AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you to everyone who's enjoying the story so far, and if I don't update the next chapter in time, hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holidays. For those guessing, I'll go ahead and reveal the obvious pairings now.
PAIRINGS: RomanXRuby (main pairing), JauneXWeiss (on Jaune's side), JauneXPyrrha (On Pyrrha's side), NeptuneXWeiss, and a tiny bit of JauneXRuby (on Ruby's side)
Before you ask, YES! THERE WILL BE A LOVE SQUARE CONCERNING JAUNE, PYRRHA, NEPTUNE, AND WEISS! PLEASE KEEP THIS IN MIND!
There'll be another extra pairing or two that'll come up soon. In the meantime, enjoy the next chapter!
Chapter Two
At another plane of land, deep within a snowy forest, there was a cave carved within a mountain side. Standing outside of the cave were three different people, who looked to be between their mid-to-late teens. One was a young man with gray spiky hair, black eyes, and wore black-and-gray clothing with gauntlets on his ankles, another was a girl with green hair, red eyes, tanned skin, and wore casual clothing.
The other looked younger than the two, and much different at that. Her hair was pink and brown with white highlights, and she wore clothing similar to that of the Thief King, but with the same color scheme as her hair, and even her eyes were of pink and brown.
Not too far from their location looked to be a road with a black-and-red carriage with two Grimm horses attached to them, both of them looked to be a bit impatient for having to stand for a long while.
"Ugh. How much longer do we have to wait?" The young man had to ask.
"You think it would be a quick get-in-get-out mission." The older of the two girls spoke.
"Do you think we should go take a look, Emerald?" The young man asked again.
"I don't care what Cinder says." Emerald ignored him. "There's no way this cave can lead anyone to where the 'Nutcracker' is said to be." She air-quoted the 'nutcracker' word with her index fingers.
"And yet the king is taking his sweet time."
"Hey Mercury, maybe if we're lucky, he's hopelessly lost."
Mercury shrugged. "Still, it wouldn't hurt to go after him."
"You heard the king." Emerald snapped. "We are to stay out here until he returns with the Beowolves."
"Eh. Still, even if Cinder was telling the truth, it's hard to believe there'd be another land out there beyond the Land of Sweets." Mercury pointed out.
While the both were chatting, the youngest took a handful of snow and began to eat it. She looked like she was savoring the taste, as if the snow was a wonderful delicacy.
"It's also hard to believe that those guards would even come back." Emerald also pointed out. "The king made them into lifeless dolls, remember? They were all dead-still when we had them banished."
"They looked more like dead corpses than dolls, looking back at it now." Mercury said while scratching his chin. "I wonder if they're all the same."
"They must be."
Mercury and Emerald, along with the girl, saw a red mist merge right before them near the cave entrance. The three looked at the mist and stood in a fighting pose in case they would have the fight. The mist vanished as soon as it came, and before them stood the Thief King.
"What are you three doing?"
"Oh. Sorry, sir." Emerald apologized. "We thought you were a threat."
"So did you find the nutcracker?" Mercury had to ask.
Roman took out a cigar and lit it up with a lighter. As soon as he got his fill, he blew out a puff of smoke and explained, "In a way, but I think we got even more of a situation in our hands than we thought. The four guards and one of their allies have reunited, and it won't be long until they find their way here." He pointed his thumb to the cave entrance.
"The guards have reunited?" Emerald asked in disbelief. "I thought we separated them when they were banished!"
"Fate has a sick sense of humor, it looks like." Roman simply said. "And to make things much easier for us, they have a whole army!"
"This all doesn't make sense!" Mercury exclaimed, like he didn't want to believe it. "I thought we turned them into dolls! They shouldn't even be moving! And with an army, no less!"
"With two human sisters thrown in the mix." Roman added. "The Nutcracker is still a piece of wood, and the other guards are still dolls. They have to be under some kind of spell to make them come alive again. It's the only possible explanation."
"What do we do now?" Emerald asked. "With an army, they'll most likely come to declare war."
"When it comes down to it, that's what we must do." Roman spoke. "But for now, we must remain cautious." He placed his index fingers in his mouth and gave a whistle. Within moments, Beowolves began to emerge from the shadows from under the surrounding trees.
"Neo." The girl turned to her king. "I want you and the pups here to keep an eye on the cave in case nut-boy and his friends do come snooping here. Give them a warm friendly welcome."
Neo nodded her head in agreement with her lips curved in a sinister smirk. Roman turned to Emerald and Mercury and said, "Alright, you two. Let's head back to the palace. Emerald, you're coaching this time."
Emerald let out a frustrated groan as both she and Mercury followed Roman back to the waiting carriage. Roman went in first followed by Mercury, and Emerald took her place on the coach's seat. She grabbed the reigns and whipped the Grimm horses, giving them the signal to move. They followed her orders and off they go travelling up the road.
Inside the carriage, Mercury sat across from Roman, and couldn't help but to ask, "So there really is another land outside our own, huh?"
"Well, there were giant humans there, so yeah. It could be pretty tough to conquer." Roman commented.
"Hold on. You're thinking of conquering the land of giant humans who could easily squish you?" Mercy jokingly asked.
"Don't be smart with me, kid." Roman said in a stern tone. "Even if I wanted to, I already have a whole realm all to myself, thank you very much." He placed both hands behind his head and leaned back to make himself comfortable.
Mercury leaned back against his seat as well, and asked, "Didn't you say that two human girls were thrown into the mix? How the heck did you get away without being squished?"
"What did I say about being smart with me?" Roman asked.
"Forget that I asked, then."
Roman turned his head to look out the passing landscape, and saw that it was beginning to snow. "There's not a doubt in my mind that Nut-Boy and the others would come. Still, I'm not planning to give up this land without a fight."
"Of course, your highness." Mercury said with a nod. "What should our next course of action be?"
Roman lets his arms drop and looked across to Mercury. "We wait for the princess's guards to come. Until then, we'll formulate some plans of our own just in case."
"Nice." Mercury said with a smirk.
Roman turned his attention back towards the outside, thinking about the events that had occurred not that long ago. If it wasn't for Cinder, then he would've never found the land where that Nutcracker and his friends would be. He didn't think the three other guards and their ally would be there, as well. Add another doll that could fight well, a general and his army, and those two sisters.
His thoughts then went to the sisters. There was Rose, and her sister…what was her name again? Yang? To be honest, he kind of doubt that they would assist the Nutcracker. They'd probably hang back just for their own safety. Though if they would be accompanying the guards, if one thing leads to another, he could find some use of them.
Maybe use them as bait to lure the princess's guards into a trap, or perhaps use the sisters as bargaining chips, this time without anyone sneaking around, to have the guards surrender their quest if they value their lives, which he knows will work.
But then what would he do with them afterwards? Have them join the guards' demise? Use them as slaves in his castle? Perhaps turn them into stone? He does have a lovely collection filled with those who tried to take back the kingdom. He could turn the girls into his own personal trophies for finally ridding himself of the princess's guards. It's not every day you get to keep souvenirs from another realm.
In fact, now that he thinks about it, perhaps he'll reserve a special place in one of his gardens for that little Red Rose. She would make a perfect garden statue.
He chuckled under his breath. There are endless amounts of possibilities just around every corner.
"These four here are the princess's personal guards: Winter was the captain of the Royal Guard, Jaune was co-captain, and also the bodyguard and chaperone to the princess, Neptune was in charge of security of the Sugar Plum Castle, and Pyrrha was the top soldier of the Sugar Plum Army. I never worked for the princess. Neptune and I were friends growing up, so I sometimes pay him a visit at his work.
It was actually the day I went to see him that the entire castle was taken over by these black creatures and followers of Torchwick. Some shady people, you know? We all fought as much as we could to fight him off and protect Princess Weiss, but that guy had some weird freaky magic that summoned more of those Grimm creatures and so we were totally outnumbered.
Then out of nowhere, he turned us all into dolls and we were all scattered outside the Land of Sweets!"
Everyone had sat around under the Christmas tree, with Sun explaining the story to Yang and Ruby, with Penny still hugging Ruby.
"So you, Neptune, Winter, Pyrrha, and Jaune actually came from the Land of Sweets." Yang said just to get that down.
"That's the gist, yeah." Jaune said with a nod. "What I still don't get is why I was turned into wood while the others are tinned or ragged."
Pyrrha's eyes focused on the ground, as if she knew the answer. However, she only said, "Maybe since it's because you worked closer to the princess, he thought it would make you suffer more."
"So you guys used to be flesh and blood, too." Ruby pointed out.
"That Torchwick guy sure plays dirty." Neptune commented. "He'll use any kind of trick up his sleeve to get what he wants, like how he tried to use you to have us give up?"
Yang turned to Ruby's direction. "He did WHAT!?"
"It's okay now, Yang." Ruby tried to reassure her. "If it wasn't for Jaune, then everyone else here would've submitted to him already."
Ruby couldn't help but to blush a little. She remembered how Roman had felt warm when he held her, and then earlier when she stared at him in the eyes. She shook her head a bit when she started to feel something stirring in her chest. She hugged Penny closer to her as if it'll help take her mind off of Torchwick.
"And that's not even the worst of what he has done." Winter spoke up. "I've seen the things he's done when he took the throne. He had turned some of our own soldiers to stone, he hypnotized the others, bending them to his sick will…"
"He even took Princess Weiss away from me when my back was turn!" Jaune blurted out. "He said he would turn her into an ugly monster if I don't surrender! That was one of the things he did that gained him the throne!"
"Though I remembered that he didn't really kill anyone, not even when his had his Grimm monsters fight back." Sun pointed out.
"But Torchwick had threatened to blow my head off." Ruby pointed out.
"What!?" By this point, Yang was beyond furious. What else had that Thief King done to her poor little sister?
"When it comes down to it, he will take a life." Pyrrha explained. "He has a few times before. Other than that, he never really kills anyone, but he finds amusement in making people suffer. Maybe that's why he kept many of our soldiers and servants alive after he took over the kingdom."
"And who knows what he had done to the princess." Jaune said in an angry tone, which made Pyrrha give him a sadden look for some reason. "And the innocent civilians in the Land of Sweets."
"My godfather Ozpin told me that the Thief King had ruled the land for five years." Ruby remembered. "Did Torchwick take the throne then?"
"He did." Winter did with a nod. "Anything can drastically occur within that time. Five years of his reign of terror is long enough. We must not let any innocent civilian suffer any more of his treachery!"
"In that case, we have to go back!" Jaune exclaimed. "We mustn't waste any more time!"
"But how are we gonna get back?" Sun asked. "Torchwick teleported us all when we were banished!"
"Maybe he teleported here just like when he took off? Or maybe there's a portal somewhere nearby?" Penny guessed.
"A portal…" Yang said rubbing her chin, looking deep in thought. "It's a long shot, but let's try that."
"Alright." Ironwood agreed with a nod. "By your command Yang Xiao Long, I'll have the soldiers scour the place from top to bottom. If we are lucky, we might find some clues as to how the Thief King came into our world."
And with that, Ironwood turned to his troops and gave a hand signal. They all saluted and started marching out from under the Christmas tree to begin the search. Everyone else got up on their feet and decided to help with the search.
"Uh, Penny…you can let go now." Ruby commented.
Penny unwrapped her arms around Ruby and said, "Sorry, Ruby, but I always wanted to hug you like how you hugged me so many times before. I'm just making up for lost time."
Ruby couldn't help but to smile. In truth, she has fewer friends, and the only people she's close to are her family and godfather. It does feel nice getting used to the idea of having your favorite doll as a friend.
And so everyone scoured the living room as far and wide as they could. Since everyone were of the small size, it's impossible to look on top of the couch and on the tables and the TV and the grandfather clock.
While Ruby and Jaune were searching, Ruby gazed up at the grandfather clock, and saw that an hour and a half passed midnight, meaning that it's technically Christmas day. Even though she's supposed to be happy, she couldn't help but to feel a bit discouraged.
Jaune notices her plight and asked, "Are you feeling okay, Ruby?"
Ruby shook her head a little and decided to confide in him her worries.
"It's already Christmas day. I've always loved to celebrate it every year. I would love to think that this day would be the best one yet. But now…Well, look at me! Look at Yang!" Ruby made a gesture for Jaune to examine her appearance. "How did we get dragged into this mess!? How are we supposed to celebrate Christmas with our family now!?"
Jaune placed both his hands on Ruby's shoulders trying to get her to calm down.
"Ruby! Calm down, Ruby! It's okay! It's going to be okay!" When Ruby had calmed down a bit, Jaune gave her a friendly smile. "Ruby, listen. You didn't ask to get involved in this. The Thief King was the one who started all of this from the very beginning. I'd never thought he'd stoop so low to have to put you and Yang into this.
But I promise that once we're rid of him for good, things will go back to normal. You and your sister will return to normal, and things will finally be where it is again. You just have to wait a little while, got it?"
Ruby couldn't help but to blush a little at the way Jaune was touching her shoulders. If this is going to be like in her fairy tale stories, then maybe things will work out in the end. It also brings to mind how in her stories that the main girl would get the knight or prince in the end. Would that happen…?
No, that can't be. She's only met Jaune tonight. She can't expect him to sweep her off her feet and carry her off in a waiting white stallion to live their own happily ever after. Maybe it will, she doesn't know. For now, she thought it best to wait it through and just let things happen.
Ruby gave Jaune a smile and said, "Thanks, Jaune. You're right. If this goes exactly like it does in my books, then maybe it will work out right in the end."
"All right! That's the spirit!" Jaune removed his hands from Ruby's shoulders and gave her a pat on the back.
Ruby looked up at the grandfather clock, and suddenly another realization came to her, one that she always thought about around this time of year. Her silver eyes fell onto the carpeted floor as if she looked to be deep in thought.
"Is something else bothering you?" Jaune had to ask.
"Well…to be honest…some of my Christmases do tend to be…a little sad…at least for me…" Ruby confided.
"Why's that? Isn't Christmas the one time of year where everyone gets together with friends and family and to be thankful for the love you have in your life?" Jaune asked in a speedy tone.
"Of course, but Christmas hasn't been the same for me since…"
"RUBY! JAUNE!" Ruby and Jaune turned their attention towards Sun who was waving his arms up to get his attention. "A SOLDIER JUST FOUND SOMETHING UNDER THE COUCH! YOU GUYS SHOULD COME AND SEE THIS!"
Jaune and Ruby looked at each other for a quick moment before making a dash towards the couch, alongside Sun who joined them halfway. Everyone had already gathered in a large crowd underneath the couch, and so the three had to gently shove their way through to see what the buzz was about.
Ruby, Jaune, and Sun joined up with Yang, Penny, Winter, Neptune, Pyrrha, and Ironwood, who they noticed were standing before something on the wall. Yang gestured her hand towards the three.
"Hey guys, check this out." She said. They all saw that it was a small hole, big enough for a mouse to go through.
"Uh, how come we never noticed that until just now?" Ruby asked her older sister, in which she shrugged her answer.
"It doesn't matter." Neptune said. "Call me crazy, but do you think this is where Torchwick came from?"
"Or a big rat." Yang said sarcastically.
"Though I don't think we ever had any mice problems." Ruby pondered.
Winter took a good look at the hole. After a few moments of silence, she raises her hand and summons one of her glyphs, albeit small, and it begins to spin in circular motion.
"What's she doing?" Yang whispered to Neptune.
"Winter specializes in magic." Neptune explained. "If there are any magical anomalies nearby, she'll be the first to know."
Winter's glyph had started out as white, but then it slowly fades into the color black, and then after a few moments, her glyph had suddenly turned green. She withdrew the glyph with a wave of her hand.
"This hole is enchanted." Winter concluded. "I detected some traces of magic coming from within."
"An enchanted mouse hole?" Yang asked, looking over to Ruby out of confusion. "This night just keeps getting more surprising."
"Do you think it'll lead us back to the Land of Sweets?" Sun asked.
"It's a longshot, but it wouldn't hurt to check it out." Pyrrha suggested.
"We should investigate at once." Ironwood said.
"But wait, if it does lead us to the Land of Sweets, then the Thief King would be expecting the army to come." Jaune pondered a bit, and then came up with an idea. "Okay guys, here's the game plan: Sun, Neptune, Winter, Pyrrha, and I are going to head right in."
Jaune turns to Ironwood. "Ironwood, I want you and your army to wait here, at least until tomorrow night. Follow us then. If Torchwick sees us all coming at once, it'll tip him off."
"Are you sure?" Ironwood asked.
Jaune nodded as he said, "Yeah. It's us he wants. If we go on ahead and he sees us, he'll most likely focus his attention on us. He'll least expect the army when you guys come."
Pyrrha couldn't help but to give him a smile. Jaune wasn't always the brightest tool in the shed, but he makes a great leader, always knowing exactly what to do and what to expect.
"Hey wait!" Yang spoke up. "What about me and Ruby? We're still small!"
"It would best for you two to stay here where it's safe." Ironwood explained.
"Yeah, but what about when morning comes?" Ruby asked. "What if our dad, uncle, and godfather might accidentally step on us? What if they get heart attacks when they see us like this?"
"These guys here might freeze back in the morning, but we're not dolls like you guys." Yang also pointed out. "Depending on the limit of how long this magic keeping you guys alive will be."
Everyone looked at each other, realizing that they bring up good points. They don't to risk any danger to their young owners, but that also includes what might happen come morning.
"Well, what now?" Sun asked, placing both hands behind his head.
"It wouldn't hurt if they come with us." Pyrrha suggested.
"But then they would get caught in the crossfire when it comes to facing the Thief King." Winter pointed out.
"Hey, if you guys are worried about us, forget it." Yang spoke, before punching her knuckles together. "You saw what I can do. I'll totally dish out whatever that lousy king throws at me!"
"Of course you can." Neptune said, before pointing at Ruby. "But what about your sister? Ruby can't fight back, remember?"
"True." Ruby couldn't deny that, but then a thought came to her. "But maybe if I have a weapon, I can help out more. I can't expect you guys to babysit me while dealing with Torchwick."
"If that is what you want..." Ironwood spoke, and then reaches into his jacket. He pulls out a gun-like weapon like the other Atlas soldiers have and handed it over to Ruby, which she kindly accepted. "Take this. Perhaps this will be of some help."
Ruby smiled at how shiny and awesome the weapon looked in her hands. She looked up at Ironwood and said, "Thanks a bunch, General! This'll help a lot!"
Jaune places a hand on Ruby's shoulder and said, "But don't forget that I'll still be there to guard you if something goes wrong."
Ruby nodded in understanding.
"Wait!" Penny called out. "I wanna go, too!"
"But Penny…" Yang spoke, but Penny interrupted her.
"You guys could use some extra help." Penny suggested. "I can fight, too." She turns to Ruby and continued, "Ruby has done so much for me, and I want to do something to return the favor."
Ruby smiled. "That's really thoughtful of you Penny, but it could be dangerous. The last thing I want is for you to get hurt."
"I don't want you to get hurt either, Ruby." Penny countered. "If I go with you, then that won't happen to either of us. So long as you have my back, I'll have yours."
Yang turned to Jaune and asked, "Well?"
Jaune just shrugged. "Well, it wouldn't hurt to have an extra set of hands. I guess the more, the merrier."
"Then it looks like I'll have to be the merriest!" Penny said with a cheer, in which Ruby couldn't help but to smile.
"Alright. Then the eight of us will have to go in there alone." Winter spoke, and then turned to Ironwood. "And when the next night comes General, that is when you and your army will take action."
"Understood." Ironwood agreed. "Where do you think will be our rendezvous point?"
Jaune and the others pondered about it a bit, and Neptune gave him their answer.
"The Sugar Plum Castle." He stated. "That'll be our main location. There'll be other villages along the way, and there are multiple paths and roads."
"But the path I'd recommend is the gingerbread path, if my memory's as great as it was." Sun spoke up. "It's the only path that's completely different than the others. It may take a day or two, but it should lead you all straight to the castle."
"How do you know?" Yang asked.
"I used that path to get to the kingdom all the time back then." Sun explained with a shrug and a smile, giving his yellow tail a wag in the air.
"Well, our game plan's been set, and we're all good to go!" Jaune exclaimed happily. "Alright everyone! Let's give it our all!"
And so everyone raised their fists up in the air and gave a loud cheer, which in the distance could be heard as high-pitching screams of little chipmunks.
"But uh…what if it doesn't lead you back to the Land of Sweets?" An Atlas soldier brought up.
Everyone had stopped cheering and looked each other. They hadn't really given it that much thought, since they kind of assumed it would lead them to where they needed to be.
"Then…we find another way!" Yang cheered louder.
"ANOTHER WAY!" Ruby, Jaune, Penny, Sun, and Neptune cheered, raising their fists up again.
Winter shook her head while Pyrrha tries to suppress a giggle with her hand over her lips.
"Alright, gang! Follow me!" Jaune ordered, and so he was the first to make his way in through the hole into the darkness. Ruby followed behind him, and soon did the others as well.
"…On second thought, let's turn back!"
"What!? Why!?"
"Oh you know, just…a suggestion."
"Jaune, you're not afraid of the dark, are you?"
"Of course not! What gave you that idea, Sun!?"
"Eh. Just a theory."
"Ow! I think someone stepped on me!"
"Hey! Someone touched me!"
"Hey Ruby. I didn't know you feel so soft!"
"You have three seconds to get your hands off me at once, Neptune."
"Oh! Uh, sorry Winter!"
"Yeah, maybe we should've thought this through."
No more than half a minute after entering through the mouse hole, there was nothing but total darkness all around them. It was so dark that they can't even see their hands right in front of their eyes.
"Alright, everyone stop for a minute!" Pyrrha ordered. "We don't want to get separated from each other!"
"Agreed." Penny spoke. "Just how are we supposed to get to the Land of Sweets through the dark like this?"
"We just need a light." Yang suggested. "Anyone got one?"
"Smoking's bad for you, you know." Jaune advised.
"That's not what I'm talking about, dude." Yang countered.
"Sorry."
"I think she means we need a light to see where we're going." Ruby explained. "But where can we find a light?"
"If I may?" Winter spoke.
Within a few seconds, there was suddenly a flash of glowing red and orange light, illuminating everyone's surroundings. The gang saw that Winter had summoned a glyph in her hand that brought forth dancing flames.
"Wow…" Ruby said with her eyes sparkling in amazement.
"Shall we proceed?" Winter asked.
Jaune gestured his arm. "Good thinking, Winter. Lead the way."
Winter nodded in approval and then began to lead the others through the darkness. There was nothing around them to see, but at least they can see each other. Yang took her little sister's hand as they both walked side-by-side, as if just to make sure they don't easily get lost.
"So…what's the Land of Sweets like?" Penny asked. "I don't recall you guys ever mentioning what it looks like or what it holds."
"Is it true that there are desserts and sweets unimaginable?" Ruby asked with excitement.
Pyrrha smiled in the darkness as she recalls the memories going through her mind. "Yes, it's true. In the Land of Sweets, there are many kinds of sweets and desserts. There's just so much that we tend to put them to good use in our everyday life."
"Like what?" Ruby asked.
"Most homes and buildings in the land are all made out of gingerbread!" Neptune exclaimed happily. "Complete with frosting and gumballs and fruit-flavored sweets."
"Sweet…" Ruby said happily, a trail of drool escaping her lips.
"They're much stronger and durable than it sounds. Trust me." Neptune brought up.
"What else is there in the Land of Sweets?" Yang asked.
"All the trees grow peppermint!" Sun said. "You can easily smell them through the air when you take a walk through the woods, and when it snows, it snows vanilla ice cream!"
"Wow…" This keeps sounding better and better for an overly-excited Ruby Rose.
"Don't worry. They're not sticky or anything like in your world." Pyrrha brought up. "They feel the same as the trees and snow where you're from."
"There's also fruits of all kind that grows there, too." Jaune continues. "Some that are very sweet to the taste."
"Even strawberries!?" Ruby had to ask.
"Whoa! Down, boy." Yang joked, patting Ruby on the head.
Jaune chuckled. "Yep. Even strawberries. We also grow many other sweets too, like cotton candy and lollipop trees and batches of marshmallows."
"Ooh, marshmallows?" Yang's head jerked up when she heard that word.
"There are also rivers of all kinds of milk, too." Pyrrha spoke up. "Strawberry, chocolate, banana. Even the dirt in all the land is made out of cinnamon!"
"Dirt made out of cinnamon?" Ruby and Yang said in unison. "Wow…"
"Any sweet you can imagine we have in the Land of Sweets." Winter alas spoke, but still focused her attention on the path through the darkness.
"So cool…" both Ruby and Yang spoke in unison with their eyes gleaming with surprise.
"Your land sounds just wonderful." Penny spoke with a smile, clasping both hands together.
"It is." Jaune said, but then his smile turned into a frown. "Hopefully they're all still there."
"Of course they are. They grow all the time." Pyrrha tries to reassure him.
"But who knows what Torchwick had done to the land while we were gone." Jaune couldn't help but to think of any possible worst-case scenario going through his head.
"Come on man. Think positive." Sun said giving Jaune a pat on the back. "Once we kick Torchwick's butt off that throne, things will go back to normal. We'll take our home back before you know it."
Everyone couldn't help but to laugh at Sun's comment of kicking Torchwick's butt. Even Winter couldn't help but to chuckle a bit under her breath.
"That's right." Jaune said with a determined smile and a nod. "Our first objective is to save Princess Weiss and take back the kingdom from the Thief King. Then we'll be able to put things back the way they were before."
"That's right." Neptune said. "Now we're talking."
"So if you don't mind me asking, who is this Princess Weiss?" Yang asked. "I mean, aside from being the princess."
"She's the Sugar Plum Princess who rules the Land of Sweet after her father, the king, passed away." Pyrrha explained. "Princess Weiss Schnee tried her best to rule the kingdom like her father did, but she did not know the first thing about ruling her land, so of course it wasn't long before the stress of the work was beginning to kick in."
"That was when she hired Torchwick as her royal vizier, right?" Ruby asked. "My godfather told me the story that she hired her dad's old friend to help her rule it."
"Yes, Torchwick did happen to be an old friend to the king." Jaune explained. "We didn't know that he happened to be the thief that went around robbing many stores and homes."
"He left no clues and his face was hidden during these robberies." Sun spoke.
"And then he got his hands on these dangerous items from the vault and used them to gain those powers that helped him take over the kingdom." Ruby pointed out.
What they did not know was that Winter was starting to look more livid the more they kept talking about the events leading up to the kingdom being taken over, and then all the land. She gritted her teeth out of anger and squinted her eyes as she tried to ignore their conversation.
"Can we please not talk about what happened all those years ago!?" She snapped.
Everyone was taken aback by the way she reacted. She mostly acted under control, so they were surprised by the way she spoke.
"Sorry…" Ruby spoke, looking down on the ground in regret.
Great swellings of anger and guilt had begun to fill within Winter's heart. She tried her best to ignore her feelings and focused on the task at hand. It was a good thing she was walking in front of the group. Otherwise, they would notice the mixed look of anger and sadness on Winter's face.
"That's why we're going to your home, right?" Penny asked. "To take back your land and save the kingdom and the people? We should be happy. We get to save innocent lives and help people out in this adventure."
Ruby nodded in agreement. "Penny's right. We are so going to kick the Thief King's butt and send him packing! Five years is long enough to be under that man's horrible rule!"
"Yeah!" Sun exclaimed happily. "Watch out, Thief King! We're coming for you!"
"I'll be there by your side soon, Princess Weiss!" Jaune also calls out happily. "Your kingdom will be yours to rule again! I'll make sure of that!"
Pyrrha looked away, and couldn't help but to look a bit disappointed, and the same could be said for Neptune.
After a couple more minutes of walking through the darkness, the gang couldn't help but to notice a bright light closing in not too far from them.
"What's that?" Neptune asked.
"A way out?" Jaune asked.
"Let us see." Winter suggested, and they continued making their way towards the light.
"Maybe this is the way out, after all." Penny said with a smile.
"But what if the Thief King and his goons are on the other side?" Yang had to ask.
"Just in case…"
Winter took out her sword, Pyrrha and Jaune took out their weapons and shields, Sun and Neptune took out their own weapons, Yang braced herself, Ruby took out her laser-gun, and Penny took out one of her swords.
As soon as they got closer to the light, Winter withdrew her glyph, and with it the flames and they prepared themselves more as they got closer and closer. The light started to become brighter the closer they get to it.
They stopped in front of the light, as Winter turned to the others and volunteered herself. "I'll go through it, see where it leads."
Before anyone could argue with her, she went ahead and walked into the light. Everyone stood their ground, as they watched with shocking expression of what could be waiting on the other side of that light. They must've waited for a few seconds, before they saw Winter sticking her head through the light.
"It's alright. It's safe to…"
Before she could finish her sentence, everyone watched in horror as Winter was pulled back into the light as if by force, letting out a shriek of fright.
"WINTER!" Jaune called out worriedly.
"Let's move!" Pyrrha ordered.
No one dared question her as they all run towards the light, and without hesitation, they run through into the light, and as Ruby, Yang, and Penny were about to follow, they could make out growls and loud noises on the other side.
"What the heck's in there!?" Ruby shrieked.
"We got to help them!" Penny exclaimed.
"Yeah! No time for asking!" Yang agreed.
And so the three run into the light, and had to block their eyes due to the brightness. It took a few moments for their eyes to adjust, and when they can see much clearly, Ruby, Yang, and Penny saw the others fighting back against more of the Grimm in the middle of a clearing in a forest.
To the girls' relief, Winter was unharmed, but she was fighting back along with Jaune, Pyrrha, Sun, and Neptune.
"Could use some help, girls!" Sun called out.
"Right!" Yang shouted back.
Penny released the rest of her swords as she and Yang run over to help the others fight the Grimm off. Ruby gripped her weapon in her hands as she run over to help out, as well.
Penny sliced through a few while Yang broke the necks off a couple, Jaune slicing a couple of heads, Pyrrha stabbing her spear through their chests, Neptune striking a few down, Sun shooting bullets through their bodies, Winter also slicing them up with her sword-now in two parts, and Ruby was shooting them down as much as she could.
Unaware of the group, they were being watched from behind one of the pine trees, the girl Neo. She watches unamused as the guards and their friends fought back against the Grimm and looked to be winning.
Alas, the gang was success in their fight against the Grimm. They looked around to make sure there was no more Grimm hanging around. Everyone withdrew their weapons as they huddle together.
"Everyone alright? Nobody hurt?" Jaune had to ask.
"A bit shaken, but it's cool." Yang admitted.
"What the heck was that about?" Ruby had to ask.
"You don't think the Grimm is residing in the forest, do you?" Neptune had to ask.
"Perhaps." Winter said. "But that pack felt a bit too organized, if you ask me."
"Organized?" Ruby repeated.
"Most Grimm tends to stay within their own packs." Pyrrha explained. "But when Winter puts it that way, it was as if they were waiting for us. They don't normally make an ambush like a lion waiting for its prey."
"You don't think Torchwick was expecting us, do you?" Sun asked.
"He must've." Jaune concluded. "He must've known we would've found our way back here, so this was all just a set-up."
"Let's just hope there's no more nearby." Yang said.
"Still, you can never be too careful." Penny spoke.
"We should keep our eyes and ears peeled just in case." Jaune advised. "There could be more just around the corner."
From behind the trees, Neo took a step back from her hiding spot, with a smug look on her face. She jumped into the air, and disappeared in a flash of light.
Ruby couldn't help but to hear a sound from within the forest, and so she turned her head towards where she heard that sound. Winter noticed Ruby's change of behavior, so she asked, "Are you alright, Ruby?"
"Sorry. I thought I heard something." Ruby admitted.
Everyone waited a few moments, but nothing had emerged from the bushes or the trees.
"If it were a Grimm, they would've attacked by now." Sun explained. "They jump at any opportunity they can get when they find a prey."
"We should get moving." Jaune spoke up. "Let's find the nearest path."
And so the eight of them decided to make their leave and walked out of the clearing. Jaune, Winter, Pyrrha, Neptune, and Sun couldn't help but to look around, as if they couldn't help but to take in the scenery which feels all too familiar to them.
"Isn't this it?" Penny had to ask. "The Land of Sweets?"
Yang began sniffing the air, and noticed there was a strong smell in the air. "Hey, I smell peppermint."
Pyrrha took a branch into her hands and snapped a small piece off and handed it to Yang. "Go on. Give it a try." She assured.
Yang took the small piece of the branch into her hand and sniffed it, just to make sure it's not a real tree, and took a lick, to her sister's surprise.
Yang's eyes widened at an unexpected taste. "Hey! It is peppermint!"
Pyrrha chuckled. "Didn't we tell you?"
"Then does that mean…?" Ruby turned to a patch of snow and grabbed a handful. It feels cold and wet, just like snow. She took a bite and she was also surprised by the taste. "Hey! You guys are right! The snow does taste like vanilla ice cream!"
"Really?" Yang asked, throwing the branch aside and grabbed a handful of snow as well. "I wanna try!" And so she did took a taste of the snow, and couldn't help but to melt into the taste. "Wow, this stuff's so good…"
The others, with the exception of Winter, couldn't help but to laugh at the sisters' reaction.
"And there's plenty more too." Sun spoke. "I'm sure we'll find more as we keep travelling."
"Hey guys!" Everyone turned and saw Penny standing over what looked to be a road. "Is this the path you talked about?"
They all caught up with Penny and saw what they had talked about earlier. There was a gingerbread path with peppermint-swirls and gumdrops on both sides of the road, leading down into a valley.
"Yep." Jaune said. "There'll be many paths and roads, but the gingerbread path is the only path that'll lead you straight to the castle. Just in case anyone gets lost, be sure to stay on the gingerbread path."
"If not, take a look in the sky." Sun spoke, pointing his finger up to the sky. Everyone looked and saw a huge shining star bigger than all the other stars in the sky. "That giant star there, it hangs over the castle. That's where you'll know where it is."
"So if we get separated or steered from the path, we just follow the star." Penny suggested.
"Like the tale of the Three Wise Men." Yang pointed out.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"Alright, gang! Let's move!" Jaune said excitedly. He leads the group as they make their way down the road. To Ruby and Yang, it felt a bit funny walking down a road made entirely out of gingerbread.
They saw that it was starting to snow once again, and so Ruby puts her hood over her head and they all begin to make their way to their destination.
"Hey Ruby." Ruby turned to her older sister. "Tonight's been a crazy night so far, huh?"
Ruby nodded under her hood. "Yeah."
"Are you scared?" Yang asked. "'Cause we're technically dealing with a psycho king who'll probably tear us to shreds."
"To be honest, maybe a little." Ruby admitted. "And yet…I feel a little excited."
"Excited?"
"Well, think about it. It's not every day you travel into an enchanted world with a bunch of warriors to fight beside you." Ruby spoke, her smile growing wider on her face. "This is just like in my books, going on an adventure just like this one!"
Yang couldn't help but to smile as she wrapped an arm around her sister's shoulders.
"You and your fantasies, sis." She said teasingly. "Make sure to keep your mind out of the clouds. There could be danger every step we take."
"I'm sure we can handle whatever's thrown at us." Ruby said reassuringly.
"If you're that determined…"
"Hm-hmm."
"Well…alright, I guess." Yang said. "Just make sure you don't do something that'll land you in hot water, you hear me?"
Ruby nodded. "Of course, Yang."
"Okay."
In a way, Yang couldn't help but to feel a sense of pride for her little sister. In fact, she couldn't be more proud. Anyone would probably lose their cool under all this pressure, and yet Ruby is taking things really well. If Ruby's right about how this'll be like in her books, then maybe things will take a turn for the better in the end.
As soon as they get back, Yang is gonna go up their godfather and ask him what other fairy tales are actually true.
Emerald kept steering the Grimm horses pulling the carriage as they're passing through the city of Fudge Town, where there were many kinds of chocolate imaginable. Even the buildings and lampposts on the streets were made out of chocolate. Of course, Emerald secretly prefers dark chocolate.
Fudge Town is also one of the two towns within the land that held the members of the White Fang, their allies who also played a part when Torchwick took over the kingdom. There were some of the townspeople who lives here as well, but are forced to live under close supervision of the White Fang to make sure they follow the Thief King's laws.
If not, they'd be taken to the kingdom to either be a prisoner or be enslaved.
Emerald waved at a couple of Faunus, who she knows from the White Fang, who waved to her back before going about their business. She kept her attention focused on the gingerbread road, heading towards the direction where the castle was.
The Grimm Horses stopped in their tracks and were taken aback in fright when a figure mysteriously appeared right in front of them.
"Whoa! Whoa! Easy now, boys! Easy!" Emerald tried calming them down, whipping them a couple times to get them to settle.
They did eventually when Mercury walked out of the carriage to see what the halt was.
"Yo Em! What's the hold up!?" He called out.
"Something spooked the horses!" Emerald answered back.
They both watched someone walk around the Grimm horses, and saw that it was only Neo, who must've teleported in front of them in the first place.
"Oh, it's just you." Emerald said.
Roman stepped out of the carriage to see what was going on, and saw Neo with her umbrella leaning against her shoulder. "Neo, what are you doing here?" He asked. "Didn't I tell you to watch that cave entrance?"
Neo could only nod, and looked like she wanted to say something, but couldn't.
"You know, if she's here, then something happened back at the cave, right?" Mercury could only guess.
Neo nodded happily.
Roman walked over towards Neo and bent down to her eye-level, looking into her mismatched eyes. "What happened?"
Neo looked at him dead in the eye, and they remained frozen like statues for a minute or two. Mercury and Emerald exchanged looks before turning to the Thief King and Neo. They know that Roman was doing a mind-link with Neo, and was being shown what Neo had witnessed back at the cave earlier.
They broke the link, and Roman leaned up.
"Nut-Boy and his friends are here, as well as the two girls." Roman spoke up. "They might be heading for the castle."
"Oh." Both Mercury and Emerald said together.
"So what now?" Mercury asked crossing his arms.
"They'll most likely come here first." Emerald explained. "This is the first town they'll head to on the gingerbread path."
Roman thought it over for a minute, and then a plan hatched into his mind.
"You know kids, it may be such a bad idea to stay in this town for a little while." He spoke, before turning his attention to Mercury. "Mercury, find the town mayor and fill him in on the situation." He then turned to Emerald. "Emerald, gather up any White Fang members still about."
Roman then turned to Neo. "Neo, I want you to head back to the castle and tell the guards and Cinder our plans."
Neo nodded in agreement and decided to comply with his plan. She jumped up into the air, and like what she did before, she disappeared in a flash of light.
Emerald got off of the coach seat and said to Mercury, "It might be hard to let them know considering the fact she doesn't talk."
Mercury shrugged. "Eh, they'll know. Trust me."
"Alright you two, head out." Roman ordered.
"Yes, your majesty." Emerald said while bowing down.
"What do you want us to tell the mayor and the White Fang, sir?" Mercury asked.
"Fill them in on the situation." Roman explained. "We are to exterminate Nut-Boy and his lackies at all costs, except for the two human girls."
"Why's that?" Mercury asked.
"You dare question your king?" Roman asked threateningly.
"Just wondering, sire." Mercury said.
"The guards and their friends must be exterminated at all cost. Their human friends are not to be harmed…eh, unless they fight back, but they must be breathing and returned to the castle upon capture. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes sir." Emerald spoke. "We understand."
"Good. Now go."
And with that, Mercury and Emerald headed off in separate directions. Roman went back inside his carriage to take a seat. He raises his hand up, which was enveloped with a red glow. He waves his hand in the air, and created a trail of mist with every movement he hand makes.
He uses his magic to take a look at the Nutcracker and his team, and saw that they were walking down the gingerbread path. They were all having a conversation while making their way down into a valley. Neptune made a joke, which made everyone laugh, with Pyrrha suppressing her laugh while Winter shook her head in disapproval.
"So they have come here just like I thought." Roman spoke. "Hmm?"
Among the group who were laughing, for whatever reason, Roman's focus was on Ruby. She had her hood over her head, but her face can still be easily seen. This was the first time Roman had actually seen Ruby smile, and the way she was laughing, it made his heart jump. She even looks cute with that hood on.
Roman shook his head and placed a hand over his chest. Where did all of that come from? That Red Rose…cute? And why did her smile entice him? Roman waved his hand, and the scene disappeared in a red mist which faded away.
Roman leans back against his seat and leans his head back. He doesn't know why, but he was already aware that something has been going on ever since he had first met Ruby. He started to feel a bit differently, and acting a bit differently, ever since he first laid his eyes on her.
He remembers that whenever she's back to a corner, she never once cried. Sure she might've been scared, but she was observant of her surroundings, such as trying to find a way to escape, and she tries to keep herself cool when under pressure. Most girls in her situation would've been caught crying, or at least screaming their lungs out in fright, but she never once did.
Roman secretly admires that about her. Not to mention how her pretty face goes so well with her black-and-red hair and her wondrous silver eyes, and also how warm she had felt against him, not to mention the way she had fought when he looked into Neo's memory earlier…He couldn't help but to sigh. In all his years growing up, he never once had met a creature as fascinating as her…
Roman shook his head a second time. What is wrong with him!? Just what is that Rose doing to him!? No matter. Once he's rid of Nutcracker and his crew once and for all, he'll personally take care of that wretched Rose himself.
He got up from his seat and walked out of his carriage. He's got a lot of planning to do.
It took about an hour of their travels before they could finally see a town at a distance. Ruby and Yang sighed in relief. They both were so exhausted from all that walking. The reason why the others weren't tired was because, since they're dolls, they don't get exhausted easily, which made the two sisters somewhat jealous of them.
"Ooh! What's that town?" Penny asked, pointing towards the town of many different shades of brown with fewer colors like white and pink.
"Oh hey! It's Fudge Town!" Sun exclaimed excitedly. "That's my hometown!"
"Your town, eh?" Yang asked. "Must be great to be back home, huh?"
"Don't you know it!" Sun said. "It's home to some of the Faunus, like me."
"Faunus?" Ruby asked with a brow raised.
"Oh. In the Land of Sweets, there are two types of people." Neptune explained. "Humans and Faunus. Faunus mostly look human like us, with the exception of a few differences, like tails, horns, ears, and share traits like said-animal."
Sun waves his tail up to further prove their point.
"Oh." Ruby and Yang said together.
"So that's why you have a monkey tail?" Penny asked. "Because you're a Faunus?"
"Yep, and I'm proud of it!" Sun exclaimed, hitting his fist against his bare chest.
"Wow. That sounds cool." Yang commented.
Winter scoffed as she walks ahead of the group. "Can we stop wasting our time and continue on our quest?" She asked rather harshly.
"Sorry…" Ruby said in a sad tone.
Before Winter could go any further, Pyrrha calls out to her with her hand raised. "Winter, wait! We need a plan first!"
Winter turned to face her and asked, "Plan for what?"
"If Torchwick knew we'd be coming, then it's most likely that he'll have some traps waiting for us." Jaune explained. "Besides, he might have some more Grimm or allies waiting for us. We can't just jump in there without coming up with a strategy first."
Winter sighed. She knows that they're right, but every minute counts. She walks back to the others and asked, "So what shall we do?"
Neptune turned to Sun and asked, "Sun, this is your town. Any ideas?"
Sun rubs his chin as his eyes looked up at the sky. "Hmm…give me a minute here…" And so Sun got to thinking. Then, his face lit up as an idea came to him. "Wait, hold on! I got it! I flipping got it!"
"What is it?" Penny asked. "Have you figured something out?"
"You guessed right! And I think it's an easier way to get pass the Thief King's lackeys and to the castle faster!" Sun exclaimed. "There's an underground subway that leads into the next few towns. The closet town to the castle is Gingerbread Village. That's where the train line ends. If we can sneak our way through the town and get to the subway, we might hitch a ride there."
"But what if the trains aren't running?" Yang brought up.
"We can walk along the tracks." Sun explained. "I sometimes used to take the train there myself, so I know the way."
"Trust me guys. Sun makes for a good map." Neptune joked while placing a hand on Sun's shoulder.
"Very funny." Sun sarcastically said. "Just stick with me. I can get us there in no time."
"Sounds like a plan." Pyrrha said with a smile.
"Then let's go!" Ruby cheered, raising her fist up.
They reached the entrance to Fudge Town, and the first thing they did was hide in the closest alleyway. Sun sticks his head out, and notices many of the Faunus wearing masks walking around, some holding weapons for some reason.
"Okay, not good." Sun whispered. He looked back at the others, with Ruby, Neptune, Yang, and Penny hiding behind the numerous trash cans. "There are a lot of White Fang members out in the streets, some with weapons."
"What's the White Fang?" Yang asked.
"Faunus who are allied with the Thief King." Sun explained. "They believed they can receive equal quality while under his rule. Who knows how many Faunus are in the group?"
"So how do we get pass them?" Pyrrha asked.
"Let me think here…" Sun said, putting his brain to work. "The Licorice Subway is across town…" He pointed out the direction with a wave of his arm. "But the streets are crawling with these guys. There's no way we can get across."
"The Thief King must've alerted them that we would be coming." Winter spoke.
"Uh…couldn't we have walked around the outskirts of town and not bother with the subway?" Yang asked.
"The sooner we can get to the castle, the sooner we can put an end to the Thief King's reign." Winter pointed out. "We need to get to the subway no matter what."
An idea came into Jaune's mind, but he doesn't like it one bit. He walked across from Sun and sticks his head out to take a good view of the streets. There were just so many Faunus around. It's one thing to fight against the Grimm, but the Faunus are living beings. Fudge Town is one of the homes to the Faunus, so who knows how many have joined the White Fang.
Depending on how well these guys can fight, maybe they might have an advantage, but he doesn't want to risk more Faunus coming to their aid of their kind, especially the stronger ones. They also don't want to risk being captured and taken to Torchwick. That's the last thing they would want to happen.
Jaune let out a sigh, wondering what to do now. Sun notices how distraught the Nutcracker was, and so he asked, "You okay there, Jaune?"
"I have a plan, but…I don't want to risk it." He said.
"Our ears are open," Sun insisted.
"Well…" Jaune turned to the others and begin to say, "What if half of us create a diversion while the other half head for the subway? Distract the Faunus long enough for one team to head for the subway?"
Everyone looked at one another, as Pyrrha said in thought, "That may not be such a bad idea, but how will it work out?"
"We just need to distract them long enough for half the team to reach the subway and the other half can join up with the others given that chance." Jaune explained. "We can't risk fighting the Faunus. We can maybe cause a ruckus, like cause a huge fire or explosion or something. Something big that'll make all the White Fang come running."
To be honest, that wasn't such a bad idea, but who knows if it'll work? And what if it doesn't?
"…We can give it a shot." Ruby agreed.
"You think it'll work?" Penny asked.
"It must." Winter said. "Let's form the teams. Who will stay and who will go?"
"I think Ruby and Yang needs to be the go-team." Penny stated. "It may be too dangerous, plus they could get caught in the crossfire."
"What? I can totally cause a commotion. I've done it like all the time at school." Yang said with a determined smirk.
"But you and Ruby are important to us." Neptune explained. "You guys have always cared for us, and we can't risk you guys getting caught."
"But…" Yang spoke, but was interrupted.
"Yang, it is for your own good." Winter spoke. "If Torchwick knows how valuable you two are to us, he might use you against us, and we can't risk putting your safety in danger."
"Well yeah, but…uh…" Yang spoke, but couldn't think of anything to say to make them change their minds.
"Let nothing worry your mind." Winter assured her. "You let us do it for you."
Yang couldn't help but to punch the ground below her, cracking under her fist, with a look of defeat on her face. Ruby places a comforting hand on Yang's shoulder in hopes to comfort her, but Yang shrugged her hand off, as Ruby couldn't help but to recoil her arm.
"In that case, I volunteer to cause the distraction." Pyrrha said.
"I'll help, too!" Penny volunteered.
"I will help, too." Winter spoke.
"Hey, I'm not gonna let you ladies have all the fun!" Neptune said jokingly, as if another way of saying he'll volunteer.
"Okay." Jaune said while nodding. "Pyrrha, Penny, Winter, and Neptune will go cause the distraction. When that happens, Sun, Yang, Ruby, and I will make a run for the Licorice Subway."
He turns to the other team. "As soon as you cause a scene, you guys take cover. When the chance emerges, you guys make a run for it. We'll wait for you guys at the subway."
"Where will that be?" Neptune asked.
Sun pointed towards a direction. "It's in that direction at the edge of town. Can't miss it."
Pyrrha nodded in understanding. "Got it."
"In that case, the four of you will have to wait here while we go cause the diversion." Winter explains, walking over and looking outside the alley, with Pyrrha, Neptune, and Penny behind her. "As soon as there's an opening, we head that way." She pointed a finger towards up the street.
The other three nodded.
"Good luck, you guys." Ruby said. "Stay safe."
Penny turns to Ruby and said with a smile, "And you as well, Ruby."
"Don't worry about Ruby, Penny." Jaune said with a determined smile. "I'll keep her from harm. You guys worry about the operation."
Penny saluted. "Will do, sir!"
Soon enough, Winter saw a small window of opportunity. Up the street, the road was empty of the White Fang members. "Let's go!" She whispered. "And quickly!"
And so Winter leads Pyrrha, Neptune, and Penny as they make a run for it up the street of the town, running as fast they could to find the place to cause their diversion.
"What do we do now?" Yang asked.
"We wait a little while." Jaune replied. "Who knows how long it will take."
"Let's hope they don't get caught." Sun said, taking a seat on the hard-chocolate ground.
And so they waited in the alleyway for about twenty, twenty-five minutes tops. Yang was chewing on a piece of chocolate she chucked off a wall, and handed Ruby a small piece, which she happily threw into her mouth.
Jaune was polishing his sword while Sun was on watch-duty. He could sure go for a banana right now.
"Hey Jaune?" Ruby asked.
"Yeah Ruby?"
"I'm kind of curious." Ruby said. "You seemed so determine to protect me. Why's that?"
"Well, because I made a promise." Jaune admitted.
"A promise?" Ruby repeated.
"You promised someone to protect Ruby?" Yang asked. "Who did you make the promise to?"
Jaune opened his mouth to say who it was, but then…
BOOM!
Sun, Jaune, Yang, and Ruby stuck their heads out of the alleyway and saw a huge explosion of fire coming from up the street at what looked to be a business building. The four ducked for cover as many Faunus took notice of the explosion. They all ran up the street to see what the commotion was all about.
As soon as the last Faunus went running, Sun sticks his head out and realized that the plan worked.
"Guys! It worked! Let's go!"
And so the four got up to their feet and made a dash across the road and continue to run across town. They stop every once in a while to make sure there weren't any White Fang members about.
BOOM! BOOM!
The gang hid themselves as best as they could as they spotted a few more Faunus making a run towards the explosions.
"Do you think they're overdoing the diversion?" Yang asked.
"Whatever can get the White Fang's attention." Sun answered.
"Come on, guys. The coast is clear!" Jaune exclaimed. He took Ruby by the hand, which she couldn't help but to blush a little, and the four made another run for it.
They were so busy with all the running and such that they didn't notice that someone, who happened to be on her way to see what the commotion was all about, spotted them running across the road.
"Who are…?" She stopped in her tracks when she instantly recognized two of the gang. "The Nutcracker and Monkey boy?"
She reaches into her pocket and took out a transceiver. "Street Rat to Thief King. Come in, Thief King. Over."
There was static on the other end for a little bit before she received contact.
"This is Thief King, Street Rat. What's your status? Over."
"I caught sight of the Nutcracker and Monkey Boy making a run for it. Over."
"How many are there? Over."
"Only four of them."
"Four? I saw that there were eight of them before. Where are the others? Over."
"No clue."
"Who's with Nut-Boy and his monkey friend? Over."
"Two unidentified girls: one with blonde hair and another with a red cloak."
There was silence on the other end, in which Emerald waited for a response. After a few seconds, Emerald spoke, "Sire, are you there? Over."
After a little bit, she got a response. "So I see. What's their location? Over."
Emerald took a look at the street sign. "636 Mint Avenue, sir." She looked at the direction where they were heading. "If I were to make a guess, it looks like they're heading for the abandoned Licorice Subway. Over."
"Hmm…The others are probably causing a distraction to find a way for the others to get to the castle. Find Mercury and help him find the other group. Over."
"But sir, what of the Nutcracker and his group?" Emerald asked.
"Oh…you let me worry about them. Over and out."
Roman had cut contact with Emerald and pinches the bridge of his nose. He was right about them coming into the city, but he'd never expected they would do something like that. Genius in their part, but bad on his.
Since he knows that the Nutcracker and that Monkey Faunus have the two sisters, this would be a perfect opportunity to corner them. He'll get rid of Jaune and Sun, take the girls hostage and use them to get the rest of their group to surrender.
He couldn't wait to get started just to get this all over and done with. Roman is happy to be looking forward to getting rid of the Nutcracker and having his precious Red Rose witness every gruesome minute of it.
End of Chapter Two
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry if it felt like this chapter was rushed. I tried my best to have this chapter have a good pacing, and I hope you guys enjoyed this regardless. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
