RWBY: LUCID

The rules of the Dream Realm were brutally simple in one particular regard: Grimm were incapable of possessing Meta Runes. They could evolve, mutate, develop increasingly bizarre abilities and grow to monstrous proportions, but the distinction remained.

Meta Runes were a privilege of awakened humanity, born from comprehension, abstraction, and the ability of a human mind to take an idea and force the laws of the Nightmare System to recognize it.

A Rank 2 Grimm only possessed only two Grimm Runes within its arsenal, whereas an awakened human at the same Rank could possess three, one of which could potentially be a Meta Rune, and that singular difference was one of the reasons humanity had survived as long as it had.

A Rank 2 Grimm was a terrifying opponent, certainly, but a skilled Rank 2 awakened with a well-developed Meta Rune could often punch far above their weight class and dominate Grimm of equivalent Rank with startling consistency. It was one of the fundamental reasons Rank 2 operatives were permitted to travel through the Dream Realm without the protection of an entire squad. They were no longer merely survivors who had learned how to kill Grimm but hunters capable of becoming the apex predator within the Nightmare itself.

Of course, there were exceptions.

There were always exceptions.

Grimm were not predictable machines, and some species possessed physical characteristics or combinations of Runes that made them horrifyingly difficult to fight, but generally speaking, the hierarchy held. A Rank 2 human with a Meta Rune was a creature of terrifying potential. A Rank 2 human with a Meta Rune that had reached a high level of comprehension was worse. And a Rank 2 human who possessed an exceptionally powerful Meta Rune while simultaneously possessing the skill to exploit it, was something that Grimm instinctively understood as a threat.

That was why, the moment Pyrrha Nikos unveiled Mecha, the battlefield itself seemed to change around her.

The Grimm felt it.

They did not understand it intellectually, of course as Grimm possessed no sophisticated tactical reasoning comparable to an awakened human, but instinct was woven into their very existence, and something within the creatures screamed at them that the enormous silver construct standing among them was dangerous.

More dangerous than the other humans and more dangerous than the Rank 2s they had been fighting. More dangerous than almost anything else present on the crimson surface. So they charged.

Tens of Grimm surged towards her from every direction, a black tide rushing toward the gleaming metallic giant, their bodies crawling over one another in an effort to reach her first.

Mecha Pyrrha, however did not retreat.

Instead, she met the challenge head on.

The sheer velocity of the motion caused the atmosphere around her to scream, air growing hot as the enormous metallic body accelerated through it. A Rank 2 Ursa lunged first, both enormous claws wrapped in crimson runic energy as it attempted to tear through the silver construct. Pyrrha's Mecha form moved with startling precision. Her gigantic sword swept downward, and the blade cleaved through the Ursa vertically from shoulder to hip.

The Grimm's claws struck the blade and attempted to resist it through the reinforcement of its Rune, but the difference in power was absurd. The sword simply continued through the creature, splitting it apart before the Rank 2 Grimm could even finish its attack. Another Beowolf came from behind.

Pyrrha didn't even turn.

Her arm twisted backward with an unnatural mechanical smoothness, the metallic limb reshaping itself in the middle of the movement until the hand became a gigantic clamp. The jaws snapped shut around the Beowolf's head with enough force to crush a lesser Grimm outright, but the creature reacted immediately. Red runic energy exploded from its jaws, flooding around its skull and manifesting into another enormous spectral Beowolf head that clamped down upon Mecha Pyrrha's arm.

The phantom jaws bit into the silver armor with enough force to make the surrounding air tremble, attempting to crush or tear the limb away, but the runic construct shattered against Mecha's armor. Pyrrha barely acknowledged the attack.

Her enormous body launched forwards, accelerating with such force that the crimson moon surface beneath her feet cracked from the pressure of her departure. Her mecha body was powerful enough to directly barrel through the several grimm that were lunging at her, without heed. The Beowolf remained trapped in her clamp as she carried it through the battlefield and hurled it directly toward Adam.

Adam's eyes narrowed beneath his Grimm mask.

He moved instantly, kicking off the snarling Beowolf's enormous snout as the creature flew past him, using its momentum as a stepping stone before it crashed into the side of a massive Nevermore. The Nevermore shrieked as both Grimm collided, and Adam landed in midair with his blade already moving toward its sheath.

His posture changed.

The casual aggression disappeared.

His body became still and focused—controlled. He began gathering crimson energy around himself. Adam's sword remained sheathed, but the air around him began to vibrate with compressed power. Something that would have been extremely dangerous to anyone caught within its path.

He was preparing something large.

Pyrrha immediately recognized the change and her clamp arm suddenly shifted shape once more. It rotated and transformed into a gigantic cannon. She raised her cannon-arm and aimed it at him. Before Adam could release his attack, Pyrrha's cannon flashed. A concentrated plasma shot screamed through the air.

Adam's eyes widened behind the mask, and he immediately dropped backward through a portal. The projectile passed through the place where he had been standing and continued into the distance, where it slammed into several Grimm engaged with other Rank 2 LUCID operatives. The explosion tore through the creatures, scattering burning fragments of Grimm across the crimson surface.

Adam reappeared above Pyrrha a moment later, emerging from another portal with his blade still in hand. His gaze settled upon the Mecha's raised arm. Adam studied it carefully. The entire transformation process was troublesome. He had encountered Pyrrha before and had even slightly understood her Density Rune and her Ferrous rune.

He understood her fighting style.

But this was something entirely different.

The silver construct moved like a machine, yet it was also liquid-like and responsive, flexible and capable of changing its own structure almost instantaneously. It resembled some enormous mechanical war machine, but whether the form itself was the result of a Rune or some form of Rune Synchronicity, Adam could not determine. What he did understand, was simpler.

He could not afford to underestimate her.

Adam's hand tightened around his sword. Black Crimson runic energy began to coil around the sheathed weapon, crawling over the blade like darkness made tangible. Adam had added portal runic energy to the slash to empower the damage that it would be able to cause. The energy was so strong that the very light surrounding the sword seemed to dim. The crimson energy became increasingly oppressive, drawing illumination into itself as if the very atmosphere were being swallowed.

Then Adam drew.

The resulting slash was enormous. It thundered through the air as a crescent of compressed crimson energy, tearing toward Mecha Pyrrha with enough force to carve through the battlefield itself.

Pyrrha moved.

The Mecha shifted sideways in a clean, abrupt motion, its entire body moving with the strange precision of a puppet controlled by invisible strings.

The slash passed beside her.

For a fraction of a second, Pyrrha thought she had succeeded in dodging it. Then the crimson attack changed direction. It twisted through the air, reversing its momentum and turning back toward Pyrrha like a predatory thing that had found its prey again.

Pyrrha's mechanical head turned toward it.

Her body shifted, then the entire Mecha dissolved. Silver metal liquefied in an instant, the enormous humanoid shape collapsing into a flowing mass that surged upward through the air. The spatial-kinetic slash passed harmlessly through where the construct had been, while the liquid metal flowed around its trajectory and continued toward Adam.

Adam's eyes narrowed.

The Mecha reformed in the air, and he was forced to retreat again. Elsewhere, Gula had finally broken through the storm of crimson attacks that had surrounded him. His shadowy body had been constantly reshaping itself, twisting around the weaker energy attacks while using his malleable form to minimize the damage from those he could not avoid.

Now he moved through the battlefield like a dark thread flitting through fabric, spearing through Grimm and tearing them apart before they could even recognize his presence. He was moving toward Pyrrha. Then he saw the silver liquid flowing through the air toward Adam and watched it reform into the enormous Mecha body.

Gula's white shadow-eyes narrowed slightly in appreciation. He possessed Jaune's memories and knew exactly how far Pyrrha had come. He knew the girl who had once fought alongside Jaune, and he knew the sheer amount of work she had put into becoming stronger. Seeing her now was impressive.

Before he could dwell on the thought, however, something else caught his attention. The horizon was moving. More Grimm were pouring toward them. Hundreds and seemingly thousands. But the tide was being carved apart by something moving through it from the opposite direction. A gigantic pocket of awakened was advancing through the Grimm swarm, cutting a path toward the battlefield.

Gula's grin widened because he recognized them.

"They're here."

The liquid metal surrounding Adam surged again. Mecha Pyrrha reformed directly before him, her gigantic plasma sword appearing in one hand. The blade descended with enough force to distort the air around it.

Adam immediately reacted, launching crimson energy from beneath his feet to propel himself away while simultaneously attempting to deflect the strike. The plasma sword crashed through the crimson defense.

The red energy shattered instantly. proving it was useless against the power of the strike.

Adam was nevertheless pushed away by the force of the counterattack, barely avoiding the blade itself. But Pyrrha was already following through.

Her other arm pulled backward, and the gigantic limb that was once a cannon transformed yet again into a different form.

A massive fist.

It compressed for a fraction of a second before launching forward. The hand detached from the arm and rocketed toward Adam in the form of a rocket fist.

Adam knew immediately that he could not block it. He had already learned that trying to directly oppose the Mecha's strength was a losing proposition. He summoned a portal behind himself and prepared to retreat.

The portal opened and Adam moved, however in that instant of a second, the portal suddenly changed. A flicker of purple-black runic energy crawled across its surface. Adam realized what was happening too late.

His momentum was already carrying him forward.

He disappeared through the portal and emerged directly before a black-haired girl suspended in the air, a phantom silhouette of Adam Taurus's own body wrapped around her like a cloak of shadow.

Blake Belladonna looked directly at him.

"Blake!" Adam managed, the name carrying disbelief and fury in equal measure.

"Hello, Adam."

Blake kicked him.

The force sent him backward through the portal he had just went into and Adam reappeared exactly where he had left, only to find Mecha Pyrrha's gigantic fist waiting for him.

The impact was catastrophic.

The metallic fist slammed into his body with enough force to send him flying across the battlefield, and Adam felt practically all his bones crack beneath the impact, as his body was launched backward.

He struck the crimson ground with enough force to create a giant grimm sized crater.

Blake slowly descended from above, her eyes remaining fixed upon the crater. Mecha Pyrrha landed beside her, the gigantic machine lowering into a kneeling position as liquid metal flowed around Pyrrha's body.

The metallic chest opened, and Pyrrha emerged from within, surrounded by the flowing silver substance before it receded back into the Mecha's body. She looked toward Blake with genuine relief.

"Blake. You're here. I'm glad you're doing alright."

Blake glanced toward Pyrrha for only a moment before returning her attention to Adam's crater.

"Yeah. I'm glad to see you too Pyrrha."

Then something moved nearby. Gula slithered through the air, his shadowy body shifting back into the humanoid silhouette that mimicked Jaune.

Blake's eyes immediately snapped towards him and her sword rose in an instant.

"What the hell?"

Pyrrha raised one hand. "Wait, Blake. He's not an enemy."

Blake frowned, but she did not lower her weapon. Her eyes remained fixed on Gula, suspicion written across her expression. "What are you? An awakened? Why do you look like..."

Gula pointed toward himself with a curious tilt of his head, his white eyes narrowing slightly as if he genuinely did not understand the problem.

"Me? Oh, don't worry. I'm just a Stalker."

Blake, "..."

Pyrrha, "..."

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