Episode 3: Chapter 12: Shatter

Chapter 12 of Episode 3 of Order of Seasons

             “Are you sure you guys don’t need any help Natls?” Miles asked.

            “Just take care of those two!” Natalie yelled as she leapt backwards out of the path of Mortem’s sword. “We got this! Just find us when you’re done!” Miles nodded his head, and then rushed out the door that Yang had punched Adam through. Natalie then turned her attention back to Lord Mortem, who was clashing blades with Ruby. Natalie knew that the element of surprise wasn’t going to last long against him, so she immediately rushed forward, firing bullets at Lord Mortem in attempts to keep him off balance. And for the most part, it seemed to be working. Lord Mortem wasn’t able to keep up with both the speed of Ruby as well as the constant barrage of bullets from Natalie. Trying to regain his bearings, he leapt up into the air and hovered for a split second and concentrated on pushing his aura to two different directions. Not wanting him to finish whatever he was doing, Ruby launched herself skyward and attempted to slice him right in half. But in the split second before her scythe connected on his chest, he suddenly split into two separate beings. One of them flew down and immediately started fighting Natalie, the other grabbed Ruby in a chokehold and threw her down into the ground creating a giant crater. The two ladies got back on their feet and regrouped, and the twin Lord Mortem’s did the same.

            “Did you really think that it would be that easy to challenge a god?” Lord Mortem said with a smirk.

            “Actually,” Natalie said, “For a second there….”

            “Don’t you dare….” Ruby said with an annoyed tone.

            “Yeah. I kinda did.”

            “I swear,” Ruby said pinching her forehead. “You’re turning more and more into my sister every day.”

            “Must be the company I’m keeping.” The two chuckled, but then were sent flying into the wall from an attack by one of the two Lord Mortem clones.

            “Despite becoming the most powerful being in the universe, people still think they can talk over me. Know your place.”

 

 

 

 

            “The battle has been joined.” Ozpin said gazing through the crack in reality.

            “Any idea if the Spring lookalike can defeat him? Or injure him enough so that he can be broken?”

            “As of right now, Lord Mortem may have given them an advantage in this battle.” Ozpin said as he weaved a string of magic signs in front of the crack, trying to keep it from spiraling out of control. “Mortem has split his being into two entities. If they were forced back together, that may be the opening I need in order to disrupt the balance within his body.”

            “Are you sure about this Ozpin?  You know as well as I do what happens if you attempt to do this.”

            “I know.  I sacrifice my right to exist. But the world needs my aura in order to remain in balance, so my aura will become bound to the vessel, but the person I am will become bound to the afterlife. Similar to what happened to father.”

            “Despite everything that has happened, you still fight for them Ozpin.”

            “And I want you to continue that sister.”

            “What?”

            “When your aura is freed, then your soul will return to your body. You will continue to live on. And I want you to take over as headmaster of Beacon Academy.”

            “What?”

            “At least, after Qrow has passed on. He is currently the heir I have left the Academy to. So once he has passed, I want you to take over.”

            “After all I’ve done, you would trust me to run the institution built to protect those that I had sworn to destroy? Why Ozpin?”

            “Because you are my sister. And despite what has happened over the last millennium, I believe that all it took for you to remember who you used to be was that little girl who believed in the light so much she passed up the afterlife in order to protect it.” Salem fell silent, not sure how to respond to this. She just simply sat there, watching her brother continue to fight to keep reality together.

 

 

 

 

Ruby blocked an attack from Lord Mortem and tried to gain some ground, but Lord Mortem overpowered her and slammed her into the wall. Getting up quickly, Ruby ran straight at Lord Mortem, but instead of attacking that copy, she morphed into petal mode and went around him and re-appeared to strike the copy of Lord Mortem that was fighting Natalie.  The two of them then stood back to back while the two Lord Mortem’s got up and got ready for another round.

            “I’m willing to take suggestions at this point!” Ruby said as she re-loaded her rifle.

            “What about the slingshot maneuver you and Blake tried once?” Natalie said as she split her weapon in two.

            “How would that work?” Ruby asked firing a few shots trying to keep Lord Mortem at a distance. “We don’t have the rope portion of Blake’s weapon!”

            “I was thinking we would both use the hook portion and go from there!”

            “I get what your saying!” Ruby said as she changed cartridges in her weapon. “I’ve got the one on the right!” In the split second after she said that, Ruby launched herself forward and started fighting her copy of Lord Mortem. Initially looking like it was just another round of fighting, Lord Mortem got caught off guard when Ruby instead of using her scythe to block an attack of his, she instead went into petal mode and weaved around Lord Mortem and re-formed on the wall, launching herself and catching Lord Mortem in the hook of her scythe. Realizing what they were planning, the copy of Lord Mortem that was fighting Natalie attempted to fly up and avoid what was about to happen. However, Natalie managed to use one half of her weapon to launch herself in the air, then caught Lord Mortem with the other half and slammed him into the ground. Before he could get up, Natalie did the exact same thing that Ruby did with her scythe, rejoined the two pieces into one, and launched herself towards Ruby. The two of them were about to collide, but Ruby morphed into petal mode again and passed right through Natalie and the other Lord Mortem, leaving Natalie to throw the limp body of Lord Mortem into his copy, and when they collided, a bright light flashed, and they merged back into one, falling to the ground. What was happening to Lord Mortem’s body was interesting to say the least. His body was enveloped in light with cracks in it; similar to what happens when somebody has their aura depleted.  But rather than a field around the body, the entire body looked like it was breaking apart.  Natalie didn’t waste any time. As soon as she landed, she dealt three powerful blows to Lord Mortem, which caused him to glow even brighter.

 

 

 

 

The crack in reality was glowing as brightly as the sun. Ozpin let out a deep breath and started walking towards it.

            “Take care of the world for me, please Salem? This is my final request.” Salem didn’t say anything. She just stood there, not sure how to respond as her brother walked towards the crack in reality. Then, right before Ozpin could make contact, he was pulled away by shadows that extended from Salem’s arms. She threw Ozpin away from the crack and started walking towards it herself.

            “Salem!” Ozpin yelled as he got up. “Stop! What are you doing?!” Salem smiled as she continued to move forward.

            “I’ve made a lot of choices in my lifetime Ozpin. And they were all of my own free will. I did what I did because I hated what humans did to my family and friends. And I’ve done so much harm the human world will never trust me. But you trusted me. After all I had done, you were still willing to trust me with the fate of the world in your absence. That’s why the world needs you Ozpin. Not me. So I’ll do one last thing to somewhat redeem myself. I’ll help you save your world.” As she said this, she made contact with the crack, and her entire being began to fade away.

            “Why?” Ozpin said as he watched her disappear. “After all these years, why do this?”

            “You tried to save me when I made my choice.” Salem said with a smile. “You never gave up on me, hoping that my time in solitude would change me. I’m sad to say that didn’t work until the very end, but let me help you one last time.” Ozpin fought back tears as the last bits of Salem faded from existence.

            “I wish it was different sister. I wish I had been a better brother. I wish I did save you all those years ago.”

            “You aren’t perfect Ozpin. We never were.” As the last few pieces of Salem faded away into nothingness, her final words touched Ozpin’s ears and he finally let his emotions go.

            “I’ll tell Spring you said hi.”

 

 

 

 

Natalie and Ruby stared at Lord Mortem, not sure what to do. He was just sitting there, enveloped in light. Suddenly, he clutched his head and let out a scream of extreme pain as five orbs of light exited his body, and flew up into the sky and left Lord Mortem completely shrouded in dark energy. Natalie then walked over to him and placed her weapon at his neck.

            “It’s over Mortem. You aren’t as powerful as you were before. Just give up and this can end peacefully.”

            “Peacefully?” Lord Mortem said with an evil laugh. “Peace is an illusion. There is only control.” As he said this, he unleashed a charge of dark energy that sent Ruby and Natalie flying to the opposite side of the room. He slowly got up, completely enveloped in darkness. “I should truly thank Salem,” he said with a smirk. “I take it that she sacrificed herself to disrupt my power. And on top of that, it was most likely Ozpin’s idea to try and break apart the union of power I had achieved. And Salem sacrificed herself so that he could live on. Fool. I have trained with her power before. I wielded a portion with the dragon and then her full power belonged to me for a time. Perhaps if Ozpin did sacrifice himself, I would be at a disadvantage. But the joke is on you. I am still immortal, I still control power absolute, and I will use my immortality to find the pieces once again and reclaim what is rightfully mine!”

            “Yeah, you managed to kill both Ozpin and Salem when they were at full power.” Natalie said getting up. “I think we might still have a chance here.”

            “Yeah.” Ruby said cocking her weapon, ready to launch herself at Lord Mortem. “I’ve fought a Maiden before, and they aren’t that much!” With that said, the two of them rushed towards Lord Mortem, but he didn’t even flinch. He didn’t even take a step backwards to try and prepare for the attack. He just simply took his sword and swung it at his enemies, sending out an energy blade knocking them both back once again.

            “Like I said,” Lord Mortem smirked as he walked over, “I’ve practiced with this power. I’m not like Cinder. I won’t waste any time in killing you. And this time, I’m going to make sure you stay dead.” He then swung his sword down, but Ruby had managed to recover in time to block it. The two of them traded blows for a few solid minutes. Ruby trying to use her speed to her advantage, but Lord Mortem was able to use the dark energy in his body as a sort of shield. Natalie finally managed to gather her bearings, but it was too late. Lord Mortem had landed a huge blow on Ruby and sent her flying into the wall, knocking her unconscious. And before Natalie could get up and over to her side, Lord Mortem fired another beam of dark energy, knocking Natalie up against the small wall that divided the center of the room and the seating area where all the world leaders were. She could feel her power fading. Her Aura was almost gone, she could barely hold up her weapon, and Lord Mortem was now standing before her with his weapon at her throat.

            “Don’t worry,” he said menacingly. “I’ll make sure that I send Ozpin back to keep you company in due time.”

            “Natalie!” Lord Mortem turned to see where the yell came from, and instantly had to defend himself from several shotgun rounds from Yang’s gauntlets. He was then knocked away from Natalie as Blake and Miles rushed him and started clashing their blades. Nathan ran over to Natalie and helped her back to her feet.

            “Are you okay?” He asked sounding very concerned.

            “I’m fine.” Natalie said as she picked up her weapon. “What about Ruby?” The two of them looked over and saw that Ruby still hadn’t moved yet. They ran over to her and tried to help her up.

            “Ruby, are you okay?” Natalie asked. Ruby didn’t respond for a second, but finally started to regain consciousness. Nathan looked over and saw that while they were doing all right, Miles Blake and Yang clearly needed help. He then reached up to his com-link and turned it back on.

 

 

 

 

Jacob threw three explosive dust knives towards a small group of soldiers. It was clear that the Order was fighting a losing battle, but they kept fighting all the same. Suddenly, his com-link reactivated and all he could hear was Nathan yelling,

            “We’ve got Lord Mortem outnumbered in here! But we still need all the help we can get! Can anybody read me?!”

            “I can hear you.” Jacob said responding. “I’ll get a few people in. We can’t spare many, but enough to help you win this fight.” Jacob then ran over to where Evan and the rest of Team JCTB were fighting back against Order soldiers.

            “Did you all hear what went over the coms a second ago?” Jacob asked.

            “Yeah, hard to miss.” Ty said as he used his bazooka mode to send several enemies flying. “Any ideas on how to get in quickly?”

            “What if we did what we did against the Nevermore back in the Emerald Forest?” Brooklyn said as she turned her weapon back into bracelet form.

            “That could work.” Evan said firing a few rounds at a group of enemies.

            “Let’s do it now.” Ty said putting his weapon away. “Who’s going first?”

 

 

 

 

Miles tried to block the attack, but despite managing to block the sword, the force of the impact sent him flying away from Lord Mortem. However, he quickly changed the pull of gravity on his body so that when he collided with the wall, it was as if he was landing on feathers, and then changed the direction of the gravitational pull so that he was instantly rocketing towards Lord Mortem and dealt a powerful blow that sent him flying into the blade of Blake who then sent Lord Mortem straight towards Yang who punched him straight up into the sky. Lord Mortem managed to regain his balance and was about to launch an attack in mid air, but all of a sudden, the giant glass dome above the room shattered again and before Lord Mortem could respond to what was happening, he felt two blades strike him in the back and send him flying to the ground. Christy and Brooklyn both landed respectfully after they landed their attacks. Lord Mortem, now clearly ticked off, attempted to send another bolt of dark energy towards his new attackers, but then in a split second, he was surrounded by yellow glowing knives that suddenly all went off and formed an electric cage surrounding him. He tried to leap out, but was met with the katanna blade of Jacob. The two of them clashed for three hits, but then it looked like Lord Mortem had the upper hand. He had a clear chance to slice Jacob right in half. Nobody could react to it in time he thought. But Jacob managed to parry the blow with relative ease as he then proceeded to stab Lord Mortem in the chest with a fire dust knife that sent him flying into and out of the electrical cage. Growing more and more annoyed, he tried to regain his bearings, but then lost them when he felt a punch to his gut. He could hardly make it out, but the distinctive gauntlet and spear of Evan made him easy to pinpoint. Landing several blows with his spear, Evan was able to completely disorient Lord Mortem. But before they could all gang up on him, Lord Mortem used the Aura around his body as a force push to knock everybody back and give himself a chance to regain his bearings. As he did so, Ty, Weiss, and all of Team JNPR came rushing in through the side door. As they all stood there, Lord Mortem cracked his neck and raised his sword up and pointed it straight at his opponents.

            “I’ve come too far. I refuse to let a bunch of children take away everything I have built for a better world.”

            “Yeah, you kind of lost your argument for a “peaceful world” when you killed our friend, okay?” Miles said as he spun his swords around and clashed them together creating a spark.

            “Yeah, plus you were on the verge of destroying all of reality while you were the wizard, so I think killing you would do the world a favor.” Natalie said twirling her weapon around and slamming it into the ground. Lord Mortem simply looked at all of them and smiled, a single tear running down the side of his face.

            “Why do they never understand? Why do they not realize how the world is slowly poisoning them? I will teach them. I will show them a better world.” As soon as he finished saying this, he rushed forward towards Natalie. But before his sword could swing down, Ruby had blocked the attack with her scythe. In that split second, Nathan threw his billy clubs at Lord Mortem’s head, knocking him back a few paces into the path of Nora’s hammer, which sent him skyrocketing into the ceiling. As he began to fall down, Blake tossed Yang one half of her weapon and the two of them used Bumblebee and knocked him flat on the ground where Jaune and Pyrrha were waiting with their twin sword combo. Ren rushed forward trying to keep the attack up, but Mortem managed to block his attack, and the two of them locked their blades. In that split second, Weiss launched several ice glyphs at Lord Mortem. He managed to deflect most of them, but one of them managed to hit and freeze his leg. He tried to free himself, but he let his guard down to do so, allowing Jacob and Brooklyn to take their swords and smack him into the twin axes of Christy. She then proceeded to duck out of the way as Evan threw his spear right into Lord Mortem’s face, causing him to lose balance. Wiping away the small cut of blood he sustained on his cheek, he was then bombarded by a flurry of sword strikes from Miles and Ty, knocking him down to one knee. Miles then held up his sword to Lord Mortem’s throat.

            “Surrender” he said in a solemn voice. “It doesn’t have to end like this.”

            “You dare…. to threaten a god!” As he said this, Lord Mortem immediately poured out all his Aura into one massive pool of darkness that stretched out and ensnared every single person he could see in the entire room. Nobody could move. They were completely trapped by the darkness. Lord Mortem then got up and walked to the center of the room.

            “No more kings! No more elected officials! No more fools who accept no solutions as a solution! No more anarchist fools who wish to disturb order! No more…ack!” In that instant, he clutched his abdomen in pain and in doing so, released all those he had captured under his grasp. Hardly able to say anything, he turned around, and re-appearing behind him, was Natalie. Having been invisible for a large portion of time, she now stood behind the crumpled body of Lord Mortem, her scythe behind her since she completed her swing, and the silver blade now was covered in crimson, having landed a perfect hit on Lord Mortem.

            “And you accused us of talking too much.” Natalie said as she dropped her weapon to the ground. Lord Mortem fell to his knees, still clutching where Natalie had attacked.

            “I….could have saved everyone….I would….have restored order……” with that last statement, he fell to the ground, all the Aura that he possessed slowly flowing back towards him like a small puddle of water on a hill. Natalie then turned around and walked back to her friends.

            “You could have saved the world a long time ago if you really wanted to.”

 

 

 

 

The Atlesian soldiers were still rounding up the last few Order members when Ozpin finally arrived on Vytal. He actually used magic to fly to Vytal believing that the battle was still going on. But he was pleasantly surprised when he saw that the battle was over. He walked into the main government building and saw Natalie and company still sitting there. Christy was attending to the wounds of those who needed healing, while everybody else started at the motionless body of Lord Mortem, not sure what to expect. The body seemed dead, but the Aura of Salem still remained attached to his body. Any form of blood was now gone, in its place was the liquefied form of Aura that surrounded his body. Every once in a while, a small Grimm would pop out and before it even had a chance to roar, anyone near enough with a sword or otherwise would decapitate it.

            “What’s happening to him?” Ty asked as he beheaded another new Beowolf.

            “The Aura of my sister completely bound itself to his body.” Ozpin said as he started drawing several symbols on the floor with his cane. “It isn’t like the Maidens Aura which changes from life to life. Our Aura is bound to our very being. So as a result, he can’t die, but at the same time, due to what Miss Grover did to him, he will never be able to function again. You managed to strike him when he removed all his Aura from his body, resulting in him being mortal. It’s a complicated process I won’t get into right now. The point is, his body has become a simple container for the Aura, but without the life force in order to give it purpose.”

            “So all he can do now is summon Grimm?” Jacob asked. “What do we do? Just have a rotation of guards constantly keeping watch and destroying whatever Grimm come out of the ooze?”

            “That is one possibility,” Ozpin said as he began weaving different signs with his hands. “However, the simple fact is, there will always be people who will desire that kind of power, or want to harness it for themselves. So to avoid any problems with that happening, I will send him to where I sent my sister. Only this time, instead of a mastermind pulling the strings, the Grimm will become far less focused and will act purely on instinct. It isn’t the most perfect solution, but better than any alternative.” As he said this, he weaved several signs and Lord Mortem’s body began to fade from existence and disappeared all together.

 

 

 

 

Lord Aeris and Lord Memoriare sat down on one of the few escape rafts they managed to salvage. The unconscious and broken body of Lord Hibernis took up the center of the raft.

            “What do we do now?” Lord Aeris asked as she paddled them away from the island.

            “We shall engage the King Has Fallen protocol once we reach our temporary base of operations in Mantle.” Memoriare said. “We are the last in the chain of command of the Order. We didn’t have all the important pieces at Vytal. We still have control of some of the kingdoms. We won’t go down without a fight.”

            “But what about Lord Mortem? Do you really think we can do everything without him?”

            “For a while, absolutely. But he still has the power of Salem within him. If we are going to get it back, we need to find a way into the dark realm. If I remember correctly, Salem had a council of four that dispersed into the world after Cinder failed to bring them the Fall Maiden.”

            “I think I know a guy,” Lord Aeris said with a chuckle. “Tyrian was always a lot of fun to be around.”

 

 

 

 

For years afterwards, those three would go on to be some of the greatest enemies that Teams RWBY, JNPR, NEMN, and JCTB ever fought. But that’s a story for another time.

 

 

 

 

3 Days Later

Beacon Academy

 

 

 

 

The final preparations were complete. Ozpin pulled the lever and all the small boats containing those who had fallen during the battles of Beacon and Vytal floated down the mighty river towards the great falls. The final boat to leave contained the body of Glynda Goodwitch, which Ozpin pushed out into the river himself. As the boats floated down the stream, once they were far enough away, Ruby and Natalie took their weapons, and fired at a very specific target on Glynda’s boat. Their bullets hit the target perfectly, and went on to ricochet to several similar targets on all the boats. Every time a bullet hit one of the targets, that boat caught fire and lit the interior of the boat like a funeral pyre. Once all the boats were lit, everybody in attendance hoisted their weapons or fists to the sky. A final salute as the boats began to tip over the falls and dive into their final rest.

 

 

 

 

2 Days Later

Atlas Academy

 

 

 

 

            “…and while we mourn those who made the ultimate sacrifice, today we celebrate those who stand before us today, for risking everything to keep the world safe. And while we may still have some battles left to complete before everything returns to normal, let us take today to celebrate that when all hope seemed lost, these people behind me still stood tall in face of all that and brought us our first victory of many against the Order!” As soon as General Ironwood finished his statements, everybody in the audience erupted into applause as every single soldier or student who fought at the Battle of Vytal walked up on stage and received their medals of honor. As soon as everybody walked up on stage, Professor Ozpin took the stage and Ironwood handed him the microphone.

            “One year ago, Vale was faced with a great threat. And while many students risked everything in order to protect Beacon, eight students stood out and helped bring balance to the world. A year passed, they made friends, and then not just Vale, but all of Remnant was under attack from an even greater threat. Not only the eight from last year, but their eight new friends as well answered the call once again and saved the world from a great threat. They not only went up against immeasurable odds, they went up against a god. One that not even I could defeat. And they succeeded. Please come forward, Team RWBY, Team JNPR, Team NEMN, and Team JCTB.” Everybody applauded when the team names were called and they all stepped forward. General Ironwood then handed Ozpin a box filled with sixteen medals of pure gold, emblazoned with the emblem of Vytal in its center. Professor Ozpin took each of the medals and placed them on the necks of each one of the sixteen students.

“Let this be a reminder to the world that when face to face with a god, it was the strength of our children who rose up and saved the world.” The crowd gave them all a standing ovation and cheered for five straight minutes. Natalie almost turned invisible from embarrassment, but managed to stay visible long enough for the ceremony to end.

 

 

 

 

Natalie stood up on the main deck of the airship that everybody was traveling on. General Ironwood thought it would be a great idea to throw a special party for those who fought in the Battle of Vytal away from the press so that everybody could at least have one evening to relax without the entire world trying to interview them about what happened. But she had had enough of people for the day, so she decided to clear her mind by taking in the fresh air.

            “Come on, I can’t be the only one getting a serious sense of déjà vu right now.” Natalie turned around to see that the voice belonged to Miles. He had just gotten off the elevator and walked up next to her.

            “You aren’t wrong.” Natalie said with a chuckle. “Although this time around, it’s nice to not have you launching rockets at me.” They both laughed, and looked up at the moon.

            “It’s crazy how much has happened and it hasn’t even been a full year yet.” Miles said as he sat down on the deck. “And I thought the upperclassmen had a rough time last year.”

            “Well, that’s the nature of this world isn’t it?” Natalie said sitting down next to him. “Somebody is always trying to destroy something.”

            “Not always. I mean, I got to meet all of you, right? That wasn’t destructive.”

            “Well, it wasn’t for the lack of trying.” They both laughed again, and then Miles stood up and punched a few buttons on his Scroll.

            “What are you doing?” Natalie asked standing up.

            “Well, we’ve come this far, and this place seems pretty nostalgic.” A few seconds later after Miles said that, a locker landed on the deck, opened up and revealed his swords. He pulled them out, and spun them around. “What do you say to one last sparring match?” Natalie smiled, pulled out her Scroll, and her locker with her weapon landed on deck a few minutes later as well.

            “Let’s see if I can go two for two up here,” Natalie said with a smirk. She grabbed her weapon; the two of them took their battle stances, and rushed towards each other.

Author's Note

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Reviews

[Shep]

Wow, I had tears in my eyes as Lord Mortem died it was Awesome and sad at the same time. this is truly a work of art and should be published so I can buy it and add it to my bookshelves. Only one more chapter to go and I headed there nnnnnnnow. Please be kind and return the love.