Combat pour trois
Forces converge – but just who is fighting whom?
[Author's Note: This story follows the story En Garde, and is the fifth episode of Volume 7.]
"The vault and the relic are on the other side of this door," said Cinder. She put the security pass into a slot and the door opened. She went in.
Before the others could follow, an alarm sounded. The door slid shut and locked.
"Uh, this isn't part of the plan, is it?" said Adam, looking around the large, mostly bare room they were in.
"I guess ... we wait," said Emerald. A minute ticked by.
The door on the other side of the room had also closed and locked. But suddenly ice crystals began to form on it. There was the sound of gunfire and the door, made brittle by the ice, exploded inwards.
Team RWBY appeared.
"Hmm," said Ruby, looking at Team NAME. "Not exactly what we were expecting."
"You guys again," said Mercury. "What, we didn't throw you around enough at Haven?"
"As I recall, you were the ones who ran away," said Ruby. "But to tell the truth we are just here to ensure that the Creation relic doesn't leave this building. So ... stand aside."
"Uh, er, let me think, hmm ... no," said Mercury. Neo drew the blade from her umbrella. Emerald began to put a finger to her temple.
"Tick-tock!" Ruby shouted, and she, Yang and Blake ran forward.
Weiss backed up a few steps, and then conjured a time-dilation glyph under her team-mates. It would not last long but it would give them an advantage of speed for a few seconds.
For Ruby, Yang and Blake it was as if the passage of time had quickened – or perhaps the rest of the world had slowed. Yang raised her mechanical arm – with the attachment clipped on – and fired at Emerald. There was a stream of rapid-fire bullets, more like a machine-gun than the usual rifle shots.
"Oh, I like this," said Yang.
The bullets whacked into Emerald before she could create an illusion, and threw her back. The stream of bullets followed her, making it impossible for her to conjure an image. Instead, she had to focus all of her mental energy on using her Aura to defend herself.
Blake whipped Gambol Shroud out, and it lashed into Neo, sending her tumbling. Blake flicked it again, and one end of the cord wrapped around Neo's ankle, pulling her off balance. She was sent spinning into a wall.
Ruby extended Crescent Rose into its full, deadly length and began to fire at Adam, shot after shot. He managed to fend off the bullets with his sword but he was being driven backwards, a step at a time.
Mercury came leaping towards them, ready to use the guns in his artificial legs. He kicked out – and there was a metallic clang! as his foot met Yang's mechanical arm.
"Bad move, moron," said Yang. An electrical charge ran from her arm into Mercury. He shouted in pain and surprise, and then Yang punched with her other arm, sending him down.
The time-dilation glyph faded away.
"Turnabout!" said Ruby. Yang, Blake and Ruby switched places, so they were each facing a different opponent.
Emerald was trying to draw her guns, but the anchor end of Gambol Shroud knocked them both from her hands. And then the cord zipped back, whacking into her and sending her down again. Blake morphed her weapon into its gun mode and fired.
Ruby swung her scythe at Mercury, catching him on one of his legs. There was a sudden shower of sparks as something was cut.
Adam charged, sword raised, but Yang swivelled and punched out, a looping blow that caught him on the chin. He staggered backwards.
Neo jumped to her feet but before she could move she found herself confronted by a glyph. More appeared on each side, boxing her in. She used her umbrella to knock them away, but as quickly as she did others appeared. One appeared directly in front of her – and then suddenly faded away. To be replaced by Yang's fist, coming straight for her.
There was a crack! and a spurt of blood from Neo's nose.
"Hi, remember me?" said Yang. She grabbed hold of Neo's jacket to stop her from leaping away, and punched her again ... and then again.
Neo managed to break free and tried to cartwheel to safety but Blake's cord wrapped around her again, and flung her into Mercury. And then Ruby's scythe slammed into them.
"Butterfly effect!" shouted Ruby.
Emerald was getting up when a heavy boot whacked into her. And then the tip of a sword was pinning her against a wall. "I should skewer you right now," said Weiss, "just because green hair is a crime against fashion."
Adam was morphing his sword-sheath into its rifle mode but before the transformation was complete Ruby's scythe knocked it out of his hands. Then the blade was on his throat.
"Uh, just so I don't cut the wrong head off, this pretty-boy is Adam Taurus, right?" Ruby said.
"Yes, that's him," said Blake, as she continued to wrap Gambol Shroud around Neo and Mercury. "Looks a bit different without the mask, I know. But feel free to decapitate him. Or allow me."
"Please, let me do it," said Yang.
"Get in the queue," said Ruby.
"Hey, isn't that ... ?" said Tyrian.
They were looking through the glass observation window into the vault, where a dark-haired woman was studying the relic and the machines around it.
"Why yes, I believe it is," said Watts. "Let's go and have a chat with her."
Tyrian gave a psychotic snicker. Then he extended his wrist-blades and launched himself through the glass.
Team NAME was neutralised: Emerald and Adam pinned, Mercury and Neo tangled together on the floor.
"Gosh, it worked," said Blake.
"Don't sound so surprised," said Ruby.
Then the floor began to shake beneath them. There was a rumble from the vault.
And then the wall exploded, and Arthur Watts and Tyrian Callows came flying through it, backwards. Team RWBY and Team NAME were scattered.
Watts stood up and dusted himself off. He looked around. "Oh, please don't let us interrupt," he said. "Pray, continue."
"And just what are you doing here?" said Ruby to him.
"Oh, we have come to steal the Creation relic, of course," he said.
"No, that's what we are doing," said Mercury.
"Not making a very good job of it," muttered Yang.
"What happened with, you know, the wall thing?" said Weiss.
"Ran into a Maiden," muttered Tyrian. "Her." He pointed to the hole in the wall.
Cinder, still wearing overalls, came walking through it. She was holding a glass vase with a chrysanthemum.
"Huh," said Weiss.
Cinder looked at her. "I thought I'd killed you already," she said.
"It got better," said Weiss.
"Hmm," said Cinder. "Well, I know what that's like." She turned to Ruby. Her brow furrowed. "You," she said. "I feel I have reason to not like you."
"Mutual," said Ruby, a little surprised. "And I'm thinking that you are not the gal you used to be. If you were, you would have tried to kill me by now."
Cinder gestured at Watts and Tyrian. "I just smashed these two through a wall," she said.
"Yep, and I'm guessing that that took all you've got," said Ruby.
"In fact, you look sort of pasty," said Blake.
"And the workman outfit, well, it doesn't do a whole lot for you," added Yang. "I'm just saying. And you have the third-worst hairdo in the room. Neo wins, Emerald a good try."
"I disagree," said Weiss. "Cinder comes in second, in my view."
"Meh," Yang said. "Tomato, potato."
"We can recommend a place, if you want some work done," said Blake.
Cinder glowered at them. But she did nothing.
"Ah," said Watts. "In that case, hand over the relic, sweetie."
Ruby gave a little cough. "We're right here, you know," she said.
"We also have some problems with the concept," said Mercury, as he untangled himself from Neo.
"Uh, Arthur," whispered Tyrian. "Just who are we fighting? The traitors or the do-gooders?"
"When you put it like that, my friend ... everyone," said Watts. He pulled a long box from the pocket of his coat. It began to transform into –
And then Yang, jumping forward, knocked it from his hand. Mercury came leaping through the air. He pivoted on Yang's shoulder and smashed feet-first into Watts. Emerald charged, delivering a series of close-in punches.
Tyrian laughed maniacally and lashed out with his scorpion tail. Ruby and Neo, suddenly finding themselves next to each other, dodged and parried.
"Time for us to depart, I think," said Emerald. There was a portal stone in her hand.
"Don't think so," said Weiss. She kicked out, and the stone went flying. It came down – into the open hand of Yang.
Mercury and Adam leaped at Tyrian, trying to wrestle him to the floor. He pushed them away, just in time to run into a series of kicks, punches and chops from Neo. He staggered backwards, and stared at her.
"Arthur," he said, "I think I'm in love."
Neo gave him a wink.
And then Mercury and Adam, as well as Ruby and Blake, were on him, trying to hold him down. They knew how dangerous he could be if he was allowed to use his speed and agility.
A portal opened. "In there!" shouted Yang.
Tyrian threw them off but Weiss came in with a flying kick that knocked him through the gate, just as Watts managed to get up. Yang grabbed him by the coat, pulled him towards her, and head-butted him in the face.
"Ow!" he said. "You, madam, are no lady."
"Damn right," said Yang. Then she lifted him completely off his feet and threw him after his colleague. The portal closed.
Another portal opened on the far side of the room, and Team NAME, including Cinder, ran for it.
At the gate, Cinder turned to face Team RWBY. "Looks like you lose, and now we have something to trade with Salem," she said. She held up the relic –
And then Blake's Gambol Shroud whipped it out of her hand.
"It just isn't your day, party girl," said Yang.
Cinder, expressionless, stepped backwards through the portal. Then it was gone.
The four members of Team RWBY looked at each other.
"Interesting," said Blake.
"Darn, I broke a nail," said Weiss.
"Where did Watts and Tyrian go?" said Ruby. "What place were you thinking of when you made the portal, Yang?"
Arthur Watts and Tyrian Callows looked around. There was nothing but hot sand to be seen on every side. Except for two things: a massive golden door, which looked very securely closed. And a small table on which the relic of Knowledge had once rested.
Watts reached into his pocket for his portal stone. But it was gone. So was his mirror. The green-haired girl, he thought. She must have lifted them when we were fighting. You can't trust anyone these days.
He looked around again. The scene had not got any better. "Well, this is disappointing," he said. "Very disappointing."
END (to be continued)