RWBY: Ebbing Darkness - Blake x MaleReader x Yang

Part 10

With little to no difference in terrain, Y/N was forced to sift through the forest on foot. He wasn't expecting much else inside.
He waited and waited, listening to the snow-covered branches and leaves creak and rustle. Soon he caught the flaps of wings and the thud of feet.
"Nothin'." Qrow huffed. "Not a clearing or puff of smoke."
"A cold camp." Y/N hummed. "Or dust..."
"I don't feel anything." His Huntsman partner sighed. They'd been searching all day and had found nothing. "Unless you've got voices in your head, then it's a dead end."
"No." Y/N smelled the air, catching the wavelengths of something potent but faint. "I feel it. They're close."
He removed his helmet, making the smell stronger. Qrow did the same, sniffing the cold air with a puzzled expression.
"Magic." He finally said.
"Right." Qrow grunted. "Forgot about that."
"Not like yours, human." Y/N reiterated. "Stronger. I've felt it before... Where was it?"
Qrow watched his slow descent into thought. He wasn't sure what to make of it. It was magic, there wasn't any doubt about it, but for her magic to be stronger?
"Beacon." Y/N finally said with a visible shudder and shout. "A Maiden! Yes! That's what I felt!"
Qrow felt the blood leave his ears and his face go white. Slowly his bored expression fell, turning into one of horror.
His spine shivered in Y/N's midst. It was a strange feeling, an involuntary response to something that was human but didn't feel like it.
Y/N threw his head back, unleashing a joyous laugh, intensifying the cold over Qrow's back and the pit digging itself into his stomach.
Before he could interject or advice caution, Qrow watched him strip himself of his trophies, quieting his lustful departure. He moved too fast. He'd already lost him in the trees.

Raven flicked a switch to her sheath, cycling and injecting a blade into her awaiting hilt. The sound ticked with a clock, and locked as Y/N lowered his colossal sword.
She swung out in a wide arc. Enhanced steel met steel, carving a canyon over his chest piece and splitting his emblem.
The gouge burned red-hot; a direct hit. By the time Raven realized he had intentionally lowered his aura, it was too late.
His hand filled her vision, gripping her face fast, faster than anyone his size had any right to. She put a mental note to it: Looks were deceiving.
Her arms crossed and her legs kicking back, Raven flipped, bracing herself as he reeled back and tossed her like she weighed nothing.
In a beat of her heart she was flung back, shattering one, two, and three trees before she composed herself in a readied stance. She ignored the pain stretching over her back and ribs, earning a loud, approving laugh as Y/N gave chase.
The ground rumbled in his wake. He ran unimpeded, blazing through the thick snow to meet her blade with his own.
They clashed in a blooming light of ice and lightning, webbing the ground with cracks and shattered plates of frozen sand.
Their blades shivering and humming with power, Raven grit her teeth. A voice entered her mind and a flicker of recognition confirmed it.
"Magic?" She grunted, doubling her efforts with a growl.
"Indeed." He chuckled.
Her aura exploded in a moment of intense focus. The temperature suddenly dropped below zero, covering Y/N's armor in a thick frost that seemed to only deepen his joy.
"Give it your all." He instructed, releasing the full might of his Warp-influence and tremendous aura. "Show me your worth."
The surrounding snow instantly flattened as it collapsed in on itself. The artificial gravity within his dome of power became unbearable to most walks of life, but much to his joy, Raven wasn't like most people.
Her thick head of hair flattened against her back and standing suddenly became a chore, but her aura held steady.
A quick retreat. Y/N's tremendous weight threw him off balance, leaving him open for a slash across his throat. Any lesser man would have lost his head, but Y/N earned a new scar and found his sword's golden pommel crossing across Raven's cheek.
The ex-Huntress recoiled in a growl. Her aura bounced back but the intense pain remained.
Y/N wiped his throat and inspected his hand. Raven faltered as he laughed and the bleeding suddenly stopped; the wound clotting and scabbing over.
He reached overhead, undoing a pair of unseen latches, removing his armor in one fell swoop.
Raven readied herself. He was fast before, but she knew he would be even faster.
In an unsuspecting bit of movement, he raised his arm and clenched his fist.
Either roared to life, firing its hulking ammunition. Raven could feel the pressure of the exploding gasses from where she stood. Standing her ground would result in death.
Dashing to her side, she watched as an old tree was split in half. The resulting explosions of dirt and splintered wood had her covering her face, giving Y/N enough of a window to strike.
Wiping the dust from her eyes, she raised her sword toward a roar stretching across the night sky.
With her arms braced and knees bent, they met. The resulting clash of herculean strength and mystical expertise leveled nearby trees and froze them down to the core. The moment they fell they were off.
Y/N's offensive consisted of heavy cleaved, overwhelming overheads, and quick faints. Nothing too complicated for Raven, but he was in for a long fight, Raven wasn't.
Raven ducked, avoiding his crackling blade and rebounding with a slash across his guard. Pivoting back and around, she kicked the falling tree, throwing it off its stump with tremendous power.
The heavy tree collided with Y/N, forcing him to catch its immense presence. Raven shot forward, slashing the tree at head-level, cutting it in two and narrowly missing Y/N's throat.
"Clever!" He said. Before she could retreat, he took both halves in his hand and swung out, having one chopped in half, throwing Raven off balance, then having the other thrash against her opposite shoulder.
Left rattled, Raven felt his hand grip her ankle. He endured the cold enveloping his arm and was off. He sprinted deeper into the wood, splitting tree after tree with Raven.
Regaining her bearings, Raven lashed out, leaving a glowing blue cut over Y/N's helmet. He reacted, raising her high and thrashing her down, impairing her vision and clicking a joint in her shoulder.
He was a savage. It was all the way down to his demeanor and mannerisms. He had been waiting for a fight like this. He was going to savor it.
He hopped back, giving her room to breathe and recover. Some would say it was reckless, but he enjoyed the fire igniting in her eyes. It was a spectacle, a moment akin to one enjoying a scenic view.
Her aura exploded once more. Fallen debris began to defy nature, hovering above the ground and surrounding her in snow morphing into jagged blades.
Y/N threw his guard up, shattering an erected pillar of ice. He raised his Storm Bolter, emptying the rest of his clip into the shield of ice, creating a plume of steam and smoke.
Raven took one long stride forward, meeting him halfway after he barged through her frozen shield. They clashed and recovered before clashing again.
Surrounding leaves shuddered as they were frozen solid. Magic folded in on itself, creating a thick fog of frozen moisture. If it wasn't for Y/N's helmet he was sure his lungs would freeze solid.
Her glowing blade met his, arcing down as she narrowly missing his shoulder. She attempted to pull back but found their cross guards locked in place. She looked up, meeting his gaze for a fraction of a second before his steel knuckles slammed into her cheek.
Sent flying, Raven rolled and recovered. Her magic shifted, becoming more ferocious and less controlled.
"Qrow." She seethed. She chalked it down to coincidence before, but now she was certain they had crossed paths.
"Noticed that, did you?" He asked, chuckling. "What a fool he was."
"Ironic."
"Quite." He raised his arm and flicked his wrist, deactivating his Storm Bolter. He now gripped his sword with both hands, putting Raven on edge.
He raised Firma into a defensive stance, shifting his strategy entirely. Raven knew now it was a battle of attrition.
An explosion of turquoise energy rocked The Deep South. Wandering bands of Grimm watched, curious, but old enough to practice great caution.
Y/N tucked and rolled, evading a humming slash. Raven's sword grew in size, creating an equalizer between the two. However now Y/N did the best he could to avoid her.
Another slash filled the dark forest with her blinding power. Trees shifted and cracked as they fell, leaving an eery silence in their wake.
"Yang told me much of you!" He shouted, his voice coming from all directions as it echoed off ancient trees.
Raven scanned her surroundings, finding nothing more than snow and anger. Her teeth grit and her temper flared, finding herself faltering.
"I'm thoroughly impressed!" He said through a maddening, echoing laugh. "Words cannot begin to describe how I feel! And the same could be said for you!"
"Yang." The ex-Huntress hissed. "And now you're here to kill me?! What cruel game are you playing?!"
"So quick to come to conclusion." She lashed out, cutting down a drove of trees, silencing the voice for only a moment. "Ozpin had the great idea of staying put, showing our bellies to Salem. I thought otherwise."
"Ozpin is a fool." With her blade sheathed, she cycled in a newer, hardened steel. There wasn't a spec of dust to be seen on it, but her magic would compensate. "And so are you."
"Ozpin is a means to an end." He announced. "Although I agree. If not for me Beacon will be rubble."
"If you think so highly of yourself then come out here to fight." Raven's patience was running thin. Her magic reflected her emotions as it convulsed and buzzed. She was at her limit.
"Know your place." He said, his voice coming from behind.
Her teal blade flicked from her wrist, once, twice, cutting every tree down then in half. Branches rained down from above and leaves froze before an intense gust of wind threw them into the darkness.
Y/N came crashing down, putting his entire weight into his fall. Suddenly eight-hundred pounds of pure muscle became eight-thousand, shattering the ground with a resounding boom while uprooting trees in a thirty foot radius.
Raven faltered. Her chest filled with anxiety and anguish. She told her body to move, to fly and build distance, but the weight was too great. Her own blood couldn't even circulate properly.
"That's it." He said, looming over her. His voice became clearer, more natural. "Bend thy knee."
Bracing herself and gritting her teeth, Raven swung back, ending more trees but hitting nothing more than air.
A chuckle came from behind. She shuffled back, building distance as her movements slowed.
Her eyes were drawn to Y/N's hands where he kept her sheathe and supply of blades.
"I hear you were once a woman of honor. A hero." He smiled, showing every detail to his face and cloudy, silver eyes. Raven shifted back, the severity of the situation finally setting in.
"The strong live and the weak die." She growled. "Anything else is a pipe dream."
"I'm aware." He hummed and latched her sheathe over his shoulder. "So tell me, who dies tonight?"
"Arrogance will get you nowhere."
"Is it? Am I arrogant for knowing I'm vastly superior?"
"You talk too much!" She cried out, crossing the distance between them and crossing her blade across his chest.
His aura deflected the hardened steel, leaving her open for a wide and powerful slash. With the rest of his armor removed, he became nothing more than a blur.
"I tamed the wilds as a boy." He gloated, striking down on her guard with an overhead crash. "I've killed hundreds!"
Sparks exploded from their great meeting. Raven's muscles began to burn and quiver. Every attack expended more of her aura than she regenerated, but Y/N's conviction held true. His aura regenerated almost immediately with every attack or deflect.
Her eyes narrowing, Raven recovered and attacked, glancing off his shoulder and readying herself for another block.
His sword came like a literal strike of lightning, shattering the ground beneath them and making her knuckles ache.
She could feel it now. He dropped his aura after every attack, leaving him open and allowing it time to regenerate. Then once on the defensive, he lowered it with each block or parry.
Hopping back and to her side, Raven avoided a wide and long slash. With her back turned, she waited, preparing herself for the moment his humming sword came down.
With her back turned, she raised her sword high and flicked it around, plunging it under her armpit and deep into Y/N's chest.
His sword came crashing down. Its golden guard rested over her shoulder, kissing her cheek with its cold, frosted metal.
The overwhelming barrier had finally fallen and a wheeze met her ears. She'd pierced a lung, possibly collapsing it.
"Very good..."
His amused praise made her blood run cold. With a chilling chuckle, his hand shot out, gripping her hilt. Fearing a grapple, Raven let go and built distance.
"I feared caution was nothing more than their cowardice." He said, removing her sword and unlocking the blade to shatter under his boot. "But I'm glad to have been wrong for once."
He pocketed the hilt and sheathed his weapon. With blood rapidly drying over his hand, he gestured for her to come, to try again.
"We've all night." He said. His wide grin planted itself in her mind, becoming a constant even when his magic died down, casting the forest into darkness.
His magic wasn't anything like her own. It was cold, unnerving. It froze the ground, burned as it snapped out, and shocked her down to the bone. He wasn't human, he couldn't be.
"I'll give you three seconds." His voice came from around the bend, an area she bathed in fire and extinguished with ice from a mere wave of her hand. "Kneel."
Stalagmites of earth and ice erupted with a raise of her hand, devastating the area.
She whipped around, scanning the area of destruction. A snap of a branch came from behind, she pivoted back, watching a tree fall. Another snap. Distinct stomps of boots came from the other way.
He arms reels back before flowing forward. She gathered falling snow, melting it, then spreading the it all around to wreathe her surroundings in lightning.
Y/N emerged from below, tossing aside a fallen tree. His conviction overwhelmed her magic as it arced all around him, mingling with his own.
He laughed once more, drowning out the sounds of lightning. His cloudy gaze was set on hers, never swaying, never extinguishing.
Raven lept to the side, avoiding his grab. He continued through, barging through a fallen tree and kicking up snow. Before she could react, the tree returned, slamming into her arm and last-second block.
Her shoulder clicked once more, now throbbing with a constant pain. Her aura held strong but it mattered little when it couldn't handle physical pressure.
She was sent flying and he was on her in a second. Fire spewed from her hands, casting the forest in its blinding light.
Y/N pushed through the scathing heat, emerging from the fiery glow to wrap his hands around Raven's closing the damn of fire and capitalized.
Raven staggered back as his semblance returned with a vengeance. Her aura began to wane as she pushed more into her body and pull less away from her magic. The constant back and forth began to strain her mind and body.
He bore down on her, pushing and pushing with gravity on his side. He came in close; his silver eyes expressing his nigh overwhelming joy.
"I understand now." His grip tightened, folding her knuckles against one another and bending her wrists back. Her aura was intact but the pain became excruciating.
"I don't tolerate anything less than the best." He let loose a small chuckle; a sound that dripped with pride. "And you, Raven, have earned my respect."
"I'd..." Her grit teeth opened in a cry. Her shoulder finally caved with an audible pop from its dislocation. "Rather die!"
"I expected nothing less." He shifted back, shifting the balance of power and throwing her off balance.
With one bad arm, she was helpless to his assault as he released her and threw a devastating uppercut from below, ramming her jaw shut.
Dazed, Raven arched her back, thrusting her knee up and into Y/N's temple. Next she followed through, flipping back and twisting, wrenching her hand free.
In a moment she was out of his sight; her magic and aura fading into obscurity.
"Smart. Knowing when to retreat." He turned back, shifting his attention. "But out here, there's only one place you can go."
"You're a bigger fool than I thought." Raven said through grit teeth. "Being Ozpin's pawn will get you nowhere."
"I'm my own man." He asserted. "Ozma failed throughout all these years because he's a coward, a man too scared to face his own failures. Especially now in this day and age. He has Atlas at his beck and call, and his great idea was to hope nothing happens."
"And you're here because of him."
"I'm here because I felt my calling." He grunted. "Either I'd gain your support, or I'd have a bit of fun. Thus far I've had the latter."
"You don't understand. Salem's unstoppable."
"Spoken like a true coward." Y/N scoffed. "I'll be waging this war on my own. I'll crush her legions, burn her lands. With or without you."
He neared the camp. There he saw the many bandits awaiting Raven's return, but now were met with him.
They readied themselves at his approach. They raised their arms, confidence surging. Now that he had removed his armor they felt there was a chance.
"I'll give you all the chance I did Raven." He announced, unsheathing his sword. "Bend, thy, knee."
The voice coming from his throat was real. It wasn't changed like they had thought. He still stood eight feet tall, his muscles still bulged, and he was still alive after such a destructive spectacle.
What was he? Was he some sort of monster? A beast to submit to? It certainly felt like it. Then there was his voice, loud and regal. He spoke like he was royalty and demanded such. Were they to run or bow?
"Stay out of this!" Raven's voice returned, commanding the dozens standing before them.
Y/N pivoted back, welcoming her with a slow clap. His grin lessened into a smile and his brows lowered, furrowing into a cold glare.
"The strong live and the weak die." He said, rattling their audience with his words and her weapon latched close to his. "Am I right to assume you wish to all die?"
"Join or die?" Raven asked, her glare intensifying. "What do you take us for?"
"I believe they all flocked to you for that reason alone." He replied. "They fear death. They want to live, they want to pillage, rape, kill. Of course, under my rule they would do no such thing. Under my rule they'll live, they'll want nothing more than to adopt my ideals."
He turned, having her on one shoulder and them on his other. He scanned the crowd, looking into each of their eyes until he found someone, a man who wore his fear on his sleeve and gripped his weapon a little lighter than the others.
"ISN'T THAT RIGHT?!" He bellowed, having his voice stretched across the dark sky and withering destruction.
The man's hands trembled as confliction shifted to terror. He dropped to not one, but both knees. His head fell, expressing remorse and shame. But deep down, Y/N felt his hope for survival.
"None of you can ever hope to stand up to me." He said. His demeanor finally shifted as his smile fell and his eyes ignited with a light of iron will. "But you can stand by me. Give me your lives and I'll grant it safe passage to paradise."
A young man, now sporting a bloated bruise over his jaw, fell to his knees. Now the pain in his jaw was the only thing he held close as it throbbed in the seconds that felt like minutes.
A woman slowly yet surely bent her knee. Y/N would be offended if not for the bump in her stomach and the pained expression she took from doing so.
Her presumed husband did the same, and with him another man who shared a remarkable resemblance. Shortly after an elderly woman joined them, spurring compliance in those around.
One by one they fell. Y/N counted well over five dozen committing themselves to him, submitting their lives but gaining his protection in return.
"You've been waiting for this very moment." Y/N said, turning back to Raven. "Deep down you wanted a compromise. You care deeply for your people, your family. I respect that. But now's your chance, Raven. Stand with me and we'll crush those that appose us."
He felt her reluctance begin to fade as the message stretched across her mind. The strong live and the weak die. Y/N was the strong, a man who exuded such power that anyone would be weak from his words alone.
She remembered Yang and the terrible decision she made. And he was right. Now that she was given the chance to have both families, she need only bend her knee to have them.
She was beaten. Her aura had regenerated but Y/N would capitalize on her bad arm. She would die and she wouldn't hold it against him. It was a part of nature, human nature, his nature.
With her arm hanging loose, she bent her knee and bowed her head. She was forced to wait as he accessed the situation and approached. For some reason she knew it wasn't with malice in mind.
"Now then..." He kneeled, taking her forearm in his hand and her shoulder in the other. With a twist and push, he forced her arm back in place with nothing more than a strained exhale on her part.
Standing, he offered his bloodied hand, sealing a deep bond once she'd touched it and was lifted from the dirt.