Another day, another chapter. Let's get down to the reviews shall we? OutlastTheDark; oh come now, Yang doesn't seem like that kinda person! Look at that face and tell me-...now that I think about it, that does sound like something she'd do. You probably are going nuts with the symbol. Will Braces are what give the Hero in Fable 3 the ability to use Will abilities. Different Braces give different effects, which is why he has only used Inferno and Shock which gives him the ability to conjure Fire and Lightning respectively. Sure, avoiding bloodshed doesn't make a cult fun, but it ensures survival. Now, on with the show!
00000000
Chapter 9- A Dagger in the Dark
The Hero sighed as he sat on the small bed that was provided to him in his temporary quarters. As promised, Rex had been waiting for him inside the room, nearly knocking the Hero off his feet when he first entered the room. It didn't take him long to get acquainted with the room, being smaller and sparser then what he was used to. The bed was by far the largest thing in the room, resting in the far corner of the room with a bedside table with a dull lamp next to it. A small desk and chair had been pushed to the other side of the room, a desk lamp also placed on it alongside a stack of books.
The only piece of armour he had bothered to take off was his helmet, which rested on the bedside table next to the lamp. His sword and rifle also leaned against the wall next to his bed for ease of access should someone attempt to attack him in the middle of the night. Sighing loudly again, the Hero strolled over to the desk, taking one of the books to enjoy a little light reading.
"What have we here..." the Hero mumbled as he examined the book, his eyes scanning the cover. "Ninjas of Love?...Worth a try I guess..."
However, after reading the first five paragraphs, the Hero decided against continuing the book, opting to put it back on the desk instead. Part of him wanted to just burn the book up, but opted against it in case someone actually owned the book. Sighing once again, the Hero trudged over to his bed and sat down once again.
"Well...better get some sleep I guess..." the Hero muttered, leaning over to begin undoing the straps of his boots. At least he could take off the armour without risk of it being stolen away by woodland creatures.
However, before he could get far, Rex suddenly started growling. Looking up, the Hero saw that Rex was facing the door, his back and tail stiff and his body crouched in preparation of a pounce, with his teeth bared.
"What is it boy?" the Hero asked, glancing between his Dog and the door.
Rex continued to growl, before barking once and continuing his growling. The Hero quickly grabbed his helmet and placed it on his head before grabbing his sword and rifle. Rex only ever got like this when there were hostiles approaching, or they were headed for an ambush. Granted, most likely Rex saw everyone here as a hostile, well except for Yang, but it was better safe then sorry.
Slowly opening the door, the Hero popped his head out the gap and looked both ways, seeing no one in the surrounding vicinity. Under normal circumstances, the Hero would have just assumed Rex was being jumpy and ignored it, but something was off. It was if the hairs on the end of his neck were standing, and not in a good way.
"Stay here boy..." the Hero ordered, turning to Rex who whined in protest but stayed nonetheless.
The Hero drew his sword, making sure to close the door behind him as he went. He slowly moved through the dark corridor, making sure to be as quiet as possible. All the students would have gone to bed by now, meaning he would have to exercise extreme caution in that regard. Still, usually there should be at least some security of some form, which was completely absent. He didn't like this, not one bit.
He turned the corner, which led to a corridor that led to a balcony, a circular black object shining a bright light lying motionlessly on the floor. The Hero turned the corner, kneeling down and observing the object which was completely alien to him. He had seen similar objects strapped to the belts of other guards, causing him to assume they were used by the guards here. He didn't need to look over the edge to guess what had happened to the guard that owned this device…
Looking up, the Hero saw the end of a grappling hook locked onto one of the parapets of the wall, a long strand of rope attached to it. Someone was here, someone who wasn't supposed to be. Tightening his grip on the blade, the Hero trudged forward, ready to strike at a moments notice…
00000000
"So, you gonna tell me what's up?"
"Huh?" Yang muttered, turning to face her sister, Ruby.
"I said are you gonna tell me what's up?" Ruby repeated, staring at Yang with a somewhat inquisitive look.
"Nothings wrong Rube's," Yang reassured, sighing loudly as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'm just...tired that's all."
"What's going on sis?" Ruby asked, this time more concerned then before. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
Yang chuckled lightly as she looked at Ruby. She was tenacious, that was for sure. It was also good to know that she was looking out for her Team, no wonder Ozpin chose her as Team leader.
"Just continue being yourself..." Yang smirked, roughly ruffling Ruby's hair in the process, who squirmed slightly before brushing her hair back into place.
"I'm being serious Yang, you've been acting off ever since you received that letter the other day." Ruby continued, earning a sigh from Yang in return. "What did it say?"
"Rube's," Yang sighed, mentally chastising herself for what she was going to do next. "You remember the old fairy tails Dad used to tell us?"
"Yeah, what about them?" Ruby enquired, tilting her head inquisitively as she wondered where Yang was going with this.
"You remember that one about that trinity called the Court?" Yang asked, turning to face Ruby.
"Wish I didn't..." Ruby replied, shivering as she remembered the details of the story. Not exactly the type of people you would invite to a party. "What do they have to do with this? Why are you asking?"
Before Yang could reply, the sound of something heavy hitting the floor echoed nearby, causing both Huntresses to turn rapidly in its direction.
"What was that?" Ruby asked, backing away slowly from the source of the noise.
"I don't know..." Yang answered, quickly activating Ember Celica with a flick of her wrists. "Let's find out."
Yang strode forward, followed by Ruby who was for once keeping her distance considering the fact she was unarmed. The two soon found themselves in a small courtyard, where a guard laid on the floor, a small pool of blood forming near his head.
"Oh my god..." Ruby gasped, quickly covering her mouth with her hands as Yang approached the body, quickly checking for a pulse. "Is he..."
"No, he's alive. Just got knocked unconscious..." Yang quickly replied, breathing a sigh of relief when she felt a pulse.
Looking around, Yang spotted a dark form on one of the upper levels, quickly sprinting into the shadows. Yang gritted her teeth as she stood up, clenching her fists tightly as she rose.
"Rube's, go find someone in charge!" Yang quickly ordered, cracking her knuckles as she spoke. "I'll try and find whoever did this..."
"Yang, are you sure about this?" Ruby asked, her face wrought with worry. "You're in no shape to fight, you're too tired to-"
"Go!" Yang ordered again, turning to face Ruby with a determined look in her eyes. "I'll be okay, I promise."
Ruby stood silent for a second, before nodding in confirmation and running back into the shadows to find help. Yang turned around, looking for a way to the upper level. Spying a set of stairs that ran up against the wall, Yang quickly ran up them, hoping to find whoever had done this…
00000000
The Hero continued onward, glancing around every corner he came across. He had stumbled across a trail of guards in his hunt for the intruder, all of them unconscious. At least they weren't dead, that was for sure. He found that the trail was leading him into an area of the Keep that wasn't populated, almost as if something was leading him here purposely.
The Hero soon heard a strangled scream and spun around immediately, the noise coming from around the corner. The Hero sprinted forward, skidding to a halt when he turned the corner and coming to a standstill.
In front of him was what he assumed was a woman in black leather and plate, a skull like mask covering her face. Strapped to her back was a long thin sword whilst in her hands was a spear...a spear that was pinned against a guards neck, the man haplessly squirming as the spear grip pressed against his throat.
"Release him, now!" the Hero ordered, holding his blade out, pointing the tip of the blade at the figure.
"Is that any way to talk to your betters?" the figure replied, now easily identified as a woman.
"Don't make me ask again..." the Hero warned, his voice dangerously low this time. "Now!"
"As you wish..." the woman replied, quickly pulling the spear closer to her chest, a sickening snap resounding across the corridor as the guards body went limp, falling over as the woman removed her spear from his neck.
"You shouldn't have done that..." the Hero growled, electricity arcing around his right hand as he powered up a Shock bolt.
"Oh come now," the woman chuckled, seemingly ignoring the danger of the situation she was in. "It's not like you actually cared what happened to him."
"Who are you? Why are you here?" the Hero ordered, his right hand now practically covered in electricity.
"Oh isn't it obvious?" the woman chuckled once more, pointing the tip of her spear at the Hero. "I'm here for you."
The Hero blinked in surprise, the Shock spell fizzling away into thin air. Before the Hero could enquire further, the woman charged forward with incredible speed, slamming the butt of her weapon into the Hero's chest, sending him flying onto his back. The Hero quickly jumped up and shot out an orb of fire from his left hand, the deadly projectile making a beeline for the woman. As the fireball was mere inches away, the woman darted to the side, the orb of fire flying past her, her head turning to watch the orb hit the wall.
The Hero then charged forward, using the opportunity to strike the woman whilst her back was turned. The Hero leapt into the air, raising his weapon to deliver an overhead strike as the woman turned at the last second. Somehow, the woman managed to completely dodge the strike, ending up over two metres away from where she had been in just a manner of seconds.
"You'll have to be quicker then that, Hero." the woman taunted, twirling the spear in her hands effortlessly.
"What..." the Hero stammered, unsure he had heard the woman correctly. "How did you-"
The Hero was cut off as the woman charged forward once again in blinding speed, striking the Hero repeatedly. The Hero managed to parry some of the strikes, but most ended up finding their mark. As the woman swivelled her spear overhead to deliver a strike, the Hero raised his sword in defence, managing to block the strike.
"Getting quicker are we Hero?" the woman mused, pressing harder against the Hero's blade. "Try getting your combat multiplier higher next time."
"Who are you?" the Hero demanded yet again, only to receive a chuckle in response.
The woman then delivered a low sweeping kick at the Hero's feet, sending him sprawling onto the floor. The Hero attempted to rise up off the ground, yet found the woman's foot planted on his chest, the tip of her weapon pointed at his throat.
"This will be a night to remember Hero. We've been waiting for one of your kind for so many years now!" the woman said, laughing menacingly as she pressed her foot down harder on his chest.
"Well, sorry to keep you waiting then..." the Hero replied, quickly grasping hold of her ankle and sending a surge of Shock energy through his hand and into her leg.
The reaction was instant as the woman screamed in pain as electricity arced up her body, causing her to spasm uncontrollably. The Hero then sent an orb of fire from his left hand at the woman, still under the effects of the Shock spell, causing her to fly into the air. Quickly rising up, the Hero swung upwards with his sword on multiple occasions, repeatedly striking the woman, each hit causing her to fly into the air again. The Hero then swung upwards one final time with a heavy swing, sending the woman spiralling backwards before she rolled into a standing position.
"You're better then I expected..." the woman hissed, wincing as she nursed her arm slowly. "It seems I underestimated you."
"You wouldn't be the first..." the Hero replied, swivelling the sword in his hand slowly before pointing it again at the woman.
"Well I'll certainly be the last to make such a mistake then..." the woman sneered, twirling her spear and entering a similar combat stance.
"Hey!" a voice shouted, causing both to turn in the direction of the voice. "What the hell is...going...on...here?"
The duo stared awkwardly at one another, still in their combat stances before looking back at the source of the voice, Yang. The woman then chuckled sinisterly as she quickly darted towards Yang, catching the blonde brawler unawares as she held her in a similar death grip to the guard, ready to snap her neck if need be.
The one thing the woman didn't anticipate on however was the blonde brawler's quick thinking, who quickly elbowed the woman in the gut before slamming her head backwards into the woman's forehead. She yelped in surprise and staggered backwards, relinquishing her grip on Yang in the process, who quickly spun around to face the woman.
"So...friend of yours?" Yang asked, turning to face the Hero as she entered a combat stance.
"Actually, we just met." the Hero replied, turning to meet Yang's gaze before returning to face the woman who had since recovered from Yang's attack.
The woman looked back and forth between the Huntress and the Hero, before turning around and sprinting down the hallway.
"She's headed for the courtyard!" Yang shouted, stepping forward hurriedly before turning to face the Hero.
"Go, I'll see if I can cut her off." the Hero replied, earning a nod from Yang in response.
The blonde brawler turned to face the direction the woman had run off in, quickly gaining speed. Under normal circumstances, she would have used Ember Celica to help gain speed, yet for obvious reasons she couldn't use them lest she accidentally woke some of the students or staff up. It didn't matter however as she quickly caught up with the woman, who spun around upon noticing she was being followed before sprinting even faster down the corridor.
Yang didn't let up however, and soon caught up with the woman again, this time close enough to deliver a melee attack. Yang raised her fist and leapt into the air, ready to bring it down on the woman, who turned and ducked at the last second. Yang rolled forward upon landing and turned to face the woman who had also turned around to face her. Yang swung forward again with both fists consecutively, only for the woman to back away quickly before swinging forward with the butt of the weapon. Yang ducked beneath the blow, but failed to register the counter swing, the weapon hitting her head and sending her crashing into the wall.
Yang growled as she rubbed her head, looking up to see the woman had once again resorted to running away. Yang shakily got up, still rubbing her head, and proceeded to resume her chase. When Yang turned the corner, she saw the woman had indeed went straight to the courtyard, running across the upper level to find a way down to the ground floor. As she sprinted across however, the Hero suddenly charged from one of the corridors leading to the courtyard, tackling the woman and sending both over the edge.
Yang gasped as she ran over, watching as both the Hero and the woman slowly got up, though the woman was faster to recover. The woman growled loudly as she swung her weapon overhead, the Hero quickly registering the danger and jumping back at the last second. Yang quickly jumped down to the ground level, rushing over to the Hero's defence. The woman turned at the sound of Yang approaching and raised her spear in defence, which Yang quickly grasped hold of, spinning around and causing the woman to lose her grip on the weapon, causing her to stagger back a great distance.
"Let's see how good you are without this!" Yang sneered, quickly snapping the spear over her knee and throwing it either side of her as the Hero quickly joined her.
The woman growled as she reached for the sword strapped to her back, unsheathing it with an audible hiss. The woman then twirled the sword rapidly in her hand before holding it in a reverse grip, quickly entering a combat stance.
"Your move, blondie." the woman taunted, gesturing for Yang to attack her.
Yang was happy to oblige, charging forward before jumping into the air, ready to strike at the woman. The woman back flipped at the last second, causing Yang to hit the ground and causing a sizeable crater to appear. Yang looked up and charged the woman again, delivering a kick with her left leg, followed by one with her right which were easily parried by the woman's gauntlets. The woman then delivered a kick with her left leg, which was parried by Yang's right, who returned the favour by delivering a roundhouse kick which the woman ducked beneath.
The woman performed a roundhouse kick herself, which Yang quickly ducked beneath and delivered a sweeping kick which the woman back flipped over. As the woman landed, she dashed forward, slashing at Yang with quick and repetitive strikes, staggering the brawler with each and every hit. The woman then sent a final powerful swing at Yang, causing her to yelp in pain as she was sent flying backwards next to the Hero.
"Yang!" the Hero shouted, stepping forward to Yang who shakily began to rise.
"A little help would be appreciated next time pal!" Yang replied, batting the Hero's arm away when he reached out for her.
The Hero turned to face the woman, his right hand arcing with electricity whilst his left hand was smothered in flames. The Hero then brought both hands together as a quickly growing orb of lightning infused fire began to form. The woman charged forward as the Hero flung the orb at the woman, who flipped over the lethal projectile. Continuing with her momentum, the woman continued to charge forward as the Hero drew his sword, parrying the first strike before countering with one of his own, which the woman parried with the blade.
The Hero continued the assault, attempting to strike at the woman only for each and every strike to be parried. Eventually their blades locked, the Hero using his strength to push the woman away. The woman delivered a kick to the Hero's groin, causing him to stagger back as he grunted in pain before the woman delivered a spinning kick at the Hero's head, sending him flying backwards.
Yang let out a yell as she charged the woman, each and everyone of her strikes being parried by the woman. Eventually, Yang managed to disarm the woman with an uppercut, sending the sword spinning into the air before it embedded itself into the concrete behind her. Yang then prepared to deliver a final blow to send the woman flying backwards, but was caught off guard when the woman caught her fist, twisting it awkwardly behind her back, elighting a yelp of pain from the blonde brawler as she attempted to fight back, only for the woman to press harder.
"Is that all you've got?" the woman tutted, shaking her head in disappointment. "I expected so much more from the great Raven Branwen's daughter..."
"What did you say?" Yang gasped, turning her head to face the hollow eyed mask of the woman.
"I wouldn't worry about it for to long..." the woman replied, as a retractable dagger blade suddenly sprung from the gauntlet on her right hand.
Catching the weapon and spinning it rapidly in her hand, the woman swiped at Yang's arm, the blade creating a long thin cut that ran down the length of her arm. Yang yelped in pain as the woman relinquished her grip, causing her to stumble forward as she clutched the wound, blood slowly pouring from the wound.
"Yang!" the Hero shouted, charging forward with his sword drawn, where he delivered a kick to the woman, causing her to tumble backwards as she dropped the dagger.
The Hero didn't let up, striking the woman repeatedly with his weapon, the woman staggering at each and every blow. The woman staggered back at the final blow, clutching her gut as blood slowly began to seep from the wound. The Hero's eyes widened in shock before they narrowed in concentration. The Hero then flung his sword with lightning speed, the blade spinning rapidly before it embedded itself in her chest, causing the woman to stagger back as she looked at the blade in her chest. The Hero then charged forward, grasping hold of his blade and tugging it free from the woman's chest, kicking her back in the process.
The woman landed with a thud, a pool of blood beginning to quickly form beneath her. Then suddenly, the woman's body began to spasm on the ground before black mist erupted from the open wound, an ear splitting shriek following it as it dispersed into the shadows. The Hero watched as the last of the energy left her system, her body now unmoving. But that wasn't his concern right now. The Hero turned around, Yang staggering forward as she clutched the fresh wound, wincing slightly as more blood began to seep from it.
"Yang...are you okay?" the Hero asked, reaching out as Yang slowly approached.
"Yeah...I'm fine..." Yang mumbled, sounding awfully tired all of a sudden. The Hero was on alert immediately at this, something wasn't right. "I'll...I'll be..."
Yang's body suddenly began to loosen up as her skin paled. Her eyes began to close as she suddenly gave way, falling face first onto the floor.
"Yang!" the Hero shouted, dropping his sword and rushing forward, catching Yang before she could hit the floor. "Yang! Stay with me! I need you to focus!"
Yang could barely hear what the Hero said, all it sounded like was a loud buzzing noise. The last thing she remembered seeing before darkness claimed her vision was those horrific amber eyes that had haunted her dreams…
00000000
"Despicable..." the woman sneered as she watched alongside her accomplice as the Hero began to carry Yang's limp body away. "We should take him now whilst his mind is unfocused!"
"Negative." the man next to her replied, turning slightly to meet her gaze. "She's compromised our operations here. We'll have to move to...alternate methods of acquiring him."
"We need to take him now!" the woman hissed, marching up to the man who didn't so much as flinch. "Whilst he still mourns her death-"
"She's not dead." the man corrected, causing the woman to stare at him with narrowed eyes. "She's paralysed. You know how she liked to toy with her prey before the killing blow..."
"And it turned out to be her undoing..." the woman continued, shaking her head slightly. "It seems she was unworthy of her title after all."
"We'll find a replacement," the man reassured, before nodding to the shadows behind him. "We should leave before our presence is detected."
The woman nodded and slipped back into the shadows, the man staying a little longer before speaking into an ear piece in his helmet.
"This is the Knight, the Jack's dead. The Queen and I are reporting back to the Dreadnought."
00000000
Well, hope you enjoyed it. Liked it? Leave a review and constructive criticism is welcomed. Any questions? Either leave in your reviews or PM me and I'll answer them.
Raging Archon out.
