, when's this 'Ambassador' coming?" Cade asked.

"They should be here in just a little while." Starlight replied.

Suddenly, the door opened, revealing a familiar small, purple and green dragon.

"Spike?" Oreonna asked.

"Oh, hi..!" Spike waved.

"Gosh... It's weird not seeing you as a dog.. How have things been in Canterlot?" Sunset asked.

"Not good. Ever since Celestia, Luna, and Cadence all.. Y'know... Prince Blueblood basically set up his own government." Spike answered.

"Oh, that asshole?" Cade facepalmed.

"Who?" Natsu asked, confused.

"Another Royal, probably." Gray guessed.

"What's bad about him?" Wendy asked.

"He's extremely petty." Sunset answered.

"And a total narcissist." Starlight added.

"Okay... Definitely know where you're coming from there." Lucy nodded, recalling Everlue.

"So... Is she coming?" Sunset asked.

"Who's she talking about now?" Erza wondered.

"She's talking about me."

A dragon in regal armor slammed the door open, glaring menacingly at the humans as she removed her helmet, revealing blue scales and two horns that circled out under her head.

"Dragon Lord Ember..!" Spike greeted.

"THAT'S WHAT THIS WORLD'S DRAGONS LOOK LIKE?! BAHAHAHAHA!!" Natsu broke out laughing.

"Oh, yeah? You think you're so funny, don't you, you whelp?!" Ember shot back.

Erza quickly punched Natsu in the head, knocking him out cold.

"Sorry about him, he's... Y'know.." Cade apologized.

"Oh, so you're apologizing. Might as well apologize for the human that killed a dragon in Equestrian Territory four years ago!" Ember shouted.

Author's Note

Sorry I was late getting this chapter out, I'm still working on the storyline for Undertales of the Vanished, and I have a lot of school stuff I have to worry about still.

By the way, the reason Alex didn't explode the second he used Overcharge times three along with Enlightened Berserker is due almost entirely to Alex's gravity chamber training.

The two forms combined essentially stress out and pressurize the blood vessels and heart to the point where arteries literally burst, like the last time Alex tried to combine Berserker and Overcharge. Hyper gravity essentially does the same thing, but over an extended period of time.

So, by the time of this chapter, his body's used to working under pressure, so Alex is already making improvements.

Question is, what does that mean for Yang?

Also, it's been a while since I've referenced MLP, and I think Dragon Lord Ember's introduction is just what the story needs.

Chapter 63: Race Against Hyperbolic Time
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 63: Race Against Hyperbolic Time

*Rose/Xiao Long Household, Patch, Remnant; January 15, 2020; 3:00 PM*

Taiyang had returned home on account of a recent injury whilst fighting off the Furies alongside Qrow. Well, alongside is kind of a strong word for working with Qrow.

One of the bigger monsters; a flaming beast that reminded him of Anima's legendary Grimm, the Nuckelavee. This... Thing was roughly twice it's size, twice as intimidating, and four times as ferocious.

Fortunately for them, Ruby's team of Sun, Ultimus, and his own family, along with five other mercenaries, arrived at the nick of time and bought Qrow enough time it kill it, but Taiyang himself was left with bruised ribs and a shattered leg that ensured he would have to stay home for a few weeks.

He had just finished replacing his bandages when he heard a knock on his door.

"Just a second!" Taiyang shouted, limping to the door.

Twisting the knob and pulling the door open, he saw his eldest daughter, Yang, standing in front of him.

Yang looked rather different from when Taiyang last saw her. He was surprised to see that her new, dark grey coat showed none of her... Assets..

"Hey, Yang..! Dressing a bit more conservative than usual, I see." Taiyang greeted.

"Yeah... I've been meaning to... Talk to you about something, actually.." Yang replied.

"Well, whatever it is, you can tell me." Taiyang promised. Being pretty much a single parent for a majority of his time raising the girls, Taiyang always had to be the dependable, friendly figure he knew they would need. At least at this age, he could treat his daughters more like old friends than children.

"It's about Auburn... I haven't seen her anywhere.. Would... You happen to know where she is?" Yang asked, putting a hand behind her back.

"Oh, Geez. Did that asshole Alex leave and take off that kid of yours?!" Taiyang demanded, actually angry. Yang could at least understand why.

"Actually... Alex died.." Yang stated.

Taiyang blinked in surprise, but quickly regained his composure.

"Figures... He was a bit of a hothead.. So... Who finally got him?" Taiyang asked as Yang raised her Gauntlet to his forehead.

"You're looking at her."

*Meanwhile, within Yang's Mind*

The gem's personality, or Corvus' meddling, made his death a quick one. Just a mere shot to the head and a stomp on the neck. More than what could be said for most of these missions.

Yang had expected to have more of a reaction from this.. She still cared about Alex, and mourned him for a long time, and she only knew him for roughly 2 years. The first being when they had first met, and the second year being their misadventures from Adenien to Fiore.

This was her own father.

She fought off her own children and guild mates, killed her husband, and slaughtered nearly an entire family line, and cried at all of that, but not for the death of her father..

Maybe she had gotten used to it.

She'd been watching people die from within her mind for months now. Her Aura, combined with her mother's training, made her practically invincible. Only the combined strength of her own children and Fairy Tail's strongest team was enough to get the body to confess.

At least her children proved their worth and hadn't driven themselves insane trying to kill her, like Alex had.

"Y-You still okay..?" Chūkan asked.

"I don't know anymore.." Yang answered blankly.

Yang watched the screen, showing her the Gem's perspective of her 'mother' giving their next mission.

"Now, this next mission is of the utmost importance. As you know, The Furies haven't been gaining as much ground as they were initially. This is, in our opinion, a bad thing." Corvus explained.

"I understand." Yang's body, still under the gem's control, replied.

"This is almost completely attributed to a certain squadron. You should know some of them well." Corvus handed Yang's body a document filled with names and photos.

Yang couldn't believe what she was reading.

Target 1: Ruby Rose, 19.

Target 2: Sun Wukong: 21

Target 3: Ultimus Crux: 23

Target 4: Illiya Crux, 16

Target 5: Spyden Crux, 14

Target 6: Julius Crux, 13

Target 7: Evan Fong, 27

The list only continued, listing the names of Vanoss' remaining friends.

"R-Ruby?!" Yang gasped in horror.

Her own sister had been deemed a primary target.. She hadn't even done anything!

"Ruby Rose?" Yang's body asked in slight disbelief.

Even her own mind-controlled body thought this mission was too much!

"Yes. Such a respected and talented warrior. Shame she still fights for the weak." Corvus sighed.

Corvus had gone through this ideology several times. 'The strong exist only to weed out the rest of the world'. What her 'mother' saw as the only true way of saving the world, Yang only saw as Darwinism at it's darkest.

"What is the plan?" Yang's body asked.

"The group intends to move into the Adenien city of Lithia within the next 3 days. We will intercept, and kill them all in one fell swoop. Only then can the world truly begin to grow strong." Corvus explained.

"I do as you wish, Mother." Yang's body obediently nodded.

Yang stared in shock.

"Y-Yang..." Chūkan gasped.

Yang didn't respond, only letting out a slight groan of surrender.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop her controlled body from killing Alex. She couldn't stop fighting her own children with clear intent to kill.

Ruby, even at her strongest, can only do so much to Yang herself. Her mother, she would have little trouble with, since she's still new to her Maiden's abilities. But Yang didn't rely on outside magic as much as Corvus did.

Alex at his Evolved Form had been equal to Ruby's Silver Eyes mode. She barely stood a chance..

"Chūkan... There's no use.. This... Thing... Controlling me, it's going to kill Ruby the same way it killed Alex." Yang sighed.

"Don't think like that! Ruby's been fighting for the past few months! She's prepared for anything..!" Chūkan stammered, trying to show Yang the light in this situation.

"Is she?! Alex prepared for a whole month at least, and in the same amount of time, this husk I'm living in got strong enough to kill him." Yang stated.

"Ruby's powers aren't the same as Alex's! She can handle anything you can dish out!" Chūkan promised.

"What's the point? Nobody I've fought's been able to see the stupid rock on my forehead!!" Yang demanded louder.

Chūkan was stunned. Usually, Yang was able to deal with this sort of thing... She dealt with losing her arm and leg just fine...

There has to be some way out of this thing....

There had to.

*Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Kami's Lookout; January 15, Age 771 (2020); 3:03 PM...?(Day 2 inside the Hyperbolic Time Chamber)*

"Saigo..! Saigo.!!"

Alex heard a voice calling to him... A hauntingly familiar voice..

"Who the hell is that?!" Alex demanded.

"You mean to tell me that after 4 years, you forgot who I was?! Look for once in your life, dammit!" the voice shouted again.

Alex jerked up, seeing a spirit that looked similar to him.. Only slightly older...

"Saisho?! The hell are you doing here?!" Alex demanded.

"This is your dream, imbecile! It's the one safe place people can communicate to the afterlife without a dimensional rift." Saisho chided, turning away from him.

"Oh... The hell do you want?" Alex asked.

"Listen! You know your Ex-Wife? Ever since she's gotten to you, her and her Extreme Darwinst of a mother have been killing Inheritors left and right! She's just killed Taiyang an hour ago!" Saisho told him.

"What?!" Alex gasped.

"That's not the worst part! In three days, She's going to Lithia to kill her own sister, a few of your own friends, as well as Ultimus and the rest of hisfamily! I know you're in that Time Chamber now, but hurry the fuck up! Do you want more people to die, Saigo? Or have you finally matured and moved past saving people for the hell of it?! If that's the case, it's hardly the time!" Saisho insisted.

"... I have one question, Saisho." Alex asked.

Saisho turned around to face Alex, glaring at him with unspeakable hatred.

"Speak."

"Why are you telling me this? Don't you hate us for what happened to your little club? I feel like this should be fun for you." Alex scoffed.

"Poetic? Immensely. Fun? It's only fun if I get to kill you all with my own two hands. Besides, your life is basically our form of entertainment." Saisho replied evilly.

"Oh, fuck off back to wherever you came from." Alex scowled.

"Very well. If Vegeta's Training does manage to kill you. Expect some... bonding, when you get up here." Saisho grinned, walking away.

"Wake up.. Wake up!" Vegeta shouted.

Alex woke up with a start, panting frantically.

"Well, at least you're responsive. Shall we commence?" Vegeta asked, grinning.

"Fine.. What's the plan?" Alex rubbed his eyes.

"Well, you can start by doing your basic exercises.. Take however many reps you usually do, and multiply by one hundred." Vegeta glared.

Alex, who was only half-awake, jolted with a start.

"You want me to do 5000 push-ups, 5000 sit-ups, 5000 squats, and..?!" Alex gasped.

"A 15000 kilometer run, every day for the next two years. And we're not even accounting for your sparring, and your speed training." Vegeta answered.

'He really is going to kill me..!' Alex mentally screamed.

*Ponyville, Equestria; January 15, 2019; 5:04 PM*

"Wait... A dragon was killed?! Where?!" Sunset asked.

"In that mountain. He was found with mysterious wounds all over his body. We've recently discovered the cause. Gunshots. What kind of joint are you psycho-ponies running here?!" Ember demanded.

"W-Well, you see.." Cade tried to explain.

"It was Alex!" Spike suddenly shouted.

"Father?!" Cade gasped.

"Grr..! I knew that asshole had something to do with it! Where the hell is he?!" Ember demanded.

"Dead." Natsu replied, only after Erza and Auburn cast a threatening glare at him.

"Dead?! Oh, good.. Who killed him?" Ember wondered.

"His wife.. Well, Ex-wife..." Erza answered.

"Well, as long as he's actually done for, I have no problems having the Dragon Lands provide aid for Equestria, then." Ember decided.

"Whew..!" Starlight sighed in relief.

"But. If I find out that he's still alive. Consider it a declaration of war. Which I wouldn't recommend, since you ponies lost your Alicorn crutches." Ember scowled, walking out the door.

The entire Human entourage stared in horror at the door, waiting for Dragon Lord Ember to finally leave.

"Well, shit." Oreonna cursed.

Auburn suddenly felt her Scroll vibrate, noticing it was a call from Ruby.

"Hello?" Auburn answered.

"Auburn?! It's me, your Aunt Ruby!" Ruby shouted over the phone.

"So, what is it?" Auburn asked.

"Huh.. I guess you actually are Alex's.. Speaking of, where is he? He might be able to help with this." Ruby asked.

"He... He's dead." Auburn replied.

"DEAD?! Who killed him?!" Ruby wondered in horror.

"The same person who might be after you next. Where are you?" Auburn asked.

"What do you mean?" Cade asked.

"L-Look.. Sun, Ultimus, and I are on Adenien right now to fight off a huge swarm of Furies. We're heading towards Lithia. If you can get here, get here!" Ruby ordered.

"Got it. See you in Lithia, Aunt Ruby." Auburn nodded.

"Bye..!" Ruby said after hanging up.

"So... What was that about?" Lucy asked.

"You remember Ruby Rose?" Auburn asked.

"You mean the kid in the red cape? She was awesome!" Natsu answered.

"What's our next move?" Cade asked.

"We're going to Lithia." Auburn replied.

Author's Note

Okay, so considering the Coven Arc 'Climax' had a ten-part sequence, this arc's only going to have 4 parts.

Even then, the climax of this Arc starts in two more chapters. One to show a bit more of Alex's training and behavior before the battle, and the second's just going to set the stage.

By the way, I've been planning Undertales of the Vanished, and we'll see the major characters of that story (Twi, Fluttershy, rest of Vanoss' crew) will be returning with a few new tricks up their sleeves. Just a heads up.

Chapter 64: Progress
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 64: Progress

*Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Kami's Lookout; January 16, 2020; 3:01 PM (Day 543 inside the Hyperbolic Time Chamber)*

Alex trudged up from his cot, thoroughly exhausted.

Each day training with Vegeta had been an endless cycle: Wake up, eat, get the shit kicked out of him, and sleep so his Zenkai Boost could take effect.

Ideally, by this point, he would've been strong enough to handle anyone by now, but he felt... Exhausted.

With that exhaustion came anger. How has he been able to take so much damage and still not have come any closer to beating his mentor?!

From that anger, an inner despair. If he can't handle Vegeta, how could he expect to go up against Yang, who had surely been training by this point? Or Raven, who Alex had sensed grown so much stronger?

Yang and Raven. The thought of those two psychopaths on the loose, with his children and Guildmates following them. It deeply disturbed him some nights. The only comfort he had was the fact that for every day outside, a whole year passed in this ethereal prison.

There was a chance that he could catch up to them.

Saisho had told him where Yang and Raven were heading next: Lithia. Not far from the Capitol City of Iridescence.

"Are you ready for our next lesson, Alexander?! Or have you finally realized you're unfit to fight?" Vegeta coldly demanded.

"Yes... What's the next lesson?" Alex asked.

Vegeta smirked.

"This is a test. Our time is nearly up in the Chamber, and I need to know if you've actually grown from our training." Vegeta explained.

"So...?"

"I think you'll like this.. Prepare yourself!" Vegeta shouted.

Alex stood back. He knew exactly what Vegeta was up to.

Vegeta clenched his fists, and let out a long scream as energy appeared to explode from his body.

Alex stared at the scene, mouth agape.

Vegeta's normally black, spiky hair had turned to a shade of gold, and his eyes turned from black to a blue-green.

Alex knew exactly what he was up against.

Alex was standing face-to-face with a Super Saiyan.

If this were any other situation, any other person, they would be ecstatic to see Vegeta, in the flesh, turn Super Saiyan in front of them.

But here, as his student.

Alex was horrified.

And Vegeta could tell.

"Hahaha... Look at you! Is my own apprentice really such a coward that he can't even bear the sight of a Super Saiyan?! Or do you still have an inkling of courage left to challenge me" Vegeta smirked.

Alex braced himself, trying to charge to his own maximum.

With a loud scream, Alex could only transform to his Evolved Warrior state.

"W-What?!" Alex was actually afraid. Even after all his training... He even obtained the Zenkai Boost ability from Vegeta..! How had he deteriorated?!

"If I may offer a suggestion, Adenienite?" Vegeta asked.

"Okay..?" Alex wondered.

"Your skin. A remarkable amount of power is flowing out through your skin. That glow is the result. Why not contain the rest of your power first? I have taught you how to manipulate ki, haven't I?" Vegeta explained.

Ki control: easily Alex's weakest skill.

Alex, as a fighter, was not what he would call 'exemplary'. Ruby was able to outpace him by a mile. Yang obviously was the better hand-to-hand combatant. Kat, Twilight, Yang, even his own son outmatched his raw power.. At least without help.

The only thing that Alex was decent at was being a 'jack-of-all-trades'. Everything else could be easily chalked up as friendship, utter willpower, and blind, stupid luck.

"Okay... I'll try.." Alex sighed, trying to at least calm down.

The main point of Ki Control was focus. In the few times Alex had true insight was when he was deep in thought. When his mind and spirit were abuzz. It was, after all, how he had unlocked his own Aura.

Thinking long and hard about his circumstances and coming to peace with them, even for a split second, was just enough to grant him the opening he needed to unlock his potential.

Ki? Ki was completely different. It required a quiet mind. Serenity. Collectedness.

Alex had none of those things.

Why was this an issue now?! It hadn't stopped him before!

Before his training, Alex was able to conjure enough energy to bring any villain to their knees. He could stand against those several more powerful than him and still walk away!

He had been reduced to a broken pile of bones and flesh now more often than he ever had in his entire life!

He was able to go the third evolution of the Enlightened Warrior without help! Now he can barely handle the second?!

Why?! HOW?! It literally made no sense!

And then... Something inside of Alex just snapped.

He was suddenly calm.

He'd wrestled this issue so many times in his head before. The thought of losing again was too infuriating to handle.

He'd finally come full-circle.

The purplish glow the Evolved Warrior normally gave his skin had faded into his usual, pale skin color.

"Much better. Now that you can handle the second evolution properly again, try the third." Vegeta ordered.

Alex concentrated deeper. Underneath all of his calm lay an unwavering rage. He felt his power finally begin to grow again..

He placed his feet shoulder-width apart, clenched his fists, and let out an enraged scream.

His hair began to raise out of control as his purple hair color quickly turned to a flaming red and purple. Raw energy started pouring out of his body.

"Maintain control of your energy! You'll blow another blood vessel, and I am not cleaning up that mess!" Vegeta shouted as Alex's blood vessels began to convulse.

His hair quickly turned a bold cerise color, as his muscles grew several times larger. Finally opening his eyes, Alex glared at Vegeta with pure, black eyes with a shimmering, red-violet iris.

"T-This... This is unbelievable..! I went from not being able to gain even Enlightened Berserker, to being able to move up to the Enlightened Demigod?! I'd need a larger source for that kind of power..!" Alex examined himself, surprised at how quickly he was able to progress.. With such simple advice from Vegeta's part.

"I'll let you in on a little secret. While you were sleeping one night, I removed the Core of your suit. I realized you were using it as a crutch this entire time. You were leeching off of the Core's power, and now that you can achieve what you would otherwise have needed that gadget for, you can have it back. After we've finished here." Vegeta explained.

"T-The Core?! You mean, without it, I'd be.."

"Dead? Yes. But onto your test."

"That being..?"

Vegeta let out a loud roar, spreading his arms straight out to the side.

"Shit..!"

Alex braced himself, charging as much energy as he could into a large, electric violet ball.

Vegeta slammed his hands together, letting a glowing, yellow ball form in his hands.

"OVVERCHARGE!!!!"

"FINAL FLASH!!"

"GOD SHOCKER!!"

Two beams, one bright yellow, the other a burning violet, clashed together at the center of the room.

Alex further braced himself against Vegeta's attack, surprised he was doing as well as he was against the Saiyan Prince himself.

Vegeta himself wasn't going to let Alex take the win, raising his power even higher.

'That 'Overcharge Technique' is too similar to Kakarot's 'Kaioken'. All I have to do is withstand his first assault, then once that dies, I can capitalize on it.' Vegeta thought.

Alex took a step closer as he continued pouring energy into his attack. His own God Shocker roughly matching Vegeta's Final Flash.

'It's almost a shame I'm letting him do this well.' Vegeta suddenly grinned.

Alex's eyes widened.

Vegeta had been holding back.

"HYAAAAAAAAA!!!"

Alex stared on in horror as Vegeta's attack eclipsed his own.

Worse yet, he felt his Overcharge give out on him. Staring in horror as Vegeta's attack collided with him.

Alex, planting his feet firmly on the ground, pushed forward, holding Vegeta's attack at a standstill

Vegeta merely powered down, and decided to watch how his apprentice would fare against his own attack.

"What's the matter?! Can't handle that much power?!" Vegeta mocked.

Alex grit his teeth in anger. Then he came to realize something.

This attack.. The attacks that Vegeta and the others commonly used was a form of plasma.

He remembered hearing a theory about how Ki blasts were essentially plasma. And one crucial thing Alex knew about plasma:

Plasma also includes lightning.

Adenienites like Alex were able to absorb and conduct lightning at will.

This attack, This 'Final Flash', was no different.

"GYAAAAAAAA!!!!"

Vegeta stared in shock as the ball of energy that had been holding Alex at bay quickly began to shrink.

'Is he absorbing it?!'

Alex pulled his hands apart as soon as the Final Flash had dissipated.

The sheer energy Alex felt left him feeling like he drank about 50 energy drinks in the span of about 3 seconds. He was overwhelmed by the sheer energy Vegeta's attack carried.

"Well, this is new. You've managed to actually impress me." Vegeta congratulated.

*Lithia, Adenien; January 16, 2020; 3:30 PM*

Cade, Oreonna, and Auburn had arrived on Adenien quite some time ago, and had only just now arrived on Lithia.

Cade knew the city was one of Adenien's largest. Futuristic and uniquely shaped skyscrapers pierced the clear blue skies above them. Monorails carried citizens across town from the sides of the buildings, bringing many Adenienites through town.

"This... Isn't usually what I would think of as Adenien... I though it was mostly plains and mountains." Oreonna stared in awe at the sights.

"Most of Adenien's citizens reside within these three cities. Iridescence, Stalag, and Lithia. Whereas Iridescence is the world's political Capitol, and Stalag is where the three cities get most of their resources, Lithia the Adenien's trading and business center." Auburn explained, having read up on the subject just before.

"Awful place for a battleground, if you ask me." Cade stated.

"The Ryders barricaded the walls of the city closest to the portal the Furies have been coming in from as to not distract or frighten the populace. Aunt Ruby, Sun, and her team have been granted special clearance. Have you read the information Aunt Ruby sent us?" Auburn asked.

"Yeah.." Cade replied.

"Wait, have you seen Natsu and the others?" Oreonna asked.

The three went dead silent.

"Oh, fuck."

They took one look outside, only to see that Natsu's group singlehandedly reduced a street corner to literal chaos.

"YOU STUCK-UP BRATS WANNA GO?!" Natsu shouted as the entirety of Fairy Tail tried to hold him back.

"Natsu, stop!" Gray demanded, pulling Natsu away.

"Let him go! He's not worth it!" A girl held back a the Adenienite fighting Natsu, brandishing an Ancient Greek short sword.

"LET ME AT HIM!" The young man shouted, blade inches away from Natsu's throat.

Cade leaped out of the tram car, Oreonna and Auburn not far behind.

"Natsu, cool it!" Cade ordered.

"I DON'T CARE! YOU DON'T JUST INSULT AN ENTIRE GUILD AND GET AWAY WITH IT!!"

"And I mean every word of it, you bunch of delinquents!!" The younger man shouted.

"Julius, now isn't the time for this!!" An older boy, not much older than 'Julius', urged.

"Julius, Spyden, what the hell are you up to?!" A familiar voice demanded.

Cade jumped backwards when he saw Ultimus glaring at the three children.

"These Fairy Tail street urchins just showed up demanding directions to the east side of the city. They should clearly know that the Furies are too big a threat for the likes of them!" Julius shouted.

"We fought off the Grimm and the Apothicons! If a bunch of little brats like you can handle them, so can we!" Erza defended.

"They have a point. So don't say anything about it." Ultimus demanded.

"Cade? Auburn?" Ruby asked, having just arrived with Vanoss and Sun.

"Hey, Aunt Ruby!" Cade greeted.

"Good to see you guys too! How was the trip here?" Ruby smiled back.

"It was alright, but I think we should all move on to... More important matters." Auburn replied.

Ruby sighed, privately cursing that they moved to this subject in so little time.

'They really were Alex's children." Ruby thought to herself.

"Sheesh. Moved on to that quickly enough. So, Alex finally died, huh?" Vanoss winced, realizing that the last words the two had ever spoken to each other had been an argument.

"Y-Yeah.." Oreonna replied uncomfortably, knowing what Alex was actually up to.

"Come with us. That means the Magicians, too." Vanoss shrugged.

"WE'RE MAGES you overgrown bird!" Lucy shouted.

Author's Note

Well, by the time I post this, it'll be my second Anniversary on Fimfiction. :pinkiehappy:

By the next chapter, Vanoss's other friends, Fluttershy, and Twilight will be returning. Man, I really gotta get to work on Undertales of the Vanished.

Well, Alex learned a couple important things about himself, like he's so mad by now that he's acting completely calm. Acting

Also, the Core Vinyl's been putting in Alex's suits had been giving him extra power.

And he can absorb ki... And he learned how to essentially reserve energy.

...The chapter's called 'Progress' for a reason.

Also, Cade, Oreonna, Auburn, and the rest of Fairy Tail have arrived on Lithia to protect Ruby from Yang and Corvus!

While The Shadow Wars was easily the biggest battle in the story So far, at least. The fight between Alex, Yang, and Raven is going to have the biggest impact of their characters.

...Kinda like Captain America: Civil War.

Well, see you guys and girls next chapter!

The Destoyer

Chapter 65: Arrival
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 65: Arrival

Outer Walls of Lithia, Adenien; January 17, 2020; 9:25 PM*

In a secluded area of the Outer Wall, a portal had suddenly appeared, very much unlike the other portals that had been appearing, since this new portal was a purple color rather than an orange one. Cade, Ruby, Vanoss, and Ultimus had been sent to investigate.

"I really hope those Ryders weren't just screwing with us." Cade said.

"Ryders are more serious than to drag us over here for nothing." Ultimus figured.

"I just hope nothing new shows up." Ruby sighed.

"Hey, Alex is finally dead, so why would Yang want to come after you, anyways?" Vanoss asked.

"Hold on, Portal's right here..!" Cade ducked, watching as seven men walked out of the portal.

"You're sure they're here?" A familiar voice, Mini Ladd's, asked.

"No fucking way." Vanoss blinked.

"It... Can't be, can it..?" Ruby gasped.

"You sure they're over here?" Wildcat asked.

"They have to be over here..! Thank Celestia that Kat can find all of them..!" Twilight sighed in relief.

"Alright, where the fuck is..? Wait.. Something's new here.." Ohm noticed.

"All right! Destoyer finally ballsed up and uncensored 'fuck'!" Basically cheered.

"Yo! Wildcat?!" Vanoss waved.

"Eyyyy!!" Terroriser greeted.

"Twilight?!" Cade gasped.

"Hey, Cade! It's good to see all of you again!" Twilight hugged Cade at practically light speed.

"Ack... You got faster... And stronger.." Cade forced a grin, crushed by Twilight's hug.

"Oh, sorry..!" Twilight apologized.

"Oh man... It's really nice to see you again..!" Droidd grinned.

"So, where's everyone else?" FourZer0 asked.

"They're all back at base camp. Some... Shit happened while you guys were gone.." Cade sighed.

Ruby pulled Cade aside.

"We don't really have to tell them, do we?!" Ruby gaped, whispering in his ear.

"It's not like we have much say in the matter..! Celestia's fucking dead, and.." Cade answered.

"PRINCESS CELESTIA'S DEAD?!" Twilight gasped.

'Damn it!' Cade cursed in his mind. They were talking at a literal whisper! How did Twilight hear that?!

"It's true. Princess Celestia, Luna, and Cadence have been killed. Along with your brother, your Honor Guard, Alexander, and my ENTIRE FAMILY!!" Ultimus informed, shouting the last two words in utter rage.

"Hols the fucking phone, Alex is dead?!" Terroriser gasped.

"Jesus fucking Christ! Who the hell OD'd on enough steroids to finally kill them all?!" Wildcat gaped.

"C-Cadence... Shining..." Twilight choked out, sobbing.

"That's... Kinda where shit hit the fan, here.." Cade seethed, struggling to even find an answer to Wildcat's question.

"It was Raven and Yang... They've been k-killing Inheritors all over.. My dad... Ultimus' family... They even would've killed Cade, Oreonna, and Auburn if Fairy Tail hadn't been with them.." Ruby tearfully added.

"...What the fuck did we miss?!" Basically demanded.

"So, let me get this straight... You guys somehow beat a fused Shadowman and Salem.." Mini figured.

"Yeah.." Cade nodded.

"Then Raven and Yang fucked up some Vacation site and Magnolia City again trying to weed out Alex.." Basically continued.

"Mm hmm." Ruby nodded.

"Then Yang killed Alex, tried to kill you guys, and now they're gonna kill Ruby." Terroriser finished.

"Yes. If it's at all possible, we need to defend the city as well." Erza added.

"Things have gotten worse. These Furies have gotten much stronger than when they were when encounters and sightings started." Illiya sighed.

"So, who the fock are they?" Nogla asked.

"I'm Illiya, these are my cousins, Spyden and Julius." Illiya introduced.

"... Are they significant to the story?" Twilight wondered.

"Eh, maybe next arc." Oreonna shrugged.

"We're wasting time! We must be ready for their arrival!" Ultimus shouted.

"With all due respect. We need to rest. It's not like we can defend this station when we're all tired as fuck." Mini shrugged.

"Yeah, man... I spent all day yesterday helping Alphys put together the piece of shit that got us here, and most of today trying to find you assholes!" Wildcat added.

*Lithia, Adenien; January 18, 2020; 3:04 PM*

Ultimus wandered through the command station, glaring at Vanoss.

"Who the hell evacuated the city?!" He demanded.

Delirious turned to Ultimus, annoyed.

"The fuck you talking about?!"

"Lithia's populace has been summoned to move to one of the other outlying cities, yet there's no danger of this wall coming down, so someone had to have entered the Evacuation Codes!" Ultimus shouted again.

"Calm the fuck down! We don't know what could've happened! How many command stations are able to send out evac orders?!" Wildcat shrugged.

"The only stations that can order an evacuation of one of the Three Cities are in Iridescence or here!" Ultimus replied.

"If there is an evac of the city, then who ordered it?!"

*Meanwhile*

Yang walked along the wall, her armor improved and her power increased. She scoffed at how pitiful the defensive wall appeared. Battered from countless furies and gunfire tearing it apart.

"Ruby!! Ruby!!!" Yang called, innocently.

"Up here, Yang." Ruby coldly called, standing next to Cade and Auburn on top of the wall.

Yang looked up at them, scowling.

"So, you brats contacted Ruby. I suppose you also called in the evacuation order." Yang concluded.

"Evacuation order?!" Cade gasped. There was little sign of Fury activity since a few weeks ago, who called in the order?!

"I see. You wanted to clear out the city so we may have a proper battle. Shall we?" Yang grinned, transforming.

Ruby, Cade, and Auburn quickly did the same as Ultimus'a family, Twilight, Fluttershy, Fairy Tail, and the Vanossgaming Crew stepped outside, watching their encounter carefully.

"We didn't-" Auburn began, when Yang instantly leapt to the attack.

Yang had Auburn by her neck, grinning sinisterly as Cade leapt to her defense.

"DON'T YOU DARE!!" Cade roared, kicking Yang in the side to no effect.

Yang grabbed Cade by the leg, and punched him in the temple as hard as she could.

Auburn pulled herself up, lunging at Yang with her axe.

Yang instantaneously punched Auburn in the stomach, having effectively disabled both of her children.

"I hoped you children would have at least grown from our last encounter. It's time to finish what I came for, starting with you."

A red flash, a metallic ringing sound, and a gust of wind swept past Yang, taking a large chunk of her hair off.

Yang immediately transformed, glaring at Ruby.

"How dare you." Yang coldly glared.

Ruby herself let her Silver Eyes explode with power, raising her hair and changing her eye, skin, and of course hair color to a silvery tone.

"How dare I?! After what you did to Dad? To Alex?! Even your own children?!" Ruby shouted back.

"So... It's come to this, hasn't it? Goodbye, sister." Yang cracked her knuckles, grinning wickedly.

"I have no sister." Ruby scowled, brandishing her weapon.

The spectators stared in shock at what they were seeing.

"Holy fucking shit. They're gonna kill each other." Wildcat stared in shock.

"We have to do something..!" Erza decided.

"Erza, use your head! Even an alicorn like myself can't hold a candle to either one of them! Getting between them is suicide!" Twilight shouted.

"It.. can't end like this, can it..?" Auburn coughed, pulling the unconscious Cade aside.

The two strongest huntresses, once close siblings and friends, had been forced into a fight to the death.

One of them wasn't going to make it.

Suddenly, a metallic blur teleported, taking Yang with it.

"What the what?!" Ruby gasped.

Ultimus and Oreonna ran out of the station.

"I-Impossible..!" Ultimus gasped, sensing the source of energy responsible for Yang's sudden disappearance.

"Wait a second... Is that..?" Oreonna gasped.

Yang was thrown to the ground, still in her transformed state, glaring up at the mysterious figure.

"You...!" Yang growled in fury.

The figure standing over her wore an updated suit of armor, with a smooth, solid outside with layered, yellow panels covering his abs. His arms and legs were a shimmering metallic, but were worn and dented with roughly years of use. The man also wore a tattered, black scarf that drifted in the wind.

Pulling off his helmet, The man glared at Yang with a sense of familiarity. the hand-shaped group of scars had long since faded, but his right eye still looked dull and, in a way, artificial.

Everyone instantly knew who he was.

Alex Walker, seemingly returned from the dead.

"Heh... We meet again, Yang Xiao Long. What's the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost. but don't worry about that..."

An intense, light blue Aura flared around Alex, as he glared directly at the former huntress.

"So am I." Alex said with a wicked grin.

Author's Note

Twilight and co. have returned, and Alex is back in action!

What does this mean for Yang, trapped within her own mind? Will Alex go easy on her?

It's safe to assume no..

Find out how badly this is going to turn out on the next chapter of Blood Red Shadows 2!

Sorry about not updating in a while, everyone! I'll try to get chapters out at a more consistent basis from this point!

-The Destoyer

Chapter 66: Products of Wrath, Part 1 of 4
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 66: Products of Wrath, Part 1 of 4

*Lithia, Adenien; January 18, 2020; 3:10 PM*

Alex glared down at Yang, his aura a shimmering blue as he unsheathed his sword.

"S-Saigo?!" Ultimus demanded.

"Alex!" Ruby gasped.

"Eyy! He's alive..! ..You lying motherfuckers." Wildcat grinned, then cast a glance towards Auburn, who had dragged Cade away from the scene.

Alex still stared at Yang, completely unfazed by everyone's surprised gasps.

"I bet you're wondering how I'm still alive. But that really doesn't matter now, does it?" Alex smirked.

Yang leaped up, punching Alex in the face as hard as she possibly could, which only served to leave a mark on Alex's head.

Alex grabbed Yang by the arm, and flung her into the wall.

Suddenly, a man shorter than Alex flew to the ground next to him.

"So, this is the person who nearly killed you?" Vegeta asked.

"HOLY SHIT! IT'S VEGETA..!" Delirious gasped.

Ruby took a few steps backward, her eyes glowing silver as she appeared to scan them. She gasped, and took cover.

"Yes. By the way, good call evacuating the city. It's kind of unfortunate that I have an audience, though." Alex replied, glancing at the small crowd that gathered near the wall.

"I'll let you two have your fun. This 'Raven' should be showing up any moment now, and I would like to test her power personally." Vegeta replied, flying off and landing next to Delirious, who went into full panic mode.

Yang staggered out of the rubble, seething with rage.

How on Remnant was he still alive?!

"Now then," Alex smirked, transforming to his Enlightened Berserker form, with only his hair glowing.

"Shall we begin?"

Yang charged at Alex, screaming in fury as she unleashed blow after blow against Alex, launching him across the city like a ragdoll.

Ruby was shivering with fear, still shocked at what she had seen.

"I... I don't know what's happening anymore..." Ruby shakily gasped.

"What's wrong? I mean, why do you care? Alex was an asshole, wasn't he?" Vanoss asked.

"T-That's not the problem..! I trained my Silver Eye abilities to be able to detect latent power... And..."

"And what?" Twilight asked.

Yang kept launching him around the city, grabbing him by the ankle and slamming him into the ground.

Yang seemingly teleported above him, unleashing a torrent of punches and using a great deal of power.

"He's just toying with her." Vegeta answered.

As Alex was getting punched, he let out a sinister grin, causing Yang to gasp in surprise.

With a single strike, he blew Yang out towards the wall, leaving behind a bolt of violet lightning.

Alex flew near where Yang had been standing, and glared down at her again.

"You see, Yang? I've grown past you so far that you can't even hope to catch up. You've grown stronger since we last fought, but I'm beyond that now." Alex grinned.

"W-What do you mean..?" Yang coughed.

"I mean that you're far out of your depth."

The crowd of furies that had been gathering outside the wall had blown through a huge section of the wall, snarling ravenously.

"Oh, test subjects. Neat." Alex deadpanned.

Alex raised his finger, pointed it to the ground, and sent a small bolt of lightning into the ground.

"Was that supposed to do anything?" Wildcat wondered.

"Get down!" Ruby urged.

Alex sharply flicked his finger to the air, causing each and every Fury in the group to be incinerated over the course of 5 seconds, before the bolt launched into the sky.

"That was just a small taste of my power. Say, 1/12?" Alex smirked.

"... Oh, fuck."

Alex charged at Yang, clothes-lining her with his arm, flinging her through the wall before teleporting and kicking Yang into a building.

Yang charged back, aiming a hard punch at Alex's face.

"I'VE GOT YOU RIGHT WHERE I WANT YOU!" Yang shouted.

Alex smirked as Yang punched... Wait..

"Did he just vanish?!" Spyden gasped.

"I can't tell..!" Twilight shouted back.

Yang's fist flew through Alex, eventually getting punched in the back by... Alex?!

"What." Terroriser stared in surprise.

"O-Only I've b-been able to pull t-that off..!" Ruby stammered in terror.

"As far as you know." Vegeta smirked.

Yang jumped on top of a pile of rubble, unleashing wave after wave of projectiles at Alex, who simply walked through them.

"Pathetic. I expected more from you." Alex scoffed.

"I-I'LL END YOU..!!!" Yang leaped at Alex again, only to get punched in the face so hard it blew the rest of the wall down.

"You'll die trying." He replied.

Yang was blown back several meters before she was able to pull herself up, grinning in satisfaction.

"How... Predictable.." Yang smirked, glowing with a new energy as she launched herself at Alex once more.

"How is he keeping up with her? I thought she kicked his ass last time!" Natsu gasped.

"That's not keeping up, that's an ass-kicking..!" Gray stared in shock.

"It's true... He'd only been gone for about a month... What happened in all that time..?" Erza wondered out loud.

"Sure, it had been a month for you, but for us, we've been training for 2 years." Vegeta answered.

"TWO YEARS?!" Ruby gasped.

Yang threw a flurry of punches, with Alex simply dodged.

"HOLD STILL!!!" Yang demanded in pure rage.

"Make me." Alex retorted.

Yang hit Alex with an uppercut, leaving Yang relatively satisfied.

The young man staggered backwards, clenching his jaw in 'pain'.

"Ow. Ow. The legendary Yang hath broken my jaw. It wounds me so deep- doesn't at all." Alex deadpanned.

"DAMMIT!!!!" Yang shouted, punching Alex repeatedly in the chest with unfathomable wrath.

It wasn't long before Alex transformed, the sheer energy forcing Yang back a few dozen feet.

"What the?!" Oreonna gasped.

"Okay, shit.." Mini blinked as he watched the fight.

"Heh.. Poor, poor little Yang. She never realized what she was getting into." Alex laughed to himself.

Yang forced herself to power up to max, screaming in anger.

"MOTHER TRAINED ME!! SHE GRANTED ME THE POWER TO FINISH YOU OFF, ONCE AND FOR ALL!!! WHY WON'T YOU DIE?!!" Yang demanded.

"Hm.. So you're completely over the edge now. Wonder how you'll react to this.." Alex grinned.

"Oh, you're kidding me!" Natsu shouted.

Alex charged his energy further as the same blue aura materialized around him, seeping into his hair and turning it into a sort of aqua-colored flame. Suddenly, 10 heavy metal bars launched out of his arms, legs, and torso, leading Alex to start floating.

Yang stared on, now absolutely horrified as she powered down.

"I... H-How..?" Yang stammered.

Alex floated back down, glaring at his former partner and wife in tranquil fury.

"Feast your eyes on my final form, Xiao Long... I'll cut this short and just call it the 'Mythic Warrior'." Alex grinned, cracking his knuckles.

Yang quickly transformed back into her Inflamed Demigoddess, preparing a devastating attack.

"THE WEAK DIE! THE STRONG SURVIVE!! I'M. NOT. LOSING TO YOU!! BURNING ECLIPSE!!!" Yang roared.

Yang set off a violet-orange attack, spiraling towards Alex.

"Guess we're playing by Raven's rules then." Alex shrugged, swatting the large beam aside, teleporting, and repeatedly punching Yang in the chest before pulling out his sword.

Using the split-second she had, Yang punched Alex in the chest. Again, it had no effect.

Quickly, Yang's armor was scratched, then outright torn apart, exposing her under-armor as Alex struck her forehead..

...Severing the circlet in two, unknowingly freeing Yang.

"Wait.. That-That headress... Where have I..?" Vegeta wondered.

"What was that doing on her head..?" Lucy asked herself.

Yang powered down immediately, gasping for air.

Alex then stopped, wondering what strategy she was using.

"A-Alex.." Yang gasped weakly, only to be kicked to the ground.

Alex teleported again near Yang, grabbing her by the neck as he unsheathed his blade.

"Reduced yourself to simple mind games? Nice try." Alex mocked, punching Yang in the kidney. Again.. And again... And again.

"Holy shit.." Lui gaped.

"He's... Not stopping..!" Twilight stared on in horror.

Even Vegeta himself was somewhat shocked, seeing Yang getting beaten in a manner similar to his own beating at the hands of Frieza on Namek..

Yang, still being badly beaten, couldn't speak up to her own defense.. She was completely helpless.

Vegeta's eyes quickly widened with terror as soon as he realized where he'd seen that device before.

"That device...! Was the same one used to manipulate Broly..! Whoever this 'Raven' is, she's been controlling this 'Yang' individual from the start!"

"Stop!" Vegeta demanded, firing a ki blast at Alex.

"I'm in the middle of something." Alex glared, powering down to his base form.

"That doesn't matter! Your friend here's being-!"

Alex slashed at the ground, causing an arc of lightning to whip past Vegeta, keeping him back.

"This has nothing to do with you. Back. Off." Alex angrily ordered.

"You dare defy me?!" Vegeta demanded.

"Stop!" Ruby demanded, kicking Alex in the chest. With no effect, of course.

Alex scowled.

"I said BACK OFF!!!" Alex grabbed Ruby by the leg, throwing her back.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Ultimus demanded.

"GET AWAY!!!" Alex fired a bolt of lightning at Ultimus, blowing him backwards onto the ground.

The entire party stared at Alex, appalled at what he'd become.

Coldly, Alex scowled back at them.

"Four... Years.. Four... FUCKING YEARS... I save most of your asses, and this is all I get?! More BULLSHIT?! I've been tortured.. Dismembered.. And THE SECOND I think I'm finally out of the loop, BOOM! My wife and mother-in-law stab me in the back!!"

Yang's eyes widened in horror. She'd always thought that adversity gives a person strength.. In Alex's case, it was an obligation. He had to protect himself, because, until he met Karis, his own life was pretty much the only thing he had left.

And that was stolen from him.. Time and time again...

He couldn't take it anymore.

"I don't expect any of you to understand..! Not even whoever this heap on the ground is anymore!" Alex shouted.

"You think you have it so bad?! We were in ANOTHER FOCKIN' UNIVERSE while you were fockin' wit Vegetable over there!" Nogla shouted.

"At least you didn't have to lie to a dragon just to avoid another war!" Lucy yelled.

"For the time being. Ember will find out Alex is alive." Auburn told her.

"FOCKIN' ANODDER UNIVERSE!!!!! FOR 2 MONTHS!!!!" Nogla screamed louder.

"Yeah, that is terrible, but.." Vanoss shrugged.

"ENOUGH!!!!" Alex roared.

The others immediately grabbed their weapons, glaring at Alex.

Alex only smirked back.

"Hehe.. Somehow, I always knew it would end like this, with all of you turning against me... BRING IT ON!!!" Alex shouted, unsheathing his sword.

As quickly as the standoff started, a sudden burst of energy alerted the attention of everyone who could sense it.

"That feeling..!" Ruby gasped.

"No way..! That's Raven?!" Twilight gasped.

"Hmph... This 'Raven' is powerful... But not even close to my power." Vegeta scoffed.

Soon, a dark figure floated down from the sky, wearing her Grimm Mask as she drifted down, and cast a glance at the group.

"Alexander. So it seems you've survived... And you've brought your friends.." Raven greeted.

"Raven." Alex spat back.

"Raven..? Oh, that isn't my name... Not anymore.. I am Corvus." Corvus smiled, filling the air with a dark energy as her Aura suddenly erupted with power.

Author's Note

Sorry I've been slacking off with chapters again! I wanted to release 'Undertales of the Vanished before I got the four-parter started. I'll try to work on both stories on a rotation system, but I don't exactly schedule, so...

One thing I wanna make clear: Undertale won't be featured in the main story much in comparison to the other universes. Even less than CoD Zombies or SCP, as a matter of fact. Only one character from UotV is really going to make much of a difference or even appear, and that'll be all the way in the Osiris Arc.

(Also, the character in question isn't even canon in Undertale.)

*IMPORTANT*

Undertales of the Vanished has been cancelled because A: I wasn't sure where else to go the story or how to handle it, and B: Undertale is cringy as hell now.

So, yeah. First chapter of the Products of Wrath line is basically Alex attacking Yang, I'll give hints of the next one:

Alex, Ruby, Vegeta, Auburn, Twilight, Erza, and Corvus are gonna fight. Not going to say whose fighting who, but just throwing it out there. :twilightsmile:

-The Destoyer

Chapter 67: Products of Wrath: Part 2 of 4
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 67: Products of Wrath: Part 2 of 4

*Lithia, Adenien; January 18, 2020; 3:20 PM*

Alex didn't say a word. He immediately leapt at Corvus.

"Dammit! You told me I would fight Raven!" Vegeta charged after Alex, kicking him in the side.

Alex was blown to another building, completely winded, at least for a moment.

"Hmm... I figured if Alexander was still alive, he'd call for backup. Greetings, Prince." Corvus greeted.

"And to you, 'Corvus'. Would you care to explain that bracelet on the woman's head?" Vegeta demanded.

"Ah, yes. I had a special order for that. My daughter would never have agreed with an operation such as this, so my plan called for desperate measures." Corvus explained.

"M-Mother was being manipulated..?" Auburn gasped.

"Yang..." Ruby pulled Yang's unconscious body out of the battleground, lying her down on a table as they watched the carnage unfold.

"That... Monster..!" Erza seethed.

"I... I can't believe she would do that... To both of them..!" Twilight trembled.

Vegeta scowled at Corvus.

"You and I aren't so different, Vegeta. We both seek to become more powerful. We even share ideologies. Only the strong can survive. Why don't you join me? After all, I do need an assistant." Corvus offered.

Alex struggled to stand, ears ringing as he staggered up to see Vegeta and Corvus talking.

Vegeta merely turned to look towards Alex, then at the group, and back to Corvus.

"You know... I once would have considered accepting. But that has changed. My wife is a puny earthling, and my son is a filthy half-breed.

"But, despite this glaring difference, I have grown attached to both of them. And I'm not about to let you go gallivanting and kill them out of indifference. I'm ending this now." Vegeta scowled.

"Very well.. It seems one of the strong fights for the weak. Let's see if you're worthy of keeping that pathetic family of yours." Corvus raised her sword.

"RAAAAAAAGH!!!"

Alex side-kicked Corvus, to little effect.

"WHAT?!" Alex demanded angrily.

Corvus glared at the both of them, raising a dark grey sword with glowing, purple cracks. She then raised her other sword in a menacing fashion.

"You've made a grave mistake." Corvus scowled.

Alex turned to face Vegeta.

"Fine, deal with Corvus. I'll take out the trash."

"Don't keep me waiting, Adenienite!" Vegeta shouted, flying at at Corvus.

Alex raised his sword, charging at Auburn and Yang as Twilight and Erza attacked him.

Alex flipped backwards, unleashing a torrent of lightning at Twilight while simultaneously blocking Erza's swords.

"Wait..! It wasn't Yang's fault!!" Twilight yelled.

"I won't... Let you...Hurt Yang.." Erza asserted, trying to overpower Alex.

"THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU OR CORVUS!! PISS OFF!!!" Alex roared, launching Erza away from him and turning to attack Twilight, only for Auburn, in her Enlightened Form, to block Alex's sword.

"Turn around and fight Corvus. That thing that nearly killed you wasn't Mom." Auburn demanded.

"DON'T HOLD ME BACK!!!!" Alex swung his blade, disorienting Auburn long enough to attempt a disabling strike.

Ruby sped between the blade, blocking it with Blood Rose and letting her Silver Eyes empower her.

"Auburn's right! We have to fight Corvus.!! We're your friends, Alex!!" Ruby added.

Alex broke the blade lock, standing back to face the four.

"So... It's come to this.. I'll deal with you first, finish off Yang, then Corvus." Alex raised his sword at the four of them.

Alex charged at them, attacking at lightning speed as Ruby instantly out-maneuvered Alex and threw him into the wall with her blade.

"That other guy might need my help. Try not to kill each other.." Ruby worriedly turned to look at Vegeta and Corvus.

Vegeta charged, hitting Corvus with his knee and narrowly evading her blades.

"Your toys won't save you here, Human." Vegeta smirked.

"I don't need them to, Prince" Corvus smirked, sheathing both swords and raising a hand, a condensed ball of Corvus' multi-colored energy forming in a matter of seconds.

Vegeta took this as a challenge to show the young warrior how far out of her depth she was, raising his hand and generating a blue ball of energy.

"DARK ESSENSE BURST!!

"BIG BANG ATTACK!!"

Both ki blasts collided, an explosion grand enough to shake the very ground beneath them ensuing directly afterwards.

Knowing Corvus was still alive not only angered Vegeta.

He was furious.

He threw dozens of Ki blasts in the span of seconds, the relentless barrage only slowing Corvus down.

Ruby swept in from the side, catching Corvus off-guard long enough for Vegeta's barrage to blow her into a building.

As Corvus stepped out, she cast a disappointed glare at both Vegeta and Ruby.

"Pitiful that the two of you must work together, is it not, Prince? Miss Rose, I expected more from you." Corvus shook her head.

"You may help if you wish, but don't get in my way!!" Vegeta shouted, turning Super Saiyan.

"He seems... Familiar.." Ruby shuddered, remembering Weiss.

As the battle between Maiden, Saiyan and Huntress raged above, one between Twilight, Erza, Auburn, and Alex continued below.

Twilight grabbed Alex by the leg with her Magic, pulling him down and Giving Erza ample opportunity to strike.

Alex instantaneously blocked the strike, sweeping his leg and tripping Erza as he grabbed one of her swords.

With Agartha's Thunder and Erza's sword, he blocked Auburn's incoming axe, managing through the shockwave ensuing from colliding with the strings of the weapon.

"Stop..! Will you really be able to forgive yourself after this?" Auburn demanded.

"I've.. Gone too far.. Already... Why stop there?!" Alex roared, launching Auburn backwards as he leaped at Erza, both fighting to a standstill.

However, Erza was getting exhausted.

'So many powerful strikes... How is he not tired?!' Erza internally demanded.

Once managing to exhaust Erza, Alex placed his hand against Erza's chest plate.

"Shock Breaker!"

Alex blew Erza into a building, leaving behind a trail of electricity as Alex turned against Twilight, who countered every last one of Alex's attacks.

Auburn staggered up as Erza stared at Twilight and Alex's fight. Out of the three, Twilight seemed to be doing the best out of all of them.

Launching a magic attack at Alex, Twilight flew into him, trying to impale him with her horn.

In response, Alex grabbed Twilight's wings.

"I TOLD YOU NOT TO GET IN MY WAY!!!" Alex roared, flinging her against the ground.

A sword struck Alex from behind, surprising him as he turned around to face his new opponent.

Ultimus.

"Emphas, you've lost your mind. The real threat here is Corvus. Don't waste your wife's little remaining time with your abusive tendencies. Turn around." Ultimus mocked.

"Funny. As if I'm gonna listen to Inquisitor scum like you."

Ultimus transformed to his Evolved Zealot, glaring at Alex as the other three women stood up.

"Don't make me tell you twice. I've trained just as hard as you."

"Funny. How long?" Alex demanded, raising his sword.

'How long? He's been gone the same amount of time as Ultimus... What could he be talking about?' Erza wondered

Twilight sensed something different about Alex. Not just in behavior, but in appearance. His hair had grown darker and had appeared.. Older..!

"You've found a way to extend your training time.." Twilight realized.

Alex smirked.

"Perceptive as always. I've been training for two additional years, thanks to one of Vegeta's assets. The Hyperbolic Time Chamber!" Alex announced.

Unfazed, Ultimus and Twilight leapt in, leaving Erza and Auburn behind, both shocked by this discovery.

Yang had woken up just in time to hear about the revelation, and trembled upon hearing.

'Alex trained for two years just to beat me?! There's no way I'll survive if I stay here..!' Yang trembled.

Yang shook Cade's still-unconscious body, awakening the younger man.

"Cade, get up!" Yang urged.

Cade gabbed his head in pain, only to see his mother, seemingly restored.

"What.. Happened..?" Cade wondered.

"Raven had me under mind control.. Alex got me out, but he's still gonna try and kill me.. We need to go..!" Yang told him.

"Hold on... Evan might have a way for us to get out of here.." Cade pulled himself up, only to fall back down.

Yang carried Cade over her shoulder, figuring out that Cade was still disoriented from her attack.

Above Lithia, Vegeta and Ruby were neck-in-neck against Corvus, who blocked all of their attacks with relative ease.

Ruby swung her scythe in a wide arc, with Corvus blocking the attack with only her glowing purple sword.

Vegeta charged at Corvus from the other side, attacking with a barrage of punches and kicks.

"Pathetic." Corvus growled.

Corvus' blade separated in two, revealing a pulse cannon that released a multi-colored beam of Raven's power, blowing Ruby through several buildings, leaving her to focus on Vegeta.

Vegeta was just slightly faster than Ruby, but still able to dodge both of Corvus' blades and manage to deal just as much damage as Corvus would've been able to had she landed a strike.

Corvus dodged Vegeta's stronger punch, using her original sword and launching a blade into his abdomen.

Shocked, Vegeta pulled the blade out and flung it to the ground in a furious rage.

Giving Corvus just the opportunity she needed to continue.

Corvus hacked and slashed at Vegeta, ripping apart his training suit and leaving deep cuts in his flesh as she finally kicked him to the ground.

"Are we finished here, Vegeta? Or do you have one more in you?" Corvus mocked.

"WE'LL SEE WHO'S LAUGHING WHEN I'M THROUGH WITH YOU!! HAAAAAA..!!!!"

Vegeta raised both of his arms in a 90-degree angle as two balls of yellow energy formed in his hands.

"No fucking way.." Vanoss gasped.

"Holy fuck..!" Basically cheered.

"VEGETA'S USING HIS FINAL FLASH!!!" Delirious shouted while a great deal of the Vanoss crew practically fanboyed.

"WHAT THE HELL KINDA MAGIC DOES HE HAVE?!" Natsu gasped.

In another part of town, Yang and Cade stared up in the sky with surprise.

"Oh, shit!!" Yang shouted as she turned practically 180 degrees, ducking immediately into a building.

Ultimus, Auburn, Twilight, and Erza were also shocked.

"Such pressure..! What kind of power is this?!" Ultimus trembled.

"So, Vegeta's changing tactics here.." Alex noted.

Corvus stared down at Vegeta, admiring the power as she raised her purple sword. The sword broke apart to form a gauntlet.

"Yes... Give me as much energy as you can..." Corvus smiled.

Vegeta slammed his hands together, forming one, dense ball of energy as he raised his power to as high as he could at his state.

"FINAL FLASH!!!!"

Fully prepared to absorb Vegeta's power, Corvus raised her hand knowingly, grinning as Vegeta fired the attack...

...Only for the beam to turn 90 degrees to the right just before Corvus could absorb it.

NO!!!" All color drained from Corvus's face as the beam advanced towards Alex instead..!

Twilight formed a shield around herself, Erza, Auburn, and Ultimus as the attack met Alex's awaiting hands.

Alex staggered backwards, managing to absorb a great deal of the energy all at once.

"HRAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!!"

The ball of yellow, pulsating energy merged with Alex's own power, glaring at the four as he teleported away.

Yang trembled in surprise. She knew that attack was made up of plasma, and Alex could absorb lightning.. Meaning that Alex absorbed the attack!

"We have to go... Now..!"' Yang ran with Cade in her arms.

Vegeta practically collapsed, giving Corvus only a cocky smirk.

Corvus grabbed Vegeta by what remained of his collar, completely past the point of reason.

"YOU DENY ME MY BIRTHRIGHT, YOU LOWLY SAIYAN?! I'LL RIP YOU LIMB FRIM LIMB!!!" Corvus demanded.

"Heh... Heh... You're already weakening... I can sense it.. After Alex kills the blonde one, it's all over for you... Your end will be slow and unforgiving.." Vegeta smirked.

Corvus raised her blade, only for Ruby to block, saving Vegeta.

"Back off!" Ruby ordered.

"As though I take orders from YOU!!" Corvus shouted, locking blades with Ruby as the battle continued.

At the wall, the Vanoss Crew, the rest of Fairy Tail, Sun, and Ultimus' Clan stared in awe.

"We'll... Probably need to call someone about this.." Vanoss decided.

"Yeah, but who the fuck's gonna want to deal with this shit?" Mini Ladd stated.

"He's got a point. Tell them to come, then wait until the fight's over." Gray decided.

"Oh, you're so smart, my beloved Gray!!" Juvia cheered, hugging Gray

"I'm not sure we'll be put in a bright light for this.. I mean, we just got out of Magnolia being destroyed twice." Lucy disagreed.

"You'll be fine. Tell them you went with us to help deal with the Furies." Sun shrugged.

Yang and Cade climbed up the stairs, meeting with the group.

"Call Kat..! Call Richtofen..! Anyone..! I'll never be able to get back on Alex's good side for this..! We all remember what happened to Cinder, right?!" Yang trembled.

"Technically.. I killed Cinder..." Cade coughed weakly.

"OTHER CINDER!" Yang shouted.

"Already dialing!" Spyden yelled back.

"The fuck does it matter, anyways? Treat what you and Alex had like... Um... Joker and Harley Quinn..!" FourZer0 snapped his fingers.

"Can someone explain that..? I didn't see Suicide Squad." Vanoss asked.

"Trust me, nobody wanted to afterwards." Nogla deadpanned.

"Wait... Wasn't Joker and Harley Quinn's relationship super abusive?" Lucy asked.

"Exactly! Alex is a dick, you won't be missing much!" Ohm elaborated.

"Wow. We're roasting the fuck out of Alex. Didn't he save the multiverse?" Mini asked.

"Yeah, fuckin' once. And that was to save his own ass in the process." Terroriser pointed out.

"Is it bad that what you guys are saying makes too much sense?" Yang asked.

"You know I can hear you, assholes." Alex scowled, floating above Yang.

"Speak of the dev- oh FUCK!" Lui gasped.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Start at 0:57 for dramatic Effect.

Alex lowered himself to Yang's level, glaring at her as she stared back, terrified beyond words.

"I don't care what you people say about me anymore. After I kill all of you, I'm gonna go down. But I'm dragging her to hell by the SKIN OF MY TEETH IF I HAVE TO!!" Alex seethed, raising a ball of energy directly at Yang's face.

A million thoughts whirled around Yang's mind at once. Her former husband was about to kill her.. Learning that he was going to kill both Corvus and himself..

Worse yet, in the time she spent with Alex, she knew that with him, suicide wasn't an option. In Alex's own words, 'If I spent this long fighting to stay alive, why the hell would I just off myself?'

This person howling with laughter in front of her..? That was the broken, fragmented, insane shadow of what he once was..

Yang trembled, slamming her eyes shut tightly as the others crowded together.. One last show of union as Alex obliterated his friends in a fit of insanity...

Or he would have.

Instead, Alex was blown to the side just before he could fire the blast. Corvus had thrown an unconscious Ruby at Alex, leaving both confused.

Yang's eyes shot open in surprise as she glanced around to see that they were all still alive.

"I called them..!" Spyden shouted.

"Who? The SCP? Ryders? Silver Ocelots?" Illiya wondered.

"All of them..! We need to find cover... I don't think we'll last much longer here..!" Spyden replied.

"Yeah, we gotta go..!" Wildcat shouted as the group ran for cover.

Meanwhile, Alex scowled at Corvus, casting a glance at Ruby's unconscious body.

"Aw.. Look at what I've turned you into. What would you have said about this before all this happened? You pathetic, insolent little pest." Corvus scowled

Alex cast a glare at Corvus, flying up to her level.

"Fine, then. I'll let it live. It's just you and me. Shall I warn you about the last time someone in my family fought off an All-Maiden!?" Alex smirked, raising his sword.

Corvus smiled, dropping her original blade in favor of her purple-black blade.

"What, Cinder Fall? That pathetic joke?! She squandered her powers! She had grown complacent! Weak! This is the TRUE POWER OF THE ALL-MAIDEN!!!" Corvus shouted, letting her raw power explode.

Author's Note

Wow, I am god awful. Both with release dates and morally!

I mean, Jesus! I drove the main character into a homicidal, likely suicidal maniac. I mean, he didn't come off that great to start, but still!

Now, on with the obligatory DBZ-styled outro!

'Alex, trained by Vegeta and driven to the ends of insanity, and Corvus, a manipulative, psychopath with planning on-par with Cinder's, fight head-on with none of those pesky boundaries or distractions! The real battle begins on the next chapter of Blood Red Shadows 2!

Okay, credit to Bruce Faulconer and Norihito Sumitomo for their music!

(Speaking of which, I should really credit the other music I already put in the story!)

Chapter 68: Products of Wrath: Part 3 of 4
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 68: Products of Wrath: Part 3 of 4

*Lithia, Adenien; January 18, 2020; 3:45 PM*

Alex darted directly at Corvus, clashing blades with the All-Maiden and sending massive shock waves throughout the broken city.

"Fucking hell! Alex almost killed us!" Delirious shouted.

"Someone's gotta stop 'em before this shit-storm gets shittier!" Nogla added.

"Well, what's the holdup?" Vegeta scoffed.

"Um... I have a... Karate class.." Vanoss stammered.

"I have to move into another apartment." Mini decided.

"I'm scheduled for a 4:00 meeting for anything but this. Have fun." Ohm nodded.

Yang gently pulled Ruby towards a clear area, trying to shake her awake.

"Ruby... Wake up..." Yang begged, nearly at tears over everything that had transpired.

Ruby coughed weakly, just barely able to even lift her own head.

"Y.. Yang..?" Ruby gasped in surprise, wincing in pain at the slightest movement.

"Listen, Alex and Corvus are keeping each other busy, and Spyden just called for help... We'll get out of this.. I promise.." Yang swore.

"N-Not all of us..." Ruby shook her head, staring up at Alex as he evaded Corvus' energy-enhanced strikes and sped towards her until he was just close enough to attack himself.

"F-Father.." Cade shook his head, still disoriented.

"Are you both really that stupid?! He would've killed us if Corvus didn't knock him out of the way!" Julius shouted.

"Good point.... Um, who are you?" Mini wondered.

"Forget it. Point is either way, we win. The Emphas prick dies, the girl can find someone else. The crazy lady dies, we can put Ol' "Murphy's Law" down once and for all before he does something else insanely stupid." Julius explained.

"Try as you will, but I'm not leaving him here." Auburn stated.

"Okay, he was hit in the head earlier, and she was unconscious," Julius said, pointing to Cade and Ruby in succession, "so what the hell's your excuse?"

"I'm with them! He's still one of us!" Natsu shouted, ready to leap into the fray.

"Not so fast. My apprentice doesn't compare to a Super Saiyan, but with his own ability combined with my power, Alex is the only one who can compete with Corvus until I can recharge." Vegeta explained, holding Natsu back.

"What do you propose we do, then?" Gray demanded.

"Either watch the fight, or hide and wait for a means of escape like cowards." Vegeta coldly replied

Alex charged at Corvus again, slashing at the air as she dodged his strikes.

"You cannot win that easily, Walker!" Corvus shouted as Alex lowered himself to the ground.

"True... at least, not like this. I doubt any of the others are willing to help, but I won't need it anyway." Alex retorted.

"Obviously, you're just delaying the inevitable. Very well, power up to whatever worthless form you think will be the key to defeating me." Corvus confidently shrugged.

Alex shot Corvus a menacing glare before he stomped the ground, tightly curled his metallic hands into fists, letting out a low roar as his shimmering blue Aura flared around him once more.

Ultimus glared at the scene with a specific fascination.

“He thinks he can simply defeat her with sheer brute force... He’s truly lost his mind.” Ultimus shook his head.

"Wait... what's he doing..?" Sun wondered out loud.

"Hmm... so he's using that technique." Vegeta shook his head disapprovingly.

"Is he..?" Wendy's eyes shot wide open, recalling the techniques he used only a few months prior during the Shadow Wars.

“N-No way..! Is he insane?!” Yang gasped in horror.

Alex eventually let out an echoing scream as yellow light flooded around his aura and body. stray bolts of lightning shot out around him as the yellow light illuminated the area moreso than his blue aura.

"OVERCHARGE TIMES THREE!!!" Alex roared as the yellow Aura stacked on top of his Mythic Warrior form.

The crowd that had formed stared in shock as Alex leaped at Corvus at full speed, almost appearing to teleport.

Alex had his sword raised, with Corvus fully expecting to block from above, only to be punched at full-force upwards.

Corvus barely recovered as Alex continued his assault, shooting straight upwards and warping in a lateral motion to elbow Corvus in the back, further disorienting her.

As Alex went in for another strike, he was surprised to discover that Corvus had blocked his strike .

"Oh, you've actually started to take this seriously." Corvus smiled, instantly warping right past as she turned to strike his back, only to find Alex had himself blocked her attack.

"I'm almost surprised you haven't yet." Alex retorted.

Both instantly began attacking close quarters, an energy ball of their combined stray powers forming a hellish sphere around them as both continued their attacks, with Corvus carefully trying to target Alex's vitals, resheathe her blade, and strike again. Alex, on the defense at this point, blocking Corvus' strikes while trying to counter with his own.

With both combatants unable to gain the upper hand with swordplay, they instantly teleported off, attacking eachother in midair, causing a barrage of sonic booms littered throughout the sky as most of the group covered their ears.

Alex, running out of options, threw Corvus to the ground and threw Thunderburst attacks to distract her, only to reappear on the ground, trying to trip her with a sweep of his leg.

Corvus' simple reply was to kick him in the face with enough force to wipe out two city blocks with just the residual force.

Exactly where Alex wanted her.

Alex reared both legs back, kicking Corvus to the air as he flew back into the skies trying to land a killing blow.

Corvus smirked, having planned ahead this far already as her new blade split into two. The sword soon unleashed a torrent of dark purple energy that collided with Alex, taking him by surprise.

Alex absorbed as much energy from the attack as he needed before charging upwards, kicking Corvus in the chest the instant the beam collided with the ground, incinerating more of the still-crumbling city.

'Damn, Any more of that energy, and I'd have burned myself out..' Alex thought.

Corvus leaped back, standing on top of one of the remaining skyscraper as the same dark purple energy suddenly swirled around the blade itself before turning bright red and erupting with smoke.

Alex himself quickly realized what was about to happen, and poured as much energy as he could into his own sword, causing the weapon to glow bright blue and brimming with electric power.

Both leaped at each other, not devoting any excess power to speed as both swords glowed so brighly, people in the other two Capital Cities wondered just what was happening.

"Everyone, get down!!" Ultimus ordered, tackling Julius, Spyden, and Illiya to the ground.

Nobody questioned Ultimus' order. That is, except Vegeta, who was watching the battle with interest.

Both warriors collided, their combined energies colliding to form an intensely bright spark.

The ground around the two fell out from under them as residual lightning, fire, snow, wind, and energy burned through anything within a 1/2 mile radius, causing the earth to crack underneath them as the two quickly began attacking again.

Alex, back on the offensive, hacked and slashed with absurd amounts of energy, hoping to overpower Corvus until he could finish her off.

Corvus herself diverted Alex's strikes, causing arcs of electricity to lash burn marks onto the ground as she tried to find an opening to exploit.

Alex, thinking fast, leaped backwards, sheathed his sword, and leaped at Corvus with lightning- charged fists, hoping to overwhelm her with sheer, brute force.

Turning her own blade into a gauntlet, Corvus struck Alex's energy-charged fist, resulting in a tremendous burst of energy that completely blindsided Alex enough for her to attack.

Dodging a strike from Alex himself, Corvus kicked Alex in the chest hard enough to launch him outside the city bounds.

Enraged, Alex's Aura turned from blue to dark red as he charged, punching merely thin air as the more collected Corvus dodged his attacks before turning her gauntlet into a club and blowing him towards the, somewhat untouched, eastern part of the city.

His Overcharge had been stretched to it's limit, leaving behind a weakened, but still determined Alex.

"I'm impressed you've managed this long against me, unlike the Prince." Corvus smirked.

Alex pulled himself up, coughing blood as he turned to face Corvus yet again.

“I won’t be taken down that easily!” Alex shouted, charging at Corvus full-tilt.

Corvus’ club immediately transformed into an arm cannon, and launched yet another beam of energy at Alex.

The move forced him into another building as he tried to absorb up to his energy limit before burning out.

“So bold, yet so arrogant. Did you honestly think you can defeat me by yourself?” Corvus mocked.

Alex teleported out of the beam’s way, kicking Corvus in the side, blowing her through the outer wall of the city.

“Like you’re one to talk!” Alex shouted, teleporting in front of Corvus.

“And that’s where you’re wrong again..!” Corvus shouted as her Aura quickly changed from it’s usual multi-colored hues to a singular, burning red glow.

Alex barely had time to react as Corvus quickly, methodically, and brutally struck, again and again.

Corvus kicked Alex through three buildings, toppling each one as she attacked again, punching him once into another building and kicked him straight through every floor of the fourth.

Grabbing him by the neck, she threw Alex into the ground and, with incredible speed, kicked him further into the ground with a stomp to the gut.

Coughing blood, Alex struggled to stand as Corvus glared at him.

“My my... How inspiring. What ever happened to that bravado and confidence of yours? Surely, your

friends can still save you... Oh, but they don’t care anymore, do they?” Corvus smirked.

Alex’s eyes shot open as he leaped at Corvus, now completely enraged.

“THAT WAS YOUR FAULT!! I’LL KILL YOU!!”

Alex’s barrage, it seemed, had little effect on Corvus herself, as she simply dodged his attacks and kicked him down again.

As Alex stood back up, Corvus launched a ceaseless flurry of energy bolts into the sky, only to have them fall and stop around Alex.

“Oh, shi-!”

The bolts flew at Alex, exploding in every direction and rendering him battered and nearly immobilized as he powered down.

“Pathetic. Even after everything fate laid before you, even after nearly killing the one you cared about so much, you still can’t defeat me. I warned you what would happen.” Raven shook her head.

“The hell you didn’t..” Alex scowled.

“Oh, poor, stupid Alexander. My warning was somewhat subtle. I had trained Yang for the sole purpose of testing you. If you couldn’t best a warrior of a slightly higher caliber than yours, there would have been no hope fighting against me. But, unfortunately, you survived the encounter and lived on to train under another second-rate warrior.” Corvus explained.

“Heh... Then why go through all the trouble?” Alex scoffed.

“Out of everyone you’ve befriended, your relationship with my daughter was, by far, the strongest. The role of family and friends is important, Alexander, but it got in my way so much. Your Unity Team won’t always be around. Friendship is only a thing of leisure, not a proper way to get stronger. So I needed to separate Unity. Break it until there was nothing left. Good thing you were already at odds with the Youtubers, all I had to do was make it so that the rest of them abandon you. Only then, if you were to somehow be able to defeat Yang and myself, then you would be able to survive what comes next.

You see, I am not the Raven of this timeline. As Cade learned from Yang, I come from a timeline that had been devastated by an extremely powerful entity the likes of which nobody had ever seen. I knew what had to be done. The weak had to be culled to make way for the strong, and strength can only come from adversity. I wasn’t aware you were a wanted man, Alexander, but the ensuing war between Equestria and it’s allies will be a nice touch in my plans.” Corvus explained.

“What the hell are you saying..?” Alex demanded.

“Believe me, even I never could have accounted for the way things have played out. My original plan was mainly to rile up your homeworld. The supporters of the financially flailing North American Federation are increasingly unable to defend against riots from the ‘United States Restoration’ groups. It’s no secret that your countrymen would prefer a bit of isolationism, given how intolerant and backwards the majority already are. I guess a bit of donations on my part significantly helped their ‘noble’ cause.

Even after all of that, your mere existence will result in a full-blown war between Equestria and the Dragon Lands. Not only that, you’ve chosen Lithia, Adenien’s financial backbone as our battleground. I’m sure repairing the city will be not only a monumental effort from the Adenienite People, but a costly one. You understand how angry people are when they don’t get paid, don’t you, mercenary?

My original plan had been to merely start a war in your homeworld, but your actions will cause a war the likes of which have never been seen.” Corvus elaborated.

Alex’s eyes jolted open in shock. He had known Corvus had been a careful planner, but this was beyond anything even Cinder could have manufactured!

Twilight, having heard their conversation, trembled with fear.

“Oh no...”

“What’s the matter? Has Dad been killed..?” Auburn wondered with the slightest hint of fear.

“How...? I... I don’t..” Twilight stammered, shaken by the revelation.

Vegeta, also having heard Corvus’ plans, was appalled.

“Well..?” Ultimus demanded.

“It seems Alex’s interference has only aided Corvus’ plans!” Vegeta replied, flying out to deal with Corvus.

Alex’s fists clenched tightly as he growled and spat with rage, only to regain his compusure.

And then he started laughing.

Corvus grinned victoriously. Her plans had come together far more than she could have hoped, she had broken Team Unity, and furthermore, she had broken Alex himself.

“So..! So you’re telling me that you framed me for taking out Fairy Tail to get my friends, and pretty much every institution that has ever had my back to basically disown me, use the woman I care about most break me and nearly kill me, and then reduce 5 universes to a smoldering fuckfest of chaos just to get everyone prepped for some kind of monster we otherwise could’ve dealt with..! HAHAHAHAHA!!!”

“So, now that you’ve wrapped your head around how hopelessly broken you are, how about I put you out of your misery!” Corvus raised her weapon.

“All while knowing I can recover, too!” Alex laughed, pulling out a small, green bean.

“WHAT?!”

Alex shoved the bean in his mouth, chewing it a few times before quickly gulping it down. Immediately, his wounds healed, and his blue Aura surrounded him again.

“What is this?!” Corvus demanded.

“Senzu Beans! Heals any wounds, gets you back to full power, and keeps you full for 10 days! Nice to have one of these on me in case you got cocky! Now that you’ve let me in on your whole plan, let me offer a rebuttal!” Alex laughed maniacally as he turned into his Mythic Warrior form once again and raised his hands to his side.

“HYAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!” Alex roared as his aura quickly intensified.

Vegeta, who had just flown over to help deal with Corvus, became shocked when he sensed his student’s energy.

‘He’s just used his Senzu Bean..! And at the perfect moment.. He’s very nearly as strong as I am at full power!’ Vegeta smirked.

“OVERCHARGE TIMES TEN!!!!!!” Alex roared.

Moments earlier...

Twilight, in the midst of her panic attack, suddenly sensed a Massive surge of power from Alex. Very, VERY close to Vegeta’s own power.

“What in Remnant?! Is that ALEX?!” Yang wondered in terror.

“How?! He was just at Corvus’ mercy! How did he recover that fast?!” Cade added.

“That.. wasn’t just a recovery... that was a power boost..” Ruby clarified.

“The fuck is he using, steroids?!” Vanoss wondered.

“This is bad... He was about to kill us all a few minutes back.. with this kind of power, he’ll actually do it this time..” Erza shook.

Illiya ran back with a scared look on her face.

“The one Public Dimensional Gate in town’s busted.. the only way help can get here is if we wait for them to generate a wormhole..” Illiya stated.

“OVERCHARGE TIMES TEN!!!!”

The entire group felt a truly massive burst of power from Alex’s direction, as everyone went from scared to absolutely horrified.

“T-This power..! It’s.. Too much..!” Cade gasped as he held on to a loose piece of rebar on the wall.

Alex’s screams of rage only grew more and more deafening as two glowing blue and yellow orbs materialized in his hands.

It was then that Corvus had teleported, and grabbed Ruby by the neck.

“Ack..! Help..!” Ruby gasped.

“Ruby!!” Yang screamed in horror.

“GO AHEAD AND ATTACK, ALEX! BUT IT WON’T GET YOU YOUR WORLD BACK!!!!”

“IT DOESN’T MATTER! NONE OF IT MATTERS!!! SO YOU MIGHT AS WELL DIE WITH ME AND THE REST OF THIS SOON-TO-BE DEAD PLANET!!!!” Alex shouted, by now beyond any hope of reason.

“Hold on! I’m able to divert the attack, then we can deal with Corvus..!” Vegeta stated.

“NO! CORVUS IS TOO STRONG FOR US TO HANDLE!” Twilight shouted.

“EVERYONE GET TO COVER NOW!” Ultimus ordered at the top of his lungs as everyone immedately ran to hide behind the wall.

Alex slammed his hands nearly together as his energy began to fluctuate.

“His entire being is trying to power the attack and maintain his form..! He’s risking too much!!” Auburn quickly realized.

“Good. He might die before launching the attack. Once he’s dead, Vegeta can focus on Corvus, and we can take a ship outta here and somehow ride whatever chaos ensues.” Julius stated.

“What’s wrong with you?! That’s my father!” Cade scolded, smacking Julius in the face.

“News flash! Your father’s lost his fucking mind! Now deal with it and get down!” Julius retorted.

Alex’s rage-fuelled screams filled the air as even his form began to fluctuate. Fading from Mythic to Evolved Warrior and back again, all the while maintaining his Overcharge x10.

“It’s too much for him to handle, but he’ll launch it at the last second!” Vegeta figured as he went Super Saiyan.

Yang, all the while, was beyond words. Terrified at what her closest friend had become, that Ruby was being held hostage, and that their only hope was that he would eventually burn out.

Alex continued trying to grow his power to an acceptable size as he started to bleed out of both of his nostrils.

“That Overcharge is wearing him down and he’s still going with it?!” Lucy realized in between horrified sobs.

“GET DOWN, NOW!!!” Twilight shouted.

“FINAL GOD SHOCKER!!!!!”

In the instant Alex unleashed his full power, his chest exploded in several areas as he fell to the ground with a last scream of agony.

“GALICK GU-!”

Yang suddenly shoved Vegeta out of the blast’s way as she blocked the attack with both hands.

“YANG!!!” Ruby shouted in terror as she tried to squirm free.

“AHAHAHA! STILL HAVE A SOFT SPOT FOR DEAR OLD MOTHER?!” Corvus laughed as Yang tried with every ounce of her being to hold back Alex’s attack.

“MOM, NO!!” Cade screamed.

“JUST WHAT ARE YOU DOING, EARTHLING?!” Vegeta demanded incredulously.

Yang struggled merely to lift the ball of energy to the skies once she collected it, allowing the loose energy to seep into her body.

“WHAT?! SHE CAN ABSORB ENERGY?!” Natsu gasped in shock.

“IMPOSSIBLE!” Vegeta stared in shock.

N-No..!” Corvus trembled as she suddenly let Ruby go.

It didn’t take Yang too long to absorb the rest of Alex’s energy. Allowing it to flow and combine with her latest form, she glared at Corvus with a look that could only be described as tranquil fury.

“You.. You used me as a weapon. You made me hurt the people I care about. You say you’re doing this for the benefit of the world, but we both really know why you’re doing this...” Yang scowled, cracking her knuckles as she slowly walked towards Corvus.

“I can’t let you just get away with this. I’m going to make things right, and I’ll start by getting my hands dirty one last time.”

Author's Note

First of all, Music Credits go to The Enigma TNG and Norihito Sumitomo.

Second of all, I’ve been FUCKING TERRIBLE with getting this chapter written. I’ve been busy all of May studying for final exams and... yeah, I’ve got no excuses for slacking off this month. At least this means I’ll be a bit more consistent getting these chapters out and completing the Arc after 2 months.

Seriously, this means this story’ll pass the 1-year anniversary mark and it’s still being written. Honestly, I’ve been gone so long the User Interface changed!

Ahem. More on that later.

I haven’t been slacking off completely, I’ve been trying to think of ways Corvus has such a drastic effect of the story that it doesn’t recycle the plot structure I’ve used the first few story arcs. Namely, I’m thinking of dedicating a mini-arc illustrating how much Corvus fucked everything up.

I’ll very likely be out with ‘Products of Wrath Part 4’ next Sunday. Until then, happy reading!

-The Destoyer

P.S. The (Technically) Final Arc is being planned out right now. Just a heads up. 😁

P.P.S. 👌😂 End my life

Chapter 69: Products of Wrath: Part 4 of 4
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 69: Products of Wrath: Part 4 of 4

*Lithia, Adenien; January 18, 2020; 3:55 PM*

Yang wasted no time, leaping at her mother and punching her square in the stomach.

Corvus leaped straight backwards, unleashing wave after wave of energy lashes from her blade.

They all seemingly passed through Yang, who had dodged them so fast nobody could see her doing so.

Yang cast another disdainful glare.

Vegeta, Ruby, Cade, Oreonna, Twilight, and Auburn immediately ran to her side.

"You took over my mind and used me to kill people I loved. But it wasn't enough for you, was it? You had to drive my friends apart, too." Yang scowled.

"You killed my mentor, my old babysitter, and my brother! You won't get away with anything you've done!"

"And let's not get into how you even got your powers." Cade added.

"Will you all stop this posturing and get this over with?" Vegeta demanded, charging at Corvus alongside Yang.

"Umm... Alright!!" Ruby shouted, leaping into the fray after them

Corvus ducked to avoid both warrior's attacks, quickly avoiding Cade, Ruby, and Auburn's strikes as well.

Yang punched Corvus in the back, leaving the All-Maiden staggering forward as Twilight fired a beam of magic at her chest.

The magic beam held Corvus back long enough for Oreonna and Auburn to blast her towards Vegeta, who had one hand raised in her direction.

"BIG BANG ATTACK!!!"

Corvus instantly blocked Vegeta's attack with her sword as Yang launched herself towards her mother yet again, assaulting her with a barrage of punches, each one sending shockwaves across the destroyed city.

Corvus kicked Yang aside, eyes alight with fury.

"After everything I did for you..! After granting you your life by my side! Our Tribe could have become an empire! We would have been unstoppable-!"

"SHUT UP!!!!"

Natsu punched Corvus in the chest, leading to a full-on assault from the other members of Fairy Tail.

"ICE-MAKE: ICE BRINGER!!!" Gray shouted, hacking away at Corvus with two icy blades.

Erza leaped from behind, equipped with her Flight Armor, as Corvus turned around in shock.

Wendy, taking the opportunity, launched Corvus towards Erza, who instantly began hacking away at the All-Maiden from every direction.

Vegeta then kicked Corvus aside, repeatedly punched her, and kicked her again into the ground.

Yang, flying upwards into the sky, quickly and suddenly charged downwards and punched Corvus in the face.

Corvus, now enraged, turned her sword into a gauntlet and raised it to the sky.

"YOU'RE ALL FINISHED, EMPRESS' LANCER"

Corvus launched an all-consuming wave of energy into the skies, leaving only Yang and Vegeta to block the attack.

"Don't you dare hold back..!" Vegeta glared at Yang.

"Against her? We're ending this NOW!!!"

"Everyone, now's our chance..!"

"Let's finish this! VOLTAGE CRASHER!!!"

Cade and Twilight instantly launched their own attacks, forcing Corvus to redirect some of her power towards them.

"FIRE DRAGON ROAR!!!"

"ICE-MAKE: ICE CANNON!!!"

"WIND DRAGON ROAR!!!"

"SILVER STREAM!!!!"

Three more attacks added to Cade's assault as Corvus tried to withstand everyone's power.

"Oreo, get ready..." Auburn ordered as both of them raised their pick and bow.

"Now!!"

The ensuing sound waves caught Corvus off-guard, allowing everyone's attacks to nearly coalese and surpass Corvus'.

"YOU DOUBT MY DIVINE RULE?!" Corvus demanded in anger.

"Xiao Long, We've let the others have their fun. This ends now!"

"I couldn't agree more! FLAMING ECLIPSE!!!"

"GALICK GUN!!!!"

Corvus' eyes shot open as she redirected all of her power to counter Yang and Vegeta's combined attack, leaving her open to Cade and Twilight's.

Instantly, Corvus had been blown across the city, through the other side of the wall, and out of Lithia's outer boundary.

"Heh...Heh... She's still alive... barely.."

"We can't take any chances.. not with her." Erza stated.

"Where's Alex?" Lucy wondered.

"Dad... Oreonna, let's hurry.." Auburn ordered.

"Seriously?!" Oreonna rolled her eyes.

"Either way, Corvus is too dangerous to let loose. She'll regain her power and keep damaging our worlds.." Twilight decided.

"I agree.. Let's deal with her, and deal with Saigo the same way." Ultimus stated.

"Right..!" Julius agreed.

"We'll let Mom decide what to do with... Mom..?" Cade wondered.

*Meanwhile*

Yang landed outside of the City, wincing at the sight of Corvus' burnt and broken body.

Corvus had been burned on one side, where Cade, Twilight, and Fairy Tail's attack had blown her away. It looked as though her's and Vegeta's attacks also did a number on the All-Maiden, as her power had been drained significantly.

Corvus herself had lost her full-powered form, and appeared to be resting.

Yang took another step closer.

"You...You've failed me..." Corvus coughed weakly.

"The only people I've actually failed are my family and friends. I'd call you a monster, but I bet you'd take it as a compliment." Yang scowled.

"Ha... I've broken you and your group... How are the others possibly going to forgive you for this..."

"They already did." Yang retorted, her hands slowly balling into fists.

"So naive... You're as much of a broken shell as your former husband... Your friends have already been divided... and just because they helped you dispose of me doesn't mean that everything will be back to normal..." Corvus grinned.

Yang kicked Corvus sharply in the side.

"Why?! What was the point of all this?! Couldn't you have just warned us like Cade did?!" Yang demanded, choking back tears.

"You're missing the point... The world had been expanding and all the while had grown too dependent on Alex and his 'Unity' Group... When they perished at Osiris' hand... there was no stopping it...

"Osiris is too strong for a mere Team... Entire populations need to be ready to stand and fight... All of them stronger than Unity could ever dream to be.. And the only way to ensure that is war... It has turned people like Alex and yourself from mere Huntsman-level trash into warriors who could stand on the shoulders of giants..

"The alliances formed since the Inquisitor War have proven able to respond to major, apocalypse level events that the Inquisitors originally intended to fight off themselves, but it was a powder keg waiting to burst... the majority have never seen Unity as the force for good you claim to be... Instead as a hostile takeover waiting to happen... I've merely accelerated the oncoming wars.."

"I NEED A REAL ANSWER! WHY GO THROUGH ALL OF THIS TROUBLE JUST TO TEAR US APART!!!" Yang demanded.

Corvus smiled.

"Yang... Do you know why Cinder went through such lengths to achieve the power I hold now..? It's because after Osiris is defeated my hand alongside the rest of the populace.. Our Tribe could be legendary.. I could rule every dimension, with a legion of powerful soldiers at my beck and call... a legion, and power, that you would inherit one fateful day...

"As this timeline's counterpart had said, I left because the Corvus Tribe needed a leader. I've led numerous raids on villages outside of Mistral for resources so we could one day defeat Salem ourselves.. I intended to start an empire... With you as it's Heiress..."

Yang glared at her mother in shock.

"I... You.. You monster..!"

Yang launched one final shot from her Celestial Detonator, ending her mother's life as a glowing, multi-colored ball floated into her. Powering down immediately, she felt this new energy flowing through her as her mother's new sword changed from purple to bright yellow, and attached itself to Yang's robotic arm.

Mystified, Yang almost didn't hear Cade calling her.

She quickly flew over to where he was standing, along with her sister, her kids, and the rest of her friends.

"Yang?" Kat shouted.

"Kat, what are you doing here?"

"I got a distress call, and it looks like the Ocelots and the Ryders got the same one as well.." Kat stated as Ryder carriers landed outside the city, with Silver Ocelots landing Bullheads not too far away.

"We heard a distress signal, what happened?!" Protá demanded.

"Kat? Did you send a distr-What. Happened...?" Liss wondered as she suddenly saw the devastation.

"I'll tell you everything once we find Alex."

"Over here!" Cade shouted.

The group ran over to Cade, where they had Alex strapped down and wrapped in bandages.

"He's been stabilized, but he isn't waking up. He had one more Senzu Bean on him." Vegeta stated as he started to place the bean in Alex's mouth.

Yang's hand darted over, blocking Vegeta's hand.

"Are you out of your mind, woman?!" He demanded.

"Are you?! You saw what happened, if he wakes up, he'll kill us all!" Yang shouted.

"Why would he do that..?" Kat wondered.

"Saigo's mental state seems badly deteriorated.. what could have caused this..?" Protá asked.

"I'll... Explain later.." Yang sighed.

"Until then, search the city for survivors." Protá ordered.

"Find any salvagable resources, report to Kat if you find anything unusual!" Liss added.

"Search for any unknown artifacts! If you find anything, report back to me!" Kat finished.

"Kat... We need to talk... In private.." Yang said.

"Yeah.. Cade, Auburn, come with Yang and I!" Ruby called out.

"Ruby, I said in private.."

"What? We're your family.. I think the only family you have left.." Ruby sighed.

"Okay... Come on..." Yang nodded.

"Until then, have any available transport escort Evan, Ultimus, Natsu, and the others to the nearest Dimensional Gate." Twilight ordered.

"Already on it." Liss confirmed.

Twilight took another look at the devastated landscape with a look of confusion and horror.

"What in Equestria happened while I was gone?!" Twilight wondered again

Author's Note

Sorry about the short chapter, but I had to cram to get this all done by today..

I'll go more into the Aftermath of this Arc in an Interlude mini-arc between this and the Osiris Arc.

Anyways, before any of that, I'm doing a whole grammatical and formatting overhaul with Blood Red Shadows 1 and 2. Probably should have done it sooner, but I was busy..

Until next time!

-The Destoyer

Chapter 70: Fallout of Wrath
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 70: Fallout of Wrath

*Iridescence Hospital, Adenien; January 18, 2020; 7:00 PM*

"So that's what happened the past few months..." Yang sighed sadly.

She had fought through the Inquisitor Wars, all the way to the Blood Red Night. She fought through the skirmishes in Atlas, Los Santos, and Cairo. And she fought her way through the Shadow Wars, where she, alongside all of her friends and guildmates, fought head-to-head with the likes of demons and gods..

This... This was a completely different dilemma, one that had wreaked havok on her psyche.

She felt tired before, but this battle had drained her.

Kat and Ruby had stared at Yang, eyes wide with horror.

"I had no idea..." Ruby sniffled, locking her sister in a tight hug.

"Why hasn't anyone contacted me about this?" Kat demanded.

"Your forces had been eliminated, Kat. Even if we contacted you, there would have been no way any of us could keep Corvus from doing as much damage as she did." Auburn replied.

"I'm not so sure.. Isn't Kat part-god?" Cade wondered.

"Right..." Yang answered.

"You do have a point, Auburn. Sekhmet and I can only do so much.. In a real fight, we wouldn't survive a combined attack from Yang and Corvus." Kat stated.

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it now... It won't be long before Dragon Lord Ember hears about this."

"What's the plan..?" Ruby wondered, trying desperately to hold back tears.

"Cade, Auburn, I need you two to pick up Little Auburn from Neo's.. I'll take Alex back and give him the Senzu when the time is right." Yang decided.

"Waking him up in the same room as you is suicide, Yang. He's been training the past 2 Years, if what Vegeta told me is true." Kat rebuked.

"I can handle it..." Yang decided.

"I'm going with you.." Ruby added.

"You sure..?" Yang asked.

"He's my brother-in-law, Yang.. We can't let him live the way he's been living.." Ruby answered.

"I'm going too. If nothing else, I can help defuse the situation if he freaks out." Kat stated.

"Thanks, Kat.." Yang smiled weakly.

"Let's get moving, we might not have much longer.." Cade urged.

"One more thing, Yang. We'll need that weapon Corvus gave to you for testing. We should inform Ozpin that you recieved the All-Maiden's power, too." Kat decided.

"Gotcha." Yang nodded.

"Should Alex ever go AWOL and fight for the wrong side, we need you to keep him in check. He's too dangerous on the other side of the fight." Kat added.

*Iridescence Capital Hall, Adenien; January 18, 2020; 7:20 PM*

"THAT SON OF A BITCH IS ALIVE?!" Ember demanded, completely enraged.

Twilight, along with Sunset Shimmer and Starlight Glimmer, had been in a meeting with the Representatives of Remnant, Dragon Lord Ember, Supreme Leader Krete's Council, Gran Doma, The Chairman of the Magic Council, along with two other members of the Council, and Chancellor Hunter Smith, along with Senators of the North American Federation's Parliament.

"I wasn't aware of Alex's survival after the death of Princess Cadence and Shining Armor.." Twilight stated.

"That wasn't directed at you, Twilight. I was speaking to Sunset and Starlight." Ember disdainfully declared.

"Truthfully, we have been aware... We were under the impression that he would answer for his crimes once he had awakened after the attempt at his life, but he had left our dimension before we could bring him before you.." Sunset admitted.

"And what did he do instead?!" Ember demanded.

"He trained for the next two months, and confronted the Princess' assassins." Sunset replied,

"And did 2.3 Billion Marks worth of damage to the city of Lithia." Supreme Leader Krete coldly added.

"We could provide workers to help compensate the damage Captain Walker did. After all, he is from Earth.." Chancellor Smith decided.

"Not to mention destroying Magnolia a second time! A Magic Council member shouted.

"Until further notice, Adenien will not be able to provide for the defense of the NAF until such time as Lithia is restored." Krete stated.

"B-But that leaves us completely open to our enemies..!" Chancellor Smith desperately reasoned.

"Remnant will also be stepping out of our financial agreements." A Vale Representative decided.

"While all of you are worrying about sanctions, I have to worry about an entire nation of dragons screaming for blood! If I don't declare war on Equestria now, they'll kill me." Ember stated.

"W-WHAT?!" Twilight gasped.

"Now is not the time for war, Ember. We need to be able to move along if our nations and worlds are to survive." Krete scolded.

"Tell that to an army of angry dragons!" Ember replied, exasperated.

"It is no accident that monster, Alex Walker, has led not only your kind to darkness, but Fairy Tail as well. The mages of Fiore are allied in your cause, Dragon Lord Ember." The Chairman announced.

"Chairman, is this really the best course of action?" The Representative of Mistral demanded.

"Either ally yourselves to our cause or die like the other 24,000 of our residents lost in meaningless war!" A Council member shouted as he slammed his fist on the table.

"... No. The Armies of Remnant must defend their allies. I say we fight!" The Atlas Representative declared.

"Have you lost your mind?!" The Vacuo Representative, completely surprised, asked.

"He's right. Equestria has been our ally since the Inquisitor War, we can't stand by and let our allies be eradicated." The Mistral Representative assured.

"Vale will not take part in this war. It's purely idiotic to send men and women to die defending a broken nation."

"Tell that to Adenien." a Magic Council Member scoffed, casting a condescending glare at Supreme Leader Krete.

"I just said we could no longer provide funding for Earth." Krete retorted.

"If Adenien and Earth won't fight, we'll wipe out the NAF, too!" The Magic Council Members shouted.

"This is escalating too quick..!" Ember sweatdropped.

"Very well... Vacuo shall send it's forces to help Fiore and the Dragon Lands.."

"T-This is insane..!" Sunset gasped.

"Mistral will assist Atlas. Our trade routes with Equestria are vital to our economy."

"And what say you, Supreme Leader?" Chancellor Smith demanded.

Supreme Leader Krete coldly glared at Chairman Doma.

"Adenien can't afford to take part in this conflict, at least, not officially. However, if we were able to provide assistance, we would defend our allies."

*Location Unknown, January 18, 2020; 8:01 PM*

"You really screwed up, you know.."

Alex knew he was dreaming again. He half-expected Saisho to appear again.

This voice was very different.

"Who..?" Alex gasped.

"I don't think we've met yet, Saigo.." The voice called again as a somewhat familiar figure materialized before him.

" Chūkan.." Alex gasped.

"Yep..! So... Shit's kinda hit the fan here.." Chūkan awkwardly began.

"No shit, Sherlock. I exploded." Alex deadpanned.

"Only after breaking your wife out of mind control and nearly killing all of your friends."

"Ex-wife. Former friends. Assholes all turned their backs on me, and for what?" Alex corrected.

"FOR EVERYTHING I JUST SAID, IDIOT!" Chūkan shouted.

Alex sharply turned his back on his older brother.

"I-I'm sorry..." Chūkan immediately apologized.

"It's fine. Not the first time I've been called an idiot for all the right reasons." Alex shrugged.

"So... what are you gonna do about Yang..? Kat, Ruby, and the others think you'll kill her the moment you wake up." Chūkan wondered.

"Y'know what? Fuck 'em. I'm not even talking to them." Alex coldly declared.

"N-Not even Yang..?" Chūkan asked.

"Especially not Yang. You must've seen what she did to me. She's too dangerous to be around. The other assholes either want me dead or want me out." Alex figured.

"Then, what's the plan..?" Chūkan wondered.

Alex stood in silence for a long time.

His "friends" were the only reason he had lived this long in the first place. For the first time since his parents had died, he actually felt at home with those people.

That was then.

That was before Corvus absolutely gutted their unity and drove a wedge between their homes.

Now?

"I'm staying the fuck away from them. I'm done" Alex decided.

"What?! They'll need you more than ever! The Dragon Lands and Equestria essentially Balkanized the other worlds you guys made contact with! It's like your World War I on a bigger scale!" Chūkan exclaimed.

"Honestly, I don't give a fuck. Every world can blow each other to smithereens as far as I care." Alex scoffed, forcing himself awake.

Alex jolted upwards from the bed.... wait...

A quick look around the room told him this was Ruby and Yang's childhood home in Patch.

How did he get here?! He'd assumed they'd leave him for dead in Lithia...

Lord knows that's what he would've done..

"Alright. I'm gonna give Alex his Senzu." Yang said from the other room.

"I'm going with!" Ruby declared.

Alex quickly got to work opening the window, leaping out onto the cold winter's snow.

Deciding to be more careful with his escape this time around, he lowered his Aura Level, and quickly scampered into the woods a safe distance.

"Shit, shit, shit..! He's gone..!" Yang cursed.

"Where is he?!" Ruby fretted.

"HE WHAT?!" Kat demanded.

Alex privately winced, now sneaking further into the frozen woods.

He heard more and more panicked murmuring, along with a few barks.

"Dammit, Zwei.." Alex growled under his breath.

Alex, now desperate, flew at top-speed in the general direction of Vale, where the closest Dimensional Gate was located.

Surely, he'd figure something out..

He had to.

Chapter 71: A New War
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 71: A New War

*Expectans, Vitylis; January 19, 2020; 1:00 AM*

Alex kicked the door open to his old training center.

Having nobody around to tend to the site for roughly 2 or 3 years, and it being winter, the shack had fallen into disrepair, with the roof clearly being weathered by torrential rains and bone-chilling winters, and there were signs of water damage all along the roof of the house.

Thankfully, there was more to the shack than meets the eye.

Enclosed was a basement equipped with all of his old training gear, temperature control, a cross-dimensional comms rig, and several other functions that should be able to supply Alex properly for the time being.

There was another major perk to this place. None of his former friends knew exactly where this hideout was.

Even if they had discovered his location, it was a tremendous effort to reach the hideout, on account of it being on top of a mountain.

And by the time they reached the area, Alex would have spotted them and left with time to spare.

"Well, this place could use a pick-me-up.... Honestly, so could I.." Alex muttered, headed downstairs towards the comms rig.

Walking down the stairs, Alex eventually found the training room, with the comms rig to his right.

Taking a seat, Alex turned on the machine, revealing a familiar AI.

"Welcome back, Alexander. How did your earlier mission go?" Andromeda asked.

"How... long has it been since we left you here..? Do an update of the time and date." Alex sighed.

"The date is... wow.. January 19, 2020.. Did Canis leave too?" Andromeda winced.

"Yep. Also, give me an update of the current news." Alex demanded.

"Sheesh, what's got your panties in a bunch..? Let's see... Oh, no.." Andromeda groaned.

"What?!"

"It seems Equestria and the Dragon Lands have started a war. Fiore, Vacuo, Vale, and the Silver Ocelots have sided with the Dragon Lands, with Atlas, Mistral, The Federation, and the Adenien Ryders on Equestria's side." Andromeda explained.

"Ok, ok, ok... We can use this... We'll be fine.." Alex stammered.

"You plan on playing both sides, don't you?" Andromeda flatly deduced.

"How would I be able to make money if I didn't? I know it's a shitty thing to do, but this isn't the time for moral reservations, here." Alex retorted.

"What about Yang? Or your friends?" Andromeda gasped.

"Fuck 'em." Alex shrugged.

"...What happened?" Andromeda deadpanned.

"I'll explain later... Give me a detailed report on all Equestrian and Draconian operations." Alex demanded.

"How would you know whether I still have access to Equestria's military database? Or even anyone's?" Andromeda wondered

"Andromeda, you've been inactive for 2 years at least, and Royal Guards aren't the sharpest tools in the shed." Alex scoffed.

"A group of 30 dragons are flying in towards Baltimare. Intel suggests that Fiore's working on a Dimensional Gate to Canterlot, and The Silver Ocelots have just appeared in Vanhoover.

My estimates suggest that the Equestrian East Coast won't last an hour. However, Royal Guards and Adenien Ryders are working on defenses in case of a Fiorian attack, and Earth's dispatched a new strike team, and should be attacking the Ocelots within 3 days." Andromeda explained.

"Earth has a new strike team? Who's leading?" Alex wondered.

"Some of your old friends." Andromeda replied, pulling up several files. It didn't take Alex long to discover the culprits.

"Vanoss's team is leading a strike force?" Alex gaped.

"It appears so."

"What about Remnant? I haven't heard you mention any operations of the Kingdoms." Alex wondered.

"It seems Remnant is gridlocked in a civil war, each vying for control over their Dimensional Gateways." Andromeda replied.

"Alright... That's all I need to know... Print the info and patch a secure line to one of my former associates." Alex ordered.

"Sure thing, anyone specific in mind?" Andromeda asked.

"Everyone."

*Beacon Academy, Vale, Remnant; January 19, 2020; 2:00 PM*

Professor Ozpin stood with the other Maidens, now including Neo and Yang, in his office for a personal meeting.

"Maidens of Remnant, war is upon us once more. Our world, once peaceful, is now embroiled in war again." Ozpin began.

"Yeah, a war that was her own fault." Neo scoffed, glaring at Yang.

"You wanna go, pipsqueak? See what happens!" Yang indignantly shouted back.

"With all due respect, we should be focusing on the main problem at hand." The Spring Maiden, Lilac, figured.

Lilac a young woman with purple hair and green eyes, and was roughly 5 or 6 years older than Yang herself.

"True. Especially considering the All-Maiden just so happened to stumble upon the Relic of Destruction!" The Winter Maiden, named Orchid, added with a cold glare in Yang's direction.

Orchid herself appeared only slightly younger than Lilac, yet much shorter with stark white hair and purple eyes.

"That's what this thing is?!" Yang gaped.

"Yeah. The Relic was found in the rubble of Shade Academy after a Fury Infestation. It was stolen a little while before the whole mess in Los Santos." The Summer Maiden, Aster, explained.

Aster was roughly a year older than Lilac, and had purple hair that turned yellow towards the ends, with golden eyes.

"Ladies. I'll have Miss Rose come in with you. Hopefully, you can reach a decision on our next move." Ozpin stated, exiting the room and leaving the door open for Ruby.

"So, what's the plan..?" Ruby asked.

"For right now, we should try to isolate ourselves as much as possible. In a world of gods and monsters, we must remain isolated if we are to survive." Orchid decided.

"But isn't it our duty to help people?" Lilac wondered.

"I'm with 'Cold Shoulder' here. I say we stay hidden. If we broadcast ourselves to the world like your idiotic Unity team, everything we've worked for will fall apart." Neo declared.

"What do you mean 'we'? Didn't you work with Cinder? You know, the psychopath who nearly had us all killed?!" Aster wondered in horror.

"Not to mention she gave you the Fall Maiden's abilities in the first place?" Ruby added.

"Don't bring my history into this!" Neo glared at Ruby.

"Everyone shut up!!" Yang practically shouted.

The entire room quickly went silent.

"Listen. A very... very close friend of mine recently returned from training.. His mentor talked about a very special training technique I think we could use." Yang explained.

"Was it the room with the gravity or the one with the 'wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff'?" Ruby asked.

"Now is hardly the time for idle discussion. We should be discussing battle tactics, or alliances." Orchid shook her head in dismay.

"May I ask where you're going with this, Yang?" Lilac asked.

"If we're going to put a stop to the war, we need to know what we're fighting against, and we need to be stronger than them." Yang answered.

"We aren't even sure who we're fighting for." Aster retorted.

"I say we try to get the Kingdoms of Remnant to stop fighting each other long before we fight someone else's battles." Lilac decided.

"From what I can tell, both sides are evenly stacked against eachother. The only group with any real disadvantage would be Equestria." Orchid stated.

"Equestria has powerful magic on it's side. Sure, a few cities will be burned to the ground by a swarm of dragons, but they won't conquer the entire nation." Neo pointed out.

"Why should we pick sides? Aren't we supposed to help people?!" Ruby asked in dismay.

"And have everyone try to kill us? Not that idealism isn't good, but this is war." Orchid stated.

"What Ruby might be trying to say is that we should help any villages or small towns under attack." Yang suggested.

"If that's the case, I say we stick around the NAF. They're practically defenseless without a steady income of Remnant and Adenien taxes." Orchid scoffed.

"How about this... We stick with the biggest guns: The Dragons, Fiore, and... Wait, who's Atlas with again?" Lilac wondered.

"I'm sorry, but I'm from Atlas. I won't betray my home." Orchid stated.

"Look, let's try a mix of Ruby's and Lilac's first ideas. We stick with helping the smaller communities where neither side will particularly care. It'll also help us stay secret." Neo decided.

"I have another idea! Our new 'friends' here have some friends on all sides! If they can get them to help us, the people running the operations might turn a blind eye to what we're doing!" Aster added.

"That might be true, but Fairy Tail as a whole is essentially a Dark Guild now.. They might want to work with us, though." Yang figured.

"We'll see. Shall we discuss the plan with Professor Ozpin?" Orchid wondered.

*Unknown Location; January 20, 2020; 3:33 PM*

A group of cloaked figures walked single-file inside a large hallway. The group headed into a room with a large, round table with chairs in each one.

Waiting for them was another figure with a more ornate cloak, complete with a golden eye on his hood.

"I hereby call this meeting to order. May the Divine hear our words and be pleased." The Leader declared.

"Praise be to the Divine!" The group chanted.

"Now, It has come to my attention that a major war has struck multiple worlds. A war the likes of which has not been seen in centuries. This was not part of our plan. What is the meaning of this?" The Leader demanded..

"According to some accounts, particularly one 'Katherine Anderson', the war was propagated by one Raven Branwen. Katherine explained that Her plan was to merely start a conflict on Earth and financial crisis in Adenien, however the unwitting action of one 'Alex Walker' caused a simple worldly conflict to escalate to total war." One of the followers explained.

"Alex Walker? As in the Catalyst of Inqusitorius?" The Leader wondered.

"Yes, my leige."

"Intriguing. It's a shame Brother Locust couldn't have had him inducted into The Order. Brother Ignis, The Captain worked with you roughly three years ago, yes?" The Leader asked.

"Indeed. He contacted me yesterday saying he was searching for work. It seems he's severed all ties with Unity."

"Such a shame. Talented warriors like Ms. Rose or Mr. Fong would have been useful. Have you made contact with the new SCP Doctor yet, Brother Juno?"

"Doctor Richtofen? Yes, my liege. He's more than willing to assist us in our mission."

"Very good. Brother Ignis, I need you to work with Brother Juno. The combined strength of the Catalyst and the Brilliance of the Doctor will prove most useful."

"Yes, my liege!" Both members bowed.

"Now, Sister Minerva, I need you to make contact with Princess Twilight. Sister Cerise, I need you to accompany Ignis and Richtofen on our operations. The Catalyst trusts you, anyways."

"Yes, sir." Another hooded figure nodded.

"But sir, Why would the Catalyst want to join us, anyways?" Yet another figure, pulling her hood back to reveal Mako, wondered.

"Because we have an offer he cannot refuse." The Leader replied.

Author's Note

Aaaaand, still awful with posting chapters.

Hey, everyone! Destoyer here, and I'm going to talk about some of the stuff I'm planning in this story for the future.

First of all, for the Osiris Arc, I'm going to work with some interesting ideas.

Main thing is: I'll have Blood Red Shadows somewhat go back to it's roots somewhat. Y'know, minor occult/conspiracy theory stuff, themes of friendship vs. working alone, all that fun stuff that got people into the story before it became some anime copy-paste.

(Not that this isn't still gonna be one, mostly because it's fun to work with.)

And who better to kick that occult stuff into high gear than The Illuminati?

Something else I've been thinking about implementing..?

Actually I have no idea, what was I saying..?

oh, right.

SECONDLY:

Scarlet Entry #1 is still in Development Hell for the time being while I think of a place to drop Twilight, Fluttershy, and the others besides... ugh... Undertale.

(Seriously, what the hell was I thinking!)

Unfortunately, though, that means Vanoss' new Strike Force won't be entirely revealed until I think of something.

Basically anything outside of Undertale, Teen Titans GO, and Steven Universe is fair game, so I have a lot of options, that's what's taking me so long.

And third....

Feel free to leave a comment!!

(Man, It's been a while since I've solicited comments... I really have lost touch..)

-The Destoyer

Chapter 72: Colorful Personality
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 72: Colorful Personality

*Kiros, Vitylis; January 22, 2020; 2:00 PM*

The village of Kiros, housed in a valley nestled in the crevice of two mountains, was one of the few pockets of civilization in the Expectans mountain range capable of Dimensional Transport.

In the year Alex had trained there, it was also a hub for any job, whether under-the-table or official government-funded missions. In this particular case, Alex had been tasked to meet with a former associate of his.

Figuring Ignis would be somewhere nearby, Alex decided to settle down for the moment and have a drink...

...Barring the fact that Alex's reappearance had caused quite a bit of talk in the pub.

"Hey..! Long time no *hic* see, old buddy..!" Iota, one of the regulars at the particular bar Alex frequented, drunkenly greeted.

"Oh, for fuck sake. Five o' clock isn't for another few hours. Don't you have anywhere else to dance?" Alex scowled.

Iota was one of the local... entertainers... in town, and had taken a liking to Alex after indulging in one of his war stories.

"Aw, c'mon..! *hic* You not happy to see me?" Iota grinned, sitting next to him.

"Well, given that I actually have shit to do, no." Alex grumbled.

It wasn't the only reason Alex wanted her to leave him be, but it worked as an excuse.

"You sure..? After all, I heard you're *hic* on the market so to speak after that mess in Lithia.." She nudged his shoulder knowingly.

Alex winced in agony, both physical and emotional.

"How did you know about that..?" He demanded in a low voice.

"It's *hic* a-a-all over the news!" Iota grinned, holding up an article on her data-pad.

"About time, too. Now we get to throw our hat in the ring." Photis, another bar patron and mercenary for hire like Alex, shrugged.

"Didn't know they let your kind still do merc work." Alex glared.

"Oh, please. You're still upset over the Banik incident?" Photis scoffed.

"We both know you just ditched the Dealer during pickup. Hope your jail cell was cozy enough." Alex smirked.

"You watch your tongue, Thunder Blood, or I'll just have to take it for safekeeping!" Photis shouted.

Iota instantly grasped Alex in a close embrace, even stroking his arm.

"Aw, now don't listen to him, Sparky.. I'll take good care of y-"

Alex simply nudged her off.

"Can you both piss off? I have a meeting in a few minutes, and I'm not having either one of you barflies screw my chances like with Countess Oni." Alex scowled.

"Countess Oni, what a prude. I'm not that judgemental, hon." Iota tisked as she rolled her eyes.

"Iota, I don't have time for this." Alex shook his head in disapproval.

"Truthfully, I have to agree. Step away from him, please." Ignis declared, stepping inside the bar.

"Fiine. See you later, hon?" Iota winked.

Alex merely let out an exasperated sigh.

Ignis allowed Iota to move over and sit across from Alex.

"Long time no see. What's the occasion?" Alex began.

"A few associates of mine are meeting up to discuss the current state of things. If you help us complete a series of missions for us, your reward will be far greater than your imagination." Ignis explained.

"I've gotten that line a lot. What are we talkin' here?" Alex demanded.

"You are familiar with the Dragon Balls, yes?" Ignis asked.

"Let me guess. 'Immortality', 'restored youth', 'making a new planet', that kind of bullshit?" Alex facepalmed.

"We're still discussing the terms, but..." Ignis explained.

"But what?" Alex glared, wanting him to just get to the point.

"I recall you once told me that you wish to see everything that transpired undone. My associates and I intend to undo the damage done by the Inquisitor Wars." Ignis grinned.

"The Dragon Balls are powerful, but not enough to alter time. Believe me, I tried asking about Time Travel, but the technology isn't there yet." Alex elaborated, recalling a discussion with Bulma over the subject.

"Well... It won't alter time, but I can assure you, it will undo The Inquisitor War." Ignis promised.

Alex took a moment to think over Ignis' offer.

'Undo the Inquisitor Wars? I could go back to my old life.. I could finish school, start a famil... Ok.. Ok.. It won't be time-

related, but.. What would all this entail..? Who the hell cares?! I have a way to end This war and every last bit of bullshit I started! And if all goes well, I won't ever have to deal with those ungrateful bastards again!'

"Where do I sign up?" Alex calmly asked.

Ignis grabbed Alex's shoulder.

"I knew you'd say yes. Follow me." Ignis grinned.

Ignis stood up from his chair and stepped out the door, with Alex not far behind.

*Vanhoover, Equestria; January 22, 2020; 2:30 PM*

The Silver Ocelot outpost in the city had been cheaply set-up in a destroyed shop. Windows had been lined with MG emplacements and sniper posts, with only an armored vehicle.

Easy prey for Vanoss's New Squadron.

"So, any ideas on how to handle this?" Vanoss asked.

"Well, it's kind of a basic bitch base. We got this." Basically shrugged.

"Yeeeah. Let's take 'em out." Nogla added.

"Hehehehe.. Let's show these punks what Delirious is all about.." Delirious giggled, twirling a hatchet in his hands.

"Hey Tyler, who the fuck are these new people?" Lui wondered, gesturing towards a relatively small team of 4.

"My god.. they look so much younger.." A familiar, yet gravelly voice gasped.

The first one of the group to reveal themselves was a pony. Specifically a dark orange unicorn mare with a grey and black mane.

None other than Burning Ember. One of Skirmish's teammates who died during the Blood Red Night.

"No kidding.. If we weren't on a mission now, I'd almost think they'd never seen combat.." The second figure, a woman with red hair, green eyes, and modified armor and weaponry, added.

They recognized her instantly: Pyrrha Nikos. Team JNPR's former Fall Maiden.

"Thanks, Einstein! Shut the fuck up, I know these bitches!" The third sarcastically quipped.

This... was a new person..

He wore literally nothing but a pair of tightie whities, a panda hat, and a bandolier.

Ladies and gents, Bigjigglypanda.

"Fuck you, Anthony." Wildcat rolled his eyes.

"EAT A DICK TYLER, I HAVE TO GET A NEW TV SOMEHOW!" Panda retorted.

"Bitch, it's been 3 years. That new TV better be, i dunno, fucking 64K." Wildcat shot back.

"Will all of you shut the fuck up for 5 seconds?! Jesus!!" The fourth groaned internally.

The fourth figure was somewhat familiar to all of them. It was someone they had only known for at most a few weeks during the Inquisitor Wars, one that had given his life to destroy an orbital bombardment satellite above Vytal.

The fourth figure was the long-dead Russell Leone.

"How the fuck did you find them? Aren't all of you guys dead?!" Terroriser demanded.

"These guys are gonna help us with the mission. We met them when Twilight fucked up her thing back in Magnolia." Wildcat explained.

"Oh, so they're from another universe." Moo quickly concluded.

"Just the three. We had to call Panda for help a bit later." Ohm explained.

"And some help this bitchass was." Basically rolled his eyes.

"I brought in a fucking missile launcher, how is that not help?!" Panda retorted.

"Shut up!" Russell shouted.

Instantly, the whole crowd went silent...

Mostly because a Silver Ocelot battalion found their hiding spot in the midst of their arguing.

"Celestia Dammit, EVERY TIME!" Ember shouted in exasperation.

*Illuminatus Centrum, Downfall; January 22, 2020; 3:00 PM*

Alex and Ignis stepped side-by-side towards an ornate pyramid.

"Ignis, what the hell is this place?" Alex wondered.

Looking up at the bright pink-orange sky and blue sun, Alex stared around him, as nothing but the pyramid stood in the desolate gray flatland.

"This... is Nihilos 0-01 Gamma. Kalos Ultra."

Alex sighed, thinking back to the grim tale of the failed assault in this dimension around 15 years before.

"All that remained here when we discovered it was this desolate wasteland, and this pyramid here. Our associates should be just inside." Ignis explained.

Ignis grabbed the door's intricate metal handle and pushed the door open, strained by the effort, he quickly fell to the ground, exhausted.

Not bothering to help his associate, Alex walked through the door, gripped with suspicion.

The interior was composed of a dark grey rock, along with dimly glowing red light illuminating the halls.

"Welcome to the Centrum, Alexander." A cloaked member bowed.

"Your meeting is down this hallway, third door to your right." Another instructed.

Alex nodded, following the second member down the hallway alongside Ignis.

"Your meeting is here. May the Divine watch over you." The member bowed.

Alex glared in the member's direction as she walked away, shaking his head.

"Suspicious?" Ignis wondered.

"It comes with the job. Now let's see what the hell these people want from me." Alex grumbled, opening the door.

Alex merely glanced inside, then jolted, freezing in shock.

"Alexander. I remember you from ze incident in Magnolia."

"Alex?! S-Stay back..!" Twilight instantly flew on the carved obsidian table, horn alight with immensely powerful magic.

Alex raised Agartha's Thunder in it's SCAR-H form, glaring at Twilight hatefully.

"Stop!"

A member lowered her hood, and raised a familiar Colt 1911 at Alex.

"Mako?!" Alex gasped.

The raven-haired CIA Agent eventually lowered her pistol and sat down next to Ignis and another female member.

"Now that we've all been reintroduced, let's get to the point here." Mako decided.

Alex sat down, converting his weapon to it's bladed form and sheathing it.

"Fine."

"Agent Mako. Director Anderson holds you in high regard.. It is an honor to finally meet you." Richtofen raised his hand, shaking Mako's.

"Doctor Edward Richtofen. You've interested me ever since I've seen your DG-2 Prototype. Kat says your researching energy sources from other dimensions might lead to a technological revolution the likes of which Earth has never seen." Mako nodded.

"Sister Cerise, may we start the meeting?" The other member near pleaded.

"Fine. Sister Minerva, I'll let you explain to our associates just who we are." Mako decided.

"Very well. Like Agent Cerise here, I am a member of the most influential groups in the known universe. Where the Inheritors and Inquisitors were a group of inter-dimensional warriors, we are a group of inter-dimensional diplomats, world leaders, and guardians. We've been known by many names through the eons since our founding, but the one most known and associated with us is a name given by Earth's first ambassador to our order. The Illuminati." Minerva explained.

Alex scoffed.

"The fuckin' Illuminati. Let me guess, George Bush is actually a lizard person, airplanes spray chemical trails to reduce the populace into slaves, and while we're at it, the Earth is flat." Alex joked.

"Do... Do people actually believe zat?" Richtofen asked in disbelief.

"Just wait, I haven't shown you Tumblr yet." Alex laughed slightly as he cried on the inside.

"May we get back to the subject?" Mako asked.

"Now, since the Inheritors were wiped out by Corvus Branwen, We need a new group of warriors to help us advance our agenda." Minerva explained.

"Which is what?" Alex slowly demanded.

"Freedom, equality, and safety for all sentient life. Have you studied any Enlightenment Era authors?" Minerva asked.

"Probably." Alex replied evenly.

"Everything our order has built is in stake because of these unforeseen events. Desperate times call for desperate measures. What we ask of you may seem herculean, but the rewards are well worth the effort."

"I recall Ignis discussing the terms of my payment. What exactly are you using to return the favor?" Alex wondered..

"Alex! These people want to free people and keep them safe, and you demanded payment?!" Twilight demanded.

"Excuse me, Princess, but I don't have any other option! The main reason I agreed to work with Ignis was because I needed money. Turns out these people have something money can't buy. Besides, I wasn't even aware of the Order's existence before today." Alex coldly replied.

"You are familiar with the Dragonballs, right?" Minerva asked.

"The what..?" Twilight wondered.

"Do I... want to know?" Richtofen shook his head.

"Yeah, what's your point?" Alex asked.

"Dragon Balls are magical artifacts from Universe Toriyama 0-84 Phi. Gather all 7 of them, and depending on the dragon, they grant you a set amount of wishes." Mako explained.

"You may not know, but there are different types of Dragonballs, each with limitations with what they're able to accomplish. Namek's Dragonballs are stronger than their Earth's version. And theirs are simply descended from their universe's Super Dragon Balls, which are the size of planets and have no limit to their wishes. We have engineered our own version of them." Minerva continued.

"WHAT?!" Alex gasped.

"So, you're telling me these 'Dragon Balls' can grant wishes? What kind of wishes?" Twilight asked.

"Stuff like immortality and restoring youth is a common wish. Wishing back dead people is used a lot in that world." Alex explained.

"Zat kind of power... could change the world forever.." Richtofen gasped.

"Our Dragon Balls, while only capable of granting a single wish, are able to restore multiple galaxies and even wish across Dimensions, something no Dragon Ball from that universe ever could." Minerva added.

"That's insane! You don't know what could happen if someone evil collected all of them!" Twilight gasped.

"Which is why we need you three specifically. Richtofen and Twilight; your combined intellect and talent in battle will benefit our Order greatly." Minerva explained.

"I accept, though I will be cautious. Ze Illuminati have plagued an alternate version of myself before." Richtofen nodded.

"Equestria desperately needs allies. I'll accept too." Twilight added.

"Alex, you will be receiving temporary membership into our order. Under normal circumstances, you're far too unpredictable to work with. The only reason we need you is because you've proven yourself capable of facing Corvus." Minerva added.

"We would've asked Yang, but we couldn't find her. Minerva had nearly found Ultimus, and would've used her had Our Leader and I not recommended you." Mako added.

"You don't know where Yang is?" Alex asked, voicing a surprising amount of concern.

"Remnant is mostly keeping her location secret. After all, she is the new All-Maiden. Not only that, but she was seen weilding Remnant's Relic of Destruction." Minerva replied.

Alex sweatdropped, but remained silent.

"What's our first mission?" Alex scowled."

"I'm glad you asked. We're going to Equestria." Minerva answered.

Author's Note

I HAVE MADE SOMEWHAT OF A DECISION FOR SCARLET ENTRIES NUMBER ONE!

This new group, except Panda, is from another timeline. Exactly what happened? I'll get onto that later.

The Illuminati's mission has been revealed, and along with Twilight and Richtofen, Alex is roped into working with the Order. One question remains..

Why is the Illuminati letting Alex make the wish on their own Dragon Balls?

Leave your answers in the comments below!

-The Destoyer

Chapter 73: Collision Course
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 73: Collision Course

*Vanhoover, Equestria; June 5, 2021; 8:55 PM*

Alex laid his head near one of the damaged buildings, pondering over the events of the past few months.

In their quest to find the Illuminati's Dragon Balls, The Team had visited several worlds, but still had only found six of the Order's seven.

For 18 Months, Alex had to deal with Twilight's rambling, roughly 50% scientific stuff between herself and Richtofen, 45% telling Alex to at least try and speak with Yang and his family, and the other 5% talking with Mako and the rest of the Order...

Cade and Auburn? They were fine, but he couldn't give out exact details of his business.

Yang was still out of the question.

Richtofen had been doing field-testing equipment and weaponry on their adversaries. Unfortunately, though, the end results were usually not only noisy and attracting a lot of attention, but it resulted in the crew having to act as cleanup.

Mako's trustworthiness was still in a gray area for Alex. On one hand, they'd been through hell and back together, but on the other, her loyalties laid with the other 'initiates'.

Going off to a nearby pond to wash his face, Alex took note of the fact that he'd actually been growing a beard.

A dark-blonde tangle of scraggly hair reaching about halfway between his chin and collarbone.

His Armor, which he'd worn since the Lithia Incident, had fallen somewhat into disrepair. Constant battling had rendered most systems inoperable, or too dangerous to even consider. The only function it really served to Alex now was a power boost.

'It'll all be worth it in the end, Alex,' He thought to himself, 'once I find that last Dragon Ball, I can put this all behind me... Start all over... Maybe patch myself up mentally afterwards..'

With a glance at the setting sun and a quick sigh, Alex returned to his 'comrades' at the campsite.

"What we got on that last Dragon Ball, Mako?" Alex asked.

"The Dragon Ball should be somewhere around here.. From what the Radar is telling me, it's stopped here, at least for the next day or two." Mako explained.

"We've been chasing zis damn thing for long enough, Director Cerise... Ve should just take it vhen zey aren't looking." Richtofen grumbled.

"The Ocelots've been moving this thing around dimensions for a while now... they're trying to figure out what the hell it does." Alex rolled his eyes.

"The... Ocelots..?" Twilight wondered, casting an accusing stare at him.

Turns out a power-up wasn't the only thing useful in that Armor.

"Stay calm.. don't give off any other indication." Andromeda guided.

"I just figured that they might be the ones doing this. We've seen the news, the Ocelots have had their hands in this town for months now." Alex replied evenly.

"He isn't wrong.." Mako figured.

"Well then... we should hope that we're the only ones who know about ze Dragon Balls. Ve need to get moving.." Richtofen urged.

Privately, Alex hoped the same... less people in the way of returning the prize to the Illuminati alone.

*Meanwhile, across the city*

"Yang, we should set up camp here.."

The Maidens of Remnant had settled in at Vanhoover, roughly 7 kilometers away, where nobody would suspect a team of Remnant's best and brightest.

"You sure they're here, Orchid?" Lilac wondered.

"I'm positive. The Ocelots've been dimension-hopping from one area to the other. We nearly had at least two of those Dragon Balls and, poof!" Orchid scowled.

"Way I see it, we find the people taking these things, we find the rest. Then we can wish away this stupid war and move on with our lives." Neo added.

"AAnyway, we should get some rest... I don't think we've slept all that much..!" Ruby grinned.

"Agreed... You coming, Yang?" Aster asked.

"Sure, just... hang on.." Yang shrugged.

The Huntress cast a curious stare across town.

'That's him... The energy's faint, but that's him, all right.. Come to think of it... Wherever we go to find these Dragon Balls,

I always find his energy..."

The Maidens had stumbled onto one of them, a four-starred Dragon Ball, by accident.. Next thing she remembered, she woke up, and the Ball had vanished.

'There's no way it's the other kids... Cade's off with Vegeta... and Auburn and Oreonna are keeping up their training with Ultimus and Fairy Tail.. Besides... the kids are strong, but not like.. That..' Yang decided.

Ruby poked her head out from the sleeping bag, knowing full well what Yang was thinking.

She sensed Alex's energy too..

No matter how much she tried to get her sister's mind off of him, she still kept running into traces of him..

'Yang... As much as I don't want you to let go... As much as I hope the two of you smooth things over.. I don't think it's possible anymore...' Ruby grimly thought.

With a sigh, Ruby eventually fell into the clutches of sleep, feeling almost immediate relaxation.

*Meanwhile*

"Cade, Ultimus and I are going to set up camp here."

As soon as Cade arrived, he felt something was off... Two familiar powers surged in the area, along with a mysterious energy that He'd felt since then.

"And you're certain there are Dragon Balls here." Vegeta demanded.

"Illiya and Spyden were the first to take note. Then, Auburn sensed a familiar presence. I felt it too.." Ultimus answered.

"You don't think that lunatic is here too?!" Natsu begged.

"He already said he was, firebreath!" Gray quipped.

"SHUT YOUR TRAP, COLD CUTS!!!" Natsu retorted

"Dragon Balls? In other dimensions? I wouldn't put it past them, but.." Cade shrugged.

"Cade?" Auburn greeted.

"Hey sis." Cade grinned slightly.

"Dad is on one side of town, and Mom's on the other." Auburn explained.

"Yeah.. I noticed too.. You don't think there's a correlation, do you?" Cade hoped.

"It doesn't look like a coincidence.. But who's stalking who?" Oreonna asked.

"Either way, unless we can stop our parents from killing eachother, then this whole thing is gonna blow over.."

"It's not like you'll actually cease to exist, right?" Oreonna grinned.

Cade cast a worried glance at Oreonna.

"R-Right..?"

*Meanwhile, On a beach hideout south of the city*

Vanoss and his crew had finally finished up making their newest temporary base along with the rest of his crew.

"What're they up to this time?" Pyrrha asked.

"I dunno... They were gone for a while, and now i think they're back.." Vanoss replied.

"What!?" Delirious shouted.

"Not so loud!" Russell urged.

"MOTHER FUCK! WE JUST GOT RID OF THEM!" Panda yelled.

"That's such total bullshit!" Wildcat added.

Mini then did his own personal 'best cry ever'.

"I find it odd that the Ocelots are so eager to return.. We pushed back their offensive as far as Luna Bay." Ember stated.

"They probably left their shit behind. I know I'd come back for my stuff." Nogla figured.

"I don't think that's the case.. We've been raiding their empty bases for weeks now.. If there's anything left of theirs, it's in our possession." Pyrrha explained.

"Well, then what the hell are they back here for?" Lui wondered.

"We'll find out in the morning. We don't know what kind of reinforcements they're packing."

*Illuminati Centrum, Kalos Ultra; June 5, 2021; 10:00 PM

The Leader stared out at the endless ruins outside the Centrum, taking a sip of his wine.

Minerva calmly walked inside, greeting him with a polite bow.

"Sir, it seems The Silver Ocelots are in possession of the last Dragon Ball. They're calling in backup from the Dragon Lands and a team from the Fiorian Guild, Blue Pegasus." Minerva explained.

"At least we know where it is. Alex should be able to clear out any opposition for our initiates and Sister Cerise. Once he returns, we will allow him one of our two wishes, and be done with this charade." The Leader explained.

"I understand now why you listened to Sister Cerise.." Minerva nodded.

"Indeed. What you must understand about his type, Sister Minerva, is that they are opportunists. If you can promise them what they want, they will follow to the ends of the multiverse to do their work.

"Something terrible is soon to come, and we need all of the help we can get. If Alexander wants to set things right, we can do so... under our terms..."

Author's Note

Hey guys, guess who's back?!

I've been very, very busy in these past few months and I've hardly had time to write. but I have some new developments.

I'm re-naming the Scarlet Entries line I've been planning out to the 'Tales of Shadows' series. More fitting to the general story itself, rather than a singular aspect.

I have something planned out for Tales of Shadows 1, Twilight and co. land in a universe far different from the universe we're used to seeing. This will give some insight to the Oracle.
As such, Once I'm done with the 'Wake of Corvus' mini-arc, I'll be devoting time solely to Tales of Shadows 1. None to worry about, these stories are about 1 arc long (15 chapters or so), then Crimson Shade will hit it's climax.

And, trust me, this Arc is the most eventful. Some stuff I'm planning to add as of the Osiris Arc include The Introduction of Son Goku, The return of a lot of characters, along with the soon-to-be reunited Elements of Harmony.

More on that later, now, onto the outro!

With things heating up in Vanhoover, our heroes may soon meet once again. Not as friends, but as rivals!

The Leader of the Illuminati seems to have plans for Alex. What are they, and what danger does he suspect is coming?!

Find out on the next chapter of Blood Red Shadows 2!

Chapter 74: Battle of Vanhoover
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 74: Battle of Vanhoover

*Vanhoover, Equestria; June 6, 2021; 3:30 AM*

Alex snuck towards the base, trying to keep his power low and avoid detection.

"Forward 20 meters. Watch your right." Andromeda warned.

Nodding, Alex ducked down and crawled across as quickly as he could.

Surely enough, the Ocelot Base was right there before him.

"Move up 10 meters and sneak in through the side entrance."

"Gotcha.." Alex replied quietly as he could.

Sneaking up a few more feet, he looked both ways, sneaking through the darkened walkway.

Alex decided to sense around and make sure nobody else was here..

"Let's see here... We got about 20 people inside.. One of them is Liss... About.. yikes.. 15 people nearby. Some of them are higher than most, so I'll keep an eye out.. Last but not least, there's... SHIT!"

Several powerful energies..! At least three of which he knew by name..!

"Neo.. Ruby.. and..! " Alex gasped in shock.

'WHAT THE HELL IS YANG DOING HERE?!' He thought in terror.

Checking how many more he felt were familiar, he was met with more and more dread.

'Ultimus... Cade and Auburn.. Oreonna.. Wait... I kinda remember some of these..!!'

Sneaking inside, by this point he was hyperventilating.

"That's Pyrrha!! B-But she died years ago.. and again at Magnolia... No way..! That's Burning Ember and Russell Leone! Both of them have been dead since the Inquisitor Wars!'

"Hands where I can see them!!"

Alex immediately turned around to find all 25 Ocelots, armed to the teeth.

"Shit."

"Hold on..!" Liss moved the soldiers aside, looking at Alex with curiosity.

"Liss... I figured I'd find you here.." Alex greeted.

"I wasn't expecting visitors... What were you doing sneaking in the side entrance at this hour?" Liss demanded.

"Vanhoover as a whole isn't exactly hospitable anymore. I had to find someplace standing." Alex replied evenly.

'Hope she sees through this.. This kinda reminds me of when I had to sneak past Cinder to free Mako.' Alex privately thought.

"You.. do know something about what's going on here, right?" Liss inquired suspiciously.

"What, besides this random-ass war?"

Liss sighed.

"Look.. Maybe you can help us out here... You've traveled and seen a lot of things, right?" Liss asked.

"Yeah. Something you need?" Alex nodded in reply.

"Yeah.. But it's kinda confidential. But I know you haven't really taken sides so far in all of this, and you are for hire." Liss explained.

"What, is this a gig?"

"Yeah.. Come upstairs.. I'll get some tea ready."

Alex complied, following Liss upstairs.

"I hope you know what you're doing here.." Andromeda confessed.

*Meanwhile*

Yang had long since snuck out of camp, carefully following Alex's energy signature, taking notice in the fact that he'd been inside the Ocelot compound for a while now.

"As soon as I find you and that Dragon Ball, we'll be going home, and I can get to work on fixing things.." Yang decided.

"Xiao Long, I didn't expect to find you here."

Yang turned around immediately to find Vegeta and Ultimus floating down to meet her.

"Vegeta? Nice to see you again! How's Cade been coming along? Ultimus, lookin' sharp as always."

"Don't play dumb with me. You're after these new Dragon Balls as well." Vegeta figured.

Yang sighed.

"A few months back, I, along with the Maidens, found a Four-Star Dragon Ball. Silver-y stars, and weirdly enough, they were blue. I sensed Alex's energy, and boom! We were knocked out. Once we came to, The Dragon Ball was gone." Yang explained.

"So, Wherever you've found these Dragon Balls, you've also sensed Saigo's energy." Ultimus deduced.

"Yep. I sensed Alex inside that building. The Ocelots are in there too. You both remember Liss, right?" Yang figured.

"What you're suggesting is a full-front assault on the Ocelots, knowing full well the dangers?" Ultimus wondered.

"That's pretty much it." Yang nodded.

Vegeta grinned.

"We shouldn't waste our time. Our 'friend' might be gone soon." Vegeta decided, narrowing his eyes.

Another fight with both of his apprentices... Vegeta could practically feel his Saiyan blood start to boil!

*Meanwhile*

Alex took a sip of his tea, trying to settle his nerves.

"Everything ok?" Liss wondered.

"Eh.. I'll be fine. Word to the wise, get someone to call for backup. Shit's about to hit the fan. What're we talking about?"

Liss shook her head, and called over one of her guards and whispering in his ear.

"You were saying?" Liss asked as the guard ran off.

"Anyways. What sort of Artifact did you find?"

"Our sources say it's something called a 'Dragon Ball'. I think you might know about it."

"What does this Dragon Ball look like..?" Alex politely asked.

"It's blue, with about 5 little silver stars. Here, I have it.." Liss reached for it in her sachel.

Producing a little blue ceramic ball, roughly the size of a bowling ball, in her hand. Alex took a long look at it

Alex smiled.

"Yeah.. That's a Dragon Ball, all right.. You're saying you only have the one?" Alex asked.

"There are more?" Liss asked.

"Yes. Seven actually."

"Where are the other six?" Liss wondered.

"Somewhere safe, I bet..." Alex grinned, launching a small lightning bolt at Liss's forehead.

Liss immediately went stiff and fell to the ground.

Alex walked up next to Liss, stroking her head.

"Don't worry, Liss. The shock should only keep you paralyzed for another couple of minutes. This'll be in good hands.."

"Y-You dirty liar..." Liss twitched, still spasming.

"Look, kid. Don't take it personally... What I do.. I do to secure a better tomorrow... for everyone.."

Alex reached down and took the Dragon Ball, promptly launching a lightning bolt out of the window and flying off.

'Alright... Liss probably doesn't trust me now... Maybe, if I can lay low for the next few hours, the flight to Ponyville will be a cinch... Then..' Alex thought to himself.

Alex was promptly bowled into, and bashed into the ground.

Coughing weakly, Alex found himself face-to-face with Yang, Cade, Auburn, Vegeta, and Ultimus.

"Huh... Figured you might've known something about those.." Yang figured.

Alex jerked backwards, shaking.

"Why are you here?!"

"What, are you new? We're trying to get to the bottom of these new Dragon Balls, and you've been the one collecting them. Why is that?" Ultimus explained.

Alex stood up all the way, casting an angry glare at Yang specifically.

"This has nothing to do with any of you. Out of my way." Alex ordered.

"Answer me this, 'Apprentice', Why should I stand aside? What are you planning once you have all seven?" Vegeta demanded.

"Please.. answer the question.." Cade pleaded.

Alex took a moment and looked inward, before looking Yang dead in the eye.

"I'll be 100% honest. I fucked up. I panicked the second that bounty was called, and I fucked up badly.

I'm not that great at introspection anymore, but I pieced together what I could... Everything after Agent Winchester's death was entirely my fault. I thought that instinct alone would keep me alive... It has, but at what cost?

So, what am I going to do with these Dragon Balls? I'm going to fix my mistake.. I'm going to make things right, and I'm gonna disappear like I should have in the first place." Alex explained, in a low, sorrowful voice.

Everyone took a collective step backwards. Even Vegeta seemed at least somewhat shocked.

"So... Stay out of my way for your own good." Alex demanded, beginning to fly off.

"RAAAAAGH!!"

An unearthly roar filled the air as dozens and dozens of Dragons dove from the skies, belching flame and scorching the landscape.

"Advance!!!"

Russell charged, carrying a laser machine gun as Vanoss's crew, Burning Ember, and Pyrrha opened suppressing fire on the dragons.

"Everyone, go! We'll keep you covered!" Russell shouted.

"Stop Father from escaping! There's no knowing what he has planned!" Auburn yelled.

Alex, by this point, made a mad dash towards Ponyville, only to be knocked down from the skies with a magic attack.

"Twilight?!" Ember gasped.

"WAIT, EMBER?!" Twilight yelled out in shock as Alex made a run for it.

"Dimensional Portals! Brace yourselves!!" Pyrrha yelled as several portals instantly materialized.

Hundreds of people instantly appeared on the battlefield; Ryders, Guards, Federation Enforcers..! It seemed like the entirety of the Equestrian Defense Front had dropped at the city!

More portals! Atlas and Mistral's forces against Vale's and Vacuo's!

"All of you, go! I'll keep the others busy!" Ultimus shouted.

Cade seemed rather confused, even conflicted.

"Who're we fighting here?!" He gasped.

"None. We're after your father." Vegeta repied, flying off.

"Shit... Alright, coming!" Cade yelled.

Alex himself, now barrelling towards Ponyville by this point, had quickly made peace with the fact that he flat-out abandoned Twilight, Richtofen, and Mako.

"The mission's more important..! That backstabbing princess and the fucking Illuminati have been nothing but trouble!" Alex cursed.

Alex found himself getting kicked into the ground, leaving him gasping for breath.

Barely finding the strength to stand, Alex coughed, glaring up at Vegeta.

"It's been a while since we've fought. I hope you've prepared yourself, boy!" Vegeta shouted.

"We shouldn't kill him, but I'm sure as hell not letting him get away! FINAL FLASH!!!" Cade shouted, quickly transforming to a new Enlightened form.

Alex leaped out of the way, dodging the energy attack by mere milliseconds before he found himself being bombarded by ki-blasts.

'Crap! Another moment and I would've been toast..! Cade went Enlightened Demigod already?!' Alex thought, transforming immediately to his Mythic Warrior form.

"Watch and learn, boy!" Vegeta leaped at Alex, throwing a barrage of punches at the the younger man.

Super Saiyan and Mythic Adenienite traded blows on an almost equal playing field, but Alex found he was quickly being overtaken.

"BIG BANG ATTACK!!"

Alex kicked the blast away from him, only to be battered away by Auburn.

"Cade, now!"

"GALICK GOD SHOCKER!!"

The blue-violet energy wave blew Alex further into the skies, leaving him open to Auburn's further attacks.

"KNOCK KNOCK!" Yang greeted, punching Alex directly in the face, blowing him directly into the ground.

Bouncing back up from the crater, Vegeta and Cade flew up beside Alex, corresponding their punches to pound Alex in the same spot, but opposite side.

Auburn sped underneath, golf-swinging Abadeer's Flame, rendering Alex skybound once more.

"OVERCHARGE: BURNING EVOLUTION!"

Yang charged up directly above Alex, throwing a thundering barrage of punches at him, with Alex barely able to defend himself.

'What's going on?! When the hell did they all get so strong?! WHEN DID I GET SO WEAK?!"

Alex skidded into the ground, struggling to even stand up.

Panting and gasping for breath, Alex produced the Dragon Ball with one weakly trembling hand, scarcely able to hold it up as he powered down.

"D-Damn it... I can't let them kill me... B-But at the same time, I can't lose this Dragon Ball.." Alex coughed weakly.

Vegeta, Cade, Auburn, and Yang landed near Alex.

"His power is fading, he won't be getting away without much help now." Vegeta explained.

Alex began to quickly back up, raising a hand towards his opponents, readying a torrent of lightning.

"S-Stay back..!" Alex warned.

Yang flash-stepped at Alex's side, punching him in the stomach and making him drop the Dragon Ball.

"I'll be taking that! If you want it back, we can talk." Yang explained as Alex collapsed on the ground.

Struggling to stand, Alex glared at Yang.

"How did you even get to such a level..?" Alex coughed.

"Well, it's real simple, I-."

A sniper shot knocked the Dragon Ball out of Yang's hand, a lavender-colored Aura surrounded the others, and a few shots from Richtofen's newest weapon prototype; the Blitzwaffe DG-5, energized Alex back to his normal limit.

"Go, now! I don't know how long I'll be able to hold onto them!" Twilight shouted.

Alex dove down, snatched the Dragon Ball, and nodded his thanks as he raced off towards Ponyville.

*Ponyville, Equestria; June 6, 2021; 5:41 PM*

Alex stormed into his hotel room, angry beyond belief.

"They've got some nerve, closing the fucking Gate!" Alex cursed under his breath, throwing his stuff near his bed.

Due to the war effort, Ponyville closed off access to the portals during night hours. Even during the day, hundreds of Royal Guards swarmed the Gate, and he wouldn't be able to pass without a special ID for the particular Dimension he was headed. Thankfully, The Illuminati was reasonable enough to send him one after evading the Maidens.

Regardless, he probably needed sleep, and he couldpossibly be able to sneak over to Vinyl's for repairs in the morning, anyways.

Alex then heard a light knocking on his door.

"Dammit."

Alex walked to the door, with a slight grumble, before opening it.

"I didn't order room service and I just got here, so no need to worry about housekeeping yet- SHIT!" Alex practically leaped backwards, raising his sword.

Yang stood in the doorway, still a bit scuffed from their recent battle.

"Still jumpy, huh..?" Yang weakly smiled.

Alex glared at her up and down, quickly discovering that she was disarmed.

"What do you want?" Alex demanded.

"I just wanna talk... Is that alright..?" She asked.

Alex sighed, sitting down on the bed and motioning her to join.

"Close the door on the way." Alex told her.

Yang complied, and made her way next to Alex.

"So... I see you've grown out the face cozy... How's that working for ya..?" Yang asked, referring to his beard.

"I'm gonna hack it off soon, anyways."

"Not all of it, I hope.. Maybe just trim it." Yang shrugged.

Alex shook his head.

"Look, we both know what needs to be said. We should just skip the small talk." Alex suggested.

Yang smiled a little.

"Same old Alex.. Look, that whole thing in the Crystal Empire... and Fiore.. and Helios..." Yang began.

"You were being manipulated by Corvus, I know." Alex sighed.

"How did you-?"

"Chūkan told me a bit before I ran off." Alex explained.

"Well... Why did you run if you knew Corvus was dead."

"I didn't know Corvus died at that time... I thought it was a miracle I even woke up." Alex trembled a little.

"I... I get it." Yang sighed.

"I want to apologize.." Alex began.

"For what? You panicked and went overboard."

"For everything. If I had just died back at Winchester's hands, none of this would've happened." Alex stated.

"We both know that isn't right. The Inquisitors would've awoken Salem,The Shadow Man, Arabus, and Morning Star would've gotten the Eye instead of Kat. The Inquisitors wouldn't be able to fend them all off and everyone would've died. You probably gave us a few more years of life." Yang explained.

"Not for everyone." Alex sighed.

"Alex, we've had this talk. People are gonna die, that's just what happens with our kind of job... Speaking of, do you wanna know what happened in Vanhoover after you turned tail?"

"What?"

"The Equestrian Defense Front managed to retake Vanhoover, but they lost a lot of infantry. The Dragon Collective took some heavy losses. I mean really heavy losses. Every Dragon who took part died, Vale and Vacuo both lost a lot of men, and most of the Guilds at the battle were slaughtered.

Those Enforcer guys have a lot of high-tech gear, no thanks to your buddy Richtofen. Twilight being there boosted the morale of the Royal Guards, and Mako actually managed to pick off a bunch of snipers.

I hear the SCP's gonna get involved on the Dragon Ball Case, considering they found the Ocelots' intel stash."

"Did everyone make it? All of our... Y-Your friends?" Alex asked.

"Yeah. Liss was captured, though." Yang nodded.

"Thank god.." Alex sighed in relief.

"Speaking of that Dragon Ball stuff, what's going on? I know You, Richtofen, Twilight, and Mako were in on it. What's up?" Yang asked.

Alex sighed.

"Well, promise you won't tell another soul. And good thing you closed this door, it's kinda secret." Alex explained.

"Ok."

Alex took a deep breath.

"You know how the Inheritors and Chronicai were pretty much secret societies of warriors from other Dimensions? What I'm dealing with here is the same thing, but instead of fighters, they're world leaders, scientists, and people of really high importance. They're called the Illuminati.

Now, The Illuminati have been pretty much working together for millenia, but now that universes are open, it's a whole lot easier to communicate with other universes, so they're way more prevalent. After a while, they caught wind of the Dragon Balls, and they wanted in on that action.

Considering their need to control basically everything, and wanting to stay secret, they made their own Dragon Balls. If I'm not wrong about this, they're called Stardust Dragon Balls." Alex explained.

"So, the Inheritors are all dead, and they're a bunch of bureaucrats from other worlds, so where do you fit in all of this?" Yang wondered.

"So, after what happened in Lithia, I needed work and a place to hide. So, I went up to my old training spot with Canis, and I had Andromeda make a few calls."

"Andromeda? Wasn't she the A.I that helped us during the Blood Red Night?" Yang asked.

"Yes. Hello again, Yang." Andromeda greeted.

"Hey.. How's Alex been?" Yang inqired.

"His nightmares have been getting worse, his PTSD has badly worsened, and Alex is showing signs of-"

"Okay, okay, I get it!" Alex shouted.

"Fair enough. Shall I schedule you a therapy session?" Andromeda asked.

"Anyways, I met with one of my old clients, who stated he had a job in mind. Three guesses who his client was." Alex scoffed.

"Right. Are they paying you?" Yang wondered.

"Not yet. They hired me to collect all seven of these Stardust Dragon Balls. I just got the seventh. I was about to go and give it to them, but the Dimensional Gates are all closed." Alex explained.

"So, what was your price? Hopefully enough to get a nice mansion or something." Yang smiled.

"Even better. They're offering me the one wish. The Stardust Dragon Balls are capable of reviving people across dimensions, among a multitude of other things. Imagine what I could fix with that kind of power!" Alex grinned.

"So, The Illuminati, which is famous for fixing shit in a way that suits their agenda is offering you the one and only wish on their homemade Dragon Balls. Either you're both in on something, or they're gonna screw you over." Yang concluded.

"I was aware of that possibility since the start. Keeping in mind these are entirely Bureaucrats, Agartha's Thunder here will slice through 'em like butter if they try shit." Alex grinned.

Yang looked at him, deeply concerned.

"What did you think you would accomplish with that wish?" Yang asked.

Alex looked at her, deeply uncertain.

"I... I don't know exactly, but I'm going to use it to atone for everything I've done... Then... Then I'll disappear, never to disrupt anything again." Alex decided.

"Alex..." Yang quickly hugged him.

Alex, having felt a burden ease on him, returned the hug.

"You know I'm still scared shitless of you, right?" Alex asked.

"I know.. But, hey, I would never have almost killed you. I wasn't myself.. I know, it'll take some more getting used to, but If you want to try this again, Little Auburn still needs us, and Cade too.." Yang nodded.

"Speaking of, where is Auburn?" Alex asked, deeply concerned.

"I left her with Vinyl while we were in Equestria still. She's in good hands." Yang stated.

"You know... The Gates don't open 'till about 9 o'clock, and I haven't slept, so..." Alex shrugged.

"Okay..." Yang smiled, removing all of her battle gear.

Alex tossed off his armor, and pulled on a t-shirt.

The two got into bed together, and in reconciliation, slept peacefully for the first time in at least a year.

Author's Note

Hey, everyone, Destoyer here!

The final chapter of the Wake of Corvus is almost here, and then I can get to work on Tales of Shadows I: Shadepoint! (And, yes, that is the title).

So, after more than an arc of being on separate sides of conflict, Alex and Yang are semi-officially back! What's left but to return the Five-Star Stardust Dragon Ball to the Illuminati?

Find out next time on Blood Red Shadows 2!

Chapter 76: Reawakening
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 76: Reawakening

*Atlas Ruins; June 7, 2021, 7:16 AM*

The Ruins of Atlas began to glow with a strange blue light.

Not many people remained, almost none, in fact, after the Kingdom was destroyed roughly 3 years before. It was a volcanic wasteland filled with twisted metal, broken rock, and the ashes of thousands of people who had died.

The light began to take shape... or rather, shapes. People began to reappear by the thousands, tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands.

Millions now had begun to check if they were dreaming... examining their bodies.

Many had been wearing normal clothes, many more were in full military gear. Uniforms of the Equestrian Remnant Coalition and The Red Star had materialized.

Of course, there were a special few...

A stone-faced, half-Latin American man in light combat gear had soon materialized.

"Am I... Alive..?" Rufio Vincent, AKA Gamma, wondered in surprise.

An emotionally unstable young man with dark hair was the next to appear, with noticable scars on his chest.

"Scarecrow?" Gamma gasped in surprise.

Many more Inquisitors began to appear. Mercury with his legs fully restored, alongside Emerald were revived.

"Emerald?!" Mercury gasped in shock.

"We're alive again..?" Emerald wondered as she turned and saw Gamma.

Adam Taurus was the next to be revived, glaring wickedly at the millions of people around him, eventually gathering with the Inquisitors.

"Children." Adam scowled.

Another man reappeared. This one in his late forties at least, with greying hair and stone-cold blue eyes.

Beta.

"Inquisitors, Form up. We seem to be facing a large-scale revival event, what's the plan?"

"The plan is we herd these people together to a ship." The last Inquisitor explained.

This man was in roughly his fifties with greying gold hair, blue and purple eyes, and several scars.

Alpha himself. The original son of Alex Walker.

"Alpha?" Gamma gasped in shock.

"Nice to see you all again. I have an announcement to make." Alpha said, levitating above to look down on the millions confused.

"EVERYONE!" Alpha shouted.

They all turned their eyes on Alpha. The average citizens were scared, and the E.R.C merely glared.

"I doubt you are all aware of this, But three years ago, Cinder Fall and Morning Star had planned to finish what we had started: Starting catastrophies all across the universes. This was one of the first, and you see the results before you." Alpha explained.

"We've had our differences, but now we have nothing but each other. If we are to survive, we must band together and leave Atlas undiscovered. Remnant's Authorities cannot discover our existence. I'm sure you all know why.

"Everyone, start collecting scrap. Collect all the scrap you can find! We don't know what horrors Cinder Fall may have unleashed!" Alpha ordered.

"And what if we don't?" E.R.C Commander Bliken demanded

"Give us one reason we should do anything you say!" Commander Locust added.

"You have one of three options. You stay with us, we kill you, or we throw you out at whatever's out there." Alpha explained.

*Location Unknown; June 7, 2021; 8:45 AM*

"Breaking News, thousands of people being revived on a Multi-Dimensional Scale, more on that?"

"Thanks, Jane. Strange blue lights have been appearing across Earth, Fiore, Adenien, Remnant, and Equestria. Strangely enough, the people coming out of these lights include people who have been dead for up to 16 years..."

Alex and Yang had followed Summer and Omega onto the small airship they had entered Equestria with. Where they were going and why? Only they knew.

Alex was deeply confused as he stared at the TV Screen.. The Illuminati revived everybody... Their allies, their enemies... all at once... It would be nigh impossible to imagine the repercussions of such a bold wish.

Even more vexing... Why did Summer and Omega, victim and killer, show up together?

"Don't worry, kid. I'm just as confused as you are." Yang stated, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Alex instinctively flinched, simply stating "We're the same age now. Hyperbolic Time Chamber, remember?"

Yang nodded slightly.

"What, no comeback?" Alex scoffed.

"It's not that... It's..."

"What?"

"Look at it this way.. I killed so many while Corvus had me at her beck and call... I'll have to explain myself to all those people..."

"Welcome to my freaky little world."

Summer and Omega then stepped into the small room they were in.

"Can either one of you explain what the hell is going on?" Alex glared.

"It's not that hard. You two idiots gathered the Stardust Dragon Balls, and the Illuminati resurrected everyone. We were revived at Vale, so stealing an airship and making our way here was almost too easy." Omega explained.

"Then... why work together..?"Yang asked

"Yeah. He killed you." Alex added.

"We have a singular goal in mind. Osiris' coming is not far. We need to assemble an army, and I know just the place." Summer explained.

"... I'm listening." Alex decided.

"Remember the very start of the E.R.C Invasion? How all your ships blew each other apart? There are millions of newly revived soldiers making their way to the docks." Omega explained.

"You mean swimming the entire goddamn way..? We were about 14 miles away!" Yang gasped.

"Vale's Coast Guard air-dropped life rafts to the men. They're practically halfway there already."

"So, we're going to Vale. Then what?" Alex asked.

"Once we have an army, we can start recruiting warriors. Your children would definitely be a start." Summer explained.

"Ruby'd definitely be up for it! So would Weiss and Blake once we find them!" Yang gasped.

"Right... They were revived as well. I think they were in Egypt." Omega nodded.

"Chūkan would probably be up for it. Same deal with mom and dad." Alex decided.

"We've arrived at Vale, land at the beach!" Summer called.

"On it!" Omega yelled, landing the ship and opening the doors.

"Alex, we need permission to secure more Bullheads. Your call, Captain."

Alex smirked slightly, reaching for the comms link Summer had in her hand.

"This is Captain Walker of the E.R.C requesting additional VTOLs for transport."

"The E.R.C? They've been dismantled for years! Not to mention, there's a war going on!"

"Vale is allied with Equestria, right?"

"Y-Yes, of course..!"

"Then there is still an alliance. Send the VTOLs. That's an order."

"Y-Yes, sir!"

Yang privately smiled to herself, having flashbacks of her husband... How brave he had been.. How selfless he was...

"We're landing." Omega stated.

"Get as many men as you can on-board." Alex ordered.

"Move it, you sons of bitches! We've got shit to do!" Yang shouted as soldiers piled into the ship.

"I'll debrief you all on the way!" Summer added.

Additional VTOLs landed by the dozens, gathering more and more troops as they all took of in a flying V formation.

"Captain, I'm going to need a place to put them!"

"Any ideas, Summer?" Alex asked.

"Do you remember the Subterrains, Saigo? The base may be in need of repairs, but it's in this dimension." Omega stated.

"Plot a course for Vytal's Subterrains. We have the fuel and the means to make it."

"Roger that. Plotting a course for Vytal's Subterrains."

"Yang, Call Cade, Auburn, and Ruby. Tell them to make their way to the Subterrains." Alex ordered.

"On it!" Yang grinned.

"Omega, if you can, contact Chūkan, Mom, and Dad." Alex coldly demanded.

Omega merely glared in Alex's direction.

*Xavier Callan's Laboratory; June 7, 2021; 12:00 PM*

Xavier shut off the TV in his laboratory, immediately sprinting to return to work.

"I must hurry... With both the Inquisitors and Walker's Allies after me, I'll stand no chance..!"

Opening a large tube of liquid, light shined through, revealing a highly developed embryo.

The embryo, even in it's earliest stages, was a hybrid. Human, Equestrian, Remnant-Human, and, a more recent addition, Saiyan.

Xavier had plans for this one...

This one...

Author's Note

I'M BACK, SKRUBS!

The start of the Osiris Arc has begun!

Unfortunately, Tale of Shadows I is pretty much on the backburner due to lack of interest.

But hey, better than being on hiatus, ain't it?

Chapter 77: Repurcussions
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 77: Repurcussions

*Ponyville, Equestria; June 8, 2021; 2:30 PM*

Twilight, Cade, Auburn, Oreonna, the Now-Revived Elements of Harmony and Princesses, as well as the entirety of Skirmish's old squadron sat in the Map of Friendship room, all seated around it.

"Incredible..! Everyone's been revived..! The Dragonballs worked!" Twilight cheered.

"Heh.. Good to be back.. and not as a ghost!" Rainbow Dash added.

"I'm honestly curious as to how the Farm's been doing.." Applejack wondered.

"I think we're all dealing with a bigger problem here." Cade stated.

"Cade is right.." Richtofen stated, walking inside along with Kat, Agent Mako, and Agent Karis Thorne.

"K-Karis..?" Rainbow gasped.

"You know her..?" Fluttershy asked nervously.

"Hmm.. You must be Rainbow's friends.. I've heard a lot about you." Karis smiled.

"You don't seem to understand ze full scope of ze Illuminati's wish, Twilight..." Richtofen solemnly shook his head.

"What do you mean..?" Rarity asked.

"What wish?" Blast Radius asked.

"Twilight used the Dragon Balls. Vegeta told me about them.." Oreonna concluded.

"Well... not untrue.." Richtofen commended.

"It wasn't Twilight who made the wish. She was brought in for questioning." Vegeta began, walking inside.

"V-Vegeta.!!" Twilight shrank back immediately, recognizing his energy immediately.

"I was unaware there were Dragon Balls beyond this universe. The Illuminati's are... particularly interesting." Vegeta explained.

"Y-You know..?" Mako wondered.

"I've only recently found out about them, but they're... slightly different than the ones used on Earth or Namek." Vegeta stated.

"I think we should bring in Liss at this point.." Auburn stated.

"No need..!" Liss greeted, panting as though she'd been running miles."

"Secure her! We're still at war, here!" Luna shouted.

"Luna, wait!" Celestia demanded.

Skirmish's fellow guards laid down their spears, allowing the white-haired cat faunus a moment of rest.

"You've been studying them, right?" Twilight wondered.

"Yeah.. we've been looking into them..." Liss stated.

"Did you find out anything important?" Twilight asked.

"I should be asking the same of you three." Liss glared at Richtofen, Twilight, and Mako.

"What was the wish, Twilight?" Cade demanded in a respectful tone.

Twilight held her breath.

"The Illuminati told me this in confidence, but.."

"Spit it out, already." Kat demanded, starting to glow a bright orange.

"W-We wished back everyone who died in the past 16 years!! From that invasion Uncle Flick and Summer were in, to right now.!!" Twilight cried out.

The whole room was taken aback. THE WHOLE ROOM.

"You selfish idiot!" Vegeta shouted.

"E-Everyone?!" Cade gasped.

"That is, including The Inquisitors?!" Rarity shouted, completely flabbergasted.

"Twilight... Is this true..?" Celestia asked.

Twilight was completely shaken.

"I only recently found out... Doctor Monty contacted me one day ago... He said something Re-appeared.. Ze Monster at Magnolia.."

Even Auburn was shocked. "Lilith..?"

Richtofen nodded.

"Zhat's.. when I put two and two together.. They've manipulated us all." The doctor stated.

"Everyone... No doubt about it... Cinder's probably in that fray somewhere.." Cade concluded.

"Not just her, Corvus too." Luna glared, her tone sharp with hatred at her and her sister's killer.

"What now?" Burning Ember, Skirmish's former commander, asked.

Celestia furrowed her brow, trying to quickly think of a way to solve all of these problems.

"Cade, Auburn.. Are you two in contact with both your mother and father still?" Celestia asked.

"Yeah.. He called up about a day ago.." Cade replied.

"I saw him enter a ship, along with some cloaked woman and his brother." Vegeta explained.

"So, he's with your grandmother and uncle." Oreonna stated.

"This should be interesting.." Cade sighed, obviously not looking forward to this.

"Oreonna, contact your mother and have her meet with Alexander and Yang as well. Kat, Mako, and Karis, Go with them. Alex needs to regain our trust." Celestia ordered.

"Ma'am. With all due respect, I should pay Agents Winchester and Viktor a visit." Karis stated.

"I'm sure that problem will take care of itself. Besides, if Alexander is going to trust anyone besides his kin, it would have to be you." Celestia explained.

"Y-Yes Ma'am..!" Karis saluted, her old training coming back to her.

"What about us?" Haunting demanded, slightly less cold than usual.

"You'll be accompanying the Elements on a Peace Conference at the Dragon Lands. We'll need their side in this war." Luna decided.

"Kat, bring together your Foundation." Mako ordered.

"With all due respect, The SCP works on securing anomalies, containing them, and protecting the general populace, not on personal missions like this!" Kat protested slightly.

"We might be going to war, Kat. May as well bring them along." Karis figured.

"A-Alright.." Kat agreed, walking out of the room and calling them up.

"Liss, Contact the Ocelots, the White Fang, and Chieftain Belladonna of Menagerie." Celestia demanded.

"WHAT?! Since when have my people ever been united in anything?!" Liss gasped.

Uniting the Faunus again... After so many years of infighting?!

"We may be facing a common enemy." Celestia stated.

"Honestly, who would you rather have them fight for; You, or that Taurus psychopath?" Cade scoffed.

Liss sighed as she ran off. He was right.

"I'll get to work contacting ze rest of Primis... It's a better re-introduction than zombies." Richtofen figured.

"One more thing, Cade. Contact Evan and his crew. They'll be needed at a time like this." Luna figured.

"Already on it." Auburn replied.

"And, Vegeta..." Celestia asked.

The Saiyan Prince sharply turned to face Celestia.

"Yes?" Vegeta inwardly groaned, shaking his head.

"If you know anybody who can help with this situation, please let us know." Celestia pleaded.

"If the need ever arises, Horse." Vegeta scoffed, leaving the building.

*Ruins of Lithia, Adenien; June 8, 2021, 2:40*

Ryders stood guard around the city as construction crews, man and machine, continued re-building the city after it's destruction a little under six months ago.

Progress had been going smoothly, with most of the city by now rebuild, the roads paved, and power reestablished. All that was needed was to refurbish the houses and apartments for the displaced cityfolk and restore the bi-rail transport system that bridged the Three Cities.

Corvus had been sneaking through the construction site for a day by this point, searching for a way out.

"How the mighty have fallen." Corvus heard a woman scoff. A familiar woman.

Corvus turned her head to face her.

"Cinder. I should have known." Corvus scowled.

An aging Cinder Fall, the one from Cade's Timeline, stepped out of the shadows.

"You held such power in your hands, and had it all snatched away..." Cinder mused, shaking her head.

"What do you want?" Corvus demanded angrily.

"Well, both of us are now without power, but we do have our counterparts.." Cinder smiled.

"I killed mine, Cinder. There's no way she'd agree with this." Corvus scoffed.

"Oh, how naive.. You know full well the threat we're all facing. Simply tell her." Cinder smiled to herself.

"And what's in it for me?" Corvus shook her head.

"Life, Corvus... Hazel.. Tyrian... Lilith... They've all returned. With our powers, we'll force Alpha to tell us where Xavier and his creation is hiding." Cinder explained.

Corvus glared disapprovingly.

"Very well, then.. Where should we start?"

*The Subterrains; June 8, 2021; 3:00 PM*

The "Reformed" E.R.C had been very efficient with refurbishing the former Inquisitor base, with it's own Command Center, Dimensional Mapping Computers, and even bunks repaired, updated, and repurposed for their use.

Only problem was, the only things available to them were what was within the base and whatever the soldiers could provide.

'Dammit, If only Evan and the others were here.. We'd be completely resupplied by now!' Alex silently cursed.

"Alex!!" Yang shouted from outside the command room.

Alex groaned to himself, what now?!

As Alex stepped out, he was greeted by a somewhat dense crowd, some faces familiar, others very familiar.

Yang stood by the side as Ruby, Weiss, Blake, all of Team JNPR, Kat, and Agent Mako walked into the subterrains.

"Wow... it seems like forever since I was in here..." Pyrrha gaped.

"Yeah.. It's weird..." Weiss stated.

"I'm just glad we're all okay..." Ruby smiled, even a little sorrowfully.

"Alex... We heard about-" Blake began to explain.

"No time for that. We have to stockpile supplies and prepare for a planet-wide search for any Inquisitors. Where are Cade and Auburn?" Alex demanded.

"Right here." Auburn called monotonously.

Alex turned around, dropping his sword in shock as he saw who Cade and Auburn brought with.

Between his two future children stood an older, raven-black haired woman.

"Agent Thorne.. I.. figured you'd..." Alex stammered, any semblance of composure broken.

"Don't sweat the formalities.." Karis smiled a little to herself, raising a hand.

Alex not only grasped her hand, put pulled her into a small hug.

Yang had been stunned. Any affection on Alex's part was a rarity. She knew what Karis had meant to him, but she couldn't help but feel a slow burn in the pit of her stomach.

"At ease." Karis calmly ordered, as Alex scrambled to re-assert himself.

"R-Right... Kat, Agents, I'll.. meet you two in the conference room in a few. I just called Professor Ozpin, and we'll be discussing just what the hell is going on." Alex stated, walking off.

Karis shook her head a little. She knew what had happened as she watched over the others in the afterlife

Even so, the intelligent, contemplative, and authoritative young man before her now was a far cry from the scared, lost, and hopeless boy whose life she had saved twice by this point.

She was.. almost proud in some way.

"You must be Agent Karis... Alex told me a lot about you.." Yang greeted with a slight aloofness.

"Your children told me about you as well... I'm... sorry about what happened between you two.." Karis solemnly apologized.

"Might we move along? There are more serious matters. There'll be time to resolve your failed relationships later." Kat asked, annoyed as she walked into the Command Room.

"... Okay, what's up with her?" Karis wondered.

"It's kind of a long story..." Cade shrugged as the group stepped inside...

Chapter 78: Malevolence
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 78: Malevolence

*Atlas Ruins; June 10, 2021; 9:40 AM*

The Inquisitors, with Alpha spearheading the scattered masses, had almost finished an arbitrary fleet of scrap metal.

As for their plan: that was still under discussion.

"We can retreat back to Los Santos. There is a bunker in the southeastern part of the island. We can make our base of operations there." Gamma suggested.

"Alternatively, we can ask Salem, or 'Lilith', if we may stay at her castle. It should be well-defended, and Unity has never made it's way there." Cinder added.

"Interesting proposition, but we can't go straight into reconstruction yet." A much older Cinder Fall, along with Corvus, stepped inside their compound.

"Cinder... and Raven..?" Adam wondered.

Alpha and Beta immediately raised their blades.

"You have five seconds. Explain yourselves."

"We still have an opportunity to strike. We should attack while we still have the element of surprise." Cinder stated.

"That's a terrible idea." Alpha deadpanned.

"Is it now?" Raven asked, raising a strange device.

The device was very similar to a funnel, seemingly made entirely of crystal. Telltale markings inticated a blend of Lacryma and Dust, and it was adorned by what appeared to be shards of the Summoning Key towards the larger end of the funnel.

"What... is that?" The younger Cinder asked.

"You're familiar with that 'Prometheus Charge' Energy trapped within our common enemy, yes?" The elder Cinder asked.

*The Subterrains; June 10, 2021; 3:00 PM*

The rest of the crew had arrived shortly after the arrival of Kat, the Agents, and the huntsmen had arrived. It had taken some time for the rest of them to arrive, as they've been trying to resolve the current war. It had been a tough process, he had heard, and it wasn't all complete.

Twilight had explained that even though the Dragons who died both in the war and at Alex's hand had been revived, the other dragons still cried for their blood, and it looked unlikely that any alliance was going to come out of these discussions.

Mako also had been a bearer of bad news, unfortunately. "These reformation groups don't care," She had said, "They want their country back, and they've been fighting like hell to get it back."

The Enforcers and the Foundation had arrived to supplement the force as well, and Alex was about to meet with Kat, Mako, and several SCP scientists and administrators, or 'Overseers', as they were called.

Alex was most intrigued with the few MTFs, or Mobile Task Forces, that had accompanied them. The most infamous of them being the 'Nine Tailed Fox' unit. Alex decided to have Evan and his crew train under their wing until such time as they're needed in battle as an afterthought.

"They should be just inside." Kat explained, opening the door and revealing about 30 or so people.

"Keep in mind, these eggheads are about as effed in the head as you are, but that doesn't mean you should be anything but a professional about this." Mako whispered.

The three sat down, and Kat began introducing him to the other Foundation officials.

"Alex, these are O5s one through thirteen."

"Nice to meet you."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance as well, Captain." one of the O5 officials replied with a british accent.

"And I've brought along a few of the scientists as well. This is Dr. Clef, Dr. Bright, Dr. Gears, Dr. Kondraki, Dr. Rights, and Dr. Glass." Kat introduced, gesturing to a man with a ukelele and a hat, an orangutan, and three other doctors, all of them in some way screwed in the head.

Alex cocked his head to the side, and immediately facepalmed.

"I've seen some shit in my day, but what the actual fuck?"

"You're telling me." Dr. Gears replied emotionlessly.

Alex had to take a moment.

"Sorry, it's just..." Alex stuttered, taken aback by the similarities between Gears and Auburn.

"Oh, save it." Dr. Kondraki rolled his eyes.

"Calm down, you two! Besides, we're all mad here!" Dr. Rights joked.

"Oh, god.. They're worse than us." Alex facepalmed harder.

"Captain, if you will. Explain the situation." Dr. Clef calmly explained, all the while as the whole collective teleported to the Main Computer.

"How the hell..? Ahem.. Good news is we've mostly gotten our shit together. We're currently numbering almost 2 million troops."

"And the bad news?" Another O5 asked.

"Well. there's where it gets bad. First of all, we have no goddamn clue where any of our HVTs are. Second, The Dragons and Our Universe's U.S Restoration groups are insistent on not helping us in any way, shape, or form. Worst of all, there's this whole bit with the fucking monsters. One of them took everything we had to even lay a hand on, and the other is supposedly so overpowered, it killed all but one of us. The one being one of our HVTs."

The O5s looked completely aghast. The Doctors, in stark contrast, were completely unfazed.

"Well, then. I'm not saying you're fucked, but... y'know..." Dr. Bright shrugged.

"Thanks. Real fuckin' reassuring." Mako muttered.

"I'm confident in our Doctor's ability to handle this situation, They've handled worse things before, and they'll handle them again." Another O5 nodded.

"Director, you've proven yourself capable enough to direct this Universe's wing of the Foundation. Keep an eye on them, will you?" The first O5 asked.

Kat's expression went straight from neutral to an even mix of shocked, pissed, and annoyed.

"WHAT?!"

"You obviously need their assistance more. Our residing staff should be able to handle the responsibilities of our home projects in their stead. Besides, they're getting bored, and we'll take any chance at keeping them from completely fucking everything up." O5-4 explained.

The O5s promptly left, leaving Kat, Alex, and Mako dumbfounded.

"Why in the fuck didn't anyone stop them?" Alex asked.

"I'm asking myself the same fucking thing." Kat stuttered.

The SCP Doctors collectively took a step towards them.

"Alright, mother, father, uncle, and great-grandpa fuckers, what's the plan?" Dr. Bright asked.

"I have to agree with Dr. Bright. What are our main objectives?" Dr. Kondraki wondered.

Right as Alex regained his composure, Kat, or rather Sekhmet, turned towards the other six doctors.

"Listen, and listen well. You are to report either to Alexander, or to me. The O5s aren't here, which means all disciplinary action will be undertaken by me. If this is clear with all of you, We need two of you on tracking the Inquisitors, two of you on finding a means of contact with potential allies, and two of you to meet up with Doctor Richtofen and begin weapons development. Understand?"

"Well, well, well. Finally stepped up to the occasion, have we?" Dr. Rights grinned slightly.

"We won't let you down. Kondraki, want to help Richtofen and I?" Dr. Glass asked, turning to his colleague.

"Clef, how about you and I work on-" Dr. Bright began.

"NO." Mako and Kat both shut that down quickly.

"...Okay, I'll work with Gears." Clef nodded, walking towards the main computer.

Dr. Bright and Dr. Rights immediately got to work on a nearby portal.

"Welp, we'll be fucked long before the Inquisitors find us."

"Found 'em!" Dr. Clef shouted.

"WHAT?!" Alex gasped.

"It wasn't difficult. They're on the same planet, after all." Dr. Gears replied.

"How?!" Mako gasped.

"We researched their files, and started with satellite imagery. It was as simple a matter as scanning the planet." Dr. Gears explained.

"They're at that fucked-up section of Remnant. The one with the magma and shit everywhere." Dr. Clef added.

"So, what are they doing?" Alex demanded.

"As it stands, they're building a fleet. Mostly composed of scrap metal." Dr. Gears answered.

"Fun. Does it look like they know where we are?" Mako asked.

"No, their ships are aimed in every direction." Gears added.

"I have a plan." Alex smirked.

"Let me guess. Make them come to us, and OBLITERATE THEM WITH RECKLESS ABANDON..! RENDERING THIS WHOLE PLANET NOTHING BUT A WHIRLWIND OF FLAMING ROCK AND RED MIST!!" Dr. Bright figured, laughing devilishly to himself.

The whole base turned to look at the Doctor.

"Jesus fuck." Cade shook his head.

"Tell me about it." Dr. Richtofen shrugged, rolling his eyes.

"Well. here's a hint... It's two of those things." Alex shrugged, shaking his head and quickly leaving the base for fresh air.

*Callan's Laboratory, Location Unknown; June 10, 2021; 3:15 PM*

Callan lurked through his laboratory, gathering a large stack of files.

"Hmm... It seems I've not checked the energy locators in a long while... Let's find the- GREAT LILITH WHAT IN THE HELL IS THIS?!"

The energy scans on his computer indicated a MASSIVE amount of energy sources, all conveniently centralized within the confines of The old Inquisitor base in the Subterrains. It seemed there were more further north, but the ones at The Subterrains were... most disconcerting.

"Curses..! Not only has Unity gained a little 're-union', but there's a bunch of higher powers there as well..! Could it be..?" Callan gasped, instantly recognizing six of his former co-workers.

"Clef?! Bright!?! I-Impossible!! T-There's no time..!" Callan bolted towards the containment tanks.

Within the center of three tanks, lay floating a dark, winged shape, wreathed in shadow.

That is, save for two glowing eyes.

With a hard pull of a nearby lever, and the press of a few buttons, the fluid in the tank, a mix of amniotic and strengthening fluids, drained from the tank as the figure slowly descended, shrouding itself further.

"My creation... it may soon be your time.." Callan stated coldly.

The figure's ragged breathing echoed within the confines of the tank, it's eyes glowing brighter as it began to stir.

"I will teach you your body's full capabilities, and with luck, you should make a worthy right hand.." Callan grinned sinisterly

Author's Note

With The Inquisitors soon to be on the move, and Callan's plans in action, The Reformed E.R.C is on a race against time to regather their forces. With the help of the capable, yet insane SCP Doctors. They're making significant progress!

However, The Inquisitors have an ace up their sleeve, and Callan's greatest creation has been revealed.. Which side will come out on top in the ensuing battle?

I dunno, but in either case, the next chapter features the start of the Next battle.

Until Next Time!

-The Destoyer

Chapter 79: The Old War Returns
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 79: The Old War Returns

*The Subterrains, Vytal, Remnant; June 15, 2021; 11:30 PM*

Alex stepped up alongside Richtofen, glaring out at the vast landscape before him.

This landscape, which had once been scarred and maimed by war, was now pristine, even by Remnant standards.

Alex figured it was about time to completely wreck the place again.

"So, Dr. Richtofen?"

"Ja?"

"I was wondering.. How are the other doctors handling their duties?" Alex wondered

"Ze other doctors are doing well. They're trying to make contact with other universes, and they've created a list of new weapon designs."

"Nice. Should we let the Inquisitors know we're here?" Alex smirked.

"If you must. We have no clue how much time we have. Shall I notify everyone?" Richtofen figured.

"Not a bad idea, let everyone know and wrap their shit up, then let me know so I can give my little 'rallying call'." Alex ordered.

Richtofen nodded, speeding off towards the nearby intercom.

Twilight, glancing curiously towards him, followed closely behind.

"Let me guess. We're about to call the Inquisitors here?" Twilight asked.

"Ja.. I need help spreading ze word."

"Sure thing!" Twilight smiled, speeding off towards her friends, the Elements.

"So... You sure we're even ready, Twi?" Rainbow asked.

"Honestly, I think we can do anything now that we're together again! It'll be just like old times!" Twilight insisted.

"First of all, Honesty's mah thing. Second, when was the last time any of us actually fought?" Applejack inquired.

"G-Good point..." Fluttershy said, shifting in her seat.

"Look, we've got a bunch of badass warriors, soldiers, and eggheads on our side that this whole thing should be a cinch even without us."

"Are we even necessary? I believe our main threat is this 'Osiris' Character. We have no investment in this petty squabble." Rarity huffed.

"No investment? Rarity, are you hearing yourself?! Our friends' lives are at stake here!" Twilight shouted.

"My question, dear Twilight, is are you? Evan and the rest of his friends care little about this petty internal squabble, The Huntresses, Maidens, and Scientists are only here because of that brutish psychopath Alexander." Rarity retorted.

"Let's be fair, here. Yes, he's 10 pounds of trouble in a 5 pound bag. Yes, he's about as structurally sound 'in here' as an old, rickety barn. But he did help get those whosey-whatsits that revived us." Applejack shrugged, tapping her head with her hoof.

"Yes, but it was his wish that got us into this mess." Rarity stated evenly.

"Can I say something?!" Pinkie shouted.

"Sure.." Fluttershy shank back.

"Even if the wish revived every single bad guy we've ever faced, but it also saved a bunch of other people, too! I'd say it's worth a party! If... y'know.." Pinkie explained.

"My point still stands. Do we even need to be here?" Rarity asked.

The Elements continued their discussion as Richtofen continued to explain the situation to the others.

Cade, Auburn, RWBY, JNPR, Summer Rose, and Saisho were the next to recieve the news.

"So, we're about to reveal our position. We're sitting ducks." Saisho scoffed.

"Shouldn't you know this place inside and out? You are an Inquisitor, after all." Summer pointed out.

"Exactly my point. The Subterrains were meant to be a secret base of operations. It wasn't meant to host a full scale battle. Our operations on Remnant ground to a halt because of that invasion during the war, that's why Alpha ordered the chemical weapon attack on Vale. If it wasn't for the Ryders, we would've held our ground on Remnant for at least a decade."

"If that's the case, It's almost no wonder you lost the war. You kept your bases loosely defended and held most of your forces out on the front lines." Cade stated.

"Don't you get snippy with me, brat! We were the highest order of warriors in the whole multiverse!" Saisho roared.

"With all due respect, Omega, if your Inquisitors were so 'high and mighty', why did they lose?" Ruby demanded.

Saisho shook his head, and began to explain.

"For a time, there were several planets under our protection..."

"And by 'protection', you mean..?" Pyrrha wondered.

"Protection. We weren't mercenaries for nothing, you know. We would defend our protected worlds from all the inter-dimensional serial killers outside, and the worlds under our protection would pay us for our services monthly. This went well, until Alpha decided to dedicate most of our funding on weapons development/research and conspiracy rather than security.

"As you can imagine, the costs of creating new weaponry and methods for large-scale inter-dimensional transport and bribing the greediest bastards in each and every world under our protection started to... add up. Adenien was the first to openly oppose us. Worlds like Equestria, Remnant, and Earth, needless to say, struggled to keep the financing up. All they needed was an excuse and a lot of hope..." Saisho explained.

"You mean Alex?" Blake realized.

"...It was the perfect set-up. My parents had been war criminals for years, after that whole debacle on Kalos Ultra. In trying to kill their third son, Alpha had created the perfect storm. Alexander had essentially been the face of their 'liberation', that's why he'd been elected to become the Admiral of their combined fleet. It certainly didn't help that Alpha held a bitter grudge at him after decades of languishing in his own bitterness towards him." Saisho elaborated.

"So, what you're trying to tell us is that the whole war was a cover for a rent argument?!" Weiss demanded.

"That's... an interesting way of putting it.." Summer figured.

"Either way... The Inquisitors are back, and they're probably gonna put up a fight of some kind..." Auburn figured.

"Well, if they wanna give us hell, we'd better get ready to give them just as much!" Yang smirked.

"Then we better get back to training..." Jaune figured.

"LET'S BREAK SOME LEGS!!" Nora shouted.

By then, Richtofen had already reached the Vanoss Crew with the news, along with the other SCP Doctors, The Agents, and Kat.

"Already?!" Dr. Clef gasped.

"We haven't even prepared our greatest weapons yet!" Dr. Kondraki insisted.

"We won't have much time to prepare, but most good things take a little pressure anyway. Bright, what's the situation with our potential allies?" Dr. Glass coldly wondered.

"We've made some contacts, let's invite them over, and have some fun." Dr. Rights grinned.

"NO." Karis shook her head in disgust.

"They do have a point. This is such short notice, and we haven't even fully prepared for an assault yet." Mako nodded.

"Does it really matter?" Wildcat asked.

"What do you mean?" Kat wondered.

"Look, I know you guys are still a bit out of your element, but look at us. While Alex and Yang had their bullshit Super Saiyan forms, we actually had to keep up in other ways. If the Inquisitors do show up, even we could take 'em out. We have Gmod shit now, and a bunch of cool Zombies weapons, and that's on top of our GTA crap we've kept lying around. We've had 5 fucking YEARS to prep for this while the Inquisitors were fucking dead." Wildcat pointed out.

"I mean, he has a point. They won't be expecting the bald, half-naked panda man." Bigjigglypanda figured.

"Also, aren't we superheroes?" Vanoss wondered.

"I don't know, but I'm pretty sure Delirious is hyped on some DBZ shit too." Basically shrugged.

"KAMEHAMA HAAAAAAAHAHAHAHA!" Delirious cackled as he fired a wave of energy from his fingertips, adding another hole in the ceiling.

"Yeah, we got this." Moo declared.

"I don't tink it's what we're expecting that's the problem, it's the shite we didn't expect." Nogla pointed out.

"What, you mean like Mini's girlfriend?" Ohm asked.

"Guys, it's been three years. I'd think you'd get used to this by now!" Mini shouted indignantly.

"Good point." Terroriser nodded.

"... Anyone know where LEGIQN is?" Vanoss wondered.

"Not now, fuckers, going for another Fortnite win!" Wildcat shouted from another room.

"AGAIN. THREE YEARS. THE MEME IS DEAD NOW." Mini shouted louder.

"Yeah. That meme died long ago. Now, Doki Doki.." Nogla mused.

"Fuckin' weeb." Panda rolled his eyes.

Kat promptly facepalmed.

"Is it a bad thing that I've been dead for five years and they still haven't changed a bit?" Karis wondered.

"I mean, it isn't a bad thing.." Kat figured.

Richtofen had already reached Alez with the go-ahead by that point.

"You better get back to your crew, Doctor. I'll take it from here." Alex decided.

"Ja... I should have told them earlier..." Richtofen nodded, running off.

Alex stalked towards the communicator, taking one last look at Yang, as she trained with their... her... friends.

"It's time to settle this score... for all of us." Alex sighed, activating the communicator.

The broadcast would be relayed all across the multiverse, with the assistance from Andromeda, and the Doctors of the Foundation helping with this project.

Alex sighed, and hardened himself, ready for his speech.

"This is Captain Alexander Gabriel Walker of the E.R.C with a message to a few old 'friends' of mine...

I'm sure everyone knows about the recent resurrection of some 1.5 Trillion people across 18 different universes. This includes the intended recipients of this message: The Inquisitors.

The Inquisitor Military installation on Vytal had been repurposed for our uses. We know where you are, and we know what you intend to do with your return. So, I'm offering you Inquisitors a choice... Either come to the Subterrains, and... ahem... finish what we started. Or, retreat while you can.

We all know that there are big things coming, Inquisitors. So either stand up and face them, or retreat, and live to die another day."

*Meanwhile, Ruins of Atlas; June 15, 2021*

"That utter fool." Beta growled.

"How cute. They've occupied the Subterrains." The elder Cinder rolled her eyes.

"What's our plan, Alpha?" Epsilon asked.

"We cannot make our assault just yet..! We need more time..!" Gamma stammered.

"Why? We already have 2 million men in our ranks, we have all our warriors and allied beings. And with our ships, we should reach Vytal in a mere day." Corvus declared.

"Not to mention, we came prepared... After all, it isn't about overpowering the enemy..." The Elder Cinder grinned, holding the Crystal Device in her hands.

"...It's about taking the little power they have..." The Younger Cinder realized.

"Men. Women. Spirits. We were utterly humiliated all those years ago... We shall not let that happen again. Not one person shall take a single step backwards. We will trample our enemies... and we shall burn down everything they've built. Our time of vengance has arrived. Like vultures, we will scavenge what remains. WE WILL HAVE OUR REVENGE!!! MOVE OUT!" Alpha ordered as the New Inquisitors boarded their ships and sailed towards Vytal.

Except for Alpha and Beta.

"Sir... what are you doing..?" Beta asked.

"I am not taking any chances..." Alpha growled, grabbing something in his hand.

"T-That's..!" Beta gasped.

"Indeed. The Relic of Creation." Alpha declared, holding a glimmering, gold and black pen, shimmering with a bluish glow.

*Meanwhile; Callan's Laboratory; June 15, 2021;*

"My creation... I will now teach you the purpose of your existence..." Callan declared, revealing footage of two shapes.

One screen revealed the Alpha Inquisitor holding a small object in his hand.

"What... he... holding...?" The dark figure asked, fluttering his wings.

"A relic. There are four of them on Remnant alone..! One is in his hands... the Relic of Creation..!" Callan explained..

"C-Cr... Cre-at-ion..?" The figure tilted his head in slight confusion.

"Yes..! The ability to shape something to it's creator's desires..! Another, I know of... is here..!" Callan elaborated, changing the footage to Alex and Corvus' battle in Lithia.

"Who... are they...?"

"That is Alex Walker. Currently, he's the captain of an army... I'll get to him sooner than later... and that is Raven Branwen, leader of the Branwen Tribe, later renamed the Corvus Tribe... and in her hand is the relic of Destruction."

"Destruction...? What.. is that?"

"Destruction is the act of wiping away something, destroying it... rendering it into... nothing.." Callan continued.

"And what... is that?" The figure asked, pointing to a screen showing security camera footage of a dark, inhuman figure.

"That is the next step in your evolution... SCP-682." Callan added.

"Father..?" The creature asked.

"Yes?" Callan regained his focus.

"Everyone has a name.... but... what is my name..?"

Callan's expression changed from crazed to.. fatherly in a way.

"You... are my greatest creation.. You... are my Osiris." Callan declared proudly.

Chapter 80: The Red Star: Part I of III
View Online

Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 80: The Red Star: Part I of III

*The Subterrains, Vytal; June 14, 2021; 6:30 AM*

A shroud of light mist drifted across the plains outside of the Subterrainian Base as troop formations formed a line outside the main tunnels. Helipads below had been completely stocked for the past 12 hours in preparation for the coming battle.

Unity had already formed a strategy by this point, as well as several backup plans.

Vanoss would lead the infantry, his crew and 1/6 of the standing army, Karis would assist Mako, Liss, and Fairy Tail, as well as another 1/6 of the ground forces, and Kat, in command of the SCP Mobile Task Force codenamed 'Nine Tailed Fox' would be in charge of another 1/6.

The rest of the ground forces would be under the direct command of Ruby, Jaune, and Sun.

The Huntsmen would be in charge of defending special targets, such as helipads, missile silos, and generators. JNPR and SSSN would be in charge of those sections.

The Elements were mainly in charge of building magic defenses and fighting HVT Inquisitors.

Finally, The primary force of the reformed ERC was now known as the Stella Custodes; Star Guardians.

Alex, Team RWBY, Ultimus and his family, Summer, Saisho, Cade, Auburn, Oreonna, and Vegeta made up this special team of 14 that would be in charge of eliminating any High Target Inquisitors, as well as taking care of any 'Interfering parties', like the Illuminati, Lilith, or this 'Osiris' Corvus warned about.

"Well then, let's finish what we started. Shall we?" Alex turned back to face the rest.

"You realize I'm only taking part in this because I haven't killed anything in years, yes?" Vegeta scowled.

"That's fine as long as you're with us." Alex shrugged.

"We've got company..!" Illiya shouted.

"How many?" Yang asked.

"... Oh shit." Ultimus gaped, grabbing the binoculars from Illiya.

"Ohhhhh nooooo..." Ruby stared,

"What?! What's the matter?!" Cade gasped.

"Um... Alex, you're... seeing this, right?" Vanoss asked.

"HOLY SHIT." Kat shouted.

"HOW IN TAUTARUS ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DEAL WITH THIS?!" Twilight yelled.

"What the hell are you fuckers on about-?" Alex demanded, looking to the horizon.

All any of them could see was a dense line of metal equipment.

Most of them looked like massive, 12 meter tall, 124 meter long artillery guns rather than tanks, yet they seemed to move faster than an average car and seemed to be armed to the teeth with laser cannons and Tesla guns. There were several P.1000 Ratte model tanks bolstering the intense line of artillery guns. It didn't exactly help that the whole line was littered with Infantry transports several dozen meters wide, speeder bikes, and the like. And those were just Ground Units.

The Air Units the Inquisition had covered the sky in a sea of black and grey as Helicopters, Fighter Jets, Bullheads, and the future equivalent to AC-130s.

Then there was the General Infantry... At least One Million troops marching alongside the massive line of tanks and troop transports.

"Andromeda... What are those..?" Alex asked, regarding the heavy line of artillery guns alongside the Rattes.

"Landkreuzer Model P. 1500s. Fittingly named Monsters. They were also designed as Nazi Super-Heavy Tanks, much like the Ratte. Whereas the Ratte weighed 1000 Tons, the Monster would weigh 1500 Tons." Andromeda explained.

"Do these have any sort of weakness?" Alex asked again.

"Most of these tanks had a tendency to destroy the roads and railways they drove over, and they were notorious for being slow, but it appears they've fixed those problems with Adenienite Tech." Andromeda explained once more.

"Kat, I need you and your MTF to link up with Evan's crew and find a way to deal with that enemy ground force. Jaune and Sun, deal with that enemy air." Alex ordered quickly.

"What about the plan?!" Mako demanded.

"Forget the plan! You and the rest of the Stella Custodes to defend the main base! You guys'll have to be the last line of defense-!"

"Stand aside, Boy!" Vegeta ordered, shoving Alex aside.

Vegeta glared at the amassing Inquisitor army, preparing a massive energy blast that pulsated in the palm of his hand.

"BIG BANG ATTACK!"

The blast incinerated the main line instantaneously, only worsening as Vegeta began spam-firing attacks into what remained of that last defensive line.

Alex stood in shock as the threat was blown away before his eyes, watching in sheer shock as the entire enemy line was reduced to smoldering metal and smoke.

Vegeta's hands were positively alight as he soon stopped, leaving behind a bit of smoke on his hands as the attacking force, in it's entirety, was incinerated.

"...Holy shit." Yang gaped.

"Now. Did we really need all that strategy, boy? Your power is over half of my own, and this barely took even 1 Percent!" Vegeta gloated.

Alex shook his head in surprise, completely blindsided by the fact that their opposing force, in all it's might, was obliterated in mere seconds.

"Well, ladies and gents, let's go home. Vegeta just won the fuckin' war." Alex shrugged, walking away as the group heard a terrifying new sound:

A magical-sounding 'whoosh', and a large amount of engine noises, marching, and energy cannon charging.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Vegeta shouted in anger.

Alex promptly turned around...

...Only to face an even bigger army. Hundreds of these P.1500 Monsters, with even larger tanks falling into formation, Hover-Jeeps, Bullheads, Landing Crafts, and hovering laser cannons. This new invasion force was bolstered by a ground army at least 5 million strong, and was directly led by the Inquistors Alpha, Beta, Gamma, AKA Rufio Vincent, Adam Taurus, Emerald, Mercury, Scarecrow, Epsilon AKA Iron Talon, Theta, Eta, and Iota, along with Jäger

Along with Both Cinders, Corvus, and Morning Star.

To make matters worse, the entire army now stood mere feet away from Alex, as opposed to across the horizon.

"WHAT THE FUCKING HELL?!" Kat gasped.

"THERE'S NO FUCKING WAY!!!" Delirious shouted.

"I CALL HAX!" Sun yelled.

Alex could only stare, mouth agape, at most of his enemies reborn.

"It truly has been too long, hasn't it, Catalyst?" Alpha scowled, retaining his composure.

"I'd venture to say 'just like old times,' but I wasn't around for that, Alpha." Cade glared coldly at his elder self.

"... Is that supposed to be me? Well, at least I know you're a man of your word, father." Alpha retorted.

"I'm nothing like you.. and I never will be." Cade scowled.

Alpha stepped forward, facing his other self.

"We shall see."

Both Alpha and Cade transformed to their highest forms, with Alpha's Evolved Warrior and Cade's Enlightened Demigod.

"So you truly have ascended past me. However, Power means nothing compared to raw skill." Alpha grinned, raising his weapon.

"Skill, or experience? Because I have plenty of both." Cade smirked, raising his Conductor and Sickle.

Saisho and Beta squared off against one another, each one raising his weapon.

"Traitor! You fight for him?!" Beta growled.

"I fight for myself just as always, you puppet!" Saisho roared, charging at Beta as both swords collided, following in a flurry of attacks.

"Ah, Daughter. We haven't finished our little chat yet." Corvus smiled deviously.

Yang wasted no time, opening up with attack after attack, punching, hacking, shooting, and flipping over her mother as Corvus deftly blocked and countered with her own weapon.

Adam and Blake shared a long, cold stare before the two opened up an assault against eachother, former master and student perfectly countering eachother's moves.

"Even after our return, you still wound me?" Adam mockingly gaped.

Blake left no reply as Oreonna charged past her, leaping at the elder Cinder's throat.

"Little cat. A battlefield is no place for you." The eldest Cinder shook her head disapprovingly.

"The only place for you is in a six foot hole, you bitch!!" Oreonna shouted as Auburn leaped in for the assist, both warriors attacking their old enemy.

Ruby and Summer worked together to take on Emerald, Mercury, and Morning Star as a flurry of magic attacks flying between them as Ultimus' Cousins, Illiya, Spyden, and Julius took on Theta, Eta, Iota, and Jäger.

Ultimus wasn't far off, with him squaring off against Primis, who had just joined the battle alongside Vegeta against Gamma.

Weiss alone was able to deftly and decisively take on Scarecrow and Epsilon, with Weiss being the only one with sense of calm and sanity on their particular triad.

This only led to Alex glaring against the younger Cinder Fall, who had died at Alex's hand years before.

"I suppose this leaves us. Shall we settle our score now, Alexander?" Cinder shrugged, unsheathing both of her old swords.

Alex grinned wickedly, unsheathing his blade; his Agartha's Thunder.

"I've grown over these past few years, Cinder..." Alex smirked, transforming all the way to his Mythic Warrior state.

"...I do hope you've thought this through." Alex glared, raising his weapon in his familiar stance as both warriors collided.

As the Inquisitors and the newly formed Stella Custodes waged their battle, the entire invading force the Inquisitors had to offer had charged past them, towards the unprepared army of E.R.C at the Subterrains.

"Listen, everyone! You're all outnumbered about five-to-one! My name is Andromeda, and for the sake of your survival. I'll be your battlefield organizer. We need more protection at our launch sites at the moment, so Units 1, 3, 5, 6, and 7 need to report to the launch sites immediately! Units 2, 4, 8, and 9 need to act as our first line of defense! All huntsmen, huntresses, and Agents need to report with the other SCP Doctors below. They'll be ready with additional weaponry and support. Stay strong, everyone!" Andromeda explained quickly as the Red Star and E.R.C engaged for the first time in 5 years.

*The Overlook; Kai 0-00 Alpha; June 14, 2021; 6:59 AM;

Arturis and Minerva, as well as a small procession of 3 Illuminati acolytes, walked towards the center of the Overlook, an immense station floating thousands of miles above the surface of Provinence. The Overlook was an elaborate structure, a single, spherical station surrounded by nine rings, all made with artisan-crafted ivory, gold, and ebony. The entrance to the Overlook, where the procession now stood, was a reflection of the saintly nature of the estate, as well as it's sole caretaker.

The Procession of Five entered, as the lone, hooded figure in the center, meditating a few feet above the ornate throne at it's center, turned and faced them, lowering herself down to face them.

"I have been expecting you, Arturis. I see you have brought forth your procession, which implies you intend to ask something of me today." The figure calmly stated, her eyes open and piercing into the souls of everyone in attendance.

The three acolytes stopped dead in their tracks.

Minerva gazed in awe as Arturis stepped up to the ornate circle in front of the throne.

"Oracle... What you've foreseen has yet again come to pass... Our spies indicate the coming of-!" Arturis began.

"Ever the worrywart, are you not?" The figure, now revealed as the Oracle, interrupted.

"This is serious! Your last prediction has led my order into a new golden age, yes, and I need to be certain The Illuminati will survive your next prediction!" Arturis shouted.

"If it is truth you seek, you may not want to hear it. You did not heed my prior warning, Arturis. The Dead have risen by your hands. The Fabric of the Universe is being shaken by your Inquisitorius once more, and by your own machinations, your order will be swallowed whole." The Oracle explained.

Arturis glared at the Oracle, enraged.

"And what of the Great Annihilator?! Is he of no concern?!" Arturis shouted.

"Osiris is indeed a concern. His actions will destroy countless futures. He will be stopped in some, he will claim victory in others. Do not concern yourselves with yet another Catalyst Point, High Lord Arturis. Change is only a danger to those who cannot adapt."

"And how do you expect us to adapt to HIM?!" Arturis demanded.

"Funny you should mention. Would you like to hear my next prediction, Arturis?"

Arturis glared, then shook his head.

"Very well.."

The Oracle's eyes shined bright white as several voices echoed her own.

"The Forces of Creation and Destruction shall collide. Adjacent entities shall meet. Armies of Darkness and Light shall join forces as reality collides. And under the tutelage of mighty warriors, the Catalysts shall reach their zenith. The Ancient Orders shall be left behind in the wake of the Great Cataclysm, and I shall finally be free."

Chapter 82: The Red Star: Part III of III
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 82: The Red Star: Part III of III

*The Subterrains, Vytal, Remnant; June 14, 2021; 7:28 PM*

The Elder Cinder heard something land behind her.

"Fall..." It said.

Cinder turned around, deactivating the Absorption Charge and facing the being, leaving Alex to struggle and writhe in pain.

"Who are you?!" She demanded.

The figure was dark, nearly 8 feet tall and looked like the fusion of a pony, human, and griffon. Human-like only in stature, winged, clawed, hooved, and strangely familiar.

"I'm not after you... My... Father.. sent me on a.. uh... 'fetch quest'.." The being muttered, hesitant and confused.

"A Fetch Quest? We're in the midst of a battle. What could this "Father" of yours possibly want?" Cinder demanded in an even tone.

"Just a few... um.. thingies... I think they're called Relics.. and anything I can find of impotence.." The creature stated in a childlike fashion.

"Importance is the word you're looking for." Cinder deadpanned.

"Right... I'm still learning words... "

'What the hell is this thing? It's like a 4 year old's mind in Lilith's body..!' Cinder thought.

"I'd venture to guess somewhere close by. If you don't mind, I was in the middle of-"

Alex weakly placed Cinder in a chokehold, causing her to drop the Absorption Charge and grasp at Alex's arm.

"You've... really... resorted to... trying to make me tap out?" Cinder choked in a mocking tone.

"This was supposed to snap your neck, you old hag!" Alex glared, barely able to gain the power to finish her off.

Alex threw her away, and concentrated all the power in his body..

Only for his power to fizzle out into a weak Aura, barely half of an average Huntsman's power.

"My my... Not so big without all that stolen energy." Cinder mocked.

Alex grabbed his sword, hacking away at Cinder angrily as the being stood and watched.

"Osiris! What's the holdup?!" Osiris heard Callan shout through his earpiece.

"..I'm not quite sure what's going on... You said the 'Captain' guy is able to destroy a city... but... I don't think he can do that.." Osiris replied.

"...What?"

"I'm not kidding, I'm watching a fight right now and this other lady is beating him." Osiris explained as Cinder began to beat Alex down with her bare hands.

"...You're serious?"

"Yeah... That thingy she dropped, can you see it?" Osiris asked, grabbing the Absorption Charge.

"Osiris. Kid. Just because I can speak to you doesn't mean I can see-"

"Should I bring it back with the other thingies?"

"Alright... But bring the Captain as well.. I have to find out what's going on here.." Callan replied.

"Okay!" Osiris smiled, flying up behind Cinder.

"Also, I need this guy here."

"Wait wha-?" Cinder asked as Osiris knocked her out with a single punch...

...As well as blowing her across the entire battlefield.

Alex stared up in awe... Just what was this thing?

Osiris turned to Alex holding the Absorption Charge.

"Can you hold this please?"

"Y-Yeah, sure.." Alex replied as Osiris swept him off of his feet and proceeded to bridal-carry him, flying all the way to a nearby, homemade Gateway.

"Stay here for a little while. I'll be back with a couple of other thingies my Father needs and we'll go and see him. Bye!"

"Wait, what?!"

Osiris flew off, leaving Alex to sit back and try to process what the hell just happened.

"Um... Of all the shit I've seen.. This has to be the weirdest.." Alex muttered to himself.

*Meanwhile*

"FACE MY WRATH, MOTHER!!!"

"CUT OUT ALL THAT EDGY SHIT AND SIT DOWN, YOUNG MAN!!!" Yang roared back defiantly.

Both warriors traded slashes and blows, managing to equally parry eachother's attacks.

"I'm pretty much equally matched with Alpha... and Alex somehow managed to kill him, what the hell?" Yang thought in annoyance.

Alpha teleported behind Yang, and with one sweep of his sword, a small stretch of forest grew around them. Yang blocked the attack, only for that same stretch of forest to be rendered naught but ash.

"You stand against the forces of Creation itself..! I AM A GOD!!!" Alpha yelled, stabbing the air as a lush, green, expansive mountain range erected and grew behind Yang.

"AND I CAN TEAR IT DOWN JUST AS FAST, KIDDO!" Yang retorted, rearing up an explosive blast, creating a massive crater around them, effectively forming a small canyon on Vytal.

Alpha dodged the blast, and charged against the ensuing shockwave, managing to successfully pierce Yang's chest.

"IT'S OVER!!!" Alpha bellowed, ripping the blade upwards in a sharp motion.

It was a fatal blow. One that would kill...

If it were an ordinary blade.

As the blade cut through Yang's body, the wounds re-sealed, leaving the target completely unharmed.

"And what was that supposed to be?" Yang asked with a smug grin.

"B-But that makes no sense!" Alpha gasped, slashing away at Yang, forming rivers and waterfalls around them as Yang stepped towards him, powering down.

"It's the Relic of Creation. It can't kill. It can't destroy. Now, this, on the other hand.." Yang grinned, raising her weapons.

"S-STAND DOWN!!" Alpha yelled, hacking away, forming wildlife and further repairing the scarred battlefield.

"Or what, you'll make a few little deer? A fancy cliffside I can raise you kids at? How about a nice new roadway connecting Vytal to the rest of Remnant without the need of a boat? I kinda get why Alex beat you now." Yang smirked.

"Fall..! FALL!!!"

"You're a tough guy, you've got a lot of experience under your belt, and I'm sure you're okay at handling an army of mercenaries.. But you don't account for the unexpected shit." Yang continued, grabbing Alpha by the neck, causing him to drop the Relic.

"...Oh, and it looks like your army has that same weak point!" Yang winked.

"ADENKORPS, PUSH THEM PAST ZE RIDGE!!" Alex S 1-14 hollered as an army forced the Red Star back.

"Push them back! Don't let them escape!!" Alex B 0-12 yelled.

"Keep moving! They're moving into the... wait, Canyon?" Alex O 9-72 added.

Alpha stood up, seeing the rest of his Red Star being pushed into the newly-formed canyon.

"I think this is the part where you run away." Yang taunted.

"Or what?!"

"Or you'll have to deal with about... I dunno, 3 Alexes who are all stronger than you.. Oh, and also our Alex, who I'm sure is stronger than all of them." Yang continued.

Alpha growled.

"You've bested me... I'll give you credit for that.. RED STAR! RETREAT TO THE SHIPS!!" Alpha roared, using the Relic to create Airships similar to the Knight's Myriad just ahead of their position.

Alpha and Yang soon heard something land nearby... Neither were certain as to what it was.

"What is that?" Alpha demanded.

"It kinda looks like Lilith..." Yang figured.

Osiris stood up from the rubble, shying away from the two warriors.

"H-Hello.." Osiris greeted.

"Um.. Hi..?" Yang tilted her head quizzically.

"State your business, then leave, creature!" Alpha ordered.

"I have a name, you know.." Osiris insisted, rather hurt by Alpha's harshness.

"Cut the... you are a kid, right..? Anyways, cut the slack. What's your name?" Yang smiled.

"Osiris-"

Alpha had both the Relic of Creation and his sword drawn, and in sweeping, hard strikes, tried to kill Osiris.

"I'm pretty sure I need this.." Osiris grabbed the Relic by it's blade, lifting Alpha up along with it.

Alpha desperately kicked at Osiris' shin, causing him to flinch, flinging Alpha on top of one of the Airships.

"T-This isn't over, Annihilator!! I'LL HUNT YOU DOWN THE CORNERS OF THE COSMOS IF I HAVE TO!!!" Alpha shouted as the rest of the surviving Inquisition returned to the ships; Beta, Gamma, Scarecrow, Emerald, Mercury, both Cinders, Morning Star, and the newly initiated Kappa: Julius Crux.

"FINAL FLAAASH!!!" Vegeta roared as his attack decimated one of the ships.

As the battle drew to a close above the newly formed Canyon, Osiris turned to Yang.

"I'm gonna need that too, if you don't mind." Osiris simply stated.

"I kinda do mind-"

Osiris had already flash-stepped in front of Yang, using the momentum to carry his fist into Yang's right temple, temporarily knocking her out and giving him enough time to grab the Relic of Destruction.

"Sorry about that, but this is kinda important... My Father needs all this stuff for some reason."

"Halt, Beast!"

Osiris turned to find three alternate Alexes behind him, all glaring at him.

"I think I've seen you all before... I left the other guy at the portal nearby.." Osiris explained.

"Wait, you found this version of us already?" Alex O 9-72 asked in shock.

"Last anyone heard, he was in some kind of trouble."

"He was... This mean lady was beating him, but I took care of it."

"You mean to tell us you beat Cinder?" Alex S 1-14 gasped.

"No surprise there. Look.." Alex B 0-12 pointed at the unconscious Yang.

All three Alexes powered down in shock.

"Sorry about that... I'm sure my father can explain all of this. I was just about to go back home." Osiris shrugged.

"Well, any suggestions?" Alex S 1-14 asked.

"Your Adenkorps need you here. And I'm pretty sure your Cinder still needs you. I'll tag along with.. I'm sure it's a him..." Alex B 0-12 decided.

"Smart thinking..." Alex O 9-72 nodded.

"Alright then, follow me." Osiris smiled, flying off with both Relics.

"Take it easy, me's." Alex B 0-12 waved, following close behind.

*The Subterrains Command Room; June 14, 2021; 9:00 AM*

"Alright, everyone's accounted for. Let's go over just what the hell happened. Andromeda?" Kat introduced.

"Yes, Director. We lost 634,212 men in the first 45 minutes of the battle, losing ground all the way to the main Cave System. It wasn't until we recieved backup and additional, experimental weaponry that we were able to turn the tide. We retook the hangars within 10 minutes and launched an aerial offensive that drove the Inquisition back to the newly formed Stella Canyon. Alpha then called his forces back for a full retreat, with 3,325,472 losses, including the entire initial force of 1,250,122 being wiped out. If it hadn't been for Alpha pulling his forces back, we would have lost this battle." Andromeda explained.

"We lost nearly ALL OF OUR FORCES?" Alex S 1-14 demanded in shock

"Hey, man! When the bad guys pull 5 million troops out of their assholes, it's kinda hard to fight back!" Delirious shouted.

"Of course, it doesn't help that OUR CAPTAIN AND THE GIRL VERSION OF HIM TOOK OFF." Weiss shouted.

"And then there was Julius turning on Spyden and I.. None of us saw it coming, and it made being able to help the Captain worse.." Illiya explained.

"That little miscreant! Might as well have named him Judas Crux!" Ultimus growled angrily.

"I was shocked when I heard Spyden was killed.. He's probably informed the entire clan by now." Primis, now aligned with the E.R.C, explained.

"That doesn't matter, where the hell is our son?!" Jason demanded.

"Saigo... Always the first to flee." Saisho smugly grinned to himself.

"Saisho, I'm sure whatever it was, it couldn't have been too serious." Chūkan figured.

"He lost pretty much all of his powers." Blake explained.

"He took off with... something..." Alex O 9-72 answered.

"...You're gonna have to elaborate." Karis explained.

"OSIRIS!" Yang shouted.

"Wait, what?!" Alice gasped.

"As in.. The Osiris?" Oreonna asked.

"He took off with BOTH Relics!" Yang yelled angrily.

"And he left with B 0-12. I left her with the responsibility of giving him the Dimensional Essence!" Twilight shouted desperately.

"WHAT?! DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG IT TOOK US TO SYNTHESIZE A SINGLE VIAL?!" Dr. Bright yelled in anger.

"Easy.. We're lucky to be here with our lives.. The best we can hope for is that we'll be properly prepared next time around." Dr. Glass concluded.

"So what's the plan now?" Chūkan wondered.

"I can keep an eye on the Inquisition. They trusted me enough with the Attack on Magnolia and what happened today. They are several steps ahead of us now. It's only befitting we're able to meet them as they come." Primis decided.

"I've made plans to center the new base in the Canyon. We'll make contact with as many other universes we can and find a way to build an armada to meet theirs."

"With Alpha's Relic gone, he won't be able to do much." Ruby insisted enthusiastically.

"Don't be so certain. Alpha wasn't Alpha just because of his lackluster battle plans and grandiose equiptment. Military planning isn't his expertise, it's managing trade and business deals. He'll try to meet up with some of his former clients." Jason explained.

"Like who?" Mako wondered.

"Earth, for starters. The United States had active trade deals with the Inquisitors. All they need to do is aid one of those Restoration Groups, help them take Washington, and they're in the clear as far as material goes." Alice added.

"Adenien... Is also in a fragile state... Supreme Leader Krete is growing old, and we aren't sure where Protá stands on the Inquisitors since he became Commander of the Ryder Corps after their reign. It doesn't help that Lithia was decimated by a former Inheritor." Ultimus explained.

"The Kretes, Emphas, and Crux Clans have always been able to hold onto the Throne and Sword of Adenien since the beginning. We just have to make sure the seat doesn't go to a Crux." Saisho figured.

"The Adenienite Public is showing the Crux Clan more support since they were all massacred by the same former inheritor." Primis elaborated.

"Princess Celestia, Luna, and Cadence can help..!" Rainbow insisted.

"I don't think so... Celestia, Luna, and Cadence were all killed by Corvus too. In their absence, a proxy war broke out between them, the Dragons, and their allies. Remember: We were all taught that Celestia was immortal. Equestria doesn't trust it's own leadership anymore than Adenien or Earth does it's own." Twilight sighed.

"All this in mind, Remnant is facing another Great War on Equestria. Atlas. Vale, Vacuo, Mistral. Their citizens are all dying for a cause they don't care about. At least, that's what Uncle Qrow's telling me. We've practically lost Remnant too." Ruby added.

"So we have no plans, no influence, and our main asset is powerless and gone. All the while, Earth, Remnant, Equestria, and Adenien are all primed to become Puppet States for the Inquisition. We've all but lost before it even got started." Dempsey sighed.

"Fiore's leadership is the only one that really seems stable, despite having to repair Magnolia twice. Fairy Tail has gone dark, though." Kat sighed.

Alex S 1-14 stood up.

"Ich habe eine Idee!" he shouted.

"What?" Karis wondered.

"Think about it. Aside from the 400,000 soldiers here, and my own Adenkorps, We're all powerful enough to face entire armies, correct?" Alex S 1-14 asked.

"Roughly.." Ruby smiled shyly.

"Und Kat, Karis, Mako..! You've all worked for a government, Ja?"

"Just me. I was a Senator for a couple years before I was moved into Directing our SCP." Kat explained.

"Und that is enough! Call Fairy Tail over here..! Call our people..! We can form our own Nation!" Alex S 1-14 announced.

"WHAT?!" The entire room demanded before going entirely into a fuss.

"SETTLE DOWN NOW!" Alex S 1-14 ordered.

The whole room then quieted down.

"Think about it.. Vytal isn't a Kingdom, correct?"

"Not really. Nobody wants to stake claim." Weiss replied.

"Then it's technically Terra Nullis, Ja?"

"What does that mean?" Yang wondered.

"Unclaimed land...!" Twilight nodded.

"So.. If we claim zis land now, and we're capable of defending it, then we could, in perfect legality, form our own Nation!" Alex S 1-14.

"Wait, slow down..! We can't just have a military run it's own nation! We'll need citizens..!" Twilight insisted.

"We could bring in my people! Trust me when I say zis, Princess... The situation in my home country of Germany is in a deeply complicated state now.. It and it's people could fall in the wrong hands.." Alex S 1-14 decided.

"Wait, what year is it in your time?" Vanoss asked.

"June, 1921. In March this year alone, There was an another... What's ze word..? Aufstand."

"Uprising." Richtofen translated.

"Wait, Another? As in.. More than one." Cade gaped.

"Ja... Before Yang, Cade and I formed the Adenkorps, I was part of a paramilitary unit that eliminated another... Uprising, as Herr Richtofen called it.. Two years ago." Alex S 1-14 stated.

"It lines up, historically, at least." Mako confirmed.

"Something is coming, I know it is, that will take advantage of ze current instability and... how you say.. Go off the deep end. Most of the men I met in that unit had some... extreme beliefs.." Alex S 1-14 added.

"I don't think that's the point... We have the resources, the potential Citizenship, and the potential Government forming.." Alex O 9-72 figured.

"Why not make it a reality?" Rainbow decided.

"This reminds me of when I helped form the Federation..! Alright... We have to define our citizenship differently.." Kat figured.

"Why not allow people to immigrate via dimensional portals?" Dr. Clef figured.

"It worked for America, It'll work for us..!" Alex S 1-14 grinned.

"Well... I guess if this is really our plan, what's our endgame? A war on four fronts? You Germans could barely handle two." Karis figured.

"Again, we're each strong enough to fend off entire armies, and with all the others weakening enough as it is, we could potentially expand this little Island into an empire given the time." Yang nodded.

"Richtig! Now... What shall we call our experiment?" Alex S 1-14 wondered.

"How about... The Republic of Vytal?" Ruby wondered.

"I agree in this nation becoming a Republic, but this isn't just for Remnant.. It's for all of us." Rarity stated.

"True... How about a name that connects all of us together.. Something true to us exclusively.." Blake announced.

"What's your suggestion?" Alex O 9-72 asked.

"The Republic of Concord." Blake replied.

"...What does Concord mean?" Ruby asked.

"I'm pretty sure it's a type of jelly.." Vanoss replied.

"Yes, but that isn't the point..!" Mako facepalmed.

"How about... The Republic of Concordia. No grape jelly confusion, and it gives it that flair a country would usually have. And I'm pretty sure it still works with Monty's Color Name Rule." Pinkie explained.

"...How do you..?"

"I have my ways... I have my ways..." Pinkie replied mysteriously.

"But what does 'concord' mean?" Ruby wondered.

Summer Rose turned to her daughter, smiling proudly.

"Unity."

*Meanwhile, Location Unknown*

"Alright... We're here..!" Osiris announced as Alex A 0-12 and B 0-12 walked in alongside him.

"Have you brought our guest?" Alex heard someone ask.

"Yep. And I got you everything you needed..!" Osiris added, spilling all the contents in his arms onto the table.

Alex took a moment to look over what Osiris had acquired.

"Let's see... I'm pretty sure that's the Relic of Destruction... and it that's the case, that must be the Relic of Creation... and that thing Cinder used to take away my powers..." Alex mumbled to himself.

"What was that?" Alex B 0-12 asked.

"Nothing.. Just-"

"-Thinking to yourself, I get it." she replied.

'Right... We're exactly alike, apparently except for the fact that you're a girl." Alex thought.

An older gentleman walked into the room. He was not quite elderly, but he was a far cry from being middle-aged. The old man had greying black hair and green eyes.

"My, my... The Great Alex Walker... Never did I expect for you to wander into my laboratory." The man greeted.

"Right... Your... 'Son'... here said you wanted him to bring me along, right?" Alex asked.

"Of course... I was initially confused why you'd be losing to an enemy whose power you've eclipsed for a while now... I've been keeping tabs on everything that has happened here." The man explained.

"Right... What's your name?" Alex wondered.

"My name is Dr. Xavier Callan. I have my Ph.Ds in Biotechnology, Electronic and Mechanical Engineering, Theoretical and Applied Physics, and Genetics. I feel I should mention I was both a former SCP Scientist, and a former Inquisitor Scientist." Dr. Callan explained.

Chapter 83: A New Republic, A New Empire (Edited)
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 83: A New Republic, A New Empire (Edited)

*Xavier Callan's Laboratory; June 14, 2021; 1:00 PM*

"You were a former Inquisitor. Not just their scientist." Alex glared.

"Now, now... No need to cause a ruckus in my laboratory..! Allow me to explain. Osiris, this factors you in as well, so do listen." Dr. Callan defended, raising his hands.

"Okay!" Osiris nodded, sitting down cross-legged on a carpet leading into a sort of living room.

"Now, Alex...es.. I assume you're aware that the Inquisition as a whole changed once the Current Alpha took power, yes?" Callan began.

"In a sense. I recall hearing that the Inquisition took a shift from mercenary defenders of their corner of the Multiverse to a full-scale empire-slash-landlord style of ruling once Alpha took power." Alex B 0-12 recalled.

"Indeed. Alpha had wanted to pursue not only upscaled Multiverse-Transportation technology, but also an increased militaristic presence. He appointed me as the Head of both the Weapons Development as well as the Transportation Sciences. My degrees in Electrical Engineering, Electronic Engineering, and Theoretical Physics alone meant they practically handed me the job. This was after the SCP Foundation requested I take a leave of absence... and subsequently tried to assassinate me." Callan explained.

"Guess you aren't alone on the whole 'attempted assassination' boat." Alex shrugged.

"Indeed. I ended up faking my own death, with the Inquisition's help, of course, in order to evade the watchful eye of the Foundation. Once that was settled, I began development on several projects. The Landkreuzer P.1000 was a redesigned version of a WWII German Blueprint, but the design of the I-455 Airships, The Knight's Myriad and the Nemesis, as well as the unfinished Kalos Prime Dimensional Transporter and the ARES Satellites were all my original designs. At first, I had thought this was all well and good... Then I discovered what they would be used for..."

"Starting Armageddon across several worlds." Alex B 0-12 nodded.

"Yes. The Inquisitors had called this plan 'The Great Reckoning'. They intended to initiate these Doomsday Events, then use my technology, as well as their skills, to defeat their own atrocities. Using these, they would have ensured there would be no defying their rule.. I knew my technology was too powerful to find fault in, so I contacted the few Inheritors left and escaped with my life.." Callan continued.

"So, with both the SCP and Inquisitors on your back, what did you do next?" Alex asked.

"I travelled to a universe where not not only did the SCP and Inquisition not have any sort of presence, but where I had died of a stroke moments before. I buried my counterpart's body and started to pursue my Ph.D's in Biotech and Genetics. I knew it wouldn't be long before both of them had discovered that I escaped and took off with several of their blueprints, so I decided to use one of them as a failsafe for when they discovered me. Project Osiris."

"Is that.. Me?" Osiris asked curiously.

"Precisely! Project Osiris was originally an Inquisitor Design. Alpha had wanted to raise a worthy successor once his Inquisitorial Empire had been established. It was intended to be a genetic union of several powerful species in one body. After Alpha had died, I had crafted several Microscopic droids meant to extract the DNA of several of your own cohorts.

Osiris, you are the genetic fusion of Alex Walker, Yang Xiao Long, Princesses Luna and Celestia, Iron Talon, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Ultimus Crux, Cade Walker, Ruby Rose, and most recently, Prince Vegeta. I originally intended to raise you as a bodyguard, but now... I see you as my own son." Callan smiled kindly.

Osiris looked like his mind had just been blown.

"So, I technically have 5 dads, not including you, and 6 moms." Osiris stated.

"Well... Yes." Callan nodded.

"That explains Osiris, but why go through the trouble of gathering the Relics and Us?" Alex B 0-12 wondered.

"In recent years... I saw the most prominent figures of the war ascend to power beyond my wildest dreams. Legend has it that four of the Relics are capable of changing the world around us in significant ways.. My intent is for Osiris here to use this power to be able to contend with the Inquisition's strongest enforcers as well as any eldrich horror the SCP is willing to throw my way. By any means necessary."

"So why am I here?" Alex asked.

"Ah, Yes... I hadn't planned nor counted on you ever allying yourself with the likes of an old double-crosser such as myself. I understand you're short on power." Callan noted.

"Yeah, what's your point?" Alex wondered.

"I need you to mentor Osiris. Teach him as much as you can. In the end, I shall give you your powers back." Callan asked.

"You know what he's capable of, what if he were to turn? I'm already in a rocky state with the rest of my friends, who all pretty much know what might happen too. If something were to happen... and if I were to cause it... They would kill me." Alex explained.

"...It is a heavy cost, I understand... How about I sweeten the deal?" Callan asked.

".. How so?"

"I will restore half of your power now, and provide you with a suit of armor and your own Airship." Callan promised.

"A suit of armor and an airship? I can see the Armor happening, but the Airship?" Alex scoffed.

"I can create one in less than 5 seconds... with this." Callan promised, raising the Relic of Creation.

"...Okay. I need you to create this Airship of yours with an onboard Dimensional Transporter, at least a ton of Gold, onboard weaponry, and all varieties of weapons of my own... Ah, fuck it. Just give me the Relic."

"Very well then, as long as you train Osiris as best you can." Callan agreed, raising his hand for Alex to shake.

Alex grinned, shaking his hand, finding that Callan held the Relic in his hand.

"You've got yourself a deal. I'll give this right back." Alex promised before turning to Alex B 0-12.

"Keep silent about this, will you?" Alex asked.

"Gotcha. I can keep tabs on the rest of the group for you. I think I know what you're planning, too." Alex B 0-12 promised.

Alex stepped outside, overlooking the barren landscape before him and raising the Relic, he began his work.

Scouring his memories about the Knight's Myriad, he increased it's size by about twice as much.

The new ship was over a mile long, nearly a mile wide, and over 400 feet tall. The Ship was essentially a super-massive flying aircraft carrier.

It was time for additional modifications.

Alex gave the entire ship a facelift, brightening the ship's dark grey into a silvery gold. Also taking the time to write the Airship's name on both sides of it; The Aurora.

Getting to work fast, Alex swept numerous Bullhead-esque VTOLs, with some equipped with additional armor, weapons systems. He also equipped some for specialized uses. Some were meant to drop a tank of Alex's own design; The Hellion I. The Tank was essentally an amalgamate of the German Panzer IV and the M1 Abrams, souped up with an Adenienite Tesla Cannon, and a dust-round machine gun.

The VTOLS were equipped for a variety of uses. Stealth Variants had cloaking devices, Comms Jammers, and powerful sound-suppressing mufflers on each engine. The Gunners carried heavier armor and added cannons. Tank Transports had the loading bays carved out to attach Hellion I's.

These VTOLS were named Hussar I's after a Polish Cavalry unit Alex had studied during his time as Admiral.

Personnel Transport Vehicles were also equipped. Large hover-trucks with heavy armor. Some had MG ports, some had added personnel capacity, and some had prison cells equipped. Alex quickly took to naming these trucks 'Sparta I's'.

VTOLs were also equipped to transport the Sparta I's, making it so that 2 could be carried by a single Hussar I.

Making 2 additional Dreadnought-type air carriers, with added firepower and equipping them with all of the previous vehicles, Alex made it so an AI of his own design could pilot all of these ships without use of a crew, as to devote the entire ship's personnel to military use.

Naming the Dreadnought Carriers the Carolus and the Ericsson, Alex equipped each ship with 2 Railguns and a singular Turbolaser-type cannon.

In the Cargo Holds on each Dreadnought, Alex placed 1 ton of gold, silver, and other valuables, giving the Aurora 2 tons of valuables.

As a final precaution, Alex set aside in each Cargo Hold an army of Humanoid Drones capable of carrying out military orders by an AI. This was to act as a failsafe in case either his crew turned on him, or if there was too much at stake militarily.

Equipping each ship with Dimensional Jump equipment, Alex set aside his own personal cruiser, a muted purple and gold personal ship meant to fit four people and evoked images of an exotic car. Alex set onto the ship, inviting Osiris to join him.

"Oh, almost forgot..!"

In the armories, Alex decided to provide each soldier with a standard rifle, a standard sidearm, and a standard power-weapon. The Rifle being modeled after the SCAR-H, equipped with adaptable ammunition: Lead, Dust, Tesla, and incendiary. The Rifle was essentially a cross between the SCAR, the M4, and the AK platforms. Alex named these rifles AW-01s.

The Sidearm of choice was a .40 S&W semi-automatic, similarly adaptable and looking like a double-barreled cross between the Colt M1911 and the Five Seven, naming it the .40 Invictius.

The power-weapon of choice was a double-barreled, break-action grenade launchers with similar adaptability, with Rocket Ammunition also being an available type. Alex named these the Hydra Mk.1s.

With his Fleet prepared and his potential infantry needs equipped, Alex and Osiris prepared to fly off.

As promised, Alex tossed down the Relic of Creation to Callan, who released half of the energy enclosed within the Absorption Charge into Alex's waiting hands.

"You have my thanks, Callan! Osiris is in good hands!" Alex promised.

Alex stopped for a moment.

"Wait, shit. This needs an A.I." Alex griped.

"What would happen if it doesn't?" Osiris asked.

"I have to fly these goddamn ships my goddamn self." Alex griped.

"So.. Where are we going?" Osiris asked.

"We'll be linking up with some old buddies of mine on Vytilis. A bunch of mercenary-types.. I get you're still new with all of this, but I'm gonna help you out here. I'm not just gonna teach you about fighting and shit, I'm gonna teach you about all the shit that I wished that I knew starting out on this stuff.. You'll catch on to all of this stuff eventually, Osiris." Alex swore.

*House of Parliament, Washington D.C; June 15, 2021; 12:00 PM*

Hunter Smith's Government was facing crisis.

Essentally, after fighting among themselves, several U.S Restoration Groups ended up merging into two warring factions; The Iron Brotherhood and the Sunset Union. Both intending to bring down the NAF for their own reasons.

Basically, the Iron Brotherhood absolutely detested Hunter Smith's government for cutting back on military spending in the face of a perceived growing foreign threat, In their dimension and without. The Sunset Union, on the other hand, hated the Federation because of a PR misunderstanding that led to nearly every major city in the Pacific Coast and the New England Area being mostly or at least partially destroyed in a widespread riot that ended up being referred to as 'Red July'.

Technically, the only group pursuing true Restoration was the Iron Brotherhood, who sought to rid the Federation government "puppets" being controlled by other dimensional groups, and the Sunset Union simply wanted to do away with the old traditions, it's leadership still in heavily debate what is to be done after the fact.

Between a highly unpopular government and radicals of all kinds wreaking havoc left Alex S 1-14 feeling at home, for better or worse.

So, when he stepped up to a podium alongside Ruby, Summer, Twilight, Ultimus, and Kat, Alex S 1-14 began by addressing the Citizenship.

"Citizens of the NAF, I feel your pain!" Alex S 1-14 began.

The whole room grew silent, totally stunned by Alex speaking with a German Accent.

"Your home has been torn apart by needless civil wars! You're the perpetrators and victims of your own uprisings! These groups each fight to tear your hearts away from order and demand your tribute in either one bloodstained rule or another!

I am not the Alex Walker of this dimension, but I am one from which I have lived through the Great War and the fallout of that damnable Treaty that destroyed my home! And in your eyes, I see the eyes of my own people: scared, hopeless, humiliated, all the consequences of war itself!

I learned later that my people would fall victim to the lies and horror of a despot. I will not let that happen here!" Alex S 1-14 elaborated.

"And how do you propose we stop that?" Hunter Smith asked, looking hopeless and in need of an answer.

"The citizenship do not have to suffer the lies of the Iron Brotherhood or the Sunset Union, but the people of this country cannot ignore the fact that there is little that can be done to save it. Foreign nations, as well as the local threats here, essentially mean that the Federation died long ago." Summer explained.

"As a former Senator... I have to agree. I would hesitate to create new laws, re-work old ones, or even vote for fear of personal attacks during my time in office. From day one, when I wasn't bored, I was terrified." Kat added.

"Equestria has tried to find solutions that would work for everyone, but that wouldn't be possible without crossing an ethical line. The NAF was doomed from the start." Twilight confessed.

"As was mein Weimar Republic. But it doesn't have to be that way." Alex S 1-14 promised.

"What do you suggest we do?" A Senator by the name of Daniel Kreuz, asked.

"Just yesterday, I was asked along with other veterans of the... I think you're calling it the 'Provinence Incident', but we tend to call it the 'Inquisitor War on Remnant', but that's beside the point.. I was asked to help form The Republic of Concordia on Vytal. This new frontier remains with untapped natural resources, expansive landscape, and all the rights everyone was entitled with to start." Ruby explained.

The Ambassadors of Vale, Vacuo, Atlas, and Mistral were outraged.

"You claimed sacred ground?!" The Vacuo Ambassador yelled in anger.

"You traitor!" Vale's Ambassador shouted.

"ORDER!" Hunter yelled desperately, not wanting to incite a brawl in the House.

"Tell me more about this... Concordia..." Atlas' Ambassador growled coldly.

"With the help of Director Anderson, we've composed a rough constitution. Civil Rights are guaranteed, and the Concordian Military, of which we, as well as the entirety of the former Unity team, are all members. With these defenses, the Republic is able to defend the Island." Ultimus elaborated.

"The amount of Grimm on Vytal originally meant that little was known about the natural resources that Vytal contained. With all the Grimm dying after the Magnolia Massacre, it was revealed that Vytal had huge deposits of Dust, as well as a variety of other natural resources. Precious metals, oil, fresh water, all of those are located on the continent, providing a suitable trading post, as well as a potential job market." Summer added, sweetening the deal.

"How would the civilians even get there?" Senator Laughlin wondered.

"Our top scientists are currently opening portals in every city in every state right now." Ultimus answered.

"Now, do you recognize the Republic of Concordia as it's own state?" Alex S 1-14 asked coyly.

Hunter Smith stared in shock. These Soldiers had declared their own state in legally unclaimed land, but he couldn't risk losing other allies in Remnant, not after he's tried to repair relations with each Kingdom.

"I... I can't." The Chancellor hopelessly declared.

"We, as Ambassadors of Remnant, refuse to declare Concordia it's own separate nation. In fact, each of us will most certainly declare war on the Republic."

"Well, suit yourself. Try and stop us." Alex S 1-14 grinned, leaving the room with the rest of his crew.

Alex S 1-14 continued to make arrangments for how the Republic would be governed. Would it be governed via Parliamentary System, or a Council? How would laws be enforced? It would already look bad, seeing as Concordia is technically a military junta.

'In any case... All of Remnant is ready to wage war with us... We must be ready... for anything.' Alex S 1-14 thought.

*Supreme Leader's Estate, Iridescence, Adenien; June 15, 2021; 7:45 PM*

Supreme Leader Krete had recently received news of the Republic of Concordia's formation and coming war with Remnant. This was trouble enough, since he had to deal with Protá's Ryders consistently helping Adenien's allies while maintaining plausible deniability.

He knew his son had the right thing in mind, but his actions made it difficult for Adenien to handle any sort of business with Remnant, the Dragon Lands, and Earth, especially considering what happened to Lithia.

He decided to call up Protá once more to discuss a possible strategy, as well as offer advice on how to properly and suitably deal with the Concordian Crisis looming over the horizon, on top with what most people were now calling The Draconic Wars, after their main combatants.

"Protá, come up here at once." Krete requested via intercom.

No response. Surely, his son must have been busy.

"Protá, You and I have much to discuss." Krete demanded again.

No response once more.. Once meant something important, two meant he was asleep.

"Protá, this is serious. Wake up." The Supreme Leader insisted.

Three times meant possible danger. Krete grabbed his Sword of Emperors; an intricate gold and blue sword alight with blue flame that was wielded by every Supreme Leader of Adenien since the Great Wars of old.

Krete charged down the hallways of Adenien, running for Protá's personal room.

"Protá!" Krete shouted, hacking the door open with his blade, only to find his son dead, with Julius Crux standing over his corpse. The Son of the Supreme Leader, Commander of the Adenien Ryder Corps, and Next-in-line for the position of Supreme Leader, was dead.

"Hello, Supreme Leader." Julius greeted.

"You're of the Crux clan... Why have you done this?!" Supreme Leader Krete demanded angrily.

Julius did not respond, instead nodding his head and clenching his fist.

A power bolt shot through the room, spearing the Supreme Leader in his heart.

As Krete fell to the ground, Julius raised his dagger, glowing with a dangerous red light.

"A-A Sokarian Dagger..?! Those have been outlawed for centuries for being able to pierce spiritual barriers and Armor..!" Supreme Leader Krete realized with horror.

Julius only nodded, stabbing the Supreme Leader between the eyes with the weapon, rendering the Supreme Leader lifeless.

With both the Supreme Leader and his heir now dead, the Throne and Sword of Adenien was now easy pickings..

Thanks to an aging CIA Agent; Timothy Winchester.

"There. The Throne and Sword is yours now. Onto my end of the deal-." Agent Winchester grinned devilishly as Julius speared his ally in the neck, severing loose ends.

"I apologize, but accomplices usually confess.. Not that it matters anyways, what you want is too costly." Julius grinned, lashing the blade upwards and slicing the Agent's head open.

With the Throne and Sword secured, Julius would be able to say he had gone for a diplomatic hearing to find the Agent responsible for both the death of Protá and the former Supreme Leader, and cover up any evidence suggesting otherwise.

The Leader of Adenien would either choose the title of 'Supreme Leader' if vying for a mostly peaceful rule, or 'Emperor' if aiming for conquest. There hasn't been an Emperor of Adenien in centuries.

"All hail Emperor Julius Crux."

Author's Note

Three new powers have been formed: The Republic of Concordia, spearheaded by Unity, as well as former Inheritors. The New Adenien Empire, now lead by the treacherous Julius Crux, and Alex's Auroran Fleet, with Osiris serving as his Lieutenant/First Mate.

All the while, the war intensifies; With Earth's civilians jumping ship, it is evident the North American Federation will crumble, but who will claim it's remains? How will the Inquisitors and Illuminati handle these new opportunities?

What threat may Osiris soon pose?

Find out on the next chapter of Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade!

-The Destoyer.

P.S.

It's the literal second anniversary of this story.

It still isn't done.

Life is pain.

EDIT: Changed up some of the newer factions because I felt they were a little too 'on the nose'.

Chapter 84: The Auroran Fleet
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 84: The Auroran Fleet

*Kiros, Vytilis; June 15, 2021; 11:45 PM*

The Kiros Pub had been ablaze with not only stories from other mercenaries, but exchange of news about how much of a downward spiral the rest of the universe seemed to be headed down.

The main line of discussion appeared to be a nation known as 'Concordia', though Alex had no clue of it's significance.

Alex had told Osiris to stay with the ships. He figured Osiris was not only inept with this sort of person, but because he was simply too young.

The Aurora had both the Carolus and Ericsson strapped onto each side, on account of lacking an AI to operate the ships.

Anyways, back to the purpose of Alex's visit-

"Sparky!!" Iota greeted, hugging Alex close.

"Iota, Get off..!" Alex shouted.

The second Iota had bearhugged Alex, everyone in the room had turned their heads, hearing Alex himself actually caused the entertainment to stop playing and patrons to stop talking.

The whole pub had been dead silent.

"Iota... You have five seconds to let go." Alex warned.

Iota giggled, cuddling closer.

"Clingy little.. Alright, what's the news? What the hell is this 'Concordia' I keep hearing about?" Alex demanded.

"You... don't know..?" One of the regular patrons, and another well-known mercenary named Ryden Ias asked quizzically.

"Concordia is what they're calling Vytal now. It formed it's own Republic, with your own buddies leading the charge." another mercenary named Umbra Kan explained.

"A Republic on Vytal? I thought Remnant was mostly Kingdoms." Alex simply stated, in a dull shock.

"Apparently, they're bringing in American and Equestrian refugees by the millions." Iota added.

"Right... I still have no idea what's going on over there.." Alex stated.

"VAAS!" A messenger shouted to the bartender; a former mercenary named Fyodir Vaas.

"What is it?" Fyodir demanded.

"News from Adenien.. The Supreme Leader and the Commander of the Rydor Corps are dead!" The messenger shouted.

Alex was stunned.

"Who?!" Alex demanded.

"O-Oh..! I had no idea Captain..! Y-Yeah... It was a man named Winchester.." The Messenger explained.

Alex's blood ran cold.

"Where is Winchester..?"

"He's dead at the hands of the New Emperor." The messenger replied.

The Pub was on the edge of their collective seats.

"Emperor?!"

"That hasn't happened since The Fifth Great War..!"

"I've only ever heard of a Supreme Leader. But Emperor?" Alex asked.

The whole room turned to look at him.

"An Adenienite leader chooses the title of 'Supreme Leader' if his first acts are of peace, whereas the leader chooses the title of 'Emperor' if his first act is of War. There hasn't been one in nearly 500 years since the Fifth Great War, where Emperor Unum Emphas unified Adenien in it's entirety." Fyodir explained.

"...An Emphas was the previous 'Emperor'?" Alex asked.

"Yes, but that isn't the point!" Fyodir indignantly shouted back.

"Then who is this new 'Emperor'?" Alex demanded.

"A young man named Julius Crux. The Youngest Emperor in Adenienite History at 16." The Messenger answered.

Alex's eyes grew dark, his blood colder than the pools off the coast of Expectans.

Julius Crux had killed his own brother while Alex was vulnerable. And Alex very much doubted that Julius was incapable of commiting a false flag of this level.

"THAT BASTARD!!!" Alex roared in sheer anger.

The entire bar turned to look at Alex.

"...What was the purpose of your visit?" Fyodir demanded.

"Oh, yeah. I have a job offer going.." Alex began, powering down.

"A job offer?!" The entire room gathered around him.

"Yes. You're all welcome to join, and the kind of work involved is perfect for you! I just need you to join my fleet." Alex explained.

"A Fleet?"

"Yes. An Aerial fleet of my own design. I have three main Airships; One Main Carrier called the Aurora, and two Dreadnought Carriers; The Carolus and The Ericsson. The whole fleet is under my command and has a variety of air and ground vehicles. Hussar VTOLs, Hellion Tanks, and Sparta Trucks. All of which are of my own design. I've even supplied weapons in case you don't have your own." Alex promised.

"Yeah, and where's our payment?!" Ryden demanded.

"On the ships." Alex answered as the Aurora appeared above the ship, lowering itself above the Pub, the ship serving as a canopy shielding the pub and the people inside from the torrential downpour outside.

"That's your ship, sparky?!" Iota gasped.

"Yep. There's two other Dreadnoughts attached on the sides, and a whole fleet of VTOLs, Tanks, and Trucks." Alex grinned.

"We will join your fleet, Alexander. I will also contact my other regulars not on duty to join as well." Fyodir grinned, shaking Alex's hand.

"Thank you. Do you know of any other mercenaries who can join? My capacity is about 10,000 pilots and about 100,000 troops. We just have about 30 or so here." Alex explained.

"Ah, yes...! I have connections with mercenaries from Iridia, Coalita, Rydia, and Kommisen. And they themselves have connections to other underground mercenary forces." Fyodir replied.

"Excellent. I need 3 pilots flying each of these ships! Report to the barracks to get your weapons!" Alex ordered as a small catwalk expended from the Aurora.

The Mercenaries of Vitylis walked into the catwalk; all experienced, talented warriors in their own right.

Alex headed into the control room, where Osiris had been piloting the ship.

"Did it go well?" Osiris asked.

"I would say so. We just have to wait until the rest of the mercenaries arrive. Perhaps in another day. For now, I have to give you a bit of reading work, Osiris." Alex insisted, bringing with him a copy of the Art of War.

"The Art of War by Sun Tzu?" Osiris inquired.

"Yes. It's important to learn how to conduct your forces in the best possible arrangements, Osiris. This was something I had to read up on during the Inquisitor War. Being an Admiral or other high ranking individual isn't always about pulling rank when it suits you. It's about being able to prove yourself able to handle anything the enemy throws at you." Alex explained.

"When will I learn how to fight?" Osiris asked.

"First thing tomorrow. You don't have to read the entire book yet, because I have some more on the way." Alex explained.

"Okay, Alex.." Osiris nodded.

Alex took his time left to strategize. It should take no more than two weeks to garner up a suitable army to command his Auroran fleet.

There were an array of variables to figure out. Firstly was the matter concerning Concordia.

If his friends truly played a role in it's recent founding, then it's possible that he found himself a likely ally for his fleet. The Inquisitors and their puppets, as well as the Illuminati, were still pressing problems. At the moment, so long as his fleet stayed concealed, the Illuminati could stand no chance against Alex.

He would also have to deal with the consequences of who Concordia was allied and opposed to, as well as it's military capabilities. He generally had no clue as to it's goings-on, so Alex would likely need to speak with his female counterpart.

There was also the matter of this new 'Emperor'. Last Alex saw, Julius was a traitor who turned to the Inquisitors.

This could be a serious problem.

*Emperor's Estate, Iridescence, Adenien; June 16, 2021; 12:00 PM*

It would be the first speech since formally accepting the Throne and Sword of Adenien and his declaration as Emperor. It would outline his policies, and who Adenien would be declaring war on.

"CITIZENS OF ADENIEN, YOUR NEW EMPEROR IS HERE!!!" Julius roared before his inaugural crowd, who cheered just as loudly.

"WE HAVE BEEN TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF AND USED BY WALKER AND HIS CRONIES FOR FAR TOO LONG!! YOUR FATHERS, YOUR BROTHERS, YOUR SISTERS, YOUR SONS AND DAUGHTERS ARE DYING FOR CAUSES THAT MEAN NOTHING TO YOU! AS IF THAT WASN'T ENOUGH, WALKER BROUGHT HIS NEEDLESS SQUABBLE TO LITHIA AND DESTROYED YOUR HOMES AND BUSINESSES! IF WE STAY COMPLACENT, WE SHALL DIE WITH HIM!!!" Julius bellowed, raising the Sword of Emperors high, much to the crowd's growing fiery pride.

"WE SHALL DECLARE, WITH ONE VOICE, THAT WE WILL NO LONGER BE SUBJECTS TO THE EQUESTRIANS, TO THE EARTHLINGS, OR TO THE INHABITANTS OF REMNANT!!! OUR COMBINED FORCES ARE STRONG, AND OUR WILL IS STRONGER! FAR STRONGER!! TEMPERED BY THE FIRES OF COUNTLESS TRIBULATIONS! THE GREAT WARS, THE OCCUPATION BY THE INQUISITORS, THE FINAL PUSH THAT WAS THOUGHT TO HAVE ELIMINATED THEM! WE ARE A PEOPLE DEFINED BY CONQUEST! AND AS SUCH, WE SHALL CONQUER ALL!!!!"

The crowd cheered their loudest, raising signs, flags, and blades to the skies.

"WE SHALL BEGIN WITH THE EARTH NATION OF THE NORTH AMERICAN FEDERATION! A YEAR AND A HALF OF CIVIL WAR HAS BROUGHT IT TO THE BRINK OF DESTRUCTION, AND WE SHALL CLAIM THE NATION, NAY, THE ENTIRE CONTINENT AS OUR OWN!!! WE SHALL THEN INVADE THE WORLD OF REMNANT, STARTING WITH CONCORDIA!!! THE BLADES OF FATE HANG ABOVE OUR WORLD AS WELL! SHALL WE LET IT FALL UNTO US, OR SHALL WE GRASP IT, RAISE IT TO THE SKIES, AND CLAIM IT AS OURS TO WIELD?!" Julius declared.

The crowds roared with thunderous applause, charging to warships, jump-suits, and two new implementations to the Imperial Adenien Army; The Korian Warships and the Extremis Armor.

The Warships were roughly the size of football fields with two thrusters on it's rear and four on the bottom, and filled to the brim with Tesla Guns, Machine Guns, and the main weapon systems of the Korians; The Hyperion Cannons; Combination Railgun, White Phosphorus, and Nuclear Warhead. Just two shots would destroy as area the size of New York City.

The Extremis Armor was essentially your average armored exoskeleton, only mechanized, given a power source, and surrounded by a Foot of armor. An average person within the Extremis Armor would be able to move a full 30 miles per hour faster, jump at least 50 feet higher, and punch with a whole 4 tons of force.

So, the Extremis Troopers were essentially Space Marines.

Julius donned his own Extremis Armor, the Extremis II. The Extremis II was given a significant power boost that effectively doubled the power of an average Extremis Warrior, and given the ability to fly.

Emperor Julius grabbed the Sword of Emperors, and stood at the mast of the main Korian Cruiser, His own Nemesis, and pointed it towards the Nearest Portal.

"HALF OF THE IMPERIAL FORCES HEAD TO EARTH! RAZE IT TO THE VERY GROUND ITSELF. MY FORCES SHALL EMBARK TO CONCORDIA, AND BRING THE END OF WALKER'S FORCES! NO LONGER SHALL THEY KILL OUR PEOPLE! ADENIEN!!!! TO WAR!!!!!"

The 30 Korians lifted off the ground; 15 for Earth, 15 for Concordia.

Nobody was aware of the coming storm that was millions of Extremis Warriors.

*Council of Remnant; Amity Colluseum, Over the Sea of Sanus*

"Their outrageous, short-lived reign MUST be brought to an end, Ozpin!" Ironwood demanded

"I agree, this plan is incredibly insane, but you said their forces are barely anything, right?" Professor Goodwich figured.

"This... Is outrageous." Ozpin simply stated.

"WHAT?!" Vice-Admiral Cobalt of Mistral gasped.

"These are our students. Our Guardians. While I agree staking claim to Vytal is largely ill-advised, We must give them a chance." Ozpin simply stated.

"Do you not know the stakes of such a move?!" Head of Council König demanded in shock.

"I've... read much of history... Remnant's will is breaking in these times of Civil War. We must show Unity in the face of such a move. Who knows what kind of Chaos committing to this operation would become of this?" Ozpin asked.

"You... may have a point... But our decision was already final. Operation: Erobern is a go. All our available forces are onboard for this. This only finalized your treachery, Professor." König declared.

"He is right, Ozpin." a hauntingly familiar voice stated as everyone in the room was killed.

Arrows, Blades, Gunfire... In mere moments, the entire council had been slain by Cinder, Primis, and Beta.

"Stand down." Beta commanded.

Ozpin glared before disappearing.

"Where did he go?!" Cinder demanded.

"Don't let him escape!!" Beta roared as Primis gave chase.

Ozpin was aware he was being followed, raised his cane, spearing through Atlesian Knights and human troops as well.

"He's headed towards the Landing bay!!!" Primis shouted as Ozpin quickened his pace.

By the time Primis caught up, Ozpin teleported everywhere, one place. To the next. And the next.

Primis could hear the Ancient Scholar teleporting all around him as he drew his sword, catching his 'foe' in the side as he ran off.

Primis gave chase once more, brandishing his sword, only to get batted away once more, much to his anger.

Primis charged again, flying to the Flight Deck.

...Only to meet Ozpin there.

Ozpin attacked, teleporting all around and beating Primis down.

"The coast is clear only for a moment. I have a plan.." Ozpin explained, seemingly knowing about Primis' turn.

"W-What?" Primis gasped.

"Listen, I already sent a warning to the students. My task is done, but the Inquisitors need to gain your trust." Ozpin explained, raising Primis' sword to his chest.

"W-W-What..? You want me to-?"

"Don't worry... I won't be gone for long.. Just remember to give me my Cane back." Ozpin smirked.

Primis looked away, raising his blade and swinging.

Cinder had caught Primis in time, witnessing Ozpin's head fall to the ground.

"My, my... I never thought you had it in you... Return to your home, Adenienite. I hear there's a new Emperor in town..." Cinder smirked mockingly.

She knew about Julius..

This could be a problem..

Chapter 85: Invasion (Edited)
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 85: Invasion (Edited)

*Sacramento, California, Sunset Union Territory; June 16, 2021; 3:00 PM*

It had been a mere two hours since the Adenien Empire had landed in the heart of the Sunset Union's expansive territory, which extended it's influence from Washington in the north, to California in the southwest, reaching as far as the Rocky Mountains.

Two hours had wrought an unforeseen carnage.

Imperial troops had burned the city to the ground in the first thirty minutes of their invasion. The Warriors of the New Adenien Empire had either been rounding up civilians, or subjects as the Union had called them, or killing them instantly.

Danielle had been one of the few survivors.

Danielle, at age 20, had originally been a sociology major at the California State University, Sacramento when the Red July began. She had been one of the loudest voices against the idleness and bigotry the North American Federation, and one of the most violent.

She, along with her band of revolutionaries, singlehandedly slaughtered the acting government and police force in Sacramento, with not even a shred of regret. Not a morsel of remorse.

And now, having such slaughter being wrought against her own friends and comrades... She was shaken to the core.

A single Extremis Trooper charged through a whole horde of people attempting to evacuate. Perhaps they had hoped to find strength in numbers.

The Adenienite Trooper mowed through the entire crowd. A good number of them had been mercilessly trampled. Some had their legs completely shattered beyond repair.

"Private Rigior! What in the name of the Divine are you doing?!" A larger Extremis trooper had demanded.

Danielle stared at the grisly scene before her. No amount of the war she had wrought in the past could compare to this mass slaughter before her. Shaking at the sight, she reached slowly for her dagger.

The Commanding officer had a scar that swept along his right cheek. His wrinkled face laden with scars and robotic parts. But the most distinguishing feature of this commander was the fact that the whole right side of his face had been ripped off long ago, but had replaced it with a robotic skeletal faceplate covering it.

"M-Millenturion Uriah! I had not expected to stand before you sir!" The Private saluted.

"At ease. Now, what's this here?" The Millenturion demanded coldly.

"Sergeant Cornelius had given me orders to search for survivors."

"Hm... and did he tell you to slaughter the survivors?"

"N-No sir..."

Danielle tilted her head.. They weren't ordered to commit such an atrocity?! They were doing this all by choice?!!

"Very well. I'm proud that you bothered to take the initiative." The Millenturion grinned, grabbing one of the survivors, a young man with dyed green hair and glasses.

"T-Thank you, sir!" The Private saluted.

"Now... Tell me your name..." The Millenturion asked the bloodied man.

"I-I-I'm B-B-Bradley... B-Bradley Quince..."

"Now, then. What was your occupation?"

"I-I'm one of the main representatives of t-this sector-"

The Millenturion simply crushed Bradley's windpipe, and drop-kicked him in the head with a powered boot that tore it completely off.

"What a waste. Execute the rest... Master Sergeant Rigior" The Millenturion ordered.

"Yes sir!!" the newly promoted Master Sergeant saluted.

Danielle snuck away, only to find another crowd get eviscerated in one strike of a Trooper's sword, the gore splattering everywhere as she ran...

...Right into the Millenturion.

"And who are you? Have you come to fight?" He asked.

Danielle grabbed the pocket knife in her back pocket. Her weapon of choice during the uprisings.

Swinging the object at the Millenturion's face, she roared angrily and proudly...

...until her wrist was shattered in the Millenturion's grasp.

"I'm impressed with your tenacity, little brat. As one of only five Millenturions on Earth, I'm charged with being our new emperor's Personal Envoy to your city. We've cleaned up enough of your messes. It is high time to make our own." The Millenturion elaborated, slapping Danielle so hard her neck snapped, killing her instantly.

"FINISH OFF YOUR WORK AND WAIT FOR THE OTHERS, THEN FIRE THE HYPERIONS AT THE MOUNTAIN RANGE BEYOND AND KILL ANY SURVIVORS!!! THEN WE MARCH EAST!!!" The Millenturion roared.

The soldiers of the Adenien Empire cheered back, victorious in their first conquest.

It was not their only conquest thus far...

*Concordia, Remnant; June 16, 2021; 3:05 PM*

A fleet of 15 Korian ships flew over Concordia.

A whole armada of smaller ships, an army of Extremis Troops, led by the New Emperor himself, charged at the gates of Concordia's first city, millions of refugees fleeing the carnage as the remaining Battalions of the Concordian Guard fought bitterly to defend their new home.

"CHARGE!!!" Julius roared, charging directly towards Ruby and Cade, who were currently busy fighting off the AVERAGE Extremis soldiers.

Cade turned Evolved, turning to face Julius after quickly kicking away a soldier.

"JULIUS!!!"

"Well, well! Alexander's pet!" Julius grinned, raising the Sword of Emperors towards Cade.

Both collided in a flurry of blades and electric arcs as Extremis Troops barged through the barricades.

Cade swept underneath the Emperor's Sword, kicking him in the shin to little effect as Julius raised his sword.

Cade ducked out of the way, jumping up and kneeing Julius in the chest, spinning around and kicking the Emperor away again.

"THIS WILL BE THE END OF YOU!!" Julius roared, charging at Cade and trampling him to the ground.

As Julius turned, Cade leaped back into action.

"YOU LITTLE UPSTART!!!" Julius roared, swinging his blade upwards as Cade leaped to dodge.

"Really. You start a multi-dimensional conquest and I'm the upstart?" Cade smirked.

The New Emperor roared, continuing his onslaught against his rival as literally everyone else scrambled in defense of the 'city' as hundreds of troops from dozens of dropships crashed into the ground outside the canyon.

Teams RWBY and JNPR, Vanoss' entire crew, The Mane 6, Most of Alex's family, the other-universe incarnates, EVERYONE.

"Dammit!! Dealing wit just one of these things is impossible!!" Jason roared, hacking away at an Extremis Trooper only to fall back once it turned to the offensive.

Ruby launched herself into the air, hacking an Extremis Trooper's armor open as Yang charged like a bull, punching through the Trooper's chest.

Yang leaped back as Ruby fired a Gravity Dust Round directly into the skull of another Trooper.

"Where the hell did they get this armor?! WHY DOES EVERYONE HAVE IT?!?!" Yang demanded as Summer charged alongside Alice.

"Zis is impossible! Zis technology shouldn't even BE HERE!!" Richtofen shouted, unloading ANOTHER DG-2 charge at the oncoming trooper. The lightning sparking around his armor and not stopping as he grabbed Richtofen by the head.

The only thing that managed to stop the Extremis Trooper from crushing Richtofen's skull was Ruby hacking off his armored hand and finishing him off with a gravity dust shot to the cerebellum.

"You remember Ur-Riias?" Summer smirked.

"Didn't we almost die that time?" Alice asked.

"So you do remember." Summer grinned.

Alice raised both hands as a light-blue energy gathered in her palms.

"SANCTIC RISE!!"

Alice slammed her palms against the ground as 10 Extremis Troopers floated into the air.

Summer raised her weapons, dual swords that transformed into semi-automatic crossbows. With extreme precision, Summer aimed and shot for weak points in the armor.

Alice raised them higher into the air before dropping them down.

The troopers landed hard, but were otherwise unharmed.

"Did you think this would work, Mystic?" A trooper demanded.

Summer pressed a button on the side of her weapon, blowing up every single trooper in their group from the inside.

"Just like old times." Alice grinned.

Vanoss leaped over an Extremis Trooper, charging towards a Captain as Delirious and Panda followed closely behind.

"Commence Operation Clusterfuck! AUBURN!!!" Vanoss screamed as she leaped into the battlefield.

Auburn charged the trooper, hacking a Trooper's arm off and golf-swinging him into the air.

Vanoss fired a Zeus Cannon, propelling him higher, giving Delirious time to fire a Scavenger shot into his arm-stub, the appendage glowing bright yellow as it prepared to explode.

Vanoss launched the Trooper again into his platoon as Panda finished them off with the Sliquifier, causing the troopers to slip and fall as they tried to stand.

By that point, the entire platoon had been taken down.

"YES!!!"

"WE FUCKING DID IT!!!'

"THERE'S STILL A THOUSAND FUCKING MORE!!!!" Panda shouted, pulling out an Admin Gun and splattering at least 20 back up the mountain in a bloody mess.

"I have a plan..! EVERYONE! OPERATION: FIRING LINE!!!" Vanoss yelled again, charging back to meet with the rest of the group.

"This is gonna be a giant fucking mess." Mini shook his head, moving a bowling pin down the back of his shirt, muttering something along the lines of 'it'll be okay, son'.

"AS IF IT ALREADY WASN'T!!!" Nogla yelled.

"ARE YOU READY?!?!" Wildcat roared encouragingly.

"NO!!" Moo shouted.

"YESN'T!!!" Terroriser 'corrected'.

"FUCK OFF!!!"Mini shouted indignantly.

Everyone raised their most powerful weapons, raising them at the largest group of Extremis Troopers.

"FIRE!!!!" Vanoss roared as an entire legion of Extremis Troopers were obliterated in the ensuing Wonder-Weapon/Admin Gun Spam.

Allied forces ducked for cover as the onslaught continued.

"PUSH FORWARD, ADENKORPS!!! THIS FIGHT IS OURS!!!" Alex S 1-14 bellowed as he led his forces in a bayonet charge.

Said bayonets glimmering with plasma energy.

The relentless charge proved effective, with dozens of troops falling in the charge.

"PUSH ONWARD!!!" Alex S 1-14 Roared, hacking an Extremis Trooper in half with a cavalry saber, pressing another button on it's side and converting it into a larger-calibered Mauser C96.

Despite the Armor on the Extremis Trooper proving invulnerable to most attacks, The Concordian Military was making substantial effort in repelling the opposition...

But their hopes were quelled when another wave of Troops, at least 5000 strong, slid down the mountainside.

"RETREAT!!!!!" Alex S 1-14 ordered, as most of his Adenkorps were killetd in the counterattack.

Everyone retreated towards the main base, where most of the refugees were being held.

All but Cade, who stood against the Emperor, grinning wickedly.

"My my... Your lot is confident in repelling the First Wave." Julius smirked.

"First wave?!" Cade gasped, powering down.

"Your friends are talented. Equally matched against my Extremis Troopers. But my Empire has been crafting these since the successes of your own Father during the Inquisitor Wars. Your Father's own tactics... Used against his own men.." The Emperor elaborated.

"But he was one man facing the might of a powerful order. How about a billion men, all of them stronger, smarter, and better-trained than your father at that time?" Julius added, wiping blood from his mouth.

"All of them led by a backstabbing dick with a Napoleon Complex." Cade smirked.

Julius grinned to himself, laughing.

"What's so funny?" Cade demanded.

"Maybe I am a backstabbing dick... a backstabbing dick with two armies."

Cade watched with horror as another Ship drifted into view over the Canyon...

The Amity Colosseum... at least... it was.

Gun Turrets and cannons replaced every window. A symbol of peace and national unity... Twisted and perverted into a machine of war.

And out of it flew Bullheads, hundreds and hundreds of them. Paratroopers of all origins converged with the Extremis Troops.

Remnant and Adenien had united against them.

Even if they got through this invasion.. There would always be more...

Concordia was effectively under siege.

"You're dead, Walker. Your little upstart nation is done for. There will be no retreating, even if you capitulate. I could execute you all and nobody would concern themselves with that little blip on the radar.

On the other hand, the other half of my new army is making massive strides in the conquest of the North American Continent. The forces of the Sunset Union that have taken root in the Pacific Coast have all been massacred. The Brotherhood will be next, and then, your precious Puppet State will be ripped out and gutted, replaced by my own."

Cade was horrified.

There was no saving any of them.

"Not that it will matter any, but do you surrender to my new empire, Cade?" Julius demanded.

Cade glared, raising his weapon once more.

"It won't end. We have millions-"

"-Of refugees. They wanted to escape war, but they found themselves surrounded by it. I won't condemn their poor decision-making, but mark my words, Walker. There will be no mercy for your republic of deserters."

Cade retreated, flying back to the Main Base.

"We're surrounded." Cade stated.

"As if we didn't already know." Oreonna stated in horror.

"S 1-14?" Alex B 0-12 asked.

"Yes, girl?" S 1-14 asked.

"We're the same age- ah, fuck it, whatever. I need a clear communications line." Alex B 0-12 stated.

"What good would that do?" Alex O 9-72 asked, now shaking in his boots.

"What harm would it do?!" Alex B 0-12 retorted.

Alex S 1-14 grumbled.

"They might jam communications, so I suggest you hurry." he quickly said.

"Not that it'll matter, Julius is overly cocky anyways." Cade smirked as Alex B 0-12 ran inside the main base.

Millions of refugees, mostly from America and 1920's Germany, were gathered with little else but the clothes on their backs and scant food rations.

She needed to make a call.

*Corsalia, Vytilis; June 16, 2021; 3:35 PM*

The Auroran Fleet had laid outside of the Corsalian Legion.

The Corsalian Legion consisted of several nations under it's banner, all led by an extensive royal bureaucracy.

Alex had been hired by one of these Royal Burecrats, Countess Oni, years ago to contain a conspiracy that threatened to tear it apart. Though unsuccessful in his own mission of capturing the conspriators and turning them in, he succeeded at preserving the general order, having gained the favor of the Countess in the process, despite his co-workers' attempts to fuck it all up and allowing the sect to escape.

"Countess?" Alex asked.

A royal procession followed the Countess, a slender young woman with brunette hair and green eyes.

"Ah, Alexander. It has been such a long time since we've last seen each other. Come to have me repay my debt?" Countess Oni smirked.

"Actually, yes." Alex stated.

Countess Oni giggled to herself.

"My my... what will you have me do? The old King is practically on his deathbed, and my recent successes ensure that I am a shoe-in for it's replacement, Perhaps a place on the Royal Court? Or maybe you could leave me some heirs..?" Countess Oni smiled.

"... Well, no." Alex flatly replied. He wasn't exactly repulsed by the idea. Hell, his relationship with Yang would pretty much be over if not for Cade and Auburn. There were more important matters to attend to.

"I need some volunteer divisions of the Royal Military. I've been running into some trouble. I assume you've heard about the Great Revival?" Alex asked.

"Ah... Y-Yes, of course.." Countess Oni nodded nervously.

"Well, The Inquisitors are back, and-.. Hold that thought.." Alex stopped as he heard someone call his inter-dimensional Scroll.

"Hello?" Alex asked.

'ALEX, COME IN! ALEX!!!' Alex B 0-12 shouted.

"Dear Christ, I hear you! What's up?" Alex demanded.

"THE FUCKING ADENIEN ARMY HAS US UNDER SIEGE!!! REMNANT'S FLEET JUST ARRIVED, AND THEY'RE DROPPING PARATROOPERS!"

Alex stopped.

"Slow down." Alex stated.

"The Adenien Army's practically swarmed us. They've got airships about the size of football fields, and their troops are covered in at least bulletproof armor the size of a Pontiac. Not only that, but the Armies of Remnant just showed up. They've got us under siege and they've got air superiority. We have millions of refugees here, and if we don't get any help soon, we'll have millions of corpses!" Alex B 0-12 explained.

Alex's blood grew cold.

"I'm working something out now, I'll be here shortly." Alex replied, hanging up.

"Who was that?" Countess Oni asked, concerned at Alex's worried expression.

"You know what Concordia is, right?"

"Ah, yes. I only recently heard the news, it's a new Republic in Remnant." Countess Oni explained.

"The Adenienites and the other Kingdoms of Remnant has them under siege is about to kill every last refugee there unless I come in and help." Alex explained.

"H-How do you expect to help?!" Countess Oni gasped in shock.

"First, I need as many divisions of the Royal Military under your jurisdiction as you can send. I have a fleet of my own, and experience to boot." Alex stated.

"I... I will do what I can.." Countess Oni explained.

Alex raised his communicator.

"Osiris!" Alex called.

"Y-Yes?" Osiris asked.

"We've got divisions coming in, open the doors and prepare everyone we have for action! Once we're done here, We're headed for Concordia!" Alex shouted.

"R-Roger that..!" Osiris shouted.

"Countess. I hope this pulls through, because if this does, we'll save millions." Alex stated.

Countess Oni kissed him on the cheek, much to Alex's shock.

"My, my... Alexander, you never cease to impress and amuse me... I can send 6 divisions of 1100 soldiers. That kiss was for luck." Countess Oni smirked, raising her hand for Alex to shake.

Alex shook Countess Oni's hand.

"Countess, one more thing.." Alex began.

"Very well." Countess Oni nodded.

"I need an A.I" Alex explained.

"We shall provide an onboard Artificial Intelligence as well."

"Thank you. The ships are designed to be controlled by AI, and mine is in an active war zone."

Chapter 86: Ex Machina (Edited)
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 86: Ex Machina (Edited)

*Concordia; June 16, 2021; 4:45 PM*

"My Emperor, I acknowlege the strategic value of taking the island, and defeating the Concordians, but I cannot condone wholesale slaughter." The High Commander explained.

"THIS IS A WASTE OF TIME, HIGH COMMANDER! OUR ENEMIES ARE STILL DOWN THERE!! WE COULD FINISH THEM OFF RIGHT NOW!!" Julius roared.

"The firing of the Hyperion Cannons on civilians won't bode well with-"

"I DON'T CARE!" Julius insisted.

The High Commander and Julius had been in a heated debate over what to do with the Concordians, both the High Commander and The Emperor having their own reasons for wanting to do as they would.

The High Commander simply wanted to keep the pressure on until either the Concordians surrendered or they all starved to death. Figuring this would be the easiest way to go about this, and if anyone died, it would be the fault of the Concordians.

Julius himself personally just wanted the Concordians gone. Dead. Out of the picture. Mainly because he had bigger fish to fry. Mainly the rest of the Armies of Remnant, the fuckfest that was currently the North American Continent, and the Inquisitors.

Besides, fuck those guys, right?

"Sir, with all due respect, we have them completely surrounded. If we play our cards right, the Concordians should surrender with as little as 100,000 casualties. We've practically won already-."

"They find a way. THEY. ALWAYS. FFFFFUCKING. FIND A WAY!" Julius shouted.

"The Concordians are LITERALLY SURROUNDED. With all of Remnant's Armies, and HALF THE DAMN ADENIENITE ARMY, how could they possibly come out on top?!" The High Commander incredulously demanded.

'This is Captain Alex Walker of the Auroran Fleet with an urgent communique for the Throne-Emperor of Adenien, Rex Julius Crux.'

Julius coldly glared at the High Commander.

"Aim the Hyperions at the Main Base. Fire when I give the order." Julius ordered.

"Y-Yes, my lord..!" The High Commander bowed, running off to give the order.

"This is the Emperor. I will commend you for showing the proper respect as such, Emphas." Julius coldly spat.

'So it is true. I must say, I have no clue how you managed to pull off such a power play. Couldn't have done better myself, honestly.' Alex stated.

"Erm... Thank you..?"

'Also, I was kinda shocked when you killed your own brother like that.. Kinda reminded me of myself there...' Alex commented.

Julius slammed the communicator.

"I AM NOT LIKE YOU... I NEVER WAS... I NEVER WILL, EMPHAS GARBAGE..!" Julius growled.

'I can see the truth in that. I really can. First off, I would never... and I mean NEVER..Do business with those fucking Inquisitors. They're untrustworthy as fuck. Same deal with the Illuminati. Learned the hard way with both.' Alex stated.

"Indeed... Wait, how did you..?"

'Also, there's that whole bit about working with a certain disavowed CIA Operative that kinda bugged me from the start of your reign... Why would a professional soldier-slash-spy-slash-executioner take out both the acting Monarch as well as his successor... unless to aid... Yeah, I think you get the point by now.. Lord knows you've been thinking about this for a while.'

Julius stared off into the distance, fairly certain he could see, just across the horizon, portals.

"Cut the shit, Emphas. WHAT DO YOU WANT?!" Julius demanded.

'So I've finally reached the point where I can stop kissing ass now? Perfect. First off, get your men the fuck away from Concordia. I'm certain you have other shit you may want to deal with, like the fucking Inquisition, for starters. Let the adults handle things here while you play soldier somewhere else.'

"AND WHAT DOES THIS DOOMED NATION MEAN TO YOU, ALEXANDER?!" Julius shouted.

'Nothing much, except most of my friends are there, as well as a large number of starving refugees. By the way, that's just bad P.R. Also, I kinda need them for one last gig, so kindly get the fuck out of there.' Alex demanded.

"I'VE STAKED TOO MUCH ON CONCORDIA, AND ONCE I'M DONE REMNANT IS NEXT!!" Julius shouted.

'... Alright. Just don't say I didn't warn you.'

Three Warships, all of them larger and more heavily-armed then a Korian flew in near the Adenien Fleet, immediately laying down fire on the Korians, all of them scrambling to defend against the sudden attack.

"DIVINE BE DAMNED, WHAT IS HAPPENING?!" Julius gasped in shock.

Fire and smoke bellowed out the barrels of the Auroran Anti-Air cannons.

'This has been Captain Alexander Gabriel Walker. Goodbye, and get fucked.'

'''SIR, WE'RE TAKING HEAVY FIRE--!''' One of the Captains yelled before his ship was destroyed in the first volley.

Julius growled to himself.

"ARMIES OF REMNANT, AID IN THE COUNTERATTACK!!!" Julius ordered.

The Korians quickly formed a line, all of them firing upon the ships.

Wave after wave of Bullheads poured out of the Airfields on the Amity Colosseum, hundreds at a time regrouping into fighter and bomber formations.

Tracer fire ripped through many of them, sending the burning wrecks of airships and VTOLs pummeling the ground.

****

Cade stared in shock at the aerial carnage above.

"Are... They on our side..?" Weiss asked.

"Who the hell cares? They're breaking the enemy air superiority..!" Oreonna retorted.

"You would not know about this, would you, Fräulein?" Yang S 1-14 wondered.

"I'm technically married, and yes." Alex B 0-12 answered.

"CHARGE!!!!" Vanoss yelled as his crew, as well as the Primis Crew, and the remaining Infantry charged towards the legions of Extremis troops.

"We have an opening. Let's not waste it." Auburn nodded, charging into battle alongside Cade and Oreonna.

"NOW! GO! GO! GO!" Jaune ordered as Teams RWBY and JNPR followed suit.

"Is that..?" Saisho gasped in shock, lowering his weapon, if only for a moment.

"I knew he'd pull through." Jason smirked, raising dual tesla-revolvers.

"EVERYONE! AIM FOR THE COLOSSEUM!!" Twilight shouted as the Elements gathered their energies, aiming for the center of United Remnant operations.

With this unforseen opening, The Concordian Army made one more charge.

****

Hundreds upon hundreds of Hussar VTOLs poured out the landing bays of the Auroran Flagships, directly engaging Bullheads.

V-Shaped waves of Hussar Is dropped Dust-infused carpet bombs directly onto the main Korians, horrendous ripping sounds filling the air as the bombs exploded, milliseconds after eachother, sending plumes of flame into the skies.

From the deck of the Aurora, Alex and Osiris stood, watching the carnage above and below.

"T-This is war..?" Osiris asked, clearly shocked.

"This can't be your first time, kid." Alex scoffed.

"Yeah, I saw you and the others fight the Inquisitors, but this..." Osiris gaped.

"Alright kid, hold it together. The last thing you want to do is freak out.." Alex turned, putting a mechanical hand on Osiris' shoulder.

"W-What do you need me to do..?"

"Tell you what, You probably won't be used to giving out orders, so I'll let you shadow me and help out once we actually fight, Ria?" Alex raised his wrist as a small hologram of a young woman faded in over the emitter.

"Yes, Captain?" Ria, the new A.I commanding the Auroran Fleet, asked.

"I need some pointers as to how to handle those ships. We're doing well, but that's mostly because we had the element of surprise. Any ideas on what to do once the enemy has their shit together?" Alex asked.

"Of course. While our ships are able to soak up damage and hold a greater fleet, the Korians we're dealing with have more maneuverability, and more firepower." Ria explained.

"Firepower?"

"My scans indicate presence of Weapons of Mass Destruction onboard the ships." Ria stated.

"Excuse me, weapons of mass destruction?!" Osiris gasped.

"How many?" Alex asked.

"All of them." Ria answered.

"That sounds bad.."

"'Bad' isn't how you say 'fucking awful', kiddo. What are our options?"

"Do you want the tactically sound option or dangerously stupid one?"

"...I'd go with-"

"Why not both? I just want to imagine the look on Julius' smug fucking face."

"Ah, i see you're a man who enjoys the finer things in life. I'll surprise you later, How about you two go down and help your friends."

"Alright. Kid, come with me. Careful though, first three rows are a splash zone." Alex joked, raising his sword and powering up to his Enlightened Berserker form.

Both Alex and Osiris leaped down, hacking at Bullheads and springing off from Hussar I's before crash-landing directly in the center of the charge.

Alex thrusted his blade into the chinks of Extremis Armor before severing limbs and heads in fluid motions of his blade and fists, sending occasional shockwaves out in the opposite direction. He had seen combat before and knew how to maneuver effectively even without his full powers.

Osiris mainly stuck to charging into the enemy to knock him off balance and obliterate the armor with the Relic of Destruction, following Alex's lead and striking the ground, sending a ripple of explosive dark-purple energy, blowing the enemy to ashes.

Both master and apprentice led the charge below as the Adenienites struggled to regroup or properly counter-attack.

Above Ria smiled to herself as she set her plan to fruition.

Hundreds of Hussars, flying v formations, carved a clear path above three of the Korians as Carrier VTOLS dropped Hellion Tanks and troop transports on the landing bays, wreaking more havok as the drop teams slaughtered any crew on-deck and made for the entrances.

The ships made an immediate U-Turn. at least, the 6 or so that weren't destroyed or on the verge of being taken over by the Auroran Fleet.

"Captain, we have the enemy fleet on the run. What's your next course of action?" Ria asked.

Alex, with Osiris, Yang, and Jason helping behind him, had all but eliminated the remaining Extremis Troopers, who were now retreating to the Amity Colosseum

"They know they've lost against us... They'll be moving down the list.." Alex explained.

"Wait... You're not saying..!" Yang gasped.

"They're going after the forces of Remnant next.." Jason concluded.

*The Overlook; Kai 0-00 Alpha; June 16, 2021; 5:15 PM*

The Oracle watched with eagerness as her plans, her visions came to fruition.

Everything had transpired exactly as she had foreseen; The Great Revival, The Founding of Concordia, The Adenien Empire's formation and subsequent conquering of both the Sunset Union and... Wait... There goes most of the Iron Brotherhood's territory.

She felt remorse that it had to happen like this, though. Both the Concordians and the Americans would suffer greatly before this ended... Before her plans were finished.

But, the future ahead was one where there would be time for these nations to heal.

"Ah, It's good to see you again."

The Oracle looked up to see an old friend of her's: Doctor Monty.

"Monty.. It's good to see you again." The Oracle greeted.

"Is everything going according to plan?" Doctor Monty asked.

"Yes. The Auroran Fleet has arrived over Concordia and they've beaten back the Adenienites. Now the Adenienites are on the run, but not before they leave all of Remnant's armies for dead. Also, guess who just lost most of their territory?"

"Don't tell me: The Brotherhood?" Monty grinned.

"Handing them prototype Hyperion Cannon blueprints was an excellent idea, by the way. Really speeds things up."

"Snagging some power armor from those Mechanicus people also came in handy, though I wonder how that armor was implemented into ordinary people. Usually, one would need some extensive modification to wear that armor.." Monty figured.

"Yes. So.. This 'Alex' you mentioned is an interesting one: He somehow single-handedly wrangled enough equipment and people in such a short amount of time. Faster than I expected, really. I've seen him quite often in my visions." The Oracle noted.

"You want me to bring him over to see you?" Doctor Monty asked.

"Yes. His visit is long overdue. Wait until the battle's over."

"And what of Osiris?"

"Osiris will still have Alex's other friends to deal with. Don't worry."

Doctor Monty nodded, heading for the door.

"Right then. I'll be back shortly."

*Location Unknown; June 16, 2021; 5:07 PM*

Lilith stood alone in her domain, bitter about her loss against Unity two years ago.

"They thought they could defeat us then... They won't defeat us again..!"

Lilith walked though the massive cathedral that was their own castle. Where Salem and the Shadow Man had both planned for the final destruction of Remnant, Equestria, Earthland, and much of the universe at large.

Where the plan they had worked so hard to accomplish had been stripped away.

Luckily, Salem had developed a backup plan should the Grimm fail: Create stronger, smarter, much more powerful versions.

The Furies.

With the Furies basically running amok for the past 2 years, Lilith withdrew every single one back to it's domain relatively unseen. Learning all about what had happened and why it was revived.

Lilith had it's own plans now.

It was time to go to Earth.

Chapter 87: Amity's Fall
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 87: Amity's Fall

*Concordia, Remnant; June 16, 2021; 5:10 PM*

The Korian Cruisers unleashed a hellish torrent against the Colosseum, innumerable and massive plumes of ash raising from the gargantuan former arena as it slowly fell apart and crashed to the ground in another massive explosion.

"...Wow." Jason just stared on, somewhat unsurprised.

"You ever look at a train wreck..? This is exactly like that, but with more life-threatening radiation and explosions.." Alex nodded.

"Speaking of which, I'll send in Hazmat Crews. I need you all to fall back to one of the underground bunkers until this has been taken care of." Ria notified as drop pods containing Hazmat Drones went in with clean-up materials.

"Regardless of the clean-up. It isn't exactly safe here anymore. The Refugees need to be moved post-haste." Flickering Light concluded.

"Right... There's still ample living grounds on Achilles Ridge. We can head there." Rainbow Dash suggested.

"You heard the pegasus, get everyone out of here." Alex ordered, quickly turning back to his... Former friends..? He himself wasn't sure at this point.

"You're welcome." Alex simply nodded.

"Don't just try to shrug this off!! You brought Osiris here?!" Saisho demanded.

"I'm fully aware of what he's capable of. I've been training him myself, in handling an army as well as how to fight." Alex explained himself.

The whole of Unity fell silent in raw shock.

It seemed everyone knew of this supposed prophesy, then.

"Oh, calm down! You remember Alpha, right? In one timeline, he ended up leading the Inquisition, yes, but in another, he's a capable fighter, an excellent commander, and one of our most valuable team members, right?" Yang elaborated, quickly jumping to Alex's defense.

"Just like old times..." Alex thought bleakly.

"Fair point, Xiao Long." Ultimus explained.

"What's the situation on our inside man?" Weiss asked.

"Seems he left the Colloseum before the assault. He was sent to find some sort of Inquisitor Weapon. We'll have him sabotage the mission, and report back with us whenever possible..." Ultimus explained.

"In the meantime, we should check our losses. Andromeda?" Blast figured.

"Certainly. 130 Causalties, and most of us are dealing with mild radiation exposure, but a variety of magic, Aura, and other related abilities are ensuring that it won't be much of a threat. The assault laid waste to 1600 Imperial Extremis troops, 5 cruisers worth of men, and 175,000 United Remnant soldiers inside the Colosseum." Andromeda explained.

"The Auroran Fleet also gained 3 Cruisers, and dozens of Imperial Adenienite fighter craft, thanks to my land and capture strategies." Ria added.

"Well, that seems to be a fair deal better than usual, If I do say so myself!" Greeted an old, british accented voice from across the battlefield.

Who else but Doctor Monty, the familiar being walking amongst a united force again.

"Dear Lord, this looks like quite a mess you've made..!" Doctor Monty winced.

"Doctor Monty..! What brings you here, my friend?" Richtofen greeted.

"Richtofen, It's been some time, you wouldn't happen to know anything about that fucking monster resurfacing, would you?" Doctor Monty asked coldly.

"I... would rather not discuss that matter," Richtofen grumbled, "But... the important thing is that loose end may be in the process of being tied off.."

"So.. why are you here?" Dempsey demanded.

"Besides that whole mess about FUCKING LILITH, It's a simple matter. Alex didn't follow my advice whatsoever, and now we need to make up for lost time... We're visiting The Oracle."

The Insolents gasped.

"There's a story behind this, isn't there?" Twilight tilted her head.

"Well.. The Oracle essentially used us as her hand to get things properly aligned... but.." Summer explained.

"Alex... I need you to be careful regarding the Oracle... She may know basically everything, but that doesn't mean she's in it for you... Trust us.." Jason explained.

Alex still felt a bit unnerved in this regard.

"Oh, come on. At least she was honest with us!" Chūkan pointed out.

"'Honest' doesn't mean withholding valuable information, Chūkan!" Saisho retorted.

"Now, Now.. Off we go, Alex.." Doctor Monty insisted.

"With all due respect, I have an army to command, A student to teach, and... I need to talk things over... Atone for... well..." Alex uncomfortably shifted.

Yang's expression softened. Despite his harsher and now-embittered exterior, he was still the same old Alex.

"Yes, well, you had better hurry and find someone to stand in for you. Time is of the essence..!" Doctor Monty urged.

"Cade, take my army, would you?" Alex asked quickly.

"Wait, what?!" Cade gasped.

"You heard me. The Fleet's yours now. Bye, son!" Alex joked.

"Very good now. We better be going..!" Doctor Monty insisted again.

"OSIRIS!" Alex shouted as Doctor Monty waved his hand, causing a blue portal to materialize nearby.

"Oh..! C-Coming..!" Osiris nodded, flying in Alex and Doctor Monty's general direction.

Alex, Osiris, and Doctor Monty exited through the portal, leaving the entire group behind, including the Auroran Fleet.

"I feel he will quickly regret that." Saisho concluded.

"Did you just become Captain of a massive fleet?" Chūkan asked.

"I... I think so.." Cade shrugged.

"Confirmed. You are now the Commanding Officer of the Auroran Fleet. Your first order, sir?"

Cade thought for a moment, before turning towards the fleet.

"What are our options?" Cade asked.

"My Drones have placed trackers on all surviving Imperial Adenien Cruisers. We've triangulated their location." Ria explained.

"Recieved. They're accompanying the fleet on Earth. They're currently cruising over the Appalacian Mountains." Andromeda added.

"Any other options?" Auburn asked.

"The remaining Korian Fleet is numbering 18 ships, and with ground troops to back them up. The Inquisition seems to be heavily invested in Earth as well. The Fleet alone is too much for Washington's Defenses." Ria continued.

"We're going to need backup." Cade concluded, reaching for his scroll.

"Who are you calling?" Summer asked.

"Oh, just some old friends.." Cade replied, sending messages out to Natsu, Makarov, and Erza.

*Inquisitor Complex 0004, Orion 0-01; June 16, 2021; 6:00 PM*

"THAT NO-GOOD, DUPLICITOUS, TREASONOUS LITTLE BASTARD!!!!" Alpha roared, absolutely enraged.

"We aid his ascension to Emperor, and this is how he repays us?!" Morning Star angrily demanded.

"What are our losses?" Elder Cinder asked.

"We lost Emerald and Mercury, as well as Scarecrow. Nobody useful or important." Younger Cinder explained.

"Brilliant, what's our plan now?" Gamma scowled.

"We have other connections, do we not? I say we use them. What say you, Alpha?" Beta asked, turning to the larger man.

"You're not seriously considering asking for their help, are you, Beta?" Corvus demanded.

"We'll do it." Alpha insisted.

"WHAT?!" Gamma gasped.

"You're insane if you think they'd help us!" Corvus shouted.

"It is our only option. We had most of our forces transferred to Remnant. They either died in the blast from that blasted Emperor's betrayal, or are preparing for another assault. We've stretched ourselves much too thinly." Beta explained.

"We must wait for the moment to strike... Cinders, contact Lilith. We will be contacting the Illuminati shortly."

*Alcatraz Island, San Francisco, California; July 4th, 1941; 3:00 AM*

The spirits of the Island shrieked an unholy song of joy as a mass of blue souls drifted upwards towards the darkening skies.

"Listen to how the spirits sing... They are free of this realm.." This new Takeo simply stated.

"Ain't that swell. Does that mean we win?" Dempsey asked.

"I would be greatly relieved if that were so... I am in no hurry to ensnare my mortal soul.." Nikolai sighed.

"That will not be necessary, Nikolai.. The future has changed." The newer version of Richtofen, donning a chainmail undersuit underneath a rough, detailed cloth.

This new Richtofen handed Nikolai a worn-out, ancient book. A very familiar one, at that.

"The Kronorium..?"

"Read it. Learn of your true calling. You must keep your soul. It will be needed to defeat Doctor Monty." Richtofen explained.

Nikolai shook his head as he began reading the book, his eyebrows shooting upwards.

"Doctor! You may want to see this!!" Nikolai shouted as he approached another version of Richtofen, Their Richtofen.

This new Richtofen pulled the Summoning Key and his blood vials off before meeting with the rest of the group, leaving the man they had come to respect to die.

"What do you mean..?" the New Richtofen asked as he took the Kronorium from Nikolai's hands.

Richtofen's expression went from confusion, to shock, to eldrich horror, and back again.

"It... seems there is a change of plans, regardless... Well, gentlemen..." Richtofen noted as four portals opened before them.

"Destiny awaits."

The four went through their own individual portals, barely hearing the anguished cries of their original Richtofen as he slumped over in the machine, a single tear falling from his eye as the world around him turned to grey.

Author's Note

Okay, wow. this chapter took a time and a half to finally come out.

Making this wait even longer was the point that I intentionally waited until After BO4 was out and Blood of the Dead was completed to iron out this chapter. That cutscene cut me deep.

As such, here's how BO4 Zombies probably fits in, at least the Aether storyline, anyways.

There's the cycle from BO3 continuing, and there's BO4 where Primis is trying to break the cycle.

The Shadow War Arc resulted in the Cycle being rendered FUBAR, but it hardly matters since Primis was out exploring a greater multiverse, so Dr. Monty didn't really bother with them after the fact. He had his perfect world, and the Shadow Man was dead, so he wasn't really concerned.

So, now that Lilith is rearing it's ugly head again, Doctor Monty's perfect world is at risk again, and he's prepared to deal with the looming threat with any means necessary...

I don't think I'll really include the Chaos Storyline. It's not that I hate the storyline, but I genuinely feel it wouldn't necessarily fit now. The Aether Storyline dealt with Time Travel and Dimensional Travel. While the Chaos Crew sort of did time travel with IX, their storyline is far narrower in terms of scope.

There's also the fact that the Primis and even the Ultimis and Victis Crews would be better equipped against the Shonen-esque power scaling this bullshit fanfic has come to these days.

Though I will say this:

Although the Revelations/Shadow War event resulted in a new timeline split, this leads to a screwy loose end for Post-Revelations Richtofen to sort out...

Even so, it sincerely should not have taken this long on my part.

Chapter 88: Pilgrimage
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 88: Pilgrimage

*The Overlook; Kai 0-00 Alpha; June 16, 2021; 7:00 PM*

Doctor Monty, Alex, and Osiris stepped out of the portal leading to the Oracle's throne.

"So, You've brought both Alex and Osiris. Interesting reality, isn't this?" The Oracle smiled coyly.

"In any case, getting to them was unexpectedly easy. They're all yours." Doctor Monty replied.

"Hold the phone, I have no reason to even assume I'm here to-" Alex grumbled.

"Ever the suspicious one, are you not, Walker? I understand if you're having reservations. The Illuminati haven't exactly turned out to be a trustworthy venture, have they not?"

"...Exactly my point." Alex coldly replied.

"Now, Alex. The Oracle has a major role throughout the Multiverse. Best not to get on her bad side. She's seen every outcome of every decision. In fact, she is living through them as we speak. Her only anchors to any specific timeline being here and on Kai 0-05." Doctor Monty explained.

"You mean... Your omnipotent..?" Osiris wondered.

"...I'm impressed with your vocabulary... Aren't you only days old at this point?" Doctor Monty nodded, impressed.

"Alex's been making me read these books.. I'm really learning a lot.."

"Though 'omnipotent' isn't the word I'd use. 'Omnipresent' more like. Omnipotence doesn't merely mean knowing everything. It implies godlike power, and the ability to shape the cosmos. All I can do is see. I am meant to see everything at once. I am unable to change the timeline, but I can see time in motion. The Future ever changing. The Past ever hazy. The present even is spotty at best." The Oracle explained.

Alex hesitated to say anything more. While this Oracle didn't have the power to directly cause significant shifts, she could lead him down a terrible path. One where he ends up far worse off than before.

"Still don't trust me, do you? I understand. In this particular timeline.. Things had to go wrong in order for you to even be here. However, things only ended up the way they are because this timeline has made it so. The Multiverse is grand, yes, but I've seen entire omniverses. In order for Infinity to truly be infinite, things must end up this way in this timeline." The Oracle explained.

"Omniverses? I've heard of Multiverses, but whole Omniverses?" Osiris asked, confused.

"You see. Things are much, much grander in scope than you two could ever fathom... Imagine a single Dimension. Each dimension has it's own creator: Oum, Mashima, Faust, Toriyama... These Dimensions house a plethora of Universes. Alpha through Omega organize how far they deviate from their original standard. The 0-00 through 999-999999 or whatever spectrum indicates a single change.

This embodies a single Dimension. Every Dimension in existence has basis in a grand Multiverse. There's also a greater number of multiverses. Those that exist outside of this standard. We... don't like to talk about those... All of them existing within an individual Omniverse. Oh, and there's an infinite number of Omniverses, too.

In any case... The Inquisitors, The Inheritors, The Illuminati... This whole conflict is barely a blip on the radar. Even my battle against the Apothicons is brought to nothing in comparison to the grand scheme of things." Doctor Monty explained.

"...Damn.. I just feel small now." Alex admitted.

And I see them all occurring at once. Wrenched to process every single universe. Every single instance of change. Every change, shift, and scuffle. I've seen Eternal War and Eternal Peace... Even Oblivion. I've seen the mundanity of life... and the Eldrich Horrors of Beyond. My sight is Infinite. And I am your guide." The Oracle elaborated.

"...Delightful. So, why did you have Doctor Monty drag us over here if you just wanted to-?"

The Oracle proceeded to walk right up to Alex and Osiris, and proceeded to press her index and middle finger against Alex and Osiris' foreheads.

Alex felt his world fall around him as he slipped backwards, tumbling through a river of golden light before colliding... with his own body?!

Looking around frantically, Alex noticed the room had gone dark, cold, and dry. The shock from the sudden transfer shook him to the core, finding very quickly that he was alone.

"Osiris?!" Alex shouted into the void, his voice slightly shaking.

Thunder rumbled in this dark void, dragging Alex back into the orange glow of a world in flames.

The world around him was broken. Floating Islands hovered around him, some barren and lifeless, some achingly familiar landmarks. The Ruins of Atlas Academy, a ruined pyramid, the fragmented remains of the Capitol Buildings in Washington DC, Lithia and Magnolia in fragmented tatters once more.

At the Capital stood a terrible new army; Combinations of those Furies, Alicorns, and humans screeching a horrible song of pain and suffering. These amalgamations moved erratically and jolted, as though their bodies were being wrenched by forces unknown to act rather than them acting consciously.

Towards the top of the capital buildings stood a small clan of Alicorns, with two armored ones at each half of the Congress Building, bearing a flag; a Brilliant golden background with a red halo, adorned by two black wings and a black horn.

The first armored alicorn, standing over the North Wing, was around Celestia and Luna's size, with an alabaster coat, burning red eyes, and a fiery mane and tail, whereas The Second had a completely jet-black mane, green glowing eyes, and a smoldering mane and tail.

Both these Alicorns were dressed in ornate golden armor, and produced a large shield around the Capitol, which Alex noticed were not only alight with the screams of these Amalgamates, but also Dragons, and a massive army, with Julius at the helm.

At the very center of the Capitol building stood a shrouded figure, winged and frankly terrifying to look at.

The Hybrid looked disheveled and mutated. Patches of scaly skin, a wing smoldering with shadow and flame, and his horn mutated and sparking with a very dark magic.

That Hybrid turned around to face him in as equally a terrifying fashion as the Amalgamates, lowering the shield and unleashing the vast hordes of what he quickly realized was the Crimson Shade, That cult of Alicorns that ruled Ancient Equestria with an iron... hoof?

The Horde charged at him with the force of a million angry suns as figures rushed past him.

The figures moved too quick for him to recognize, but a few he recognized.

Vegeta kicked through the horde with ruthless efficiency, raising both arms out to his sides, firing beams that smoldered and sundered the enemy.

Yang leaped skywards, rocketing down and crashing upon a dragon, causing it to explode.

Another man who Alex quickly figured out may be Son Goku rocketing into the horde, sending Amalgamates and Alicorns flying in every direction

But the final figure shocked Alex the most. The one that instantly erased any bit of belief he had in the Oracle...

Alpha.

The Inquisitor Leader who broke his arms, his legs, and tried to break his spirit. The Man who called himself his son, the man who had tried to cause the ongoing apocalypse, stood on his side attacking the Amalgamates.

Alex felt himself being dragged back into reality, whispers of predictions flying by as he found himself, once more, in the Overlook.

Alex glared coldly at the Oracle, scowling angrily.

"What the hell was that?" Alex demanded.

"A premonition of things to come." The Oracle explained.

Alex turned to Osiris, who had been lying crumpled on the ground, choked whimpers escaping his every breath

"T-That's not me... That isn't me..." Alex vaguely heard Osiris' faint cries emanating softly from his quivering lips.

"Do I have your full attention now?" The Oracle innocently asked.

Alex scowled coldly, who did this golden prick think she was, God?!

"That won't happen for several reasons. I have my eye on the kid, and he isn't about to go and do anything bad on my watch." Alex stated bitterly.

"Stranger things have happened, Alexander, and even under a watchful eye, things can go horribly wrong. Remember how the Battle of Magnolia started?"

"Happy's an idiot. A good-hearted, valuable idiot, but an idiot nonetheless." Alex excused.

"You were on the verge of preventing calamity. Had one of you made a wiser move, the whole battle would be delayed to a more rural setting... Tenrou, Vale, Oregon..."

"Beside the point, The final straw was that one moment where my quote-unquote "friends" fighting on my side." Alex smirked.

"Such a lack of trust, shall we move on?" Doctor Monty asked.

"Your friends trust you. They've served alongside you for five years now, and you've recently saved their lives in Vytal." The Oracle sympathetically explained.

"Trust?" Alex scoffed, "Please, that's been dead for a while. When Yang became an edgy pet of that narcissist Corvus, They turned almost immediately. If I fuck up with Osiris the way you think I will, I'm on the chopping block for sure. They wanted me dead back in Lithia, Vanhoover, and Vytal. They want me dead now."

The Oracle frowned, quickly thinking to herself.

"Sounds like you could use a meditative retreat.." The Oracle smiled to herself.

"A what?"

"She may be referring to a sort of pilgrimage... and I think I know where." Doctor Monty figured.

"Really. I have a fleet to command, and I've dropped that on my kid. Can I just-"

"Cade Walker has become a fine leader. He is a powerful warrior and he's learned much in the past 3 years. He is a capable commander as well, seeing as he's handled the Concordian Siege well. Your trust is well placed, and it's time you've been able to meditate." The Oracle explained.

"With Osiris in tow?" Alex asked.

"That goes without saying." Doctor Monty nodded.

"You must go to the Monastery of Sirantis on Adenien. The Mystics there will train you to use abilities far beyond your own comprehension, and you may find some semblance of peace there."

Alex thought for a second on this. The Siranti Monastery sounded similar to his own mother's Maiden Name, Sirant. Is it possible that her own family were these Mystics?

"Won't the Adenien Empire be on my ass?" Alex asked.

"The entire fleet has moved to Earth. Adenien is unguarded, save a few planetary defenses, and the Crux Family. You will be safe, now go." Doctor Monty explained.

Alex nodded to himself.

"Alright. Osiris, let's go. We're finding religion, apparently." Alex scoffed, opening a Pocket Dimension near the Shield on the very barriers of the Overlook.

Osiris kept watch as Alex pulled out with his personal cruiser. A small, sedan-sized purple and gold luxury ship that hovered in a glowing blue haze. Osiris flew inside as the top of the Cruiser closed and sped off.

Doctor Monty and The Oracle watched as the cruiser sped away and vanished in a flash of blue and red light.

"So... Why Sirantis?" Doctor Monty asked.

"Alex has valuable connections with the Mystics there, and the skills he'll learn are invaluable. Besides, he needs this for the Great Cataclysm."

"Ah, yes... Do you think The Cataclysm is coming soon?" Doctor Monty asked.

"For this set of timelines, we are on the brink." The Oracle sighed.

*The Aurora, Concordia; June 16, 2021; 7:10 PM*

Cade stepped onboard his father's flagship, Auburn and Oreonna in tow as some of the crew headed out to greet them.

"Who are these people?" Cade wondered.

"I'm not sure... Stay on guard." Auburn warned.

"Oh, come on. They helped us, so we should be able to trust them!" Oreonna grinned optimistically.

"I think we'll be fine, but we should keep our guard up." Saisho nodded, stepping onboard.

Chūkan grinned as the crew finally reached them.

"Hello! I'm Chūkan! I think you guys might know my brother!" He greeted amicably.

"Salutations." Saisho simply greeted.

The first to reply was Ryden, now a lieutenant of a fighter squadron.

"Ryden Ias. I figured you might be related to the Captain. You three are pretty much his splitting image." Ryden added.

"True. Who are the rest of you?" Umbra Kan, a sergeant of a jump squadron asked.

"I'm Cade. This is Auburn, Oreo, and this is... Uncle Saisho..?" Cade awkwardly raised an eyebrow.

"Don't push it."

"Wait, Uncle?" Iota asked.

"Y-Yeah.. It's a long story.." Cade awkwardly replied.

Iota wrapped an arm around Cade, grinning seductively.

"I'm sure you'll have all the time in the world. So, are you Sparky's older brother, younger?"

"I'm his son."

Iota's face dropped as all the color drained from her face.

"S-Son?! How old was he?!" Iota asked in horror.

"He's still... what, 21, 23?" Cade shrugged.

"And how old are you? You seem like you'd have to be in your late teens at least..!" Iota wondered.

"21."

Iota's face grew paler by the second.

"T-Then how..?"

"I'm from the future." Cade finished.

Iota breathed a sigh of relief, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

"That's a relief! I thought Sparky was some old perv for a second there! I'd know, too!" Iota smirked.

"Ew." Cade shuddered.

"...Who's this again?" Auburn asked, somewhat coldly.

"I'm Iota Erhardt. I'm a friend of his dad's." Iota smiled.

"He's... my father too... Well, more like stepfather... or... half father..?" Auburn replied, somewhat confused.

"...Don't tell me Alexander's been strutting about since Lithia." Saisho scowled.

"Now, Saisho, I don't think that's the case.. I know Alex, he's not the type."

"Yeah.. About that, let me show you around the ship, Junior!" Iota grabbed Cade's arm, leading him across the ship.

"...This does raise some very disturbing questions, however." Saisho nodded.

"Yeah.. Anyways, we better call Fairy Tail." Oreonna figured, grabbing a sat phone.

Chūkan grabbed the communicator, and called the 19 digit number inscribed on the comm link as it chimed, indicating an answer.

"Hello?" The voice of Makarov Dreyar quivered over the phone.

"Is this the Master Makarov I've heard about?" Chūkan asked.

"ALEX?!"

"N-No, not quite... This is his brother.. I'm calling to ask for your help."

"Ah, I see... Is he lost?" Makarov asked.

"Not quite. He left some time ago, and he's left his fleet for Cade. We need your help." Chūkan explained.

"With what?"

"It's about Lilith.."

"Isn't it dead?" Makarov asked.

"See, here's the thing..." Chūkan uncomfortably began to explain...

*Canterlot, Equestria; June 16, 2021; 7:15 PM*

"Sister, you can't!"

Celestia and Luna had been arguing over the past half hour over what is to be done in regards of the war effort.

"It's our only choice if Equestria is to survive! We are beset by all sides! Ozpin is dead, Alexander's lost, and furthermore, The INQUISITION HAS RETURNED!"

"There must be some other way, sister! We mustn't be so hasty as to revive-!"

"Luna... It is our last chance. So much has happened these past few days alone... Nobody knows what tomorrow will bring... As such... We need to use our last resort..."

Celestia and Luna walked side by side into a dark chamber. A golden and indigo aura materialized around one of the bricks in this deepest chamber, revealing a doorway leading down a darker staircase.

"Dearest Sister, it would be wise to reconsider! This is a terrible risk to undertake! We cannot run in blindly and expect-!"

"Luna, how often must I say this? Things have gotten far out of control, and we must act quickly if Equestria is to survive."

The stairwell reached it's bottom step as Celestia used her arcane magic to light the torches of this dark chamber.

Dozens of recovered dark relics from eras ago stood in their own dedicated pillars. Swords, staffs, and many others lined the walls as Celestia reached the object of her desire.

The Relic of Knowlege.

"Ozpin's Relic of Knowlege?" Luna asked.

"It must be done... It is the only way we can learn how to bring them back." Celestia insisted, bringing the Relic to another, larger chamber.

"Sister, please. These creatures may be dangerous!" Luna finally begged.

"It's our last hope..." Celestia stated as she calmly sat in front of the Relic.

Ozpin had told her much about this Relic when she first retrieved it from him after the Blood Red Night. it was decided that it would be wise for the Relics to be spread across the multiverse so that nobody can use them all and cause catastrophe like the Inquisitors had tried to.

She was even told her name.

"Jinn?"

The torches had been quickly blown out as a turquoise light spread from the Relic, revealing a giant of a woman, blue with gold jewelry all over her body as she towered over the likes of Celestia and Luna.

"My, this is new... This is simply wonderful.. Tell me, creatures... What knowledge do you seek?" Jinn asked as she materialized before them.

Celestia's expression bore determination and hopelessness.

"You seem to be in luck, Creature. I am able to answer one more question this era."

Celestia sighed. Her question would bring her the knowledge she needed. Knowledge that would either save her world, or damn it.

"How do I bring back the Crimson Shade?"

Author's Note

TWO MONTHS. NEARLY TWO MONTHS SINCE I LAST POSTED A CHAPTER. THIS HURTS ME PERSONALLY.

So, this is how Jontron feels.

Anyways, with all that out of the way, not ONLY did I find stuff integral to the RWBY side of the story, but the Zombies side of things as well.

Salem's Immortality does lead to a major plot hole, mainly how Lilith "dies" and is somehow "brought back". A plot hole I'll rectify at this moment.

Salem, combined with the mortal Sombra and the millenia old Shadowman formed a new God of Darkness in Lilith, bearing all the powers of the three and so much more. When Lilith was vaulted into the Apothicon Sun, it didn't die.

Rather, it found itself in a constant, painful state of dying and not dying, disintegrating and reintegrating, only to be shattered again mere moments later within the Abyss.

When the Stardust Dragon Balls brought it back, Lilith found itself in the Land of Darkness, where it would plan it's next move, it's constant "death" tormenting it for months driving it insane.

This insanity does play a role later, especially keeping in mind the final antagonist of the story.

Also, There'll be MAJOR REASONS for the Crimson Shade being important enough to be included in the title of this very story.

That is all, be sure to comment for more answers to any questions!

-The Destoyer

Chapter 89: Sirantis Calling
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 89: Sirantis Calling

*Over the Sirantine Ocean, Adenien; June 17, 2021; 2:30 AM*

Alex and Osiris had been riding across this divine-forsaken ocean for at least 4 hours by now.

The trip, taking 7 AND A HALF HOURS on the whole, with the first 3 alone being dedicated to evading the local ordinance, who would surely try to kill him anyways.

Looking back at the map of the Adenien World, there lay 2 major landmasses, Kiros, where the Three Cities resided, and Sudantis. Sirantis lay directly between the two. Meaning it would take 4 hours each way to reach civilization from Alex's Cruiser, running at about 650 kilometers per hour.

Meaning this was the fastest way to Sirantis.

At least they were almost there.

"Are we there yet?" Osiris asked.

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No.."

"Are we there yet?"

"Stop that."

"Are we there yet?"

"What did I just say?!"

"Are we there yet?"

"Osiris!"

"Are we there yet?"

"Stop!"

"Are we there yet?"

"Fucking hell, Osiris!"

"Are we there yet?"

"NO!"

"Are we there yet?"

"FUCK OFF!"

"Are we there yet?"

"FUCK YOU AND FUCK YOUR REFERENCES!"

Alex and Osiris eventually came across a large mountain range, preceded by a cliffside dozens of meters high, with a monastery on the range's highest peak.

Lightning struck the darkened sky as Alex and Osiris stared up at the Monastery. Alex's expression remained emotionless as he glared up at it's stone columns.

"A-Are we..?"

"Yes Osiris. We're here." Alex grumbled, piloting the craft into the skies and landing in the main entrance of the Monastery, where a crowd of white, gold, and blue-robed monks stood lining up at the edges so they could land. A large stairwell led it's way up to a catwalk going to the East and West Wings of the ancient structure.

"D-Did they know we were coming..?" Osiris asked.

"I can't say... This thing doesn't make much noise, so we couldn't have alerted them. Either they're psychic, or we've walked into a trap. Keep your guard up." Alex ordered with a slight shrug.

Alex quickly landed the cruiser, pressing a button that pulled back the roof of the ship and quickly disembarked in this crowd of strangers.

Osiris, doing the same, felt some relief when he wasn't immediately engaged with suspicion and fear as the monks offered to take their coats.

"Welcome, Travellers. Please, make yourselves comfortable while we alert the Grandmaster to your presence." One of the older monks greeted.

'Something's off... They don't seem panicked or even surprised. This was a bad idea.. I may as well be back with Yang and the others.' Alex thought, almost frantically.

Alex slowly reached for his weapon, ready to strike in case anything went awry.

"I was wondering when you would arrive..." An elderly voice stated from the main stairwell of the monastery.

Alex faced up to find an old man with a thinning, grey crew cut and a short beard follow two elders down the stairway. The 'Grandmaster', Alex assumed.

"Though, it is unusual to have brought your friend, here.." The Grandmaster continued, his voice bearing not a shred of disappointment, suspicion, or malice. Much unlike his own friends...

Alex slowly released the grip of his weapon as he stood face-to-face with the Grandmaster, the older man roughly a head taller than his own. Alex reached out and shook the Grandmaster's hand.

"Hi, The Oracle sent me, I'm-"

"Alexander Gabriel Walker, Birthname Saigo Emphas, Son of Yurei Emphas and Kyra Sirant-Emphas. Father of One, as I understand." The Grandmaster smirked knowingly.

"Stepfather, if anything. She's Yang's now." Alex corrected.

"You're still concerned about her, aren't you?"

"Maybe- Wait. How do you know all this?" Alex demanded.

"You've had a rough time these past few years, have you not? War, death, loss... Betrayal?" The Grandmaster insisted further.

Alex pulled his hand away as the Grandmaster grabbed his wrist. Trying in vain to wrestle his hand away, Alex clenched his fist and pulled as hard as he could.

"Who or what are you?" Alex asked, coldly.

"You've also gotten a substantial loss in power... And it's already borrowed from many different worlds..." The Grandmaster continued.

"H-How are you..?"

"You are a man of war. Sent here to find some semblance of peace."

"Alright.. You better start talking, who are you?" Alex demanded.

"I am Artemnas Sirant. Grandmaster of the Sirantis Monastery. Kyra and Rhys are my daughters."

Alex immediately stopped. Releasing the tension in his muscles and allowing Artemnas to examine his mechanical arms.

"So... You're saying.."

"Yes, Alexander. I am your grandfather." Artemnas explained, releasing Alex's arm as Osiris was allowed to step forward.

"You actually look a lot like him, Alex." Osiris noted.

"So, You mentioned another daughter. Is she here?" Alex wondered.

"As a matter of fact. She is." A mature, yet feminine voice replied in the crowd as Rhys removed her hood. From what Alex could tell, she almost looked exactly like his mother, save a darker brown hair color, green eyes, and a scar on the bridge of her nose.

"We prophesized you would be here some point after the Revival. We had no idea it would take this long for you to arrive." Artemnas explained.

"Okay, so... What exactly am I doing here?" Alex wondered.

"The Oracle requested you be brought here. To find some level of inner peace, reconnect with some family, and to learn some skills before the Cataclysm." Rhys stated.

"Wait, so... How are you guys related to the Oracle?"

"We Sirants have a connection to the Universal Fabric. The very same fabric that ties The Oracle to the universe. It's also where we channel our energy from. Using Adenien's force as an anchor, we can achieve a source of infinite power all our own. The deeper our connection, the more powerful or skilled we become." Artemnas explained.

"Which is why we were confused when you defeated the Inquisition, Corvus, even the Dark God Lillith whilst lacking this connection."

"And now I understand why. Your Power is derived from many sources... Your DNA is all muddled up, as well." Artemnas explained.

"So, how can I be expected to grow without using my power?"

"You use your otherworldly powers like a crutch. The only way you can learn to walk, so to speak, is to remove it." Rhys elaborated.

Artemnas poked a number of pressure points in rapid succession. A final tap to the solar plexus blew Alex backwards with an ethereal blue glow surrounding his body and pulling his energy within.

"W-What did you do..? I can't even move..!" Alex demanded, unable to move his mechanical arms and legs.

"I simply locked your power away while you train here. You've also been using that power to help you move your arms and legs, so until you learn to channel the Universal Fabric, you're almost a prisoner in your own body. Rhys, Lex, carry the boy to our training area so he may begin his training."

And with that, Alex was dragged off into the East Wing, most likely one of the meditation chambers. Osiris followed, his curiosity piquing at the mere note of this 'Universal Fabric'.

As Alex made him aware during the trip, between dimensions was a sort of chaotic parallel void. Apparently, it had corrupted the man who would later become King Sombra. Osiris came to the conclusion that some uses of this 'Fabric' is best left avoided.

He would have to take notes, at least, for Dr. Callan's sake.

*Concordia, Remnant; June 17, 2021; 5:35 AM*

Cade and the Auroran Fleet had finally been prepped for sendoff. Cade insisted leaving three ships behind, specifically those captured from the Adeniens.

Cade, Twilight, Kat, Saisho, Vanoss, Ruby, and now Makarov were discussing their gameplan for their impending battles.

"The Inquisition is most likely going after Earth. The Adeniens have torn through the American defenses there, and now they're about to reach Washington." Saisho figured.

"Yeah, though it feels like they've been on their way for months now." Kat shrugged.

"In all seriousness, Cade's forces are incredibly solid. Even when Alex's guys were outnumbered, he somehow pulled through long enough for us to turn it around." Vanoss noted.

"Even so, you should probably head to Earth.." Twilight suggested.

"You think I wasn't gonna go? I don't know if any of my other friends or family made it. If I can't find out, I can at least help you guys out." Vanoss insisted.

"Fairy Tail will join you, Cade. This is far beyond any challenge we've faced before... and I feel this won't be the end." Makarov predicted, almost sadly.

"Alright. Twilight, with everyone else going to Earth to fight, will you stay behind and help Saisho and I?" Ruby asked.

"I-"

"Twilight, Princess Celestia requests your presence." Skirmish notified.

"... I guess I'll have to take this. If I can't help either of you, I wish you all good luck.." Twilight smiled while heading off alongside Skirmish.

Skirmish led Twilight back outside and into one of the tents, where the rest of the Mane 6, as well as the surviving equine members of Alex's old Squad; Blast Radius, Haunting, Ember, Cloudchaser, and Flitter.

"Celestia and Luna are calling you up. She needs all of us to return to Equestria immediately."

"What for?"

"Said something about "Binging back-to-back Crimson Chin..?" Skirmish shugged, confused.

Twilight gave her that look. You all know the one. The one your friends give you when you've done something funny, but not 'ha-ha' funny.

"I gotta take this. If I can't get back to you, good luck, everyone..!" Twilight smiled as she followed Skirmish off to some undisclosed destination.

'There's no way Princess Celestia's bringing us all of us back to Equestria for watching childrens' cartoons... Except- OH NO.'

Twilight's face paled at her ensuing realization.

Princess Celestia, who always held Equestria's best interests in mind. Who ruled only out of benevolence. Who had saved Equestria many times before her, who had mentored her, was now about to open up a gate to Tartarus itself...

Princess Celestia planned to revive the Crimson Shade.

She had read stories about the ancient Alicorn group that had once ruled Equestria before Celestia herself was born. They were destructive, malevolent, death incarnate. So much so that not even Discord himself was able to stop them..!

And the one thing that had was far too horrible to even think about now..

The fact that Celestia even took this to consideration could only mean one thing.

The 1000 year peace Equestria had, which had been slowly crumbling over the past 7 years, was truly over.

*Other World; June 17, 2018; 2:00 PM*

Vegeta had gone through much in these past few hours.

Between thorough interrogation from the rest of the Z-Fighters, getting the OK from ~~Little Green~~ Dende, and actually finding the damned things, suffice to say, Vegeta's had a hell of a day.

'This had better be worth the effort, Kakarot!' Vegeta bitterly griped as Shenron quickly materialized before him.

Shenron glared down at Vegeta as he began granting the Saiyan's wishes.

Since nothing had really been going on, Vegeta's first wish was a relatively simple one; something nice so Trunks would finally get off his back for a little while, at least.

His second wish was a bit of preperation for his third wish. He wouldn't dare wish for more power, but what he could do was wish for some more advanced equipment to increase his own power.

This third wish... was the true reason Vegeta showed up.

"Dragon, I demand to speak to Kakarot, and I'm not taking 'no' for an answer, do you understand?" Vegeta ordered.

Shenron mused for a moment as Vegeta felt a golden light materialize around him.

"Your wish has been granted."

Vegeta's body was now a mere, glowing outline as he soon rematerialized on King Kai's planet. Goku quickly taking notice and heading his way.

"Hey, Geets!"

"Argh, damn it."

"Hey, You came to me, so we might as well catch up, right?" Goku asked.

"Shut up and listen, Kakarot. It's quite important." Vegeta smirked.

"I don't sense anything going on with Earth. Though you have been gone for a while... And you've gotten stronger."

"That's right, fool. Though, I'm not getting into that yet."

"Ohh! This is about that apprentice you had for a while, isn't it? How is he?"

"He's doing alright, I suppose, but listen. Off in some other universe, there's a great war building up. My apprentice is a key player, though I sense it may not be enough.." Vegeta explained.

"How does that include me?" Goku wondered.

"There's a lot of strong guys involved. And I know you won't turn down a chance to get stronger." Vegeta grinned, knowing this last bit would get through to that clown.

"Well, why didn't you say so? Count me in!" Goku replied, already fired up at the idea.

Author's Note

Dang, month's almost over, an it took just now to finish this chapter.

I AM THE SAD.

Anyways, one more chapter, and we're off on the first of two six-parter sequences in this Arc!

Oh, and Goku's here now.

To anyone asking, I'm not getting into how strong Goku or Vegeta are by now. Yet

EDIT: In other news, I announced an Act V Q&A event some time ago, but it kinda goes against the site's rules so I can't really do that. My bad

Feel free to comment, and I'll see you all later!

-The Destoyer

Chapter 90: A Crimson Shade
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 90: A Crimson Shade

*Plains outside of Ponyville, June 18, 2021; 6:45 PM*

Twilight had returned to Ponyville with the others, and Celestia had explained everything once she, along with the others, had made it within The Castle of Friendship.

She'd seen blissful peace, and brutal war. More in her comparatively young lifetime than Celestia had in roughly 2,000 years.

She knows what a suicidal, half-baked plan looks like. But the worst part was... Celestia really had no other option.

From what Twilight could gather, Celestia's nuclear option was to bring back the Crimson Shade, either for Equestria's defense, or something far more sinister.

Twilight had, after her own ascension, read up on how brutal and unforgiving Ancient Equestria had been. If Celestia was seriously considering unearthing these... relics... Could that possibly mean that the 1,000 years of peace Celestia had worked for was all for nothing?

Enough of that.. She couldn't afford to show weakness at such a crucial time.

"The Rites stated the Ritual needs to be done when the Sun and Moon are aligned... It is time." Celestia sighed as Luna and Cadence started forming the Ritual's Circle.

The Ritual's Circle was more or less in the shape of a pentagon, with Ancient Equestrian rites and artifacts systemically and immaculately scrawled within it. Five Circles on each 'corner' and one within.

"The Sun and The Moon stand across from one another in the skies, we are to take our place." Luna stated as her and Celestia stepped inside of their respective circles.

"Harmony and Friendship have gone hoof and hoof since the dawn of time. Take your places in the circle."

Twilight very reluctantly stepped forward, as did her other friends... All but one.

"Princess Celestia, not trying to be Rarity or anything, but this 'idea' is terrible!" Rainbow shouted.

Applejack backed out of the Circle as well, along with Fluttershy, who followed soon after.

"She's right! We have no idea what we're letting out of the bag!" Applejack agreed.

"It... Could be really bad.." Fluttershy squeaked.

Celestia sighed.

"I don't like it either, but we don't have any other choice. The fate of Equestria hangs in the balance, and the only way we can defend it is by completing this ritual. We have little time, and we need the Elements of Harmony for it to work." Celestia seemingly relented.

"Glad to see you've come around-."

Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rainbow found themselves wreathed in golden light as they were pulled back to the circle with the rest of the Elements, who were enveloped in the bubble as well.

Twilight and Cadence gazed in horror at the scene before them as Luna seemed to waver, but stood fast anyway.

"Love is ultimately what holds all in balance. Cadence, take your place in the circle." Celestia continued, her voice stricken and remorseful as Cadence stepped towards the circle.

Cadence's hoof stood over the circle, looking to Celestia with uncertainty in her eyes.

"I need to know one thing if I'm to take part in this ritual, Auntie. Can you say for certain that nothing wrong will come out of this?" Cadence demanded.

Celestia sighed before facing the third princess.

"I can't.."

Cadence visibly shifted before entering the circle herself.

"No matter what... It will take time for Equestria to heal from this." Cadence relented.

By now, all the necessary anchors stood within the Ritual Circle, and the timing was near-perfect. All that was needed now was to place items of great power within the 6th circle within and read an Ancient Equestrian incantation.

"The Sun and Moon, Friendship and Harmony, Love. These forces tie the magics of the Ritual to this physical plane. Anchors for power to flow from the land of the forgotten to the land of the sun and moon. Place the relics now." Celestia continued as Luna sorted through several artifacts: 5 in total.

The first of these Items was the Alicorn Amulet. This and Sombra's Crown were difficult to procure as the SCP Foundation of Kat's homeworld had claimed them as dangerous anomalies in need of secure containment. Celestia had pressured the Foundation so frequently that an entire mailroom had been dedicated to holding Celestia and Luna's protests. It was fortunate that Kat, the current director, had been friendly enough to relent and return the artifacts.

The Amulet had been placed slightly above center within the 6th Circle. Sombra's Crown was placed above the cursed Amulet. Dark reminders of the Battle of Cairo chilling the Elements to their cores.

The third item was The Crystal Heart itself. With Sombra seemingly dead after the Battle of Magnolia, there was no real need to keep it within the Crystal Castle's walls where the enemy could steal it and use it against Equestria. The Operation had been done covertly so the Crystal Empire's citizens had no idea anything changed. The Crystal Heart had been placed within the center of the 6th Circle, below the Alicorn Amulet itself.

The 4th Artifact was less an artifact and more something to give the rest a bit of a power boost; A vial of Dimensional Essence. Dimensional Essence was essentially the foundation of most Magical Items within the entire multiverse. The Dimensional Essence was placed to the left side of the 6th circle.

The 5th and final artifact was one of Celestia's own; One she hadn't used in 1500 years when Equestria was still in it's early turmoils; The Scepter of the Sun.

This artifact harnessed Celestia's magic and acted akin to a conduit; focusing and tempering Celestia's raw power and using it as sort of a wand. Luna had her own equivalent, but Celestia insisted on using her own.

The Scepter of the Sun was placed to the right of the central 3 artifacts.

With the building blocks finally in place, Celestia could finally recite the proper incantations.

Dark waves of ancient, esoteric power flowed from within each circle, drifting about searching for the one who would speak the ancient incantations.

Only Celestia knew these ancient words.

The shadows flowed around her as her eyes began to glow a deep red.

"nosmirC edahS

nosmirC edahS

nosmirC EdahS

enO derdnuh tnecrep lanigiro

oD ton laets

...xis xis xis

nosmirC edahS

NOSMIRC EDAHS!!"

A pillar of shadow shot directly into the sky, turning the pristine sunset of purples and oranges into a far more foreboding red.

Waves upon waves of red light rained down in front of the Ritual Circle. 16 with two directly in front.

Shapes appeared within the beams of light. Taller than Celestia or Luna and far more brooding.

All of them Alicorns.

"... It has been so long since I've breathed Equestrian Air.." A voice of one of the Alicorns states, breathing in the once peaceful air. This first Alicorn had a marble-white coat with a flaming mane and tail billowing in the esoteric winds.

"Truly... Who has summoned us, Matriarch?" The second Alicorn asked. The second had a black coat with a hazy, smoking mane and tail.

The red light surrounding the 16 Alicorns began to fade.

Of the 16, two Alicorns stepped up to face Celestia, Luna, Cadence, and Twilight.

"Who are they, Patriarch?" The 'Matriarch' asked.

"I know not... Our descendants, perhaps. They do look awfully similar to Lux and Tenebris." The 'Patriarch' noted.

Celestia and Luna's eyes widened as Twilight quickly reached the same realization.

Lux and Tenebris were the Two Princes of Middle Equestria, usurped by Celestia and Luna roughly 200 years before the whole 'Nightmare Moon' Incident.

If these two Alicorns knew of the Gray Princes, then this 'Crimson Shade' predated them.

"Greetings, honorable precursors.. I am Princess Celestia. This is my Sister, Princess Luna.." Celestia began.

"Truly you are the Daughters of Prince Lux." The Matriarch spat distastefully.

"Matriarch... Please. We are well aware of what has happened. You two have lost your hold on Equestria in the face of these Dimensional Relations, and now that everything has fallen apart, you summoned us." The Patriarch began.

"I.. Wouldn't phrase it that way." Twilight shifted.

The Patriarch glanced towards Twilight, wreathing her in dark red magic and levitating her over to closely inspect her.

"... You've elevated a lowborn. Times have gotten desperate, it seems.." The Patriarch stated.

Rainbow immediately sped towards the Patriarch, with a Rainboom-charged punch to the face at the ready.

A green aura immediately surrounded Rainbow Dash, who struggled as she was pulled to the ground.

"Listen, and listen well, Celestia. I am Abaddon, Patriarch of the Crimson Shade. And now, High Commander of your forces." The Patriarch, Abaddon ordered.

"Crimson Shade, arrest these usurpers!" The Matriarch ordered as Abaddon levitated all the Artifacts over to himself.

"Matriarch Apollyon, what is our plan now?" One of the other Crimson Shade alicorns asked.

"I'll oversee a detachment sent to Canterlot. Have our finest armies sent to Earth. It's time for Equestria's rebirth." Apollyon ordered.

"I'll see these weaklings imprisoned within the bowels of Tartarus, then I will join you in glorious conquest. The Crimson Shade is reborn!!" Abaddon roared to the cheers of the 16.

Twilight stared in abject horror at Celestia. Her one hope has flown directly in her face.

'What have we done?'

*SCP Headquarters, Outside Washington D.C, NAF, June 18, 2021; 10:00 PM*

Kat had been sent back to the Foundation HQ to face the oncoming Inquisitorial/Imperial/Everything and Everyone else threat due to arrive tomorrow. It seemed that, since all hell was breaking loose anyways, that Chancellor Smith called in an especially rare Contingency plan.

This plan had been the subject of many exceedingly dark jokes permeating the dimension's foundation HQ. One that put the HQ at odds with the rest of the Foundation.

Contingency Plan 78425: Codenamed Blood Rain.

This entailed the release of every single SCP at the HQ's disposal.

While most of the HQ's containments were considered Euclid, they did have more than a few Keter-Class at their disposal.

It didn't take a genius to see that this plan was essentially murder-suicide in it's most powerful form. Which is why Kat, along with Dr. Clef, Dr. Gears, Dr. Bright, and Dr. Rights were called in to discuss the matter.

"Director Anderson, you must understand what we're up against! Our nation stands on the precipice of annihilation! This is our last and only shot at preserving our democracy!" Representative Hanson begged.

"If we enact Blood Rain, we may lose more than just the country!" Dr. Malkevic, one of the local doctors, exclaimed.

"I'm sorry, Blood Rain? I was hoping for a bit more... pizazz for this protocol name." Dr. Bright frowned in disappointment.

"There's a reason the Foundation Higher-Ups banned this protocol!" Security Lieutenant Reeves added.

"The Chancellor's issued an ultimatum-"

"The Chancellor clearly doesn't have much authority over his own staff, much less the Foundation. There's a reason people have fled to Concordia, after all." Dr. Clef deadpanned.

"Well, what is this 'Ultimatum?" Dr. Gears asked.

"W-Well, either you enact Blood Rain, or-" Hanson began.

"Or what, we can just pack up and leave?" Dr. Clef rolled his eyes.

"N-No, don't do that..!"

"So. Let me get this straight... You waltz into my Headquarters, demand me to enact this ham-fisted, draconian, self-annihilating protocol on pain of literally nothing, and you expect me to just go along with it?" Kat glared, staring down the representative with scouring, disdainful eyes.

"Y-Yes..?" Representative Hanson piped out, quivering in his $800 dress shoes.

"Alright, let's do it!" Dr. Bright cheered, pressing a big red button.

EVERY ALARM blared a horrifying cadence as dozens of Foundation Personnel of all designations began screaming and running in circles.

**WARNING. WARNING. SECURITY BREACHES ON ALL LEVELS. TAKE THE CYANIDE PILL LOCATED IN YOUR LAPELS. THE END IS NEAR. THE END IS NEAR.**

Kat glared coldly at Dr. Bright, her aura positively bursting into flames.

"What? If we're being invaded, we may as well pull out all the stops. Haven't had a Containment Breach like this since 2012." Dr. Bright defended, grabbing a bag of popcorn.

Dr. Clef shrugged, teleporting the lot to the HQ's rooftop.

"May as well enjoy the view." Dr. Clef nodded indifferently.

Everyone but the seasoned doctors stared in horror at the scene before them as a tidal wave of blackness, death, and wanton destruction reigned as several cruisers teleported into view.

"Idiots. All of you. Idiots."

Cade's comm chatter started picking up.

"Um, Kat? The fleet's been ready for a while... Where's that signal... Wait... What's that wave of death and destruction coming from that building? Is that the signal?"

"Might as well be. Ready our counter-attack." Kat grumbled.

*Concordian Trenches, June 19, 2021; 1:00 AM*

Alex S 1-14 had heard that the Battle in Washington had formally started. This dimension's Team RWBY had gone to not only defend their loved ones there, but to ensure no Inquisition, SCP, Imperial, or any enemy combatant made their way to this island.

The situation here, however, was grim.

With most of the Concordian-Aligned forces currently on Earth, there was naught but a minimal force of troops, including the multi-dimensional mix of different Unities, Teams RWBY and JNPR, and a single carrier lent from the Auroran Fleet; The Carolus Dreadnought.

"Any update, Saisho?" Alex S 1-14 asked grimly.

"We've caught sight of the Armies of Remnant." Saisho replied.

"How many?"

"100 Fighters, 2 Airships, and roughly 800,000 men, if that estimate is correct."

"And what do we have here?"

"Just the Carolus and it's fighters, about 30 of them. About 150,000 people, but we've got a huge thing going." Ruby answered, rushing in using her Semblance.

"There is no time to be lost. I must address ze men. Come with me." Alex S 1-14 demanded.

Not since the Great War had things looked so dismal. The refugees who either couldn't or refused to fight were teleported safely and covertly off Concordia to Corsalia, where one of the Countesses promised relief from the battle. One less thing to worry about.

They were outnumbered, yes, but hopefully, the huntsmen would be so low-level that any attack of theirs would be ineffectual.

Alex S 1-14, Saisho, and Ruby stood to face the now-battle hardened soldiers, all but itching to face the coming tidal wave of destruction.

"Brothers! Heroes! Today, we stand firm against not only lead, dust, and steel, but we stand firm against blasted tradition! We stand now on the precipice of a new era for Remnant! If we lose here, and now, then all is truly lost!

The Auroran Fleet has drawn most of the enemy to Washington in a bloody battle for the American Homeland, which means we will be facing a fraction of what we faced days ago! We are starving, and wounded, but we will never be broken!

The Armies of Remnant come clawing at our doors! From the beaches come the infantry! From the skies come Hunters and Paratroopers! We will pluck their wings and turn the sand itself to glass! Your sacrifice ensures the liberty of the coming Concordian People! Concordia Stands!"

Alex S 1-14 raised his sword, Blitzhander, to the skies, sending a flash of lightning to the skies as though to taunt the incoming armies of Remnant.

"CONCORDIA STANDS!" Came the battle cry as the thousands flocked to their battle stations.

In no time at all, a wave of flashing lights could be seen in the dark skies above Concordia. Starting in the mere tens, but growing into hundreds as gunfire and rockets began peppering the battlefield.

"Für Koncordia!!" Alex S 1-14 roared, charging towards the beaches alongside Yang S 1-14 and the rest of the Adenkorps.

****Sirantis Monastery****

Artemnas opened his eyes in shock.

He had been meditating with his grandson ever since he'd arrived with the winged beast, Osiris. His visions had come to pass.

He couldn't worry about that now. He had to train the Catalyst for the Final Battle.

Artemnas knew this was only just the beginning.

"Alright, boy. Have you made a connection yet?"

"I can't tell..." Alex replied, struggling to move his arms and legs.

"You're concentrating too hard. It must come naturally to you. Try to find your center, boy. It will come to you." Artemnas nodded.

Alex's breathing slowed. Artemnas felt his grandson's force trying to come through, though not as harshly as before. The young man had all the experience with Energy Manipulation he needed. He knew how to focus his old powers well enough. Finding this new center, in the Monastery, no less, should have been a piece of cake.

Something was holding him back.

Himself?

Artemnas felt something within Alex that he couldn't simply overcome. Some mental barrier he couldn't break through. Emotion. Memory. Pain, Artemnas figured.

The Grandmaster sighed, trying to look deeper within Alex, but even that proved futile. For some reason, his mind was impenetrable. Nothing in or out. Suspicion. Doubt...

Something more...

Author's Note

I take too long with these.

So, Chapter 90 is done and over with, which means WE CAN FINALLY MOVE ON TO SOME OF THE MAJOR BATTLES OF THIS ARC!!

Eve of the Eclipse Part 1 should be done in hopefully a week. I'm going to try and have these done every Sunday if possible. If not, then it'll likely come some point during that week.

Please feel free to comment if you have any questions or anything, Happy Reading!

The Destoyer

Chapter 91: Eve of the Eclipse, Part 1 of 6
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 91: Eve of the Eclipse, Part 1 of 6

*Washington D.C, North American Federation; June 19, 2021; 9:00 AM*

The mission was simple.

It always was.

Protect the Captial at all costs. Hold the line until either the enemy retreats, all allies are pushed past the capital...

Or get eaten alive by nearly every Keter Class in this dimension's former possession.

The battle began several hours ago, and both sides have already lost thousands in the ensuing onslaught. Unity Ground Forces laid fortifications and trenches on the outskirts of the city, with hundreds of thousands holding the line as wave upon wave of enemy Adenien Shock Forces and Extremis Troops, Fiorian Battle-Mages hired straight from the Guilds, and scarce bands of rogue huntsmen.

Even though the ground forces were far fewer in number, the Extremis Troopers were bullet sponges that ran twice as fast as any base-level soldier, and roughly 15 times stronger.

That's aside the fact that the Adenien Aerial Fleet far outnumbered The Auroran Naval Fleet by over 10 ships. 15 to the Auroran's 4. Not even counting the FLEET OF DRAGONS TEARING ALLIED FIGHTERS APART.

The skies were alight with dogfights and heavy cannons firing at both each other and various ground targets.

SCPs littered the shattered battlefield, ripping friend and foe limb from bloodied limb. Reducing any normal man that saw them insane with fear.

This was a war with no name. This was far beyond even the paltry title of 'war'.

And Cade was right in the thick of it.

Cade ducked for cover as an artillery shell hit the ground a few meters away, shattering the eardrums of the few average soldiers, sending some flying through the air.

"Cade, we're losing men too quickly! That flagship has to go!" Ria urged.

"WORKING ON IT!" Cade shouted as he blocked the wristblade of a charging Extremis trooper.

"YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD HIDE?!" The trooper hissed through his scrambler.

Erza charged through the Extremis Troop, hacking him in two as Auburn blocked the blow of another oncoming Trooper, cleaving him in two after a quick parry.

"Where's Natsu?!" Cade demanded.

"Where do you think?" Erza smirked as a dragon fell from the skies, colliding with a few fighters on the way down.

Vanoss, Wildcat, Delirious, and Nogla ducked an enemy grenade, making short work of any infantry with the blaze of 115-infused machine-gun fire.

"Mowin' troom!" Nogla shouted, sending rogue infantry reeling from high-powered Reaper fire.

"Evan, the PDF Forces are losing their hold to the North towards the Cathedral. Hold them back." Auburn ordered.

"I got it. I got it... Terroriser, you got it?" Vanoss shrugged.

"NO I FOCKIN' DON'T EVAN!!! THEY'RE EVERYWHERE!!!" Brian shouted.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA" Mini interjected.

"ICE-MAKE: ICE CANNON!"

Slivers of ice shattered through the weak points of another Extremis Trooper's armor, weakening him long enough for Kat to charge through and claw his throat out.

"Cade! We're being overrun! The SCPs are turning around!" Kat yelled through the storm of gunfire.

"I'm working on it! Ria, anything?!"

"Sending missile strikes just outside the southern line."

A wave of missile fire sent ripples through the ground as Cade realized he was quickly running low on options.

"Cade, we've lost one Korian Cruiser, and the other's barely holding on!"

"Great... Ram it into their flagship! Tell any personnel onboard to evacuate!" Cade ordered.

"On it!"

A wave of Hellion I Main Battle Tanks ripped through the battlefield, tearing apart an enemy fortification and taking aim at one of the Korian Cruisers.

"HE and EMP Shots only! TAKE IT DOWN!" Cade ordered, cleaving through two Extremis Troopers at once.

A torrent of fire hit the undercarriage on one of the 15 Adenien Cruisers, making short work of it and knocking it out of the sky.

"ENEMY BAYONET CHARGE INCOMING!"

An SCP Special Forces Unit, one Cade recognized as Nine-Tailed Fox charged by, taking potshots at Rogue Adenien-aligned militia forces, cutting them down and focusing fire onto a Tactical Extremis Squadron.

Auburn and Kat pushed through the other Units, trying desperately to clear a path to set a Homing Beacon that Cade held.

Oreonna leapt onto the battlefield behind, blowing back more Extremis Troops, distracting them long enough for Cade to charge an attack and finish them off.

"GOD SHOCKER!"

The beam pierced a huge hole in their armors as they fell to the ground.

"All clear!" Erza shouted.

Cade set the beacon underneath another Korian, quickly ordering everyone to get AWAY.

The band of 5 flew kilometers back to the main line as Cade quickly made the order.

"DO IT, RIA!!" Cade ordered.

"Confirmed. Hellfire Incoming."

A single, large missile launched from the one remaining Korian as troop transports flew out of it, the missile fluttered towards the beacon; right in the thick of an enemy offensive line.

The ensuing explosion, a fireball of electric hellfire, ripped apart 3 Korian Cruisers from the shockwave alone, and burned through dozens of Dragons, and evaporated thousands of hostile troops in a single hit.

"Confirmed Hit, 3 enemy Cruisers coming down. Death Count estimated 26,000. Korian Cruiser Futility at ramming speed."

"Incoming!"

Illiya, Iota, and Chukan charged into the fray, hacking and slashing through the dozens of enemy troops as they converged towards the Potomac.

"Push them into the river! Charge!" Illiya ordered as a legions' worth of troops charged around them, facing fire from cannons and Extremis Troopers.

Thousands of enemy fighters converged towards the Ericsson, already battered from acting as the roadblock for the Aurora, flickered as it started descending towards the enemy fleet.

"Ericsson Fleet to Force Commander Walker, We can't take much more of this..! We've got breaches all over the ship, we're a stone's throw away from coming down!"

"Pull back, Ericsson! Aurora, take point and draw enemy fire! The Ericsson's losing ground!" Cade ordered.

There was a flicker in the skies as the Futility cruiser rammed head-on into the rest of the enemy fleet, taking out two cruisers with it! A massive fireball ripped through the air and sent average soldiers all over reeling into the ground as shrapnel and debris rocketed downward.

Several more massive explosions rippled through the skies as the Hellfire Warheads caught fire, taking out an additional 2 cruisers!

The flaming wrecks of much of the Adenien Fleet sundered and hit the ground with massive explosions, shrouding the area in dust and smoke.

"Confirmed Kills! We still maintained our 2 flagships, but the Adenienites still have 7!

"Well, shit..! We still have a ways to go.. Evan!" Cade shouted.

"Yeah, I'm here..! What's up?!" Vanoss shouted.

"GET AS MANY OF YOUR FRIENDS AS YOU CAN TO OPEN FIRE ON THOSE CRUISERS AS SOON AS THEY CROSS OVER THE CATHEDRAL!" Cade yelled as rocket fire rained from above.

"On it!" Vanoss replied.

"Cade, I'm detecting a dimensional rift... It's big..!" Ria reported.

"What are we looking at? Another fleet?"

"Yes.. I can't tell if they're friend or foe.." Ria answered.

The Rift opened up between the Auroran and Adenian Fleets. A wave of roughly 10 Dreadnoughts converged, firing upon both fleets with laser cannons and sabot-artillery, sending molten metal raining down onto the earth below.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Chukan gasped.

"Initating Cross-Pattern recognition with the sigils onboard those black ships..! It's the Inquisition!!"

*Mistral, Remnant; June 19, 2021; 10:01 AM*

Blackened dust and glowing embers clouded much of the decimated farm. The crops, once thriving, had since withered away into nothing. Even the very earth below Oscar's feet felt dead.

The young man, now nearly an adult, stood alone in the smoke and ashes, his axe completely coated with decay as the axe head began to corrode.

"Oscar. There is much to be done. You must go to Beacon Academy."

Oscar threw the axe down, still shaken by everything that had just happened.

The way those Furies attacked, with no warning, rhyme, or reason..

The way they...

"You can grieve later. It's imperative that we hurry to the Academy post-haste."

Ozpin had filled him in on Beacon's importance some time ago, before this attack. Remnant had four Relics, artifacts of immense power on their own. Combined, and all of Remnant could be turned upside down.

All but one of these relics have been freed from their shackles.

Princess Celestia, one of Equestria's leaders, possessed the Relic of Knowledge. The Relics of Creation and Destruction have been seen in combat, but their whereabouts were unknown.

Leaving only the Relic of Choice.

Looks like he was off to Beacon.

*Astral Plane; June 19, 2021; 10:05 AM*

Alex awoke with a start.

In his once dreamless sleep, he had visions. Premonitions of things to come.

Darkness. Pain. Death. And through it all, he was always at the center. Always struggling to climb out on top when it could've been so much easier to let it consume him.

Suddenly finding that he could move again, Alex stood. Feeling regained in his arms and legs as he took his first steps. Finally feeling the soft, ethereal ground underfoot. A small breeze on his sides and arms.

"What is this..?"

"Welcome, Saigo.."

Alex instinctively reached for his sword. Any mention of his birthname was either met with hostility, scorn, or some other unpleasantness.

His hand drifted in air. He was unarmed..!

"Who are you?!" Alex demanded, trying in vain to raise up any sort of power he could muster, only to find he couldn't. He remembered half of his power was still within the confines of that 'Containment Charge' Callan had lying about. The other half was taken by his grandfather, and Grandmaster of the Monastery.

Feeling a shift in the air, Alex could only watch as ethereal threads all around him swirled past and coiled together, gradually forming a massive, winged titan as serene as it was powerful.

Alex stood, unarmed and powerless, facing against the might of a glowing white giant, eyes like glowing amber.

"I am all. I am nothing. I am but a trial, one of many." It's words echoed throughout the plane, shaking the world around Alex as he readied himself.

"Why are you here?" Alex wondered, trying to steady himself in the face of the overwhelming odds.

"To help you prepare."

Author's Note

It has been 87 years since I last updated this story.

Chapter 1: Prologue
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 1: Prologue

*Twilight Sparkle's Castle: Ponyville, Equestria; March 21, 2017*

The guard nearly tripped herself in her gallop towards Twilight's library, where said princess was usually found reading through her collection of novellas and encyclopedias she had retrieved from the other universes.

"P-Princess..!" The guard called out anxiously, as if Equestria itself were falling apart as she spoke.

Twilight looked up from her book with a start.

"Yes, Skirmish?" She asked

"Y-You have a visitor... It's someone you know..." The guard, Skirmish, replied.

Twilight was confused and concerned, Skirmish was her personal Honor Guard, a close friend of her's after the war had ended, and all-around one of the bravest ponies she knew, why would she be this anxious over a visitor..?

Unless...

"I'll be right with you!" Twilight replied as she put the book away, if not slowly and meticulously.

"Princess!!" Skirmish yelled urgently.

Twilight threw her book on the coffee table in a rush and followed Skirmish down the winding amethyst hallways. The two of them practically sprinted past other guards and emissaries before finally arriving to one of the many conference rooms.

"He says he wants to talk...He's right inside.." Skirmish bowed before stepping to Twilight's side.

Twilight took a deep breath before opening the door with her magic.

"Twilight... It's been a while.." A young man sat in one of the chairs towards the door, leaving a seat in front of him for the Princess and her guardian.

Twilight blinked in surprise at the human. His voice, while all too familiar, had deepened significantly since their last meeting a little less than two years ago. His hair, as well, had matured into a slightly darker blonde, but the piercing ice-blue eyes, along with the tell-tale scar that swept below his right eye, told her all she needed to know about who he was.

"A-Alex..?" Twilight blinked again, pulling a chair towards her and sitting down. Skirmish stood frozen in the doorway, still in shock over his arrival.

"It's been too long, hasn't it?" Skirmish piped up, slowly closing the door behind her and taking her place at Twilight's side.

"Too long.. Listen, I'm really sorry about leaving you guys without saying goodbye, it's just... I was on a schedule and everything.. You know how it is.." Alex shrugged.

Every movement of Alex's had been accompanied by a quiet mechanical whirring, and Twilight knew well why.

"Still haven't upgraded your limbs, I see..." Twilight stammered, trying to find something else to talk about.

"Yeah... I guess I've never really had to. They've worked well enough as it is. Either way, I should probably get them swapped for something newer before this next mission anyway." Alex replied.

"Mission..?" Twilight asked.

"Oh, shit.. Canis told me to keep that a secret. Look, Twilight, I just wanted to tell you something before I leave again.." Alex remembered.

"And that is..?" Twilight wondered.

"Look, there's no easy way to say this, but I've been doing work for Canis and a bunch of other people over the past couple months, and from what I've seen and heard out there, something's about to happen in Remnant, something bad." Alex sighed.

Twilight winced, several of her friends from the war lived in Remnant, including Alex's possible mare...girlfriend... For something like that to happen again was beyond unthinkable, unwanted, rather.

"H-How bad..?" Skirmish asked anxiously.

"Completely horrible, godawful 'Blood Red Night' level shit." Alex replied bleakly. Twilight could practically feel the pain in his voice.. She knew for a fact that even Alex, a mercenary, war criminal, and even outright killer, didn't want to deal with the possibility of a second Blood Red Night.

"Again with this? I was hoping we were done with that forever!" Skirmish groaned.

"I don't know what exactly is going to happen, but I need you to tell everyone to keep their eyes open for anything suspicious at the Festival.." Alex explained.

"'Festival'..? As in the Vytal Festival that's not supposed to happen for 5 bucking months?! Just how long is this mission?!" Twilight yelled.

Alex raised both hands.

"Keep it down, Twi!" He demanded.

Skirmish put a hoof on Twilight's back, lowering her to the seat once more.

"Like I was saying, keep your eyes open, and please, please be careful.. I have to see someone else one, but remember what we talked about, okay..?" Alex pleaded.

Twilight nodded in reply as Alex stood up and walked towards the door.

"And, one more thing..." Alex added.

Twilight turned to see her friend standing in front of the door, looking back at the two ponies.

"You might want to start practicing battle spells. I know, it'll be a long time, but still. Be careful. Now, I have to go. It was nice to see you again, Twilight.. You too, Skirmish." Alex smiled slightly before walking out the door.

*Vale, Remnant; March 22, 2017; 12:13 AM*

The blonde haired huntress-in-training casually walked out of the now-destroyed interior of the club, stepping out into the cool night air as she walked towards the bright-yellow motorcycle she had parked outside in the vacant lots of Vale.

She heard something crash into the ground behind her, accompanied by a low mechanical buzz as a figure staggered up from the landing. The huntress smirked, unfazed at the sudden noise.

"You can't spend one night without beating the living shit out of some poor criminal sap, can you?" A familiar voice echoed.

"Couldn't live without me for too long, could you?" She replied.

Alex stepped into the dim street light with a smile on his face.

"It's good to see you again, 'Lex. Finally got Canis off your back?" She hugged Alex quickly, leaving the young man short for breath.

"It's nice to see you too, Yang.. Listen, I need to you to come with me.." Alex said quickly.

"Uh, Alex... Alpha isn't supposed to be born for another 4 years.." Yang smirked.

"Not like that! God, you're as bad as Delirious!" Alex blushed brightly.

"Smooth, now what do you need me for?" Yang wondered.

"Something big is coming, and I need you prepared!" Alex elaborated.

"Wait.. You don't mean she's back, do you..?" Yang wondered with an edge of seriousness in her voice.

"Exactly. And I think I know a way for you to be ready for whatever that psychopath has planned." Alex replied.

Yang sighed.

"Alright. How long will I be gone? I'm late enough as it is." Yang wondered.

"It won't be too long. You should be back at Beacon soon enough.." Alex answered.

Yang smiled as she got on the motorcycle.

"Hop on." Yang smiled.

"If you think I'm stupid enough to fall for that twice, you've got another thing coming." Alex scowled.

"It's not like you have any other choice! I took the sidecar off Bumblebee a year ago!" Yang shot back.

"Fine, goddammit. But if you get any funny ideas, I'll hold off Alpha for another year." Alex growled as he got on the motorcycle.

"Where to?" She asked.

"Wherever you want as long as it's quiet, it won't take too long." Alex replied.

"I know just the place!" Yang announced as the two rode off into the night.

Author's Note

Couple things before I get this show on the road:

A: I know what I said about working on a one-shot before this next major project, but seeing as how I've got no other good ideas up even with MLP Season 6, this is the best I could work with.
Despite juggling other story ideas and actually living life, I think I've managed to work up something decent enough for the internet with Crimson Shade. Just as convoluted, violent, and probably as funny as the first story, if not slightly more so. I've worked out some of the details and I'm as ready as I was when I first started out. (Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing) :pinkiecrazy:

B: Relating to a User Comment in Blood Red Shadows about how Kat was going to be the main character for this story, well, I've managed to work something out that can fit her into the grand scheme of things. She is in the story, and from what I've figured, she's definitely going to have an integral role in later arcs. And yes, she is a major character in the Vytal Festival Arc. I just wanted to get that out of the way. :pinkiehappy:

Here's to another story!

-The Destoyer

Chapter 8: ...Everything Has Gone Wrong
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 8: ...Everything Has Gone Wrong

*Atlas Academy, Remnant; August 8, 2018; 2:59 PM*

Ultimus staggered up, almost barely affected by Tyrian's attacks.

"You... You are the one..." Ultimus grinned crazily.

Tyrian crossed his arms.

"Ultimus f**king Crux. I figured you would be here." Tyrian scowled.

Ultimus laughed.

"I already know who you are, and it's too late to stop Cinder anyways! By now, she's probably dealing with Ozpin and his blind followers right now! So you might as well reveal yourself to your fellow corpses." Ultimus scowled.

"Fine, then. Cade, I need you and Flurry to deal with Cinder, just be sure to let her know how absolutely outclassed she is. Ruby, I'm going to need you to deal with whatever else Cinder's hiding up her arse at the moment. And Yang, power up." Tyrian ordered as the others scampered off.

"If you think you and your little girlfriend can stop me, you're sorely mistaken." Ultimus scoffed.

"I'm going to give you one more chance to decide if this asinine rivalry is really going to accomplish anything." Tyrian glared.

"I'd take it, man. This is a guy who I saw only spare one person. He even killed his brother because he was working for Alpha. And if he won't spare you after you surrender, I have my ways of convincing him." Yang interjected.

"Ignore that last part." Tyrian groaned.

"Aw, c'mon, kid. You haven't seen me in 5 whole months. What have you been doing, anyway?" Yang jokingly pleaded.

"It won't matter what plans you two make! You're done for! You're all goners! I'll kill you both in an instant-!"

Tyrian sped forward, kicking Ultimus in the chest and into the wall.

"Now, I'm going to give you an idea about the absolute hell we're about to put you through. Yang here is what you call an Inflamed Warrior. I'm sure Cade told you all about it. Even with the ridiculous output of energy and the apparently well-controlled bloodlust, it's still ridiculously powerful." Tyrian explained, stretching his arms perpendicular to his body and letting a force-field envelop him.

"And this is the energy I absorbed when your other rival-slash-co-worker, my brother, smashed an artifact on my chest that boosted my power high enough to kill him. As you can tell, I've been practicing Equestrian Magic. Granted, I'm still kind of a novice, but I think I held up well enough." Tyrian continued, lowering the shield.

"Oh, big surprise. You can use pathetic Equestrian magic. It's still nothing compared to me. You'll have to do much better than that!" Ultimus scoffed, unimpressed.

Tyrian smirked.

"Now, this is what I originally got from that power-boost." Tyrian confidently added.

Tyrian let out a low scream, quiet at first as a white circle of electricity enveloped his body and caved in. He crossed his arms in an 'X' shape as he screamed even louder. And with a sudden burst of energy, Tyrian stood with his arms bent and legs bent, unleashing a massive ring as though a bell tolled once.

Tyrian's once purple hair flowed bright orange as it floated off of his body like ash. His arms and legs did the same, revealing advanced robotic limbs, shining blue hair, and a prominent scar over his right eye.

"This is the original Enlightened Warrior form I used to beat Omega and Alpha. Now, listen closely, this next part is important. Adenienites are known for manipulating and absorbing electricity, right?" Tyrian, now revealed as Alex Walker, smirked confidently.

"Oh.. I see what you're doing here!" Yang realized.

Alex let another white energy ball encircle him, before shrinking it down into a ball that rang with the same audacity, but at a much faster rate. He surrounded the ball with magic to amplify the already ridiculous power, raising one hand to the sky. Electricity poured from the outlets, electronics, and even from the sky as Alex held two massive energy balls. Alex forced the two together to form a swirling white-and-purple electric haze as he expanded it around himself again, letting out an electronic bass-drop like effect.

Alex screamed incredibly loudly, charging to his absolute limit before absorbing the energy ball, resulting in a sonic boom that caused the already-crumbling building to collapse.

Ultimus covered his eyes before the room darkened to where he could see. And he almost gasped in surprise.

Alex's once shimmering blue hair turned purple and had grown down to his shoulders, with some of it standing straight up. His skin turned a whitish-purple color. His irises turned completely white, save for his pupils, which had turned purple. Aside from the gentle, flame-like white battle aura, his body glowed purple.

"Now, I'll settle on something simple and call this an Evolved Warrior." Alex confidently cracked his knuckles, his voice having a form of echo.

Ultimus laughed.

"You know, you wouldn't be as cocky if you knew what I had been perfecting behind Alpha's back for 4 years." Ultimus smirked.

Both Alex and Yang took a step backwards.

"Alex.. We can take him, right?" Yang asked.

"I guess we'll find out." Alex shrugged.

A black energy ball surrounded Ultimus, who screamed loudly as pulses of green electricity lashed at the ground near them, emitting a gong-like sound each time it rang, faster and faster as the seconds ticked by, before the black energy ball dissipated.

Alex and Yang blinked in surprise at who was before them.

"Yang... We're boned."

Ultimus' hair had turned green, standing completely on-end as his skin turned completely green with a shimmer of black underneath. The whites of his eyes, like Yang's, had turned completely black, only with menacing green irises instead of the threatening red.

"This, Saigo, is the instrument of your demise: The Cursed Warrior!" Ultimus yelled.

"Aaand it's official. The fan fiction has literally turned into an adaptation of Dragonball Z." Yang deadpanned.

"ARTISTIC LICENSE, MOTHERF**KER, DO YOU SPEAK IT?!"

*Meanwhile, underneath Atlas Academy..*

Ironwood ran with Robin into the chamber, where Pyrrha laid inside.

"Did she follow you?" Ozpin asked.

"I don't think so, Oz." Ironwood replied.

"Um, Professor, I've been hearing a lot of screaming and what sounds like a bunch of bells ringing. What's happening up there?" Robin asked.

"Wait, are there Adenienites out there?" Ozpin asked.

"Yep. Camera footage shows one of your students, an Inquisitor, and f**king Alex Walker up there transforming!" Ironwood seethed.

"As long as we can transfer the Maiden's power into Robin and get you both out of Atlas safely, we can still prevent this calamity from reaching across the kingdoms." Ozpin said as an Arrow struck Pyrrha directly in the heart.

"No!" Ironwood shot at Cinder, who had made her way inside.

An orange mist flowed from Pyrrha's dying body to Robin's, who held out her hands as she absorbed the half of the Fall Maiden's power that Pyrrha had.

"Robin, get out of this bunker. We'll deal with Cinder Fall." Ozpin raised his cane.

Robin grabbed her sword, and converted it to it's pistol form.

"Robin, Go!!" Ironwood ordered.

Robin turned to a still-dying Pyrrha Nikos, raised her weapon, and shot her in the head.

"No!" Ozpin gasped.

Robin raised the pistol to her own head.

"Hail Cinder."

Robin shot herself through her skull, causing the power to float from Robin into Cinder, completing the inquisitor's two-year metamorphosis into the Fall Maiden.

"I'm not sure what was easier. Recruiting your weak-minded students, or getting inside this 'secret' underground bunker. I love it when a plan comes together." Cinder sighed, happily.

Cade and Flurry skidded to a halt to find two corpses, two headmasters, and one Fall Maiden.

"F**k.. We're too late!" Cade gasped.

"Cinder Fall, we've come from 22 years in the future to end your horrible reign as Remnant's Fall Maiden!" Flurry asserted.

"Hm. The pony thinks she can stand up to me. Poor thing, she doesn't know what she's dealing with... don't worry, you'll know true fear soon enough." Cinder smiled maliciously, facing the two headmasters and two time-travelers.

Author's Note

The overpowered protagonist of the last story has made his return! His partner and rival have similar powers...

...And then Cinder kills Pyrrha.

Thank god this isn't in the original source... Oh, wait..

Dammit, Rooster Teeth, look what you've turned me into!

-The Destoyer

Chapter 17: Strike Force Vanoss
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 17: Strike Force Vanoss

*Fall Knight Yacht; 1 Mile off the coast of Los Santos, San Andreas; October 14, 2018; 9:15 PM*

"Vanoss! Come in, you f**k!!" Alex roared from the radio.

Vanoss winced, turning the volume down on his headset before replying.

"I can hear you, jackass!" Vanoss indignantly replied.

"Good! That yacht is armed to the teeth, and we can't get through them! Blow the f**ker up!!" Alex ordered.

"I know, bitch. Liss already sent us coordinates and shit." Vanoss rolled his eyes.

"Us..? Are you all there already?" Alex sounded surprised.

"We have Hydra jets, you Canadian Vegeta sounding motherf**ker!" Wildcat yelled.

"Actually, I just have a Tank. Lui's flying me in." Delirious replied.

"How many extensions do our comms have?" Blake wondered.

"Nine." Liss answered before signing off.

"Yeah, just blow them apart." Alex dismissively ordered before he himself signed off.

Vanoss turned his head to find several of his friends flying Hydra jets at his sides, that is, except for Delirious and Lui.

"Flying Tank, motherf**kers!! Ahahahahaha!!" Delirious laughed maniacally as he fired the first shot at the Yacht, blowing a chunk out of the ship.

"Haha! Nice!" Wildcat congratulated as his jet dove mere feet above the ocean to do a firing run. Gunfire ripped at the Yacht's hull, filling it with little holes as the ship continued to sink.

"I see the thing!" Vanoss, Nogla, and Moo flew at the ship's right before circling around and firing missiles at the gun. The ship was eventually reduced to a pile of scrap wood and bodies floating in the dark, cold depths.

"That was way too easy..!" Wildcat laughed, celebrating.

Vanoss checked his Radar, only to find numerous smaller ships and jets headed straight for them.

"Wildcat, you weren't wrong." Vanoss gaped right before everything started going to hell.

The PT boats fired tracers at their jets, with the enemy's aircraft quickly locking on.

"Delirious, I'll drop you off on another boat. I'm going to run back and get something else!" Lui dropped Delirious onto a quickly sinking PT boat as the helicopter suddenly veered to the right, as said monkey had leaped off and was parachuting onto the beach.

The sky above the Pacific that night looked like a massive fireworks show, with some of the more ignorant beach-goers clapping and cheering at the display.

"Evan, you got one on your tail!" Wildcat warned.

"I see him!" Vanoss pulled back on the controls, doing a loop behind the enemy and shooting his engine to bits.

"Moo, watch your back!" Delirious alerted as he fired a tank she'll directly at the enemy jet, blowing it to smithereens.

"There's a whole bunch of boats lining up!" Vanoss noted, the line formation of boats firing all at once trying to take them down.

"Oh, crap!!" Nogla yelled as he ejected, aiming his ship at a row of PT boats.

Nogla swam to one of the boats, throwing C4 at it's back and before swimming to another one and repeating the process.

"Everyone who crashes had to take care of the boats!" Mini yelled.

"AAAUGH, NOO!! I WAS TERMINATED!! Why do I have to speak with the f**king accent?!" Terroriser yelled, saying the last sentence in his normal voice and ejecting at the last second.

"I'm back!!" Lui screamed in his kid voice, flying the P-996 LAZER.

"Wow, Lui. That's a nice jet." Wildcat sarcastically droned.

"F**k off!" Lui retorted.

Vanoss's jet spun directly around, nearly colliding with an enemy jet and firing a missile at another. The enemy jet eventually exploded in a fiery blaze before splashing into the ocean's icy grip.

"That's the last one!" Basically yelled after the last jet disappeared from their radar.

"Nogla, time's up.. Let's do this." Vanoss nodded, putting on a pair of sunglasses.

The series of PT boats exploded one after the other, each erupting it's own fireball upon detonation.

"Uh... Guys.." Droidd began nervously.

"What..?" Delirious asked as well.

"There's one more dot... I think it's coming from under the water-." Moo noted before a large number of missiles tore his ship apart, sending him crashing into the ocean.

Vanoss only had to look outside the window.

"Holy shit."

A massive ship, at least the size of the Knight's Myriad, surfaced from under the water. The gargantuan mass of metal suddenly shifted, revealing hundreds of missile launchers.

"TARGETS IDENTIFIED. LOCKING ON. FIRING" A deep, mechanical voice bellowed as it's endless supply of missiles suddenly bombarded the remaining jets.

Vanoss quickly ejected, landing on a section of the metal behemoth as the rest did so in kind.

"You know what this shit reminds me of?" Nogla asked.

"If you say 'Pacific Rim', I'll throw you into a missile." Wildcat groaned.

Nogla stopped talking.

"What the hell is this thing?!" Delirious wondered.

"I have an idea! You remember how we fought the old Nikolai while he was in a mech suit from District 9?" Lui asked.

"Yeah.. Massive pain in the ass." Wildcat shrugged.

"And what are those on the thing's giant turrets?" Basically pointed to two large battery-like objects just behind the weapon's primary cannons.

"They look like giant double A batteries." Vanoss noted.

"Maybe if we have Alex send in some air support, maybe we can-..!" Terroriser began.

"Or we could just use our Air Strikes on them." Moo pulled out a smoke grenade, interrupting Terroriser.

"You think that'll work?" Droidd wondered out loud.

"I know what to do! Some of us call for attack choppers, and the rest of us will target the batteries!" Mini Ladd realized.

"I got this!" Vanoss announced as he called Merryweather on his phone.

"Vanoss, I heard you took down the yacht- WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING?!" Alex screamed through the radio.

"Calm down, Scrublord. We got this!" Delirious shot back.

"Alright, Mini and I just sent attack choppers, maybe they'll distract the thing!" Moo yelled as everyone pulled out flares.

"On three, everyone throw these... One, two, three!!!" Lui yelled as everyone began throwing flares.

The scene was utterly chaotic, the crew had leaped off of the mechanical beast and swam as far away as they could as Attack Choppers got blown apart by the Fall Knights' weapon, red smoke bellowing from it as Jets sped over, some of them being blown up, but most of them managing to hit the batteries.

"YEAH!!!" Everyone cheered as they reached the shoreline. They all started hi-fiving each other and hollering until the mechanical voice bellowed again.

"PRIMARY POWER SOURCE DESTROYED. BACKUP POWER AT 50%. TARGETING CIVILIANS WITHIN A 2 MILE RADIUS... ALL WEAPONS ARMED. INITIATE DEFENSE PROTOCOL 90210."

"... That can't be good." Vanoss gaped.

"Don't just stand there, shoot the missiles!!" Wildcat yelled, pulling out a minigun.

From where the weapon had been, they were easily within missile-destroying range and could probably stop most of them if they focused.

"Alex.. We may or may not need you to deploy flares. That weapon is about to tear the city apart." Vanoss informed.

"What?! We can't have that! Yang, Ruby, and I will help take care of the missiles. Cade, deploy flares the second the warning lights go on!" Alex ordered.

"FIRE."

Hundreds upon hundreds of missiles shot out of the weapon as Vanoss's crew shot the missiles, causing massive explosions by the dozen. Moments later, sniper shots pierced through many missiles at once along with several explosive rounds fired at the missiles, blowing up more and more, and finally, a massive purple electric blast blew up the rest of the missiles before a lightning bolt shut the weapon down completely.

By now, the weapon had sunk and all that was left of it otherwise was a massive cloud of smoke.

"Target disabled. Cade, we can move to our destination. Good job, guys. I need you to help the ponies, Blake, Weiss, Kat, and Liss take care of the ammo stockpiled at their target building. They're having trouble." Alex ordered as the freighter flew away.

"Okay... Anyone got a ride there?" Moo asked, putting away own his minigun.

"I'll call a guy for the rest of us. Delirious and Nogla are getting tanks. Lui, Droidd, Wildcat and I are gonna take a Valkyrie." Vanoss announced tiredly.

"Couldn't we just charge at them with a few technicals?" Basically wondered.

"Yeah. I'm calling about that right now." Terroriser pulled out a cell phone.

"Is it just me or is saving the world way too expensive?" Wildcat groaned.

"Aren't you guys using Shark Cards, or are you buying these with real-world money?" Vanoss asked.

"F**k you, Evan." Nogla deadpanned.

Chapter 25: Children of the Future [IMPORTANT EDITS]
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 25: Children of the Future [IMPORTANT EDITS]

Sokarian Plains, Adenien; May 19, 2019; 1:55 AM*

The sun had long since set over the Plains in the Sokaria Province of Adenien, where a full, silver moon had risen over the grassy fields all around, painting the grass a dim white.

Alex and Yang had brought a temporary cabin to be closer to the mentor Canis had recommended. In one of the bedrooms laid Cade, Auburn, and Oreonna, since the cabin was so small.

A couple weeks before, though, Yang had given birth to Auburn, had been promptly rushed to a hospital in Ochiros, a city situated a hundred miles east of their current settlement.

The mere facts that Auburn had been born a month or so premature, and that, even as a baby, Auburn scarcely even showed signs of life, scared the ever-living hell out of the young parents. But thankfully, most of their worries had been settled 9 days ago, when Baby Auburn was finally able to come back to their settlement with them.

The future crew had just finished putting the young Auburn to sleep, leaving the rest to do the same.

"Hey, Cade, you asleep..?" Oreonna asked suddenly.

"I was" Cade answered tiredly.

"So.. What do you think about this timeline..?"

Cade sighed.

"It definitely has it's problems.. More now that Cinder's trying to f**k everything up for us again." Cade replied glumly.

"I know.. I can't help but feel like we brought our Cinder here.. Like it was our fault.." Oreonna sighed.

"We can't think like that. Not now. The best we can do is train and wait." Auburn suddenly said.

"Oh, Auburn.. I thought you were asleep?" Cade noted.

"I was awake the whole time." Auburn replied.

"So, Auburn, what do you think about the new timeline?" Oreonna asked her.

"One thing is sure. We don't have to split up anymore." Auburn answered her.

Cade sadly sighed. Him, Flurry, Auburn, and Oreonna had been the only fighting survivors of Unity. They couldn't risk being found together, so they split up a long time ago. Auburn went with Oreonna to the Badlands of Adenien, whereas Cade and Flurry stayed in Equestria, sticking around the barren cities and to the ruins of Ponyville.

Flurry. She was his responsibility. Sure, she was older than him, but Flurry wasn't a fighter in the slightest. Even her name brought waves of guilt.

"So, Cade.." Oreonna asked again.

"Hm?"

"I was thinking about this since before we had to split... Do you know about Alpha?"

Cade felt a twinge of guilt at the mention of the Alpha Inquisitor.

"Mom and Dad always told me stories about the Inquisitors, but they didn't tell me that I was that bastard until I turned 9.. So from then on I always swore I would do right by them, help whenever I could, and try to avoid becoming the Alpha..? But, even now.. I still feel like I could screw up at any moment.." Cade explained.

"Oh, Cade.." Oreonna audibly winced. She always had been the older sister of the group, and cared for each and every one, that was why it was so hard to see Cade and Flurry go..

"It's fine.. You let me handle myself for now, Oreonna. We'll deal with Cinder and everyone else, and we'll go back... Try to fix everything.." Cade decided.

"We can't. Everything's already been destroyed. Besides, when we do kill our Cinder, we'll be stuck in our own timeline again because we used up all our fuel for the time machines. There won't be anything for us to go back to."

Cade sighed.

"Y'know how our parents used to call us 'privileged', I'm calling bullshit." Cade smirked.

"At least we're more prepared to deal with anything they can throw at us." Oreonna optimistically noted.

"I guess that's true.." Cade laid back down, trying to go back to sleep.

The door suddenly opened, with Alex walking back inside with Yang, both bruised and battered from 13 hours worth of training.

"Hey, kids..." Alex greeted tiredly.

"You alright..?" Cade asked.

"W-We're fine... Just... Y'know..." Yang answered, obviously exhausted.

Alex carefully helped Yang to their room, carrying all of her bags for her and setting them down.

"Um, Mr. Walker..?" Oreonna suddenly asked.

"What?" Alex wondered.

"Isn't Yang still, y'know, 'recovering'?" Oreonna asked.

Alex smirked slightly.

"You never stop bringing that up, do you? Yang's fine. Master Karos is making sure she stays away from anything that might hurt her. Still, though. it's 13 consecutive hours of hard training.." Alex replied evenly, referring to their new mentor.

Karos wasn't as grumpy as Canis was, but the two had a similar method of teaching. Since they've arrived, they had to deal with intense battles, simulated and real as they took on jobs across Adenien. They had scheduled it so Alex and Yang could work with improving their Aura control while Oreonna, Auburn, and Cade could improve their speed and strength, since stamina was already high for their age.

"So, when do you think we'll be going back to Equestria?" Auburn asked.

Alex thought for a moment before looking back at his Scroll.

"We scheduled it for.. Next week." Alex replied, turning off his scroll.

"Huh.. I didn't think we were almost done yet.." Cade gaped. Had 8 months really passed that quickly?

"Yeah.. I'm still going to need more time with Karos anyway to perfect this new technique." Alex shrugged.

"New technique?" Oreonna wondered curiously.

"Yeah. Unfortunately I can't keep it up that long. Ascencion cuts that time down even more. " Alex admitted.

"Something tells me Oreonna wants to see it." Cade smiled.

"Alright.. You might get it for a split second, but you guys can see. Come outside." Alex led the three of them about a mile away from the cabin, the warm air a relief from the cold winter months.

Alex puffed out his chest, and charged up his energy, the only indication Alex let out was a low, yet rising shout.

Eventually, a yellow-ish electric field formed around him as Alex let out a scream. The field Alex was generating almost looked like an artificial electric sun.

"OVERCHARGE!!!" Alex roared as the pulsating yellow current surrounding his body exploded into a fiery blaze, as though his Aura was burning out.

Cade and Oreonna were shocked to see the sudden increase the Overcharge produced, while Auburn watched in curiosity.

Alex smiled, checking the aura.

"So, what do you guys think?" Alex asked them.

"Woah..! That was flashy! And scary! And awesome! And..!" Oreonna excitedly replied.

"With this and the Evolved combined, Cinder might not stand a chance!" Cade gaped.

Yang eventually walked behind the kids before shouting at them.

"THE BABY AND I ARE TRYING TO SLEEP!!!!!" Yang screamed angrily.

Alex nervously laughed.

"Sorry, Yang..! I was just showing the kids the Overcharge.." Alex explained shakily as Yang dragged him back by the ear.

Cade and Auburn stared on in shock.

"Are you still as scared of mom as I am..?" Cade whispered.

Auburn didn't respond.

"I figured you'd say that.."

"Welp. Goin' to bed now!" Oreonna zipped back towards the Cabin as quickly as she could.

*Cairo, Egypt; May 19, 2019; 2:50 AM*

A middle aged man laid in his tent, reading through yesterday's reports with a stern, somewhat satisfied look on his face as he calmly flipped through the pages.

He reached for a small journal, bearing the Inquisitor Crest; A black eagle with a red background, as he flipped the book to the next blank page and began writing.

Entry 876.

Date: May 18, 2019

Operation Hawkeye is still bearing no results. The artifacts we have been searching for have not yet been recovered, though in have full confidence we will find what we are searching for in due time.

Another attack by the SCP occurred today. Dig Cite C fell to the Foundation, leaving only two in our possession. Reports suggest they have received enhanced weaponry not before seen on this planet. It is safe to assume that the Foundation itself is mass-producing such weaponry.

I have ordered my friends in the Imperius PMC to attack Dig Site F tomorrow and bring these weapons back for testing.

My comrade Sigma contacted me yesterday saying we may soon receive help from her organization if we send precisely 1/4 of what we find to her. My only concern is that the reports clearly state that Sigma had perished in Atlas. It is unsettling, but her offer is tempting.

I fear for the future, but I do believe I can rebuild the order.

"Sir! Delta wishes to speak with you!" A soldier yelled.

"Let her in." Xavier ordered as he heard hoofsteps on the sand.

"Hello, Upsilon." Morning Star greeted.

"Delta. Has your group made any progress?" Xavier wondered.

"The remaining Fall Knights have ran into a few problems. Our reports suggest the SCP is going to attack Dig Site B tomorrow." Morning Star worried.

"Fret not. Where the Fall Knights have failed, the Nexus Divisa will conquer." Xavier confidently answered.

"But, you know we're losing too much ground!" Morning Star yelled.

"Then the time has come. Let them know the fury of HADES." Xavier ordered, saying the code word that would be certain to turn the tide of the war.

"HADES?!" Morning Star gasped.

"Have HADES unleashed upon Dig Site F at 5:00 AM. Afterwards, send your Fall Knights over and retrieve the weapons they have been using. Do not fail me." Xavier commanded.

Author's Note

I'm sorry I wasn't able to get this chapter in sooner, I've just been kinda busy and all.

I've decided to delve a little bit into Cade, Oreonna, and Auburn's stories and exactly how they know each other, as well as unveil the Villains for this Arc.

Take care!

-The Destoyer

[EDITS:]

Dear Christ, I have my work cut out for me.

As some of you know, I occasionally go back and edit my stories to add a better flow to the official (well, as official as a Fanfic can get) canon.

This one's quite the doozy.

If you check the description of this story, a couple characters of this story (being Oreonna and Auburn) actually don't belong to me, but to a couple other users (SuperKamek and Longsean22)

Because they don't belong to me, I've had to account for their origin stories and pinpoint where and how they would fit into Blood Red Shadows Canon.

Recently, Kamek released a long-ass blog post of a Fire Emblems project, with Oreonna and Auburn as characters. Said Blog Post can be seen right here, if you click this shiny green text.

This is where things get kinda out of hand..

On his blog post, it says that Auburn was born May 1st.

However, on my story, Auburn (that is, Present Auburn. Future Auburn is the badass that we see in the story fighting alongside Alex and the others) isn't shown until Chapter 35. Which takes place October 18th.

So, by this point of the story, Auburn should've been born already, an entire arc earlier.. (Well, technically just 10 chapters, but Arcs are kinda long and tedious to plan out.)

Thankfully, this should only affect 10 chapters of the story. But even so, I'll have quite a bit of work to do patching up the placement of a few important details for this to actually work out.

Take care, everyone!

-The Destoyer

Chapter 40: The Shadow Wars: Part 1 of 10
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 40: The Shadow Wars: Part 1 of 10

*Fairy Tail Guild Hall, Magnolia, Fiore; October 22, 2019; 3:04*

A decent-sized pile of dead... Well, dead-er zombies lay strewn across the street leading to the Guild Hall, as well as a fair amount of black smoke as Grimm evaporated.

Thankful for the few moments of rest, everyone gathered inside the Fairy Tail Guild Hall, with some repairing the windows.

"Okay... I think that's the last of them, at least for now." Dempsey muttered.

"About f**kin' time. Let's crowd in here and try to come up with a plan." Alex said.

While several Guild Members still boarding the windows, The Origins Crew and Vanoss' Team met up with Alex's family.

"So, any ideas?" Yang asked.

"Well, first things first, we need Juggernog. Moo almost died like 13 times." Wildcat smirked.

"F**k off, Tyler." Moo scowled.

"I agree on zat notion.. We should be supplied with something." Richtofen assented.

"Also, we need to know where we can find the weapons and ammunition. These things do not come cheap." Nikolai added, raising his KRM.

"Okay... Let me think of something... Hey, can we get a map of the town!?" Alex demanded.

Mirajane ran over, keeping a magic pen handy.

"I can take care of that for you... Hold on.." Mira began drawing an outline of the town in thin air, being sure to add landmarks as she went along.

"What's she doing..?" Dempsey asked.

"The Magic Pen. It's kinda self-explanatory." Cade replied.

Once Mira finished her drawing, she turned back with a smile.

"Done!" Mirajane grinned with satisfaction.

"Twilight! Ruby! Can you come here?" Yang asked.

Ruby and Twilight zipped over towards the group.

"Yeah?!" Ruby cheerfully grinned.

"We're trying to find where the perks would probably be, can you two try and figure out where they are?" Yang asked.

"It's pretty much guesswork! To find the perks, we'd need to map out the area... Make safe routes..." Twilight explained.

"Couldn't we just ask Dr. Monty?" Auburn asked.

"... I suppose that is possible..." Richtofen figured.

"Right you are, Edward.. Give me a sec.." Monty's voice emanated though the air as various colored dots appeared on the map that Mira drew.

"Juggernog, Stamen-Up, and Double Tap should be towards the church in the center of town. Unfortunately, that's also where most of the Grimm and the Zombies happen to be. The Box should be at that glowing green beacon in the sky. And Pack-A-Punch..." Richtofen peered at the map.

"Inside that Apothicon..." Twilight shuddered.

"Wait a minute..! That light is at my apartment!" Lucy gasped.

"Keeping that in mind... How are we going to stop Calvin Calamari?" Vanoss wondered.

"Who..?" Richtofen asked, obviously confused.

"He's talking about the bastard that took off with that f**king golden ball of death!" Alex groaned..

"I have a question... Given that we probably have a bunch of other people on our asses, what do we do about them?" Yang asked.

"We'll split up into groups. Odds are, they'll know who to go after." Cade figured.

"Let's think.. How many of us are able to fight?" Mirajane asked.

"Well, we're 5 people... 7 if you count Ruby and Sun." Alex figured.

"There's 12 of us.. If you guys come with us, it'll be 16." Terroriser decided.

"Make that 22... We're coming with!" Twilight demanded.

"We could split you guys into 4 groups of... 7.. That way, we'll have one extra!" Ruby decided.

"Auburn, Cade. We'll deal with Cinder together." Alex demanded.

"You've already defeated your Cinder... Let us deal with ours.." Auburn demanded.

"You'll die!" Yang gaped.

"We've trained just as hard as you! And besides, You know how far we've come." Cade smirked.

Alex looked at his son, then slightly grinned.

"Cade.. Auburn.. Oreonna.. The three of you combined stood against impossible odds before.. Do me proud, and kill her." Alex ordered.

Yang, bewildered, looked back at Alex in anger.

"You're letting them go?!" Are you nuts?!" Yang seethed.

Alex held Yang's shoulder.

"You know what I've seen from them, and you heard what Karos said.." Alex stated.

As the three ran out, Alex turned to face Natsu and Happy.

"Follow them. If she's too much for them to handle, get them back here as soon as you can." Alex ordered.

Natsu stepped backwards, eyes widened.

"You want Happy and I to help? Even after what happened..?" He asked.

"... Of course, if you'd like to step in... Well... Guess I can't stop you.." Alex smirked.

Natsu nodded, and promptly had Happy fly him off

"Okay.. Vanoss, I'll need you, Wildcat, and Delirious to fight your way to Juggernog. Twilight and Applebloom, you go with them. Scootaloo, once they're able to get to Juggernog, or if you need backup, fly back here as soon as possible." Alex ordered.

"You got it! Weenie Boys Alpha, roll out!" Vanoss shouted as the six ran out the door.

"Okay. Lucy, You tneed to head back to your place and clear a path for the Box. Gray, Lui, Nogla, and Mini, You guys keep them covered should the worst happen. Fluttershy, you follow along and fly back if they need help, or if they've reached the Box." Alex added.

"Got it covered! Fluttershy promised.

"Weenie Boys Be-" Lui began.

Lucy promptly slapped him across the face.

"LIKE HELL I'M LETTING YOU NAME THE GROUP!"

"And... Juvia... Follow Gray." Alex smirked.

"Wait what?" Gray looked up.

"Oh, brother." Lucy deadpanned, rolling her eyes.

"Oh, Alexander! Thank you for allowing me to tend to my beloved Gray!! But don't you know how dangerous it is to let two love rivals be in the same group?" Juvia dreamily inquired.

"Um.. Sure. Now, hurry up! Time's of the essence!" Alex demanded.

The group ran off, leaving Alex with a slight grin.

"I am such an asshole." He mused.

"Ve meet ze strangest people.." Richtofen gaped, staring at the chaos before him.

"Meh.. You get used to it after a while." Sun shrugged.

"Besides, Doctor.. We've dealt with everything from plant monsters and soulless machinery to.. Eh... Squid monsters.." Nikolai added.

"Speaking of weird shit, I'm putting you four in charge of figuring out how the f**k we're going to cut this out. I'll have FourZer0, Ohm, Droidd, and... Moo coming, too." Alex stated.

"So, what you're saying is you want us to do what we've been doing for eight years?" Dempsey asked.

"Yeah, that's... Wait, eight years?" Alex blinked.

"Da. On and off.." Nikolai answered.

"... Well good luck... Anyways..." Ruby grinned.

"Terroriser and Basically, I'm pairing you with Pinkie, Sweetie Belle, Sun, and... Ruby." Alex decided.

Ruby hugged Sun quickly before regaining her composure and facing Alex.

"What's the plan?" Ruby asked.

"I'll have you guys cut a path to some of the other hard-to-reach necessities. I'll warn you, this isn't going to be a cakewalk, so I'll have Gajeel and Erza helping you out. Being that one of them is the strongest female S-Class wizard and the other left me with a scar the size of that Apothicon!" Alex scowled.

"Hey! I saved your ass when Laxus had you and that fire-breathing punk on the ropes!" Gajeel retorted.

Alex shuddered. He remembered that incident well.

Laxus had essentially pitted the guild in a tournament against itself, leaving Yang and Auburn encased in stone for most of that time. Alex had gone to attack him in revenge, but despite Mystogan softening him up, he and Natsu still had trouble dealing with him.

Alex's weakness in particular, despite being around equal in power output to Laxus, was his apparent lack in necessary strength and speed, hence why he doubled the weight in his clothing to 700 pounds.

"Just.. Just go." Alex shook his head.

Team 4 ran out the door, leaving him and the rest of the guild inside.

"Alright.. Yang and I... Wait... Oh, motherf**ker!!!" Alex kicked a table, causing it to fly out the window.

He sent out all of his best to do other tasks, leaving only him and Yang for the last task.

"What?!" Yang turned to him, worried

"It's literally only the two of us DEALING WITH THE LAST TASK!!!" Alex screamed, flipping a table.

"Heh.. Don't be so sure." A certain white unicorn smirked.

Alex turned to face the familiar mare, wearing her trademark red shades.

"Vinyl.. Are you sure you want to deal with this?" Alex asked.

Vinyl grinned, putting on her latest Scratchbolt exosuit; the Mark 23 Heavyweight.

"This thing should help me keep up.. At least, I hope so." Vinyl shrugged.

Alex blinked in shock.

"If you're sure..." Alex nodded.

"I'll go, too. Keep in mind, I've been dealing with the Eye's powers for six months." Kat stated.

Kat stood up to face Alex and Yang, with a slight grin on her face.

"You really look like you've wanted a good fight. I like that." Yang smiled.

"Now that you mention it, Sekhmet's spirit has been bugging me to get out and fight." Kat nodded.

"I'll go!" Wendy Marvell, the youngest Dragonslayer, shouted.

"Wendy..?" Alex asked.

"I can fight too! Remember how I helped Natsu and Gajeel fight Faust?" Wendy asked.

"I don't think he was there." Carla commented, having now entered the room.

"I... What are you talking about..?" Alex asked.

"Oh... Right.. You were encased in Lacrima the whole time.." Wendy sheepishly recalled..

Alex shrugged.

"Well, keeping in mind you're pretty much on-par with Natsu and Gajeel..."

"What?!"

"... You can come to, is all I'm saying." Alex deadpanned.

"Awesome!" Wendy cheered.

"Okay. The rest of you are gonna have to keep the Guild Hall 'mess-free. Build barriers, kill any and all Grimm and Apothicons that scurry over here. Got it?" Alex asked.

"Got it!" The guild shouted as Alex and his group ran out the door.

*Location Unknown; October 22, 2019; 3:10 PM*

The Shadowman entered the small round table where Salem now stood. On the table with her, a map Magnolia Town, several dark enchantments in place around it.

"Welcome to my Domain, Harbinger. Have a seat." She greeted.

The Shadowman eventually lowered himself into the seat, watching the map Salem placed white interest.

"May I ask what that map is, Miss Salem?" He asked.

Salem grinned, activating one of her enchantments, causing a simulation of the battlefield to appear.

"As of now, my followers are allowing countless Grimm from my Domain to pass through portals I've set up around the town, just as your Apothicons are using their energies to pull the undead from other universes into this one. My... 'Disciples', if you will." Salem explained.

The Shadowman smiled with the slightest hint of glee as Salem continued to elaborate.

"Go on."

"Our enemies number at... Say... 40 or 45. My 3 Disciples; Cinder, Dr. Watts, and Tyrian, have scattered amongst the town, particularly at certain areas.

"Their purpose is to block the paths for what our enemies need most: power through Dr. Monty's infernal Perks, weaponry via the Magic Box, and the clues they need to find us." Salem continued.

"And if they do manage to get past your Disciples?" The Shadowman asked.

"Doctor Watts has engineered unique experiments over the past few months. Part human, Part Grimm 'Arbiters'. All four of which designed and conditioned to take orders from me alone, and to lead my Grimm in battle." Salem explained.

"And..?" The Shadowman inquired.

"Cinder made a point of wanting assistance from another Inquisitor. Since he alone was too weak for what we needed, we hired his mercenary cousin as well. The cousin himself has completed over 87 combat missions over the past 12 years, all of them successful." Salem smiled.

Satisfied with their assets, the Shadowman tipped his hat to the Grimm Queen.

But even so, one question was left on his mind.

"All of this in mind, what are our plans?" The Shadowman wondered.

"It is simple. As we speak, our enemies are making their first moves. Six groups have mobilized from the Guild Hall since our initial assault. We shall do the same." Salem grinned wickedly, eyes glowing an ominous red color.

Author's Note

Let The Shadow Wars commence!

Both sides are making their first moves, and everything is on the line!

I won't say much else to spoil this mini-saga, but I am going to say this: the ending to this 10-part saga is probably going to be the most intense to date!

Be sure to leave a comment!

-The Destoyer

Chapter 53: Replace, Recruit, and Retire
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 53: Replace, Recruit, and Retire

*Half a Kilometer outside of Helios Falls; November 8, 2019; 4:55 PM*

Alex and Yang flew at each other, sparring in the forests outside of the Settlement. Normally, their training would consist of more 'Grimm-Killing', but since Lilith's death at their hands, the Grimm just... shambled about, leaving the two hunters to train in relative peace.

That is, if you call a no-holds-barred sparring match peaceful.

Alex flipped backwards, dodging Yang's punch and countering with a kick.

Yang checked Alex's shin, forcing him to leap back up.

Before Alex was able to fully respond, Yang charged at him with a flurry of punches and kicks, one of which hit him in the chest.

Alex had to quickly duck, punching Yang as hard as he could.

Now strengthened by her Semblance, Yang leaped high into the air, diving downwards at him.

Narrowly avoiding Yang's attack, Alex jumped backwards, then flew towards Yang at full speed, catching her with his arm and slamming her into a tree.

Yang simply backflipped to her feet, jumping at Alex and hitting him at full force.

The sheer power behind Yang's final blow shot him through three trees, before he finally slammed into the fourth and collapsed.

"Ow... Guess you still got the edge, huh..?" Alex choked, pulling himself upwards.

Yang pulled out the Aura Reader she kept handy, pressing the small button at her right temple.

"Actually, you and I have basically the same amount of power. Aura Level 31." Yang explained.

"Ack..! Really?" Alex coughed, finally able to stand up.

"Yeah.. It's probably just technique, though." Yang shrugged.

"Ahh.. So, I'm almost good for today... Any plans..?" Alex asked.

"I was gonna go hit up a club, maybe. That might not be your thing, so you can probably stop at a gym or something." Yang figured.

"Y'know, I tried something like that once. I think we both know how that went." Alex replied

"So... You're coming with..?" Yang asked.

"Kinda have to. Besides, Adenienites can't drink, apparently. I'm pretty much your Designated Driver." Alex shrugged.

"Alright..! Let's get you patched up first, though!" Yang smiled.

"R-Right.." Alex winced, walking alongside Yang with a slight limp.

*Crystal Empire, Equestria; November 8, 2019; 6:00 PM*

Skirmish Sentry ran inside Shining Armor and Cadence's throne room, revealing the couple still looking mournful.

"Am I intruding..?" Skirmish asked.

"No... You don't look like the other guards.. Who are you?" Shining asked, looking at Skirmish upon realizing that Skirmish was not a crystal pony.

"I'm Skirmish Sentry, Honor Guard of the... Late... Twilight Sparkle.." Skirmish explained.

"Twilight isn't dead!" Cadence suddenly shouted.

"Cadence.. I.." Shining gasped.

"Twilight was able to face Tirek! The Inquisitors! Even Arabus, for Celestia's sake! There's no way she could've died from a teleport spell!!" Cadence yelled.

"C-Cadence.." Shining winced, shaken by his wife's sudden outburst.

"I... Understand if this is a rough time for you, but... Until Twilight returns, Celestia is transferring me to be your new Honor guard.." Skirmish explained.

Cadence sighed..

"...Okay... Any news on what happened to Spike..? I know for sure he must have been crushed.." Shining asked.

"Spike himself was moved to Canterlot to check on the New Nightmare forces.. At least now he's able to talk to Rarity more.." Skirmish explained.

"Oh... What did Princess Celestia have to say? I know for sure she might have something to say.." Cadence wondered.

"Ahem.. Celestia wrote a letter. She says that she is confident that Twilight will return to us quickly. In the meantime, however, she says that she's appointing new guardians over the Castle of Friendship." Skirmish explained.

"Is that so? What are their names?" Cadence asked.

"I believe they're both former students of her's as well... 'Sunset Shimmer' and 'Starlight Glimmer' are their names.." Skirmish explained.

*Crux Family Complex, Adenien; November 8, 2019; 6:22 PM*

"Down! Up! Down! Up! Come on, kids! Let me see some effort!" Venator shouted.

Ever since he'd received the news that Ultimus and Primis had supposedly died in the recent battle, Venator was outraged that an Emphas had managed to slaughter the two strongest young men in the family.

As a result, everyone on the Complex was to receive rigorous, constant training in preparation for their vengeance upon the now reconstructed Emphas Clan.

Behind him, a door slammed open, the sounds of the pouring rain, the booming thunder, and the crashing lightning outdoors as a very familiar face stepped inside the complex.

"Ultimus?!" Venator gasped.

Ultimus appeared much stronger than when he initially arrived, and now bore several new scars, along with a restructured, mechanical face.

"It's nice to be back. I have some news for you." Ultimus coldly announced as the other members of his family stood at attention, surprised that their supposed dead cousin was standing before them.

"Get on with it." Venator demanded.

"Saigo Emphas is no longer of any concern to me. It seems he is beyond his upbringing. And if a piece of trash like him doesn't care about this centuries old rivalry, than niether do I." Ultimus scowled.

"What?!" Venator demanded.

"You heard me, Uncle. This war has gone on long enough. I suggest we stop." Ultimus stated.

"That brat killed your elder cousin! He could have killed you!" Venator shouted.

"Primis was an arrogant brat that needed discipline. He took the job solely to make you proud of him. Saigo defended the town so that no others would have to carry his burden. Out of selfless rage. Primis took it to further inflate his illusion of an ego." Ultimus stated.

"What are you saying?" Venator demanded threateningly.

"I'm saying I'm done, and so should you." Ultimus replied.

Venator leaped at Ultimus in anger, lashing the Family Sword at him until Ultimus hit his uncle in the ribcage, causing him to collapse.

"Have I got your attention now? Or are you still holding on to an outdated ideal, Venator?" Ultimus asked.

"You... Traitor.." Venator scowled.

"That may be, but at least I'm ahead of the curve." Ultimus smirked wickedly.

"D-Did he just knock down Uncle Venator?!" Ultimus' youngest cousin, Spyden, gasped.

"That's insane..! What kind of crazy training did he do?!" Another cousin, Illiya wondered out loud.

"Now. I'm off to mentor a couple of Huntsman. Friends of mine. Should any of you want to come with, you're more than welcome." Ultimus offered as Spyden, Illiya, and Julius walked alongside him.

*Club Polar, Helios Falls, Sanus, Remnant; November 8, 2019; 10:15 PM*

"Woo hoo!!! Party!!" Yang cheered, obviously... Uh..

"Yang. You've had too much already." Alex stated.

"N-N-Don't worry *hic!* Aboot it... Heh... 'Aboot'..." Yang giggled to herself.

"Okay. Carrying you out before the bouncer does." Alex scooped Yang in his arms in a bridal carry, before she rolled out onto the floor and ran sluggishly back to the dance floor.

"Walking... Walking... Wa-*hic!*lking... No.." Yang smiled as she passed out.

Alex carried the immensely plastered Yang out of the club.

"Should've listened to me about eating something first." Alex shrugged to himself, taking her back to the hotel.

After about 5 minutes or so, the two had made it back to their room. Placing the unconscious Yang on the couch nearest the bathroom, Alex sat in the one nearby and decided to watch some tv.

"Heh... One thing's for sure. She ain't a lightweight. It'll be a while before even she's bounced back from this." Alex said, flipping channels.

Alex suddenly heard his scroll ringing from his pocket. He picked it up and saw that it was Raven calling him.

"Yeah?" Alex asked.

"Hello, Alex. This is Raven. Is Yang with you?" Raven asked.

"Yeah, she partied a bit too hard and I had to carry her back. She's out on the couch." Alex explained.

"I understand. So young, yet so burdened. I hope you've left Auburn with a good babysitter." Raven said.

"Little Auburn's fine. I left her with the Future Kids for the time being." Alex replied.

"I'm happy to hear. I hope you haven't forgotten our meeting, Alex." Raven stated.

"I haven't... I've been meaning to ask, what's this meeting about?" Alex asked.

"It's... More or less a job offering. For both of you." Raven explained.

"Job offering..? Okay... We'll discuss it at the meeting.. Roughly tomorrow." Alex shrugged.

"Thank you. Enjoying your honeymoon so far, though?" Raven inquired.

"Yeah. We're having fun. Thanks again for paying for most of the trip.." Alex smiled.

"No problem.. Goodbye!" Raven hung up the phone.

*Helios Falls, Sanus, Remnant; November 8, 2019; 10:29 PM*

Raven hung up the phone in her hotel room. Lying down in her own bed and sharpening her swords.

"It's going to be nice having those two helping.. The Tribe desperately needs their help.. It was a wonder I could afford this extrusion for them.." Raven said to herself.

"I agree, Raven Branwen. I know you need their help." A voice, similar to her own, said.

"Who was that?" Raven demanded.

Raven could feel an immense power, coming from somewhere..

"Who..?"

"Behind you."

Raven raised her sword at... Herself?!

A seemingly exact copy of Raven stood in the doorway, carrying what seemed to be a sword similar to her own, only with a shimmering, black and purple blade.

"Who are you? What do you want from me?" Raven demanded.

"Ah, Raven Branwen. Current Leader of the Inheritors, The Corvus Tribe, and a mentor to the oh, so brave Alexander Gabriel Walker. What more could I possibly want from you..." The Doppelgänger grinned sinisterly, stabbing Raven in the stomach before she even had time to react.

"...than you yourself?"

"W-W-What... What are you...?" Raven gasped, spewing blood on the ground under them

"No need to worry... Just sleep..." The Doppelgänger grinned sinisterly as she slowly laid Raven in the bed, leaving the original to die,.

Wasting no time, The Clone grabbed Raven's weapons, placing the sheath to her right side, and sheathing Raven's old sword.

"And before you go... My name is Corvus." The clone, Corvus, grinned as Raven finally passed.

Author's Note

Ultimus intends to train three of his younger cousins, as well as Ruby Rose and Sun Wukong, to face off against the Furies.

Meanwhile, Skirmish is sent to serve alongside Twilight's bereaved Brother and Sister-in-law, where they learn that Sunset and Starlight are now guarding the Castle of Friendship in Twilight's absense, and Raven kills... herself?!

What sort of ruthless plans does Corvus have in store? Will Sunset and Starlight be relevant? And will Alex die of an inexplicable bacterial infection?

We'll have the answers to at least one of these questions on the next episode of Blood Red Shadows 2: The Crimson Shade!

Chapter 75: The Stardust Dragon Balls
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 75: The Stardust Dragon Balls

*Ponyville, Equestria; June 7, 2021; 6:59 AM*

Yang slowly opened her eyes, still bone tired over everything that happened the day before.

'Burning Evolution definitely helped a lot, but it uses up Aura way too quick... I really gotta watch how I use it..' Yang resigned, wincing at the headache.

"Morning, Alex... You sleep ok-?"

Yang quickly discovered that Alex wasn't asleep next to her.. His space on the bed went cold probably hours ago, and he'd left a note.

Yang~

Let's be honest here, are you even surprised by this anymore?

Anyways, I left to check on Our Auburn, since I have no clue where the Future Ones ran off to. After that, I'm headed off for that wish.

I know you'll want to see me again, but if things go right...

You won't even remember me.

-Alex

Yang dropped the letter in shock, punching through the wall and leaping towards the Gate.

"Hey, lady, you can't-!" The Guard shouted.

"Out of my way!" Yang shouted.

Sweeping through the Gate's log, she found the culprit she was looking for.

Name: Walker, Alexander

Time: 6/7/21; 6:45 AM

Destination: Nihilos 0-01 Gamma; Downfall

WARNING: RESTRICTED ACCESS

CLASS VII PASS REQUIRED

-Class VII Identification Logged

"Class 7? I've only ever heard of Class 6, and that's for Huntsmen and other warriors only.. What the hell did he get himself into?" Yang wondered as she pounded the coordinates into the transporter, and quickly jumped inside.

*Meanwhile; Inside the Centrum*

Alex, along with Minerva, stepped inside the main lair of the Illuminati's Leader.

The Man himself had been so elusive that nobody but Minerva, the next in line for the title of Leader, knew his true identity.

"Minerva. What a pleasure it is to see you again. Alexander, I assume you have something for me." The Leader concluded.

"That's why I'm here in the first place." Alex shrugged, revealing the five-star Stardust Dragon Ball.

"Excellent work. I can certainly attest to the trouble one has to go through to retrieve these artifacts. Having to do so with people you do not trust makes the task infinitely more infuriating, yes?" The Leader asked facetiously.

Alex narrowed his eyes, unable to read the man.

"May I at least know the name of my client?" Alex asked.

"I figured you would ask, but now is not the time for answers, now is it? You are, as of late, a man of buisiness, are you not, Emphas?" The Leader inquired.

"If you want this last Dragon Ball, I'll need a few."

"Ah, I see. I am withholding information, and you are withholding our prize. It would be fair under normal circumstances, but that would largely be counter-intuitive. It is your wish, after all."

"First question, If you needed these so goddamn badly, why're you letting me use the only wish?" Alex demanded.

"Excellent question. Minerva?" The Leader gestured.

"You see, the events of the past two years, while beneficial in terms of recruitment, have been.. troubling. Many key members have either died or been excommunicated and forced into hiding. We want most of our conscripts, and you.. You want to lift a burden off of your shoulders. Is that true?" Minerva asked.

Alex cast a glare at them both.

"Let's get this over with.." Alex urged.

"I see. You sense her presense too." The Leader figured.

"Wait, what?!" Alex jumped, scrambling to find a familiar energy signature and finding..

"Yang Xiao Long-Walker. I wonder as to the purpose of her visit." The Leader sat.

Right on cue, Yang barged inside, gauntlets raised in Alex's direction as her Aura exploded in a multi-colored light.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Yang demanded.

"Setting things right." Alex replied.

"By wishing yourself out of existence?!" Yang shouted.

"Please, if anyone here's about to kill me, it's gonna be fuckin' you." Alex scowled.

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"ENOUGH!" The Leader shouted, standing from his seat.

As if by instinct, Alex and Yang stood side by side, weapons raised.

Straightening himself out, Alex stepped aside, glaring at Yang.

"Don't think this changes anything."

"Last night definitely changed something." Yang retorted.

Alex turned away, facing The Leader.

"Now, then. Mrs. Walker. I will kindly explain the situation. The good news is Alex does not intend to kill himself at this time. Our wish, however, will make right a number of wrongs." The Leader explained.

Alex rolled his eyes at the mere mention.

"Mrs. Walker. That ship sailed the second she found me again." Alex mentally grumbled.

"Mr. Walker. Shall we continue?" The Leader demanded.

"We shall. What're we gonna do about Yang?" Alex wondered.

"We are not going to do anything. We ask she only take an oath of silence. Much like the oath that you yourself broke." The Leader berated.

"I had to explain myself somehow, or would you rather have lost your prize the second Yang punched through my face?"

"I suppose. While we have other agents, almost none of them can go toe-to-toe with the All-Maiden." The Leader mused.

Alex, Yang, and Minerva followed behind the leader to the top floor of the Centrum: An ornately decorated, onyx-colored room. with only the blazing red sun illuminating the dark room via a glass panel at the top of the pyramid-shaped room.

At it's center, The other six Stardust Dragon Balls.

"So. You just dropped them off here after you found them?" Yang wondered.

"Yes. It;s standard procedure to make sure they don't lose any. Almost nobody knows or is allowed to know about this dimension, that's why barely anyone's heard of the kind of classification needed to travel here." Minerva explained.

The Leader placed the final Dragon Ball in the center of the six-ball circle as they all began to glow an ethereal blue.

"Ex stellas Draconis, exurge ad ordinem!" The Leader chanted

The glow intensified until the room turned purple and the sky itself darkened.

The whole room seemed to vanish around them as a monstrous blue glowing dragon appeared before them.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" Yang jumped backwards.

"That is the Stardust Dragon... Lustris." Minerva bowed.

Lustris looked below at the two members, and glared at the outsiders.

"It pleases me to see you once more, Artura. However, it concerns me that two outsiders have made their way into this very room." Lustris began.

"Alexander was hired to retrieve the Dragon Balls. The woman followed him like ashes follow a flame." The Leader defended.

Alex cast Yang a glance, before looking up at the Dragon.

"Now then. State your wish." Lustris demanded.

As Alex went to speak, Minerva raised her hand as a strange yellow magic held him back.

"What the hell is this?!" Alex demanded as the yellow magic formed a bubble around his mouth, preventing anyone hearing his voice.

"Wait a second..!" Yang realized as the Magic covered her as well.

"Lustris, my old friend, The destructive conflicts of late have resulted in the loss of many great warriors. The most recent attacks by Raven Branwen and her daughter have wiped out the Inheritors in our grasp. Therefore, Dragon, I wish back the lives of every warrior who has died in the Inquisitor Wars, and the Insolents' Rebellion!"

'Well, at least... WAIT A GODDAMN SECOND.' Alex thought as his eyes widened.

The mysterious yellow magic that Minerva was using...

"Sit the f**k down!" Wildcat shot him with a marksman pistol.

Rufio suspended the bullet in the air and flung it right back at Yang. Hard.

He sent the rest of the crew flying backwards, suspending them as the Red Star ripped them apart. This time, Mini and Droidd stood suspended...

'N-No way..!' Alex gasped in shock

..."Why you..!" Yang launched herself at the Inquisitor, who held her in the air for a period of time.

"I will not kill you, Yang Xiao Long... Not immediately." Rufio tightened his grip, choking the life out of Yang and depleting her Aura fast before finally decimating it, leaving her unable to heal for the remainder of the battle.

He finally drew out his blade, and pulled her towards him fast, slashing her in the side and leaving her there...

Alex turned to face Yang, who he knew came to the same conclusion..

'That's the same magic Gamma used... The Illuminati have been playing the Inquisitors, Inheritors, and Chronicai for years!' Alex concluded in horror.

And if The Leader, Arturis, wished for every warrior from the time Summer Rose and Chūkan were killed... He literally meant every warrior.

Both Cinders... Alpha... Winchester... Iron Talon.. Rufio Vincent... ALL OF THEM.

"Your wish has been granted.." Lustris concluded as the Stardust Dragon Balls spun in a circle, ascending to the skies before they all scattered in different directions, disappearing from the dimension itself.

The room returned to a dark red color, and Minerva let the two go as Alex transformed to his Enlightened Berserker.

"DO YOU FUCKING BASTARDS REALIZE JUST WHAT YOU'VE DONE?!" Alex roared, unsheathing his sword and leaping for Arturis' throat.

Arturis blocked Alex's blade with a golden-flamed palm.

Alex proceeded to hack and slash the bastard, trying his absolute hardest to find a killing blow before Arturis finally faltered, and Alex went in for the kill.

Minerva used her own magic to grab Alex's sword before Yang leaped into the fray, throwing a flurry of punches at Minerva as Alex continued to press his attack against Arturis.

Arturis fell back, and crossed his arms, preparing for a burst.

"ENOUGH!" The burst blew everyone onto the ground, leaving Alex in shock.

"I knew from the beginning that you would be too dangerous for the Order. I am only doing as you wished: Undoing the damage you have caused." Arturis scolded.

"By resurrecting the Inquisitors? Y'know, the people who were going to literally cause the apocalypse, and actually succeeded in destroying cities, villages, even an entire KINGDOM?" Yang scowled.

"Not just The Inquisitors, you fools. I'm resurrecting everyone. Inheritors, such as Raven and Sirius, even the Insolents themselves. I'm resurrecting your parents, the Equestrian Leadership, The Fairy Tail member that died in your fight against Lilith. Everyone." Arturis explained.

"You won't get away with this shit! Twilight and Mako were veterans of that war, imagine their reaction to you bringing back the Inquisitors entirely!" Alex shouted.

"I've had enough of this." Arturis raised his hand as a portal to Ponyville formed behind him, and force-pushed them outside, closing it behind them.

With the two of them back in Ponyville, and the only ones who knew what had transpired, Alex started to walk away.

"What are you doing now?!" Yang demanded.

"I... I give up." Alex sighed.

"What?!"

"Thanks to that bastard, The Inquisitors are back. Whenever I get involved in this shit, even if I try to do the right thing.. It always comes back to bite me. I'm staying out of this." Alex shook his head.

"Oh, come on! You had no way of knowing!" Yang shouted.

"Maybe, but that doesn't excuse my involvement in all of this!" Alex replied.

"Alex, Auburn needs you, the older kids need you.. and.."

"Don't say it." Alex turned away.

"... I need you too.." Yang sighed.

Alex turned around.

"Look. I tried to help and fucked everything up. If I can't even make sure that the Inquisitors stay dead, then I shouldn't be a parent. I'd rather Auburn not know her step-father... or her actual father, note to self: kill him again, than to have her stepdad be a complete fuck-up who didn't even finish High School."

"Alex. Stop." Yang grabbed his shoulder.

"Yang.. Please. I can't do this shit anymore.." Alex nearly begged.

"So, that's what's going on."

Alex turned to his right, and gasped with shock.

"Oh, hey Geets!" Yang greeted with a smile.

"Shut up, Kaka- ahem... I mean.. Just, shut up and listen to me." Vegeta commanded.

"Yeah, what's up? I understand you've been training Cade. How's that going?" Alex wondered.

"He's just like his father: weak and incompetent." Vegeta smirked.

"Oh, fuck off." Alex glared.

"He actually has some talent. but that's not why I'm here.."

"Wait, If Cade's with Vegeta, who the hell trained Auburn? She got a crap-ton stronger. I swear, she has her mother's arm." Alex asked, rubbing his still-aching wounds.

"That was me." Yang grinned proudly.

"WILL YOU TWO SHUT UP AND ALLOW ME TO SPEAK?!" Vegeta shouted.

"Ok."

"There's someone who's been asking for you. Actually, there are a couple of people asking for you." Vegeta explained.

"Ah, shit. Who?" Alex grumbled.

"Hmm.. You've grown since we last met, Alex." a gentle voice greeted.

Vegeta moved to the side, with the kind visage of Summer Rose smiling back at him.

"MOM?!" Yang gasped.

"Summer? So.. You're aware of what's going on?" Alex asked.

"Unfortunately so. However, it is a necessary wish, Alex." Summer explained.

"Necessary?! How is reviving the Inquisitors, arguably the most dangerous organization in the whole goddamn multiverse, NECESSARY?!" Alex demanded.

"It's because the threat the Illuminati has it's hand on is a thousand times worse than we could ever be, Saigo." A darker voice declared.

Alex and Yang took a step backwards at the sight of who accompanied Summer Rose.

Saisho Emphas..

"Omega." Alex glared.

Author's Note

And that's the End of the Wake of Corvus Arc!

Now, I still have to work on Shadepoint, but after that, the Final Arc of Blood Red Shadows II is FINALLY upon us!

I'm also considering other options for the Next Tale of Shadows.

A. a Prequel to the Blood Red Shadows storyline explaining what happened with Alex's elder brothers and Summer Rose.

B. A technical Sequel explaining Cade and Auburn's timeline.

or C. A What-If series. Each question would take 2 or 3 chapters to explain the fallout of each change, but it would be kinda interesting to think:

What if Alex had actually done the smart thing and told Twilight and Celestia what happened to him in the Beginning of Blood Red Shadows I?

What if Alex kept the Prometheus Charge for his second fight with Cinder?

What if Alex and the Vanoss Crew had been dropped post-Volume 3?

What if Alex's first dimensional drop led him to the events of the MLP Movie?

Anyways I'm done rambling. Happy Reading!

-The Destoyer

Chapter 81: The Red Star: Part II of III
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 81: The Red Star: Part II of III

*The Overlook; Kai 0-00 Alpha; June 14, 2021; 7:15 AM*

"Catalysts? As in, besides the Adenienite?" Arturis demanded.

"But of course. You didn't think there would be only one key to the salvation of life itself across the multiverse, did you?"

"But, who are they? I must recruit them into my order if it is to survive!" Arturis demanded with a shred of hope.

"As I've already said, Arturis; The Ancient Orders shall be left behind in the wake of the Great Cataclysm. Each of these Catalysts are either already in league with the first, or are soon to be. Your influence is already naught but a faint whisper, Illuminatus. I would advise figuring out how to save yourselves rather than your precious order." The Oracle suggested.

Arturis growled.

"Very well.."

"Now, then. I must ask for each of you to leave my presence at once. Let's just say there's a show going on right now that I can't afford to miss."

*Meanwhile; The Subterrains, Vytal, Remnant*

"Fall back! Fall back!"

The Armies of the reformed E.R.C were facing a practical tidal wave of Red Star forces. Their front lines had been overwhelmed, forcing the Vanoss Crew, Kat and her Nine-Tailed Fox division, and the Enforcer Battalion led by Karis and Mako back towards the main caverns, where the Elements and the Doctors had been hiding in for all this time.

"Seal the main gates!" Karis ordered as hundreds of soldiers forced the main gates shut as the Vanoss Crew blew away any uninvited guests with their Wonder Weapons.

"Mein Gott! What the hell is happening up there?!" Richtofen demanded.

"We thought we were dealing with a measly 1 Million tops, but as soon as we turned around, BOOM! 5 Million fucking Red Star with about twice the artillery and shit!" Vanoss shouted.

"Not to mention Alex and his group of whoever-the-fuck-they're-called have their hands full with the entire fucking Inquisitor Elites, so it's literally just us!" Wildcat added indignantly.

"SICK! FUCKING! MEMES!" Basically practically jumped as soon as he heard the forces trying to break down the door.

"HEY! DOCTOR BITCHES! DO WE HAVE SOME BACKUP, WEAPONS, ANYTHING LIKE THAT, 'CAUSE WE COULD FUCKING USE IT!" Panda shouted, trying to hold the door back.

"As a matter of fact, we do." Doctor Clef replied evenly, bringing with him an entourage of alternate-universe counterparts.

There was the Pyrrha, Ember, and Russell from the Battle of Vanhoover. They had mysteriously disappeared in the chaos that night, but it seemed as though they were back. The Three were discovered to be from Oum Alpha 0-14, as opposed to the main Oum Alpha 0-12 Dimension they currently resided.

"Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Figures." Russell B 0-14 grumbled.

"You're telling me." Pyrrha B 0-14 added.

"... Is that me?" Pyrrha A 0-12 wondered.

"And is that me, too?" Ember 0-12 asked.

"Look at zis place, Yang. Even shittier than our timeline." A familiar, yet distinctively German accented voice indicated.

The entire room turned around to see Alex, Yang, and Cade, as well as an entire division of post World War 1 German troops.

"Am I seeing this?" Kat gaped, now thoroughly confused.

"They're from Geo Sigma 1-14. It appears this Alexander was born in Munich 100 years earlier." Doctor Glass stated.

"Mein Gott! Richtofen?! Is that you?! We thought you were long gone by the time Ze Excavation Site went dark! We figured The Tommies and Doughboys had gotten to you!" Yang S 1-14 gasped in shock.

"Umm... Am I hallucinating again?" Richtofen wondered, much to the dismay of the S 1-14 Crew.

"Easy, Mother. We are in another universe, after all. Zis Richtofen is probably much different from the one we know." Cade S 1-14 reasoned.

"So... German Alex, Yang, and Cade aside. Who else did you manage to find?" Karis asked.

"So... This is where they told us to be, huh?" A cold, but curious voice asked.

"Y-Yes... At least, I think so.." A more timid version of a familiar voice asked.

A more innocent-looking Cinder Fall, accompanied by a helmeted, battle-scarred, and equally terrified figure stepped inside the room.

"Cinder?!" Delirious gasped.

"And who are you?!" The Armored man raised his sword in front of Cinder protectively.

"This is the Alex Walker and Cinder Fall of Faust Omega 9-72. It seems Their Equestria, Remnant, Earth, and Adenien counterparts had hunted down and destroyed the Inquisitors, who were dedicated to the defense of the people in those dimensions. They've been constantly on the run, if I'm right." Dr. Kondraki explained.

"I figured, they're a little beaten up.." Dempsey figured.

Alex O 9-72 gasped in fear when he met eyes with Yang S 1-14.

"Y-Yang Xiao Long?!" Alex O 9-72 and Cinder O 9-72 raised their weapons at the S 1-14 Crew, whose infantry immedately raised their weapons.

"Hold your fire! We will NOT be firing upon our allies today!" Alex S 1-14 commanded.

"And last, but certainly not least. These fine boys and girls are from Oum Beta 0-12." Dr. Bright introduced.

This one seemed to screw with everyone else.

"God Dammit. Yang, What did you do this time?!" A familiar, yet feminine voice asked.

"Hey, don't look at me! I wasn't the one who opened this portal!"

"Can all of you shut up?!" A distinctly male, upperclass voice demanded.

"No fucking way." Mako smirked.

Author's Note:

This is just as awful for you as it is for me. It's a multiverse story, this was bound to happen at some point, thank God it's practically at the end.

tl;dr, This hurts me 500x more than this hurts you.

"Rule 63 for the win!" Doctor Bright and Doctor Rights cheered.

"WHY GOD?! WHY DID THIS HAVE TO HAPPEN TO ME?!" Wildcat begged for mercy, clawing his eyes out, or at least trying to.

"MY FUCKING EYES!!!" Basically screamed.

The B 0-12 Crew, consisting of Alex, Yang, Rubien, Weiss, Blake, Cait, Auburn, as well as gender-swapped versions of the ENTIRE CAST.

"Get a grip. You guys are cringy as fuck to us too, y'know." Alex B 0-12 rolled H E R eyes.

"Can I fucking shoot myself now?" Vanoss B 0-12 asked.

"Fuck you, we'll shoot each other!" Vanoss A 0-12 retorted.

"QUIET!!" Kat ordered.

The entire room fell silent, looking to Kat's direction.

"We're listening, Fräulein." Alex S 1-14 Stated.

"We all share the same goals. The same perspectives. The same motivations. Our only differences are in the vast diversities of the Multiverse itself.

Our situation is dire. We stand now with our enemy just outside those blast doors. More vicious than those who have pursued you. More equipped than anyone you've ever faced.

And this is just the beginning. This battle will pave the way to a greater war just beyond the horizon. We must stand as one. We must defend our counterparts as we would defend our comrades.

We stand here, as a force of over 5 million descend upon us. Those of you who wish to return to their homes may do so, but know this. You stand now, face to face, with fate itself. Will you answer it's call, or be swept to the wayside?" Kat elaborated.

"She is right. Adenkorps! Stand and fight!" Alex S 1-14 Ordered.

"We'll go through with it. It's us, after all." Rubien B 0-12 shrugged.

Alex O 9-72 stepped back.

"Wait... If we go through with this... Will you defend us from the E.R.F ?" Alex O 9-72 asked timidly.

"The E.R.F?" Twilight tilted her head.

"T-The Inheritor-controlled coalition that's been hunting us down..." Cinder O 9-72 replied.

"Hey, you guys seem cool. We'll get your backs." Rainbow flew between the two.

"And is it just you two?" Cade S 1-14 wondered.

"Y-Yes.. Everyone else with us was killed years ago, during the Blood Red Night.." Cinder O 9-72 answered.

"Scheiße.." Yang S 1-14 gasped.

"Before we go hog-wild. We need to hand out some weaponry." Dr. Glass stated.

"Of course. This is a model belonging to Terra Epsilon 9-75. It fuctions similarly to a Rocket Launcher minaturized into a standard automatic weapon. I believe they referred to these as 'Bolters.'" Dr. Kondraki stated, handing the weapons out to each infantry unit.

"Sounds like something out of a badass sci-fi game." Mini noted.

"Can't quite figure out what it was called." Nogla added.

"UNCULTURED HERETICS!" Dr. Bright shouted indignantly.

"Next in line... Some... Condensed Tesla Cannons. These babies... They pulse out condensed plasma, then destroy any target in a 1 yard radius." Dr. Clef stated, handing the weapons out to every 9th person.

"Anything else?" Alex B 0-12 asked.

"Just... one thing..." Dr. Rights stated, handing a small, white glowing vial of light to Alex B 0-12.

"What is this?" She asked.

"That's Dimensional Essence. It's used to create extremely powerful magic Charges. We weren't able to create one since the battle started." Twilight explained.

"And why are you giving me this?" Alex B 0-12 asked.

"Because, last I checked, our Alex is in deep shit." Dempsey bluntly stated.

A̵̪̻̙̪̣͘ḏ̶͐͋̂͒̊͂̈́̎̃͊͊̅ǰ̸̧͌ǎ̵̡̭̳͚̘̖͖͖̣̝̳̰̍̀͌̂c̵͕̍̉̿͊͜e̴̝͓̹̮̬͓͍͕̪̔̐̅̀̈́̉͑̎͂̃̈̅̕ņ̸̧̛̺͚̻̰͎̮͔̟̪́̏̓͂̈́͊̐͋͘͜͝͝͠ẗ̴̤̤͕̰̤͍͕̻̫͖̳̠̩̝́̾̆̈́̇̆͛̂̕ ̷̧̡̨͉͓̬͍̣̦̪͎͉̝̀̎͛̓ȩ̴̣̼͎̟͒͂́̾̏̃̆̌̿̈̾̂̚n̶̘̩̙̖͑̉́͆̇̋͊͆̇͊̓̐̿̊̿ͅț̶͉̯̯͚̤͉̝̘̀̇̄̍̿͐͂̔̓̿͘̚͝į̸̛̦̻̜̙̫͆͊̋͊̀̋͘̕t̵̡̧͇͖̟͉͙̻̦͓̖̹̯̩̔̈́͑̏̀̎̏͑̌̾͠i̵̢͙͎̣̼͈̩͚̱̭̦̋͐͐̈̀̂̕ḙ̵̛̳͇̲̲̑͂͋̄̉́̿͗͂̿͑̈́͝͝s̷̨̛͖̦̮͈͈͕̩͓̭̫̲̀̊͜ ̸̗͇̦̞̘̙͙̯͗́͜s̷̡̱̥̹͎̗̣̲͎̝̓̅̏͌̀̽̓h̷̢̰̪͓̬̱̝̫̟̳͚͕͌͑̀͛͒͊̆̊͆͗̏͘̚͘͝ͅͅả̶̡̧̛͖̟̖͍͇̰͛̾́̃̈́̀͛̊̄̇͘͜l̵̤̱̗̺͂l̸̙̜̥̠̪̬̫̔̓̍̚͜͝ͅ ̶̭̽͒̏͑͒̚m̷͙̪͎͇̞̖̯̲̺͋͌ͅe̴̳̜̭͓̳͙̝̫̖͓̝͒͆͊͌̄̓͒̐̑̉̚̚̚e̶͈̯͈͍̞̖̊̉t̶̡̼̥̫̦͖̆.̶̡̧̢̢̭̯̲͎̹͓̩̹̩̳̈́͛̎́̇͊͆̈̅͗̒

*Five Minutes Earlier*

Cade and Alpha had been closely engaged, trading blow for blow relatively equally. Where Cade had raw power, Alpha had decades of experience. So much so that Cade was quickly being worn down.

"D-Dammit... I can't lose here..."

"You were a worthy opponent, Cade Walker. But this ends here." Alpha glared, raising his weapon at Cade.

As Cade prepared to block the attack, Alpha was quickly taken down and overpowered by three warriors in Ryder gear. Two men and one woman.

"Are you all right?" The older man asked.

"Just peachy... who are you?" Cade asked.

"We'll explain later. For now, let's just say we're family." The younger man shrugged.

"He's getting back up..!" The female warrior shouted as Alpha raised his sword again.

"You'll pay for that... Insolent pests..!" Alpha glared.

"'Insolent'? It's been a long time since I've been called that.." The older gentleman shrugged, removing his helmet to reveal greying black hair, piercing blue eyes, and a slight stubble.

The younger gentleman and the woman also removed their helmets. The younger man looked similar to Alex and Saisho, only much younger, and the woman's blonde hair practically cascaded over her shoulders.

"Cade, go help your half-sister and your mother, we can take it from here!" Chūkan shouted.

Alpha quickly transformed to his Evolved state.

"You will pay for your transgressions. THIS ENDS HERE, INSOLENTS!!!"

Yang landed just behind Chūkan, glaring as Corvus landed in front of her.

"I'm in a bit of a pickle here... Oh, hey Chūkan!" Yang smirked.'

"Yang?!" Chūkan gasped.

"We'd love to catch up, but we have our own problems..!" Jason shouted as Alpha launched himself at him.

Yang parried Corvus' attack into Jason's blade as Alice kicked Corvus away.

Yang transformed, glaring at Alpha.

"I don't believe we've met. I think you might be my son? I don't know.." Yang grinned.

"You... I've already faced Father... I've yet to face you in combat!" Alpha shouted, brandishing his sword.

"Ditto. Hey, since I'm dealing with Alpha here, maybe you wanna deal with Corvus? Yeah, thanks.." Yang shrugged, raising the Relic of Destruction.

Alpha immedately recognized the Relic, brandishing his Relic of Creation.

"Where did you get that?!" Alpha demanded.

"Same place I learned how to do this..! OVERCHARGE: BURNING EVOLUTION!!!"

Alpha stepped back, pointing the Relic of Creation at Yang.

"I WILL NOT FALL TO YOU AS I DID TO FATHER!!! FACE THE MIGHT OF MY DESIGN, DESTROYER!!!" Alpha roared as a beam of white light shot out at Yang, who quickly deflected it with a beam of purple, destructive energy.

YOU'RE GONNA, OR I'LL PUT YOU IN A TIME-OUT WHEN THIS IS ALL OVER!!!" Yang shouted back, struggling as the equivalent to an immovable object meeting an unstoppable force rippled across the battlefield, tearing it asunder.

Ţ̶̢̛̛͔̝̦̉̅͌͌͊̄͗̓̾͌̽́̚͜h̵͈̪͍̆̅͒̾̋̄̒̊͛̏͠ễ̷͓̲̝̳͍̠͌̏̏̇̏̔̾̚̕̚ ̷̟̥̰̘̀̀̏̏̂̕̕͝͠F̴̢̲̩̝̳͘o̸̭̳̠͛͋͒͆͒͆r̸̘͎̔̔́͊̂̆͌̃̉̇̀̾͝c̷̨̛̫̣͈̳̩̥̠̣̭̩̝͒̓̀̅͗̏̋̍̈́̈͛́̂̕͜ë̸̢̲̯̙̻͙̣̬̩́̈́̋́̇s̴̬̟̙͔̱͍̃̍̉̑͂̈̉͊̐̿͊̓̽ ̶̨̡̧̡̪͕̖̟̙̳̘͓̙͆̈́̊̿̒̌̒͠o̸̡̨̤̲̮͚͍͈͈̣̚͜ͅf̴̛̘͈̮͇̑͊̓̊͗͗͒͐̈̓͌̇̕ ̵̧͈̠̰̠͙͇͙̟͎̒̂̄̍̐́͗̓̀̇͛͘C̷͈͎̘͚̙̞̼̍̋̏̑͘͜ŕ̴͈̟̪͎͙͙̬̜̭̝̗͈͜e̷̡̬̞̭̟̣͙̞͕̔̀̐̅̈́́a̵̡̛̤̮̣̒̑̅͂̋̄̒̕t̵̯̲͉̮̪͙́͂͑̈́̽̕i̸̢̤̻̫̫͕͗͌̏̾̍̊̄͑̊̾̄̕͝ǫ̵̡̱̪̙̖̝̫̘̮͈̱͐͌̈̄͋͊̎̇̽͒͒͂̕̚͘n̶̨̼͔͍̥̐̓͛́̆̀̀͒̋͘̚͜ͅ ̶̻̱͙̘͙̩̺̻̦̙͕͔̱̾̆͋̍̓̕͝a̵̛̙̬̙̹͍̫͓͑͗͌̌̃͐̈̊͐̂̕ņ̶̛͔̙͈̱͕̙̗̙͈̟̳̦̬̬̄̈́̀͗̏́̋̂̎̌̈́͂d̶̢̦̩̩̩̪̬̼̞͔̬̗͚̘̲̆ ̶̡̘̠̼̍͜D̵̩͚̼̯̲͉̝͔̘͈́̅̈̓̀̓e̸̛͍̓̒̋̓̇͌͛́͒͆̈́̚̕ș̵̛̠̈̈́̀̌͑͑̈̾̈̕͝t̶̨̨͎̦̯̻͈͓̞̭̤̅̋̓͑̔̔̊̑͐̕r̴̢̞̬̹̩̥̻͎̯͇͑͋̐̆̀̈́̆̕͘͜ͅͅȗ̵̳͇͉̖̳̦̖̠͕̦͚̄̓̍͒͌͛c̸̡̧͉̳̤̪̦̈͋̋͆̽̿̏̀̅̓͘̕t̷̨̧͇̦͈̙̗̩͐́̇̔͆̍́͒̊ĩ̶̗͕̯̩͉̜̮̯̅o̵̢̠̹̫͎̻̲̾̉͛̈̕͜͝ń̸̥̙̗͖̗͈̮̙̩͙̼̳̀̉̚ͅͅ ̷̢̢̻͈̤̳̳̦̻̻̲̞̪͂̈̾ͅs̴̨̢̨̯̮̗͕͔̝̈́͊̈́͋͊ȟ̶̛̳̤̮̗̮̟̝͙͇̮̖̩͊̕͠ä̴̠̱̦̪̩͇̣̲̤̜͔̖́́͠l̷̨̢̨̨̤͙̣͓̝͓͓̤̹͚̝͋͊ļ̷̨̢̟͉̺̬̪̟̗͓̘͚̗̔͆̀́̈͋̉͝͝ͅ ̷̱̈́̓́̐͆̓̃̾͛̈́̀c̶̜̳̞̗̻͙̙͂̐̈́̿̀̑̉͂̋͆̈́͊̀͜͝͝o̵̧̙̩̜̥̭̫̬̲̳̰̙̻̜̘͐̏́̊̇͌̽͂l̴̡̢̖͈̞͚̫̱̀̂̃̓͆̓̃̽̍͠͝l̷̡͐͌̐̈́̀͛̀͌̔͊͌͌̓͗͝ͅi̵̧̧̮͎̩̘̺̫̺̘͈̹̱̇̀͛̊̋͋ͅd̴̡̟̮̙̻̰̠͚͍͔͖̰̩̹̬̀́́̂̅̋̈́͘͠͝ȅ̸̠̺̻̀͘͝.̴̛͔̥̗͊̊̒̃͛̆̅͛͌͘͠

Alex kicked Cinder away, knocking her completely down.

"Dear God, you're still alive after all of that? I can't tell if I'm more proud or annoyed after this." Alex mocked.

"You... I'LL END YOU!!!" Cinder shouted, brandishing both of her swords.

"Did I hit you so hard you forgot how badly I'm kicking you around, Cinder?" Alex scathingly asked, tossing her aside like a rag doll.

Cinder slashed at Alex with both blades, with Alex blocking both blades with his fingertips and casting them aside.

"W-What?!"

"Do we need a demonstration?" Alex grinned wickedly, launching off in another direction.

Alex practically teleported in between Illiya, Spyden, Julius, Theta, Eta, Iota, and Jäger. Raising an energy-pulsing hand, he allowed a torrent of electricity to shimmer forth, only a mere tell of what was to come.

"BIG BANG SHOCK BREAKER!!!"

The attack exploded forth, making contact with Jäger first, causing him, as well as the other Inquisitors, to violently explode in a blaze of electric fire. Only a faint trace of liquid metal remained in the resulting smoking crater.

Cinder, Illiya, Spyden, and Julius stared on in abject horror as Alex vanished towards his next target:

Epsilon.

Weiss and a badly wounded Scarecrow gazed in horror as Alex grabbed the Griffon Inquisitor by the neck, slowly closing his grip as he begged for mercy in short breath and desperately clawing at Alex's metal arm.

"H-H-Have...M-Mercy.." Epsilon gasped as Alex tightened his vice-like grip around the Griffin's windpipe.

"S-Stop..!" Weiss demanded.

Alex smirked wickedly he quickly closed his fatal grip, a resounding crack echoing through the battlefield as Epsilon fell still, blood dripping out of his beaked maw.

Throwing his now dead adversary aside, he moved along to his next victims.

Blake and Adam were still engaged in a fierce battle, both one-time White Fang acolytes locking blades before Adam stopped his assault cold.

Alex had grabbed Adam by the back of his neck, sending fatal pulses of electricity into his body, causing him to collapse before Alex kicked him skyward and prepared an energy blast.

"GALICK GUN!!!"

A purple wave of energy shot from Alex's palms, an energy wave that collided with the newly deceased inquisitor mid-air in a fiery explosion.

Before Blake could say anything, Alex now stood in front of the young Cinder again, glaring coldly at her.

"You're way out of your depth. It's over. Surrender, and maybe I won't kill you as slowly as I did the others." Alex threatened, a ball of energy in his hand, pointed at the young Cinder's face.

Cinder, staring on in horror, soon bore a devilish smirk.

"What are you smiling at? Did you finally realize how funny your name is about to be in a few seconds?"

Alex's world soon turned black and red as he felt raw energy being ripped from his being.

Weiss, Blake, Illiya, Spyden, Julius, and Scarecrow looked on in shock at seeing Alex collapse as a beam of orange and black pulled away at his essence.

The Elder Cinder, carrying a strange, crystalline device, cradled it to her side as raw power funneled into it, turning a knob at it's side to it's maximum.

Alex quickly powered down against his own will, unable to contain the screams befitting the pain of having one's soul being ripped away bit by bit.

"Do you like it? It's our latest creation: The Absorption Charge." The Younger Cinder smiled, now towering over him.

"This will rip away every ounce of energy.. Every bit of power your soul possesses before it simply flickers out." The Elder Cinder explained.

"Meh. What can I say? Crazy bastard deserves it." Julius shrugged.

"Julius, have you gone mad?! If he dies, we die too!" Spyden urged.

"Not necessarily..." Julius replied, coldly piercing Spyden through the heart, killing him instantly.

Weiss, Blake, and Illiya stared on in abject horror at the scene before them.

"Just say the word, I'll kill the son of a bitch myself." Scarecrow grinned wickedly, pointing a rifle at Alex's head.

"I'll do it. My family and his have been gunning at each other since day one." Julius grinned, raising both his deceased brother's sword and his bloody xiphos at Alex's neck as he sprawled out onto the ground, writhing and crying out in agony.

"Stop this now!" Illiya demanded, raising her sword at Julius.

Weiss and Blake faced off against Scarecrow and the Younger Cinder, still leaving the Elder Cinder to absorb Alex's energy.

The Elder Cinder grinned as she stood, unopposed, and finally gaining the revenge she so deserved once more.

...And then she heard someone land behind her.

...Or rather... Something.

*Meanwhile; The Overlook.*

The Oracle sat on the edge of her seat, hood completely back, revealing mid-length pink and white hair.

"Two of my predictions have come to pass..." The Oracle came to realize, watching the battle through several divine screens, keeping track of each element of the battle.

"Osiris has landed. I'm curious how their reality affects his coming." The Oracle noticed.

Author's Note

tl:dr.

There's now 5 versions of our heroes converging: The regular one, the one where Panda reunited with the Crew, One where Alex fought for the Central Powers in World War I, one where The Inquisitors are somehow good, and a literal Rule 63 world.

A couple of the Oracle's predictions come true; that and Yang with the Relic of Destruction and Alpha with the Relic of Creation actually fight. More on that next chapter.

And, after Alex goes all 'Anime War: Episode 7' on several Inquisitors, we finally find out what the device the Cinders had was for, and it's not exactly good.

Oh, and The possible main antagonist of this arc has landed.

Yeah... Things are getting crazy.

What will happen to Alex? What are the consequences of Creation and Destruction in direct conflict? And what stake does Osiris have in this fight?

Find out on the next exciting chapter of Blood Red Shadows II: Electric Boogaloo- I mean- The Crimson Shade!

Chapter 92: Eve of the Eclipse: Part 2 of 6
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Blood Red Shadows II: The Crimson Shade

Chapter 92: Eve of the Eclipse: Part 2 of 6

*Astral Plane; June 19, 2021; 10:06 AM*

"I'm sorry, I don't follow-"

Dozens of light-tendrils shot from the Titan, spearing the ground around Alex as he narrowly avoided becoming some Dimensional Leviathan's pincushion.

The tendrils of light swept Alex's legs out from underneath, wrapping around his ankles and slamming him onto the 'ground' of the plane again and again.

The Titan flung Alex several dozens of meters in the opposite direction as he hit the ground, face first, into a sort of spiritual ravine.

Alex realized he would have to strategize here.

Looking at the Spirit Titan looming towards him, Alex noticed it's entire structure wasn't concrete, moreso a collection of light threads wrapped and intertwined. Some 'pull' at the right spot should be enough to bring it down, at least temporarily...

"Only problem is, I have no power, and I'm entirely unarmed..."

Alex then realized something.

Those light tendrils were essentially wound up threads. If they could hurt him and damage the ground the way they did, then it's entirely possible to use more of that thread to hurt it back.

Alex ducked lower into the ravine, wanting a slight element of surprise as the Spirit Titan scoured the ground nearby in search for him.

Alex, being far smaller and therefore faster, should be able to take some of it's essence unnoticed, even if he was completely powerless at the time.

Waiting for his most opportune moment, he crawled out from the ravine, keeping his footsteps light as he approached the Spirit Titan's heel.

Alex reached for it's Achilles, seeing if he could grasp it, only to find it just passed right through...

Just in time for the Spirit Titan to raise his foot above him.

Alex stared in awe as the Titan's foot came plummeting towards him, careening at high speed as he narrowly rolled out of the way.

The resulting shockwave sent Alex reeling backwards, landing flat on his back and doing a reverse somersault onto his feet as he struggled to stand.

It's foot was stuck!

Alex charged towards it, careful to avoid more light tendrils before one pierced him directly through his heart.

Memories, flashes of his past came rushing to his head.

The Crystal Empire smoldering around him, Alex gaped in awe as he noticed a fist headed straight for him.

Yang pounded Alex's chest repeatedly as he found himself being punched almost through the crystal walls as he groaned in pain.

Yang then smacked him so hard the skin on his face started to rip off. And that was before she ripped out one of Alex's mechanical arms so he couldn't fight back as well, not that it would have counted.

Alex gasped, staring at his surroundings as that twisted mockery of his ex-wife further advanced towards him.

"How did I end up back here?! Wasn't I-"

Laughing as she continued beating the life out of him, Alex could only watch as his former wife kept bashing his ribs to dust and pried off another one of Alex's mechanical hands.

Yang eventually let up, glaring at him pitifully as he struggled to pull himself upwards.

Alex found himself in the exact same spot yet again... Completely powerless to stop what was coming.

Looks like Yang was about to stab his eye out once more...

Alex looked down, fully prepared to face what was coming for him...

Only to realize the other end of that Light Tendril was still pierced through his heart. Feeling the tip, Alex noticed it was decently sharp, and with a small tug he was able to loosen it.

As Yang raised him up by his neck, unleashing the usual spurge of bad-guy mockery, Alex yanked out the light-spear, taking Yang's hand with it.

"H-How dare you!!!"

Yang swung with all her might, narrowly missing as Alex ducked underneath her punch.

Alex felt the pains of that battle subside as he further broke the illusion, his fatigue fading as he struck Yang's side.

Whatever was in this Light Tendril was quickly sapping Yang's usual combat prowess.

"DO YOU THINK I'LL GO DOWN SO EASY?!"

Yang placed another hard punch at Alex's sternum, yet it only made him stumble backwards as Yang continued to press her attack.

Alex quickly grabbed Yang's other arm, hacking it off with his light-spear, lancing her in the liver, and kicking her to the ground.

Fully prepared to finish the fight, Alex had his weapon raised, poised straight for his enemy's skull, only for his perception to change completely.

The battlefield around him was in chaos. A munitions holding center was up in smoke, a massive trail of scorched earth led from the very spot to the end of the Island they stood upon, and the Inquisition's banner waved everywhere, though ripped up indiscriminately in the chaos.

His blade was pointed right at Yang's skull, as before, but... She looked much younger, much less suspect.. almost innocent by comparison as she held in a horrific wound at her side

Alex looked to his left to find Ruby standing next to him, almost in tears at the scene before her. It was as if it was the last time Ruby would see her sister..

"L-Listen... You two... Vanoss... And Twilight... You... You have to defeat Alpha.. It's the only way.." Yang gasped.

Alex's hand trembled as he found himself being flung across the room once again.

Landing on the hard, marble flooring, he struggled to stand as he found Alpha advancing towards him, his ceremonial blade raised to strike.

Alex narrowly blocked the attack, placing Alpha's sword hand in an arm-bar.

"Alpha's tactics were more based on power attacks. Trying to take me down before I could come close to hurting him." Alex recalled, sweeping the light-spear across his face.

Alpha's helmet fell off, clattering against the floor as he looked up to face Alex...

Only Alpha looked far younger than when he was defeated all those years ago.

Alpha had been in his fifties by the time Alex had fought him, an old man well-versed in battle against a near novice by comparison. But Alpha's face now...

He looked far more like Cade... Scared, lost, just like Alex long ago.

Alex found himself once again flung onto the ground, looking up to find...

Something... He was honestly caught by surprise, uncertain of just what he was looking at.

The being was a twisted, disjointed mish-mash of an average human, a pony, an angel, and whatever horrors lay beyond, but even in the smog and darkness, his attacker was made very apparent.

Osiris.

"You truly are daft if you think you can avenge them." Osiris mocked, raising it's hands towards Alex and blowing him away with a dark energy blast.

In absolute agony, Alex examined the wound, only to find red crystals jutting out of the wound.

"You've failed. Time and time again, you've failed to save them. To save your family. To save yourself."

Another blast sent waves upon waves of agony ripping through Alex's flesh as sanguine crystals formed in his wounds, further searing his flesh.

"But you can't live with it, can you? You can't live with your failures. The disgusting stench of it all either driving you into some forgotten corner of the universe, into the arms of another far more desperate than yourself, or out into the battlefield in the hopes you'll die before you even have to contemplate your resounding downfalls."

Another shot, another caustic shock through Alex's system as he saw his entire life now flashing before his eyes.

"Ever since I've known you, all you've ever wanted to do was to tie off your loose ends, and finally rest. I'll spare you the displeasure of further dealing with your so-called friends... Permanently."

Anger swelled within Alex as he staggered upwards, finally throwing the light spear at Osiris..

Only to light-spear an abnormally shaped embryo in some sort of stasis tank.

Shaken by this vision once again, Alex grabbed the light-spear again, sharply closing his eyes, and raised it into the air.

"MAKE IT STOP!!" He roared, piercing his own chest with the light spear, his vision turning white.

Alex found himself, on his back, returned to the astral world.

"You have passed your First Trial." The Spirit Titan solemnly stated.

"T-Trial, what are you talking about?" Alex demanded.

"Something deep within is preventing your spirit from uniting with this world, and the omniverse as a whole." Artemnas explained, reappearing within the Plane.

"Huh... Didn't think I'd have to delve that deep again.." Alex nodded, somewhat shocked.

"Nevertheless. You have passed the First Trial: The Trial of Understanding. You've faced a reality of your circumstances, and faced a flaw you may yet conquer." The Spirit Titan explained.

"And are there any more trials? I have no idea when I need to get back to the fleet, who knows what could be-" Alex asked.

"Time passes slower within this plane. You will have plenty of time to pass your next two trials." Artemnas answered.

"And what's my second trial?"

"The Trial of Reflection." The Spirit Titan replied.

*Concordian Trenches, June 19, 2021; 10:10 AM*

Adenkorps charged over their trenches advanced towards the fifth wave of enemy troops. Bayonets in hand and with covering fire from the battlements above, lined mostly by volunteers and Team RWBY, who had been wounded, but not so much as to be counted out of the fight.

Fighting had gone on for 9 blood-soaked hours. The beaches had long since turned red, and the horrifying air battles above had not dwindled in their intensity. 1 of Remnant's Airships had been lost, and their fighters had long been diminishing.

Most of Remnant's armed capabilities either on Washington or destroyed in the previous battle on Vytal meant that their fighters were much older models, some of which dating back mere decades after the Great War. The Hussar I models, apparently designed by Alex Walker himself, easily out-maneuvered the aged enemy airfleet, only losing 10 to their 80.

That did not leave the Carolus Dreadnought unscathed, however. The proud vessel was billowing coal-like fumes into the blackening skies above as it's engines kept puttering on, firing it's cannons at ground targets as well as the opposing Airship.

The line of Adenkorps again charged headlong into the enemy line. Bayonets piercing flesh, clubs bashing skulls, and gunfire ripping men asunder. Dozens more Adenkorps stood close to the group, carrying large barrels with them.

And through the haze, leading the charge, was Alex S 1-14

"KEEP PUSHING, MEN! CHARGE!"

The 60 Adenkorps continued their push, felling soldier after soldier as they continued their push towards a rough approximation of a bunker overlooking the beachhead.

Ruby and Yang followed close behind, accompanied by Alex O 9-72 and Alex B 0-12.

"Keep moving! We have to get to that beach-head!" Alex O 9-72 ordered, his sole weapon, Blitzklinge, hacking apart an Atlesian Knight into metallic shreds.

"Bomber! 1 o'Clock! High!" Alex B 0-12 called, sending waves of electricity rippling into the sky, shorting out the bomber as it crashed behind them, detonating whatever payload was inside.

"PALADINS INCOMING!"

Dozens of Atlesian Paladins were dropped from Bullheads along with thousands of Atlesian Knights reinforcing the front.

Ruby and Yang moved alongside Alex S 1-14, raising their weapons.

"You think we can take them?" Ruby grinned, raising Blood Rose at the nearest Paladin as it clamored towards her.

"You bet. You ready?" Yang smirked, looking towards Alex S 1-14

The Kommandant of the Adenkorps merely smirked, looking towards the advancing mecha-horde as he let out a mighty shout, instantly transforming to the bright-blue hued Mythic Warrior.

"Let us begin."

The three charged out into the fray, their Auras alight as they proceeded to singlehandedly wipe out the Paladin forces.

Alex S 1-14 slid underneath a Paladin, letting the targeting systems of the six beside it launch every weapon in their disposal as he appeared to teleport away and brutally disarm each and every one before sending wave after wave of electricity to short out and eventually ignite the other 10.

Yang charged, punching through several Paladins in a single strike before launching destructive fireballs and shotgun blasts at dozens more.

Ruby proceeded to blitz through all of them, hacking and slashing all of them to pieces and blowing them apart with Ray Gun blasts.

With all the Paladins down, they began to make short work of the remaining Atlesian Knights around the bunker, all of them landing atop the concrete hull and charging their final attacks.

"NOW!"

The three of them sent everything they had against the hordes of drones advancing upon them. Bullets, electric blasts, energy waves. Everything.

Alex S 1-14 powered down.

"That... Should be the last of those Knights for now... Adenkorps, set the tankards over the beach, wait until I give the signal!"

The troops began to place the tankards at strategic points along the trench overlooking the beach. Hundreds, even thousands of Remnant's troops continued landing upon the beach, a subtle wind to the southeast blew against Alex S 1-14's face.

"The wind is not yet on our side! Hold this position! Gunners take point, and protect these tankards WITH YOUR LIVES!" Alex S 1-14 continued.

"What's in those barrels..?" Ruby asked.

"Wait... Isn't German-me from World War 1 days?" Alex O 9-72 asked, his voice trailing away in shock.

"Yeah. Why do you ask..." Alex B 0-12 replied, her voice slowing to a quiver.

*Washington, DC; June 21, 2021; 10:08 AM*

Alpha stood upon the bridge of the Nemesis Aerial Dreadnought, followed closely behind by the World Eater and Revenant battleships, along with 20 smaller airships fleeting them.

The Inquisitor glared out at the Adenienite battle-fleet, scowling as he glanced over upon the Aurora and the Ericsson.

"Send a communique to those aboard." Alpha coldly ordered.

"Yes, sir..!" A Red-Star ensign nervously replied as communications opened up.

The faces of the acting commanders of the Aurora and Ericsson, Chūkan and Russell Leone.

"Attention, This is Commander Romulus Walker with an urgent communique for the Auroran Fleet and those aligned with Alexander Walker."

"The hell do you want, Alpha?" Chūkan demanded.

"As much as I utterly despise you and your men, we have more urgent matters regarding our new friend, The Emperor. I'm calling for a temporary, let me stress this, TEMPORARY ceasefire for the time being as we eliminate the threat."

"Like hell we'd ever work alongside the likes of you!" Russell spat.

"My orders to the fleet are to not open fire unless you fire upon them. These are the terms, and I highly recommend taking them." Alpha scowled.

"I will say this once, Commander. We-"

A black portal opened from the back edge of the battlefield. Almost immediately following the portal's emergence came thousands upon thousands of newly-revived Grimm and Furies, along with hordes of undead and beings of pure shadow.

"Steady, men!" A Millenturion ordered his ground forces as the Shock Troops quickly attempted to fortify their positions and lay fire upon the new enemy.

"For Emperor Julius!!" came the resounding battlecry of thousands of Shock Troops.

The Emperor himself stood ready to engage as Cade, Auburn, and Ultimus stood ready to oppose him.

"Holy..." Ultimus shivered.

"Is that-" Cade gasped in shock.

"..Lillith.."

Staggering out from within the portal's bounds came Lillith, looking as monstrous as ever. It's tentacle arm wrapped around a dark scepter as hundreds more abominations charged from the abyss.

"Seems we're all in this together now." Cade scowled.

"As much as I hate to say this, I agree." Alpha murmured angrily.

The two fleets became one as they charged upon the Adenienites and Lillith's army.

"A̷r̶m̵i̴e̶s̶ ̸o̷f̴ ̸D̷a̷r̸k̶n̵e̸s̴s̸ ̴a̴n̸d̶ ̸L̸i̶g̶h̵t̵ ̵s̸h̵a̶l̷l̵ ̶j̵o̵i̸n̴ ̵f̴o̸r̸c̶e̵s̵ ̸a̸s̵ ̷r̸e̶a̵l̷i̸t̴y̵ ̴c̴o̵l̸l̷i̸d̷e̵s̷.̴"