[Opener: "Hometown"--21 Pilots]
[Also, if you catch it, the title is a reverse of the previous title "Falling Up", which was an arc about Cinder having things turn out better than she thought.]
Royal, Emerald, and Mercury were close behind the others, in time to see Striker getting up.
"All right, have to hurry," Royal said.
Cinder was right behind them.
"I don't know who those other people are," she said, "but Mala is mine."
"Don't do anything stupid," Mercury said. "Can't take her down till we knock out Striker."
"I need a spear," Royal announced.
"So?" Mercury said.
Cinder formed one and handed it to him.
"All right," Emerald said, "Mercury...you can do it?"
"Lot of people here I don't want to die, particularly before Mala." Mercury made a fist. "Should be no problem. Everybody, blink!" He yelled the last part.
The two bandits who had not been fighting yet looked up in surprise.
Mercury's Eyes flashed.
Mala had been about to attack Raven, and now she pulled back.
Emerald quickly drew a line in the dirt of the tunnel she was in, as the white light enveloped the area.
The bandits all screamed and ducked, but, while the light hurt them, it wasn't enough to drive the Grimm out of them all when there were so many. It did singe them, however.
Striker, as predicted by Royal, put up a wall of shadow to block Mala and himself.
Emerald put a hand to her head.
In Striker's mind he saw the shadows melting away in the white light...even after the actual light faded.
Mala didn't understand why he suddenly leapt back from them and raced towards the other shadows in the room...of which there were many, but Emerald made it so that it looked like all of them vanished in the light except for one right next to the tunnel's entrance.
"Striker!" Mala yelled, before Raven leapt at her to distract her. She slammed into her as Mala blocked her sword with her own again and pushed her back. The Grimm came to support Mala.
Striker didn't seem to hear, however. He dove into the shadow next to the wall.
Then he abruptly came out right at the line Emerald had drawn, as if it had ended there.
"Wait--" he paused, as if he'd expected to end up farther down the tunnels. He suddenly began to disappear again--but before he did, the spear went right through him.
It happened in a split second of time, since Striker was so fast, and likely no one but Royal could have timed it well enough to hit him.
Striker fell over, gasping.
"Striker?" Bloodrayne noticed. "S---! There went our escape."
Mala paused to notice. "What?...No!" she shrieked in anger.
They all knew it wasn't because she was upset about him dying--she was just pissed that she wouldn't be able to use him to run. But it did seem alarming to her own forces, who already knew to duck for cover when Mala got like that.
"Finally got one." Royal brushed his hands off.
"With help," Cinder said.
"It still counts," Royal said.
YOU ARE READING
RWBY Through Worlds (End)
FanfictionCouldn't fit it all in one book so this is the end of the story. Sit tight, it's a real ride. After the author's note, you'll see I wrote an epilogue in the form of a bonus book of extra stuff I wanted to see more of and couldn't fit in the main boo...
