A/N: So sorry this is a bit late, guys; but thanks to the ice storm and mlk day I got some free time to put more into the story so that's what I did. I just wanted to say thank you for all the support and you guys are the best people on this site. So please don't forget to review, follow, and favorite. I'll see you all next week^_^
The sound of metal heels clicking echoed through the underground passage, that was located underneath the 26th Ward. Macy walked through the passage with her her shoulders back and chest out. Her mask was pushed onto her forehead and her green eyes were fixed on the path ahead of her; even though on the sides of the tunnel were various armed guards all posted as a sort of Honor Guard. Their BDUs, plate carriers, boots, helmets, gloves, holsters, belts, and balaclavas were all jet black; on their left arm was a patch that identified them as belonging to Wolf squad and their admin pouches were emblazoned with a broken angel wings patch. "The only squad that can match my bloodhounds in battle." Macy mused, coming to her destination.
"I've come to see the Doll." she told, the guards posted at the iron door in front of her.
The guards opened the door, and allowed Macy to walk into the lonely, cold room. The door closed behind her as a cold draft gently blew some of the loose strands of her blonde hair. Her green eyes were focused on the chair in front of her, the small cloaked body of the Doll sitting there her head down and her plastic in cased hands clutched around the beat up wood of the old chair she sat on. Macy could hear a faint sound like that of a rattlesnake, reverberating from the ceiling. She disregarded the noise, but kept it in her mind just in case. The draft flowed through the hollow eye holes of the Doll's mask and created a small whistling sound; shortly before the Doll's head moved up. The plastic around her neck creaked from the stress of her neck moving around; her hollow eyes and hooded head meeting the Librarian's gaze.
"What is it?" Doll asked, her hands slacking on the chair.
Macy cleared her throat, "It's concerning the Widow stirring up trouble in the 24th. Karat and Red are currently observing the situation; but from what we've seen Widow is very skilled and her knowledge of CCAS movements is astounding to say the least. When she gives that knowledge to her men it becomes a nuisance to try and observe the situation."
"I see, so she's not an amature." Doll chuckled. "That's what makes this so fun, the hunt. You send in the hounds, the Commission of Counter Aura Sensitives, to flesh out the prey while you put them in your crosshairs."
Doll stood up, her short stature proving to intimidate all those who had to make a first introduction. Her burgundy robe, fleshed out around her legs and appeared to dance as the coverings on her arms were not coverings at all; instead they were just more fabric and red ribbon sewn onto the back of it. This fabric and ribbon fell to show that her arms were covered by red ribbon, wrapped around and around her arms until it joined the ribbon that disappeared underneath her robe; without a doubt covering the rest of her body. The ribbon on her arms was half covered by white, hard plastic that covered her bicep, elbow, and forearm; the plastic on her hands and fingers also matching the ones that covered her arms. She stretched her arms far apart, the outline of her lips appearing prominently through the red ribbon that covered the mouth opening on her white mask. She skipped forward, her feet only half covered by the ribbon that cloaked her entire body underneath the robe and beyond. Her barely covered feet gave some comfort to those around her since they did show that she did have human skin underneath all her garments.
"The Widow is a ghost that should have stayed dead. However, the CCAS have their own role to play in the World Cage." The sound of the rattlesnake returned, as Neo dropped from the ceiling; a green, scaly tail hanging behind her back. "As for you inform Phoenix that the Bloodhounds will enter the area, and work to slowly cause dissention among the Widow's forces. When it comes to war the psyche of those fighting will always be weaker than their physical strength."
"What are you going to do?" Macy asked, trying to distract herself from Neo stripping down in the corner to bathe.
The Doll chuckled, her laugh like that of a little girl.
"Securing us a rabbit trail." she replied, grabbing a chain at the bottom of her chair.
She pulled it forward and Macy watched as Cardin Winchester walked forward, his eyes and mouth sewn shut with barbed wire. His body was covered with a jet black robe that went down to cover his feet. He tried to move his lips in vain, but stopped once they began to bleed again.
"After all, mommy, needs to see her new baby boy." the Doll chuckled, her lips forming a smile underneath her ribbon.
Meanwhile, Ruby was busy packing a large duffle bag in her apartment; while Weiss watched with an attentive look. Her ice blue eyes watched as Ruby stored her assault rifle, magazines, extra sword blades, and finally these strange cone shaped objects.
"What are those?" Weiss asked, playing with her pony tail.
Ruby clicked a button on the bottom of the device, and the cone split apart to look as though it were a Trillium with a glowing red center.
"It's a trip mine. If I were to throw this at a wall it would attach itself and arm itself simultaneously. When something passes through its field of vision it will explode and shower all those around with several thousands small flechettes." Ruby explained, deactivating the mine.
Weiss shivered a bit, "Sounds painful. I thought you didn't kill though?"
"I don't like to kill, but when it comes to Aura Sensitives I don't take chances." She zipped up the bag, and turned fully to Weiss. "I'd rather come back alive, keeping those I care about safe. Instead of pussing out, and letting myself get killed just to wonder if my loved ones will be okay."
A warm smile appeared on Weiss face at Ruby's words, "Are you sure you're not a guy? Because, you're probably the most noble woman I've ever met."
Ruby chuckled, "You're not the first one to ask me that, and yes I am a girl. I can have babies."
"Oh, really? I thought all that girl testosterone made you infertile." Weiss said, her own snarky sarcasm allowing Ruby some comfort.
She grabbed the bag and threw it on her shoulder, the strap catching her hair a bit.
"Damn it." she cursed pulling her hair free. "I need to cut this shit. I appreciate you watching the place while I'm gone again, by the way, you know so I don't forget."
Weiss waved her off, "Please, it's not gonna break my back coming here to check the mail every so often. I still don't know what you're doing though."
"I am enforcing Fallen sovereignty." Ruby said, grabbing her gauntlet and slipping it on. "Basically, the Fallen are the most prominent Sensitive Revolutionary Organization on the Vytal continent. This attracts a lot of attention, especially from rivals. Fallen directive one is to follow the double Z rates commands and of course kill the CCAS or any other officials. Directive two, however, is to enforce Sovereignty. In the Fallen all Aura Sensitives are to be under the Fallen banner, if they don't conform they're suppose to be killed. Yet, most don't directly enforce it unless the Sensitive or Sensitives are warring against the Fallen."
"So basically, you don't kill other Sensitives unless they are deemed threatening to the organization?" Weiss surmised.
"Yep, pretty much. Anyway, I have to go back to the 24th, don't hurt yourself, get in my underwear drawer, or look at my browser history. Bye!" Ruby yelled, before disappearing; a few rose petals leading to the swinging door.
Weiss' eyes were wide and her mouth small as she slowly rose her hand and flexed her fingers to wave. Her eyes fell to the rose petals on the floor, "Damn it, Ruby Rose."
One ward away in the 5th Ward, red ribboned feet walked up the sidewalk that lead to a very extravagant house; one that screamed rob me but deterred it by the guards standing around its fences and the gate. The metal bars were held in place by large brick pillars, the closest one being the one that the Doll hid Cardin behind. She laughed to herself as he strained against the chain, his mouth drooling and his stomach growling. She covered her mouth and laughed before skipping over to the guards at the front gate.
"Trick or treat!" she yelled, getting the first guards attention.
He walked over to her, "Get lost, kid, it's not even anywhere near halloween."
"Oh, okay then. I guess you'd settle for a trick." she said, snapping her fingers.
The three guards behind him, were suddenly decapitated by an unknown force. Their blood soaked into the pavement as the guard in front of him turned around to see the Doll behind him. He reached for his gun with fire in his eyes, but it was quickly extinguished when the Doll disappeared and stabbed him in the back with her right hand. Blood shot from his mouth as he fell to his knees the; the Doll's arm now sticking from his chest.
"You are food, nothing more." the Doll whispered into his ear.
The Doll reached up with her left hand and cupped the man's adam's apple. Her fingers pushed and tore before ripping the man's esophagus free, her hands and mask getting covered in blood. She giggled as he fell forward, choking to death. The Doll then retrieved Cardin and began walking up the street towards the front of the house. When they were about half way there both of them heard the alarms go off, and Cardin suddenly realized where he was. The doll looked around, the red pupils of her eyes showing through the darkness of the eye holes of the mask she wore. Her right hand rose again and the crackling of electricity announced its arrival. She placed her hand on the ground and electricity surged through the yard burning out all breaker boxes and frying the power lines. A gust of cold wind blew across the large yard, as she stood back up; the ribbons and her burgundy robe whipping around wildly as they continued.
"Come on, hurry up." Doll said, pulling the chain harder.
Cardin stumbled forward like a proverbial Frankenstein; his foot eventually hitting a step. The Doll turned the knob on the large evergreen door, and found it to be locked.
"Pathetic." She said, the ribbons no longer flapping in the wind.
The ribbons soon had a mind of their own and whipped around wildly, like a snake that had been inflicted a mortal wound; yet refused to die. They twisted and stretched before slamming on the door, the upper and lower halves of the piece of wood splitting in half. The ribbon went through the now shattered door and grabbed a guard, who had been standing behind it. Screams echoed throughout the hallway, the ribbon cut off his limbs, and spread blood all over the immaculate, white walls. The ribbon plunged itself into his chest and ripped out his heart; while its brother grabbed his head and beat it until his eyes fell out and his head more or less looked like a tomato. Two more guards arrived and were given the same treatment by even more ribbons.
"Yesssssssssss. Defile them. Make them suffer, these sticking pigs." Doll laughed, walking through the viscera. "Even the dogs are not allowed to eat them."
A shot rang out in the living room, and when Doll looked up she saw a bullet suspended in midair. She chuckled as she looked past the piece of lead and saw the man who fired it; he looked like he was about to piss himself. She moved her hand across her chest and his head popped off thanks to the sheer force of her Aura alone.
The room went quiet after she made her Aura drop the ribbons. She pulled Cardin forward and began moving towards the upper floors. She could hear the sound of someone whimpering up here, and the Doll's lips formed a smile once again as Cardin and she found the bedroom door. Her hand reached out and grabbed the doorknob, and like the front door it was locked. However, this time she just swiped her hand in front of the door and the lock disengaged. It swung free and gave Doll a great view of a very rich family, the husband holding his wife who was crying her eyes out.
"That is too cute." She pointed at them. "Kill."
On que Cardin jumped into the room, and sounds of screaming and tearing filled the room. Their own son killing them. Doll chuckled as she walked past the scene and over to the woman's purse. Digging through it she soon found her wallet and retrieved her credit card and debit card. She threw the wallet to the floor and looked at the two cards in her hand and then went searching for the assets that Cardin's dad had; the foundation of his rich empire. Doll moved over to the computer desk and began to dig through that. Her pupils lit up again when she found the folder containing all his investment information and bank account number. She tucked them underneath her right arm, and started to walk back to Cardin. However, she stopped when her ears caught the squeak of a closet door. She smiled to herself and turned around to see a little girl who looked to be around the age of twelve. Her teeth were bared and her lovely dress was disheveled as her tearful eyes looked at Doll, who was just barely taller than her.
"Oh my. I was unaware Cardin Winchester had a sister. How… quaint." Doll said, bending towards her.
Tears flowed down the girl's eyes, "Who are you? I need to know so I can kill you later."
A laugh burst out from the taller woman's mouth, "Well, aren't you the charming one?" she put her left hand on her chest, "I am the prey that kills the hunter… and then eats him. Now, go away."
Doll rose her left hand and pushed the girl away from her; back into the closet. "People should learn not to threaten me." Doll thought, forming a fireball in her left hand.
She threw it at the closet door and it immediately caught on fire. She smirked at it, before walking back over to Cardin who was now on his knees in front of his dead parents.
"Good job, Cardin." Doll congratulated, before cutting off his head with the edge of her hand.
His head fell to the viscera below, and rolled in front of his mother's. Doll began running again; her robe flowing behind her as the fire soon spread into the bedroom. Her feet carried her outside once again, and her eyes were treated with the sight of police cruisers speeding towards her location. The sound of the house falling apart inside echoed into the outside world as the upper windows exploded out, showering Doll with glass. The embers that soon joined the air fell slowly in front of her red pupils, the hate swirling around in them. Memories flooded her mind and the burning hate, anger, and hopelessness all swirled around and fixed together like a cocktail, "I'll kill you, coward."
She slowly walked down the path once again, and by the time she reached the gate the cruisers as well as the standard CCAS unite arrived to cut her off. They all stopped in front of her and everyone of them pulled their guns; shouting at her to "stop".
"Go away." she said, picking up a police cruiser with her aura and using it to knock all the other ones out of her way.
Glass and metal shattered as she threw the police cruiser between the ones in front of her, knocking them to the side and either killing or pinning those behind them.
"Fire, everyone! Fire!" the leader shouted, only to be silenced by one of the CCAS officers.
Doll heard a pair of footsteps walking towards her, and when the owner came into view; she took note of the red star pin on his suit.
"Well, isn't this a surprise? I never thought there would be a Praetorian Knight stationed here, in one of the safest wards." Doll mocked, with a giggle in her voice.
The Knight was tall, with green hair and a large gold sword on his back. He carried himself with a certain level of poise.
"I am Special Investigator Sage Ayana," he grabbed his sword from his back and slammed it on the asphalt. "And even though I was assign to the Lockjaw response team… I will defend these people from abominations like you!"
The Doll's mouth was unmoving, as she slowly clapped, "That was so moving, I'll just give myself up right now. Then again you're too weak to stop me so please just step asi-"
She was cut off by his sword hitting her and creating a large dust cloud around them. Sage looked at the spot he assumed she was with fury in his eyes, until he heard giggling behind him. He turned around and saw Doll standing behind him.
"Oh my. Did I hurt your feelings?"
He swung again only for the Doll to disappear again.
"Wow, I never knew a Knight could be so fragile. Tell me what looks best a cop pinata or a cop balloon?"
Sage turned to his right and saw that the Doll was now sitting atop of the police cruisers; the rest of his men, including his new partner, all suspended in the air by ribbons through their chests.
"Nevermind, I think I have enough to try out both." she laughed.
"SHERI!" Sage yelled, pulling a lever on his sword.
The blade split apart and turned into a large laser cannon that he proceeded to cut everything in the direction that the Doll was. She giggled as she jumped in the air, avoiding the attack, and landed in between two houses. Sage saw her land and when he ran his way over to where she was he saw her waving at him, just before running behind the house on his left. He flowed her, which was more of a challenge than he thought since at points he could caught a glimpse of her robe before she disappeared again.
Sage was eventually lead to an old, abandoned factory where he found Doll's robe hanging from a post just outside its door. He kept looking around him with his sword raised as he moved to the piece of fabric; that slowly blue in the chilly wind. "She undressed?" Sage asked, himself grabbing the garment. He looked around and before long his nose caught a rather pungent smell that lead him to look at the garment. "What the hell?" He asked, himself sniffing the robe.
"Why the fuck does it smell like kerosene, and sulfur?" he asked himself, throwing the garment down.
He brought his sword closer to himself, and walked towards the door.
Sage pushed on the door, it's hinges swinging open with a eerie squeak. He pointed his sword toward the door and entered the building. The darkness enveloped his tall form, and his only comfort was the white light from the overcast skies; slipping through the few windows. He moved his arm behind him and into a pre-slash position; giving him the ability to swing if he got surprised. Sage's boots crunched on glass, just before entering the main storage area of the toy warehouse. All around him were shelves upon shelves of decaying toys; a mighty tombstone of a once great economic empire. Of course those days were long gone, exterminated along with the Aura Sensitives.
"Welcome to the land of the dead." a voice whispered in his ear.
His eyes went wide and swung behind him; his sword knocking over a whole shelf that crashed to the floor. Sweat ran down from his forehead, and was wiped away quickly before he heard rattling behind him. Sage turned quickly his sword raised, but then lowered as he saw Sheri standing in front of him.
"Sheri? How are you alive?" Sage asked.
"Heh, a little gift my mom gave me from Atlas." she said, holding up a syringe.
"Wow, I didn't know Atlas was that advanced. We should be careful there's a double Z rated Sensitive here." Sage advised.
Sheri walked back the way he came, "Oh really, who is it?"
"I think it's the Doll. It's very rare to see her; and from what we know she's very good at killing Knights." Sage pointed his sword at her back. "Also that's a neat trick, where did you learn it?"
Sheri smirked, " I must say it's not everyday that someone can see through my illusion." Sheri turned around and the then black pupils of her eyes were now glowing bright red. "Also I learned the trick from your own mind."
Sage's eyes widened as the whole world faded away and he was back home, in Haven a city in Mistral. The cold, damp building was gone and replaced with warm rays of sunshine, and a gentle breeze blowing into the wooden structure via the windows.
"No-No way, how the hell did you get in my head?!" He lowered his sword and began looking around wildly. "Okay, just breath. My name is Sage Ayana, serial number 590170. My name is Sage Ayana, serial number 590170. My name is Sage ay-
"Sage, you better wake up or you'll be late for breakfast." A female voice shouted.
"Mom? Mom!" He ran into the other room. "Mom! You're still al-"
He stopped running as the room began to shrink, and turn dark. His mother lay in a body bag on the sidewalk next to a shopping mall, the scene of a recent terrorist attack. Sage, who now looked to be around nine years old, fell to his knees; his sword lying next to him.
He buried his face in the pavement and cried, "Where are you?!"
Like a TV screen the room turned to static, and suddenly he was back in the real world. He looked up and found that he was normal size again; and, after hearing her giggle, saw that the Doll was stood in front of him, with pieces of red ribbon covering most parts of her naked body. Her face was still covered by her mask, and the color of her hair was covered by the darkness; but he could at least tell that it stopped just above her hips.
"I'm here, or would you like me there?" Doll asked, before her hand grabbed the back of Sage's head.
She pushed it back to the floor, and laughed all the way, her ribbon covered body pressing against his.
"Die, Inquisitor." she whispered.
Suddenly a long tentacle burst from Doll's lower back and plunged itself into Sage's back. He coughed blood as the tentacle burst out of his chest and it's tip soon twisted to form a giant mouth like that of a venus fly trap.
"HUNGRRRRRYYYY!" The mouth yelled, before its owner forced it to wrap around Sage and plant hit head firmly into the ceiling above.
The last thought to enter Sage's mind before his head was pulverized was simply, "Kanaja."
Doll retracted her tentacle and let it join it's three mouthed brothers that had also risen from her back. The first was Venus it's head shape like that of the plant, the second was the Basilisk it's mouth being the shape of a serpent's with sharp teeth, next was Fallacy since it's tri toothed mouth could only speak lies, and the fourth was simply named Gluttony, for mouths big and small covered all parts of its structure. Doll giggled as she retracted them back into herself and walked towards the door. The cold air blew past her as she grabbed her robe again, and threw it over her head; its hood covering her hair once again. She began walking down the alley again; the documents she carried being dug up from the gravel outside. She continued to walk down the path and before long disappeared.
She now stood in front of a high rise apartment building in the 10th Ward. Entering via the fire escape, Doll, skipped through the hallway and opened the door right at its end. She came into a lavish apartment that was filled with book, and more books. There were so many in fact that much of the expensive carpet was covered by the stacks. The soft glow of the wall lights shined delicately across the cherry wood walls; and allowed Doll to enter a back room. The small woman stopped in the middle of the room, and her robe fell to her feet. The red ribbon soon followed, but slowly at first as she had to unwind it from her body. The plastic around her arms and hands fell to the floor as well, before a small, petite hand grabbed her mask and reached behind her hair. Delicately manicured fingernails unclasped it's latch; and pulled it free from her face. She giggled as her lips curled into a playful smile.
Ruby pulled out her keys and unlocked the door to her apartment. The sun had already set and the city lights were streaming through the large windows, as Ruby entered into the room. She sighed as she dropped her gear to the ground.
"Mmmm." she moaned, rubbing her sore shoulders.
She walked into the kitchen, whilst rubbing her right eye. However, she got the surprise of her life when she saw Weiss sound asleep on her kitchen table. Ruby blinked a couple times, before she looked at the clock; it's glowing numbers reading a quarter till one.
"Have you been here all day?" Ruby whispered, not expecting an answer.
"Yeah, I have." Weiss muttered, making Ruby jump. "You woke me up when you dropped your bag."
Ruby looked back at her bag, "Sorry."
"It's okay." Weiss responded, closing her eyes again.
Ruby walked over to her and slipped her arm underneath her leg, and put her right arm around her back.
"Come on, you can't sleep here." Ruby said.
Weiss groaned in acknowledgment, wrapping her arms around Ruby's neck and resting her head on her shoulder. Ruby carried her friend into her bedroom and gently laid her down on the bed.
"You know with how much you like sleeping in my bed. You might just have to start paying for it one day." Ruby joked, standing up fully.
Weiss was sound asleep and didn't even hear her, causing Ruby to smile as she went back to the door and shut it behind her.
Once she was in the living room again, Ruby, took off her trench coat and hung it up before kicking her duffle bag next to the couch. The brunette was dressed in her combat attire; her toned abs exposed to the air in the room just below her developed bust. She reached into the pocket of her pants and pulled out her cigarettes, the lighter on the table being used to light the one she put in her mouth. Ruby reclined back into the couch, as she watched her smoke flow to the ceiling. She was neither thinking, nor completely blank; her mind choosing this to be the best time to relax after her experiences in the 24th Ward. However, before she could form a complete thought she noticed that the lights in her kitchen flickered. Ruby sat up, her cigarette hanging from her mouth as she slowly stood up to investigate. Her boots slowly thudded into the kitchen and saw that the lights were just fine, causing her to cock an eyebrow.
"I just bought these damn…" Ruby trailed off as the lights went out and the warm glow of orange light caressed the room and her skin.
She turned to the window, and saw a massive fireball rising above the tops of some of the buildings. Her eyes went wide as the shockwave rocked her building, throwing things to the floor with the violent vibrations. Ruby dropped to one knee as her balance was lost, her eyes immediately shifting to her bedroom where Weiss was. Dust fell from the ceiling as Ruby pushed herself off the floor, and ran to her bedroom door; busting it open with her shoulder. Inside Weiss was already up looking at her.
"Ruby! What the fuck is going on?!" Weiss asked, as another shockwave hit the building.
Weiss lost her balance and began to fall backwards, luckily Ruby was able to catch her.
"I don't know what's going on. All I know is that there's a massive explosion in Ward One." Ruby said, letting go of Weiss' hand.
Weiss was immediately confused, "Not Fallen?"
"Unknown, but if it was they would have given their recon teams some heads up before doing it." Ruby replied, motioning for Weiss to follow her.
Both of them walked into the kitchen and while Weiss stared at the fireball for the first time, Ruby, busily dug through her duffle bag; pulling her glove and mask free. She hastily slipped both of them on, and opened up a direct link to Binary.
"Ruby Rose, to Binary come in. I have eyes on an unknown explosion, city center please advise." Ruby said, the mic on her mask picking up her voice.
"I'm here. The explosion took place at the center of the city at an unspecified location." Ruby pushed Weiss away from the windows as she listened. "However, whatever it struck was CCAS oriented."
"Was it us?" Ruby asked, bending down and grabbing her AR.
"No. We're getting reports in from the other recon teams reporting an unknown explosion, Phoenix has told all Fallen to take cover underground… I just got a report from Macy; CCAS officers are withdrawing from the 24th and heading back to Ward One."
In the 24th Ward, Blake, looked to the sky as the CCAS withdrew; the explosion reflecting in her gold eyes.
"Binary, get Chi on the line, and tell her that I want ot meet up at Branwen Memorial Hospital, we-"
"Ruby!" Weiss interrupted her.
Ruby looked up and saw that a new explosion was erupting from the previous one, and with it came a shockwave filled with debris.
"Down!" Ruby yelled, tackling Weiss to the ground as the shockwave threw a CCAS cruiser into the apartment next to them.
Weiss watched, as the glass windows shattered and covered Ruby above her; some glass imbedding itself in her skin. Her blue eyes watched in horror, as a piece of glass shot between Ruby and she, cutting the former's bottom lip. A drop of Ruby's blood landed in Weiss' mouth and her first instinct was to swallow; her brain not thinking a clearly as it should. She felt her aura flare as the new, much stronger Auro Cells entered her stomach and then her blood stream. It felt as if her whole body was given new life, and the dopamine that flooded her brain was reminiscent of sexual satisfaction. She looked to her left and closed her eyes, pacing her breathing until the sensation went away; however, she did notice something different… she could hear better. Ruby hadn't noticed what was going on with her friend, but stopped anymore glass from hitting them by enveloping them with her Aura.
The danger was now gone, and Ruby helped Weiss stand up. The black haired woman stood up shaky at first, but soon threw her arms around Ruby.
"Thank you." She whispered.
Ruby shook her head, "Not now."
She pushed Weiss away and gave the woman the reassurance of a hand on her shoulder. Ruby picked up her rifle and pistol; before motioning for Weiss to follow her. Both of them walked to the door, but Ruby stopped midway causing Weiss to bump into her.
"What is it?" Weiss asked, confused.
"Get out to the hallway and open the fire escape. I'll catch up." Ruby replied, walking back into her bedroom.
Weiss did as she was told, and left Ruby to her business.
Inside her bedroom, Ruby, went to her armory and took, the various pictures she kept, into her hands. Ruby unzipped her leather shirt and pushed the pictures into her bra, before zipping it back up underneath her mask. She grabbed one final magazine and her sword, before locking down her armory. The brunette gave the room one last look and walked back through the door. Ruby stepped out and into the hallway; her gaze immediately finding Weiss standing by the door waiting for her; the black trench coat she wore having been "borrowed" from Ruby's apartment.
"You okay?" Weiss asked.
"I'm fine." Ruby said, beginning to walk towards the door.
Weiss turned with her, but both stopped when they heard a small child crying from next door. The Exiled Heiress, turned around and she saw that all the color had drained from Ruby's face; her eyes the widest, Weiss, had ever seen them.
"I thought they had left." Ruby muttered before turning on her heel.
Weiss left the door behind and raced towards Jeffery's apartment with Ruby.
"Jeffery!" Ruby yelled, taking the door knob into her gloved hand.
She thrust her shoulder into the door, and found that it wouldn't budge. Weiss arrived and watched Ruby, hit the door again.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
Ruby backed up from the door, "Fuckin' thing's jammed. Stand back."
Weiss backed away from the door, and watched Ruby kick the door open. The piece of wood fell off its hinges and crushed the wood blocking it. Ruby entered the room first, and her eyes fell when she saw Jeffery sitting in the middle of his living room; a board through his chest.
Weiss gasped when she entered, "Oh shit."
"Look for the girl, her name is Coco. We can't leave her here." Ruby said, slinging her rifle.
Weiss nodded and walked into hallway that lead back into the apartment. Ruby removed the board from Jeffery, and then laid him down before covering him with a blanket.
"I'll miss your banana bread, old man." Ruby said, before she started to pushed through the debris.
Weiss threw doors open, and called Coco's name before she found the girl's brown and gold room. She hastily walked in and checked the closet and under the bed; but for the life of her she could not find her.
"Come on, where are you?" Weiss asked, putting her hands on her hips
She turned to leave, but before she did the sound of sobbing echoed through the room. Her gaze was drawn to a small desk and when Weiss calmly moved the chair away from it; she saw a five year old girl with a beret covering her long brown hair. Weiss had to suppress a snicker as the beret was much bigger than her head.
"It's okay, baby." Weiss said, reaching for the girl. "I'm here to help."
Her eyes went wide just before jumping into Weiss' arms.
"Oof." Weiss grunted as she was knocked back a bit. "Oh my goodness, It's okay." She picked Coco up and pressed her head into her shoulder.
Weiss grimaced at the fact she was only wearing a t shirt and shorts; and this was very inadequate clothing since the temperature outside was around two degrees. Weiss carried her over to the bed and pulled its blanket free. She then set Coco down, and wrapped her up in the blanket before picking her up again.
"There we go." Weiss said.
Leaving the room she found Ruby, trying to break through another door.
"Ruby, I found her." Weiss announced.
Ruby jerked around, "Oh thank God." She walked over to put her hand on the girl to let her know she was actually there. "We have to get out of here. Binary just got reports that there are rioters searching houses and buildings, human rioters."
"Ruby, what the fu-" she stopped when she remembered that Coco was next to her. "What is going on?"
"I wish I knew, but the most important thing right now is to get Coco somewhere safe. We can go along the-" Ruby stopped when they heard screaming and gunshots echoing through her building.
Ruby turned around, before sternly saying, "Go, go to the fire escape."
Weiss followed orders and ran with Coco to the fire escape. Ruby followed her with her rifle pointed towards the stairway.
The black haired woman stepped outside and the cold wind blew her hair wildly as she clutched Coco to her chest.
"Ruby, we're clear let's go!" she yelled back.
"Alright!" Ruby acknowledged, turning and sprinting to the door.
She could hear the unknown hostiles climbing the stairs as she ran, her hand shutting the door faster than she had ever before.
"Come on, hurry." she said, descending the stairs.
Weiss matched her pace and followed her down the stairs; where, at the end of them, Ruby jumped down and caught Weiss when she jumped. The brunette then lifted a manhole cover up and motioned for Weiss to jump in.
They both entered the sewer system and began to look around once Ruby turned her rifle mounted flashlight on.
"Corvo!" Ruby called out, the blackness eating her words.
"Your friend is not here." a voice said from behind them.
Ruby turned around and pointed her rifle towards the voice. However, she breathed a sigh of relief when a tall woman with long blonde hair, and a black mask came into view.
"Librarian?!" Weiss asked, the hair on the back of her head standing tall.
The woman smirked as Naga appeared from behind her, the gold trim on her AS Val shining brightly as the light from Ruby's gun hit it.
"Maman! Naga!" Ruby said, a smile breaking across her face.
"Good, to see you safe." Macy respond, as Naga went up and hugged her.
Macy smiled when she saw the action, but she soon shifted her attention to Weiss; who clutched Coco to her bosom as she approached.
A long, red fingernail pointed at her, "You must be the icy eyed woman, that Ruby, talks so much about." She held out her hand. "I'm Macy, but I assume you already know my alias."
Weiss looked at her hand for a moment, before steeling herself and accepting her hand.
"Weiss Schnee." she responded.
Macy chuckled, "Oh my I didn't know Ruby was crushing on a Schnee."
"What?" Weiss asked, looking over to Ruby who was still being crushed by Naga.
"I'm not- Ow, Naga can't breath, crushing on a Schnee. Just friends." Ruby said, finally being let go.
Macy put her hand on her hip and looked at Weiss, "So she says. Anyway, we need to get out of here; Vale's a mess and the CCAS are out in force. Where were you going to go, Ruby?"
"Branwen Memorial Hospital, the place I work." Ruby replied.
"Excellent, then that's our destination as well. Naga, call Clarke and tell the Bloodhounds to fall back into the sewers and meet us there."
Naga nodded, and pressed on her earpiece as Ruby went back over to Weiss to check on Coco.
"How is she?" Ruby asked, pushing the blanket away so that Coco could look at her.
Weiss shifted a bit, "I think she's a little shaken, but I'm keeping her warm."
Ruby nodded, and let go of the blanket.
"Who are you talking- Oh." Macy said, first noticing Coco.
"She's an orphan now." Ruby said, holding her rifle in her hands again.
Macy's mouth formed a line, "Then we should go. We don't have time to waste."
"Agreed." Ruby turned to Naga. "Take point with me?"
"Of course." Naga replied, joining Ruby in the front.
Macy went up to Weiss, "I'll make sure you get there in one piece."
The younger woman nodded and started to follow Ruby and Naga as Macy watched her back.
Luckily the trip through the sewers was uneventful and before long they were top side again just in front of the hospital. Ruby's hand was held firmly on the foregrip of her rifle as she went up to the door, her mask hiding her tired breathing. Opening the door she motioned for everyone to get inside while she pointed her rifle towards the street with one hand. Macy was the last one to enter before let go of the door and entered herself. Inside the power was still on thanks to back up generators, and the receptionist at the front desk stood petrified when she saw Macy.
"Boo." Macy said, causing the receptionist to jump back a bit and cover herself with her clip board.
Ruby rolled her eyes before removing her mask, showing the receptionist who she was.
"Miss Rose?" she asked.
Ruby nodded, "Call Branwen, and Corvo. There will be more coming, look for the Fallen patch."
"B-But, the Fallen could exterminate us, Ruby. You know our policy towards them." The receptionist argued.
Macy stepped in, "The Fallen coming are my men. They will not lay a hand on any of you, since we have bigger problems right now." a metal rod fell into Macy's hand from her sleeve. "Unless, you're asking to die then I can fulfill your request."
She put the rod on the counter and when pressing a button, it articulated into her purple, double blade, "Clever Girl."
"Uhhhhh," Sweat formed on the receptionists brow. "That won't be necessary."
"Good, now we will-"
Macy was stopped as Ruby's gauntlet, picked up an unknown Fallen frequency. The brunette looked at her arm, and turned up its volume so that all could hear.
"This message has been pre recorded and sent to all Fallen leaders." The Doll's voice echoed. "The bell has been told, all Fallen leader's Z through double ZZ are to meet in the Hall of Aura."
"What's that?" Weiss asked, hearing it begin to repeat again.
"The Hall of Aura. The Doll and Phoenix must have called together the Archangel Summit." Macy replied, rubbing her chin.
"Which means, something very bad has happened." Ruby said.
The room went quiet as they all looked outside. Snow had begun falling and the cold had begun frosting over the window, the night was still not gone.
Up next on Death March…
"What's the Archangel Summit?" Weiss asked.
Branwen appeared from the elevator, "A meeting, of the highest ranking Fallen Sensitives."
0o0
"I have to go, Weiss. Whether I have a current place to live or not." Ruby said, her voice like a brick wall.
Weiss stepped in front of the door and almost touched Ruby's nose with hers.
"Then I'm coming with you, I will not allow you to be throw to the wolves like a fucking steak."
0o0
"It's been awhile since I last saw her." Macy said, pushing through the crowd. "Chaos herself, Glynda Goodwitch."
Death March Chapter 22: Archangel's Thesis