Invasion Pt. 2

POV Salem

Gathering every Grimm she could, Salem had approached Vale and easily overwhelmed the Atlesian Air Fleet with pure numbers. The Grimm died in great numbers in the short conflict, but in the end she secured control of the skies above Vale, with only Amity Coliseum remaining, but even that would be brought down eventually.

More people, however, were in Vale, so she could cause more damage by attacking here, hence Amity remaining relatively safe for the moment.

As she dwelled upon her rage, Salem suddenly noticed that one of the hounds she had sent out had been slain. Had they realized her objective? No, she believed that should not be possible. There was no way that they could have know about her hounds unless they had used the relic of knowledge, and if they had they would have been more prepared for her attack.

Deciding that this had to be true, she concluded it was a coincidence.. It was not, however, a coincidence that she could afford, since she had only three hounds left. She could only hope that they found more Silver-Eyed Warriors as instructed.

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POV Ruby Rose

RWBY, JNPR, CFVY, FAMS, CPPR, SSSN, and many other Teams from the four Kingdoms had all gathered at Amity Coliseum and quickly responded to the few Grimm that came to attack here, a half dozen Nevermore and around 50 griffins that included one Alpha. Along with May, Ruby had the highest kill count since they both used their silver eyes against the swarm.

At the Coliseum's bullhead docks, however, they found General Ironwood who was rather shocked. By the time he had gotten here, it had just been in time to see the very last of his ships falling out of the sky. Ruby understood the strength of the Atlesian fleet, so it was hard to imagine the Grimm taking all of them out so fast, but they had.

"General Ironwood, sir" Ruby addressed him "Where is Professor Ozpin?" from what she know of the supposed future, Ozpin had the power to kill that Grimm Whale. She didn't want it to lift off again and then flatten another massive section of Vale.

General Ironwood came out of his shocked state and looked at Ruby 'Thank you Miss Rose. I need to have my head on straight right now. Oz should be going after that Grimm Whale, I'll be going to join him. No one will think poorly of you kids if you decide to flee and save yourselves, but if you have the courage, the resolve, to protect your Academy and Vale, then by all means do so, Try not to get yourselves killed, though." Ironwood them looked at Amber Neo, and May "Miss Quince, Miss Arc, and Miss Zedong, are the three or you willing to assist Ozpin and I?"

Ruby understood that Amber, Neo and May were asked by name due to being Maidens, so Ruby was not offended, though maybe she was a teensy bit jealous. How could Ironwood resist seeking the power of three maidens when they were all present.

"General, I accepted this job to uphold my grandfather's legacy. He shed blood, sweat and tears to make Vale what it is today, and I will not shame him or his memory by running away and letting all his work go to waste." Amber stated proudly.

"Well said, Princess." Neo agreed, grinning at Amber. She didn't feel the need to say more, assuming that was clear enough that she would join Ironwood as well. Amber didn't comment on being called Princess out loud, but did lightly punch Neo's shoulder because of it.

"I understand." May told the general "Besides, I can't die right now, but the same cannot be said for you, sir, so I'll do my best to keep you alive."

Hearing May say that, Ruby sighed, realizing that May would be going into a dangerous place. She jogged over and hugged May "I know you have to go, so take Ivory with you, and maybe it will help" after the hug she retrieved the gun that Death had loaned to her and offered it to May "You'll probably need this more then I will."

May nodded to Ruby and accepted the gun "I'll take care of it until I get back to you, sis" she agreed "Things are bad right now, but keep moving forward and we will make it through this somehow. Focus on saving people. A kingdom isn't the walls or the buildings, it is the people. As long as enough people remain, it can be rebuilt."

"I understand. I'll do as you say." Ruby agreed "I think we all will." she looked towards the assembled huntsmen and huntresses-in-training who were inspired by Ironwood and the three girls decision to go after the largest Grimm anyone had ever seen.

"General, Uriel and I will accompany you as well." Ultear declared to the general "I sense that Death has woken up and will be heading there shortly. I also suspect that Ozpin and Team STRQ will be heading there, so we might just be able to succeed."

This was her way of saying that she had viewed the future and knew that Ozpin and STRQ were heading there. Ironwood was aware of Ultear's Time Magic, so her words filled him with relief, that maybe his men had not died for nothing, or that was what Ruby interpreted from his relief anyway. And her guess was not wrong.

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POV Pyrrha Nikos

Hearing that Death was awake filled Pyrrha with excitement. She had often sparred with him while resisting the pull of her own heartstrings. As great as he seemed, she had never imagined herself as someone that would date a guy with multiple other girlfriends, hence resisting against her heart as long as she did, but after he was unconscious the past few months, she had been filled with regret for not sharing her time with him better before. She had decided that once he woke up she'd tell him the truth and finally declare her love to him.

She might have to get in line, though, since she was pretty sure she was not the only one who realized their regrets about their own inaction while Death was away. She was pretty sure about Gwen Darcy, Reese Chloris and Neon Katt, but also thought that Octavia Ember had started looking a bit out of it when Death was mentioned lately as well, though she was not confident about her since it was only in around the last month that she changed, rather then the whole time Death was away like the others.

Was it possible that Octavia started developing feelings for Death because of how strongly Gwen felt for him? That seemed possible, so Pyrrha could not rule it out.

She mentally sighed, reminding herself that now wasn't the time to think about romance "Right. Lets do our part to try to save the civilians." she declared.

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POV Neon Katt

She had been out for a ride on her roller skates when the sirens blared and the incoming Grimm swarm approached, and she got a first-hand view of the aerial battle between the Atlesian Military and the Creatures of Grimm.

There was a wholesale slaughter of Grimm, but there numbers were just too many. Even with their advanced weapons, in barely two minutes the entire fleet was overwhelmed and the last ship was going to crash not far from her.

Because the ship had gravity dust built into it, it crashed slowly, so people were frantically trying to move out of the crash Zone, and Neon moved into action, using her speed to get slower people out of there. After three trips in and out, the ship was too close for her to go in again. there were almost certainty still people unable to get out in time, but if she went now she would be throwing her life away and she wouldn't save anyone more.

"Why is this happening?" Neon asked, shedding tears as she still held the little human girl that she had just rescued on her last trip into what was about to be the crash zone

"Girl...Silver eyes...Take the girl. The queen....Silver eyes...demanded..." Neon heard a deep and ominous voice and turned towards it and spotted a Grimm that she had never seen before.

Neon frowned, unsure what it meant that this Grimm was able to speak, but she instinctively knew it was very dangerous. Why did it care about a random little girl, though? So what if she had silver eyes? Why was that so special? That's what Neon thought at least.

Neon planned to dodge, but was surprised by how fast the Grimm suddenly moved. Before it could hit her, though, a spear-wielding woman in a white hooded cloak was suddenly between her and the grimm 'So fast' Neon thought with reverence a moment before the woman protected her let out a blinding white light from her eyes.

Neon was temporarily blinded, but when she could se again, the grimm was diminishing and became a wolf faunus for a few seconds before his flesh rotted to nothing and he was just a skeleton.

"I'm sorry, Summer, it seems even your silver eyes can't bring these hounds back to what they once were." the voice who said this was none other then the Headmaster of Beacon, Professor Ozpin, who she recognized well

Three others approached with Ozpin as well. Neon didn't know who they were, but it was none other then Taiyang Xiao long and the twins, Raven and Qrow Branwen. Neon did not need to know who they were to understand that they were elite among elite huntsmen and huntresses.

Neon looked at Ozpin "That grimm was a person? It...it said it wanted this girl because her eyes are silver."

"Thank you for saving the girl, Miss Katt." Ozpin said to Neon "Where are your teammates?"

"Beacon, I chose a bad time to visit Vale alone." Neon admitted "Since I am here, though, I have a job to do."

Ozpin nodded "Take that girl to Beacon, but be careful, there may be more hounds around." he warned Neon "That's what those hybrid abominations are called. I'd make sure you got there personally if I could, but we have to deal with the Grimm Whale and the Grimm Queen."

Neon had been watching the Atlesian military fighting grimm and completely missed the arrival and landing if Monstra off in the opposite direction to the one she was looking in.

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POV Octavia Ember

Slowly opening her eyes, Octavia was surprised to find herself in a princess carry position, with the one carrying her being Death Rose, the guy her partner Gwen was in love with. She looked around and saw Gwen comforting Nebula as she shed tears, and it took Octavia a moment to remember what happened.

'That's right...Dew....died..." Octavia recalled, and truly felt bad for Nebula, understanding that loving someone so much and then losing them in such a manner was not a pleasant situation to by in.

Octavia wished that she could have somehow saved Dew, but there hadn't realistically been any way to do that. That Grimm had just been too strong.

"Are you alright, Octavia?" she heard Death ask suddenly.

"Physically, I am fine, I guess." Octavia admitted and sighed "Emotionally, however, not so much." she looked towards Death with a blush appearing on her cheeks "Why do so many girls love you to such an extent that they are fine with sharing you?"

"My...semblance..." Death admitted with a sigh "It contains a tiny piece of divinity. I'm not a god, but it makes people instinctively reverent to me. Well, good people at least. It doesn't make them love me, though, their sub-conscious selves choose how they will express that reverence, and to those that choose to love me subconsciously, I am likewise instinctively driven to reciprocate those feelings. In other words, you ladies have control, even if it is completely on a subconscious level, and myself not so much." he chuckled "But even if my free will is a bit more strained, I don't care, because I enjoy being loved. Is that weird?"

"That's rather hard to believe, but for some reason i believe you" Octavia admitted and looked away from Death shyly.

"Unexpectedly, when I found you near dead, you opened your heart to me and connected with me.' Death admitted to her Gwen and Nebula as well, though Nebula's connection feels a bit different. I think Nebula loves me, but not in a romantic sort of way, unlike you and Gwen. Anyway, now that the three of you are with me in some form forever, I promise to take care of you as best I can."

"Forever is a really long time" Octavia answered.

"Well, I wont die of old age no matter how long I live, and those that I am bonded with can neither age nor die as long as I live. That's my divine regeneration semblance for you." Death chuckled.

"So then...you love Gwen and I?" Octavia asked him with curiosity.

"I do. And I will for as long as I live." Death insisted "Thus is the influence my semblance has on me."

"So, uh, where are you carrying me?" Octavia finally decided to ask.

Death sighed "Since you are now immortal, I was hoping that you could assist me with taking down the Queen of the Grimm" he admitted "Bringing three immortals to take on one formerly immortal entity seems a good idea. Gwen and Nebula already agreed. Will you help as well?"

"I..." Octavia was a bit flummoxed, but in the end she nodded "If you...accept me as your lover....then I can't really say no. Plus, killing Grimm is our job, after all."

Death nodded and rewarded Octavia with a chaste kiss to her lips "I'm sure we'll meet up with others going to fight Salem, so we wont be alone. We wont get another perfect chance like this to deal with her.

Octavia reached up with one hand and touched her lips with a single finger as she thought about how he had just kissed her.

"Well, since you are awake I'll put you down now. Besides, we're in dangerous territory, we could meet Grimm any moment." Death explained, and after Octavia nodded he carefully set her down on her feet.

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POV Weiss Schnee

Weiss was breathing heavily, having just finished killing a hound alongside Blake and Yang. The beast ambushed them and tried to abduct Ruby, but in the end it's scheme failed. While Weiss was recovering, Yang gave Crescent Rose back to their leader, after it had been separated from Ruby during the Ambush "Why am I feeling tired? Isn't Death's semblance supposed to prevent this?" she complained.

"Physical exhaustion, yes, but not so much mental exhaustion." Blake retorted "That's accruing for all of us, Weiss, we're just hiding it well."

"I'm still mostly fine" Ruby insisted.

"Well, you were being carried by that hound while we had to chase it halfway across Vale." Weiss pouted.

"Oh yeah, I guess that is true, though it was still really stressful." Ruby insisted

"More Grimm incoming!" Yang announced, and the Team got into combat stances to meet the next wave of enemies.