Author's Note:
ME: Come on, brain… I need to get this next chapter out. I promised them I'd finish! It's already been too long as it is!
BRAIN: No. Shut up. I do what I want. Time to play Kingdom Hearts…
ME: I'll give you a cookie…
BRAIN: …
ME: Double chocolate chips… your favorite…
BRAIN: Then what are we waiting for? Let me at that keyboard! I'll write their freaking pants off!
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Sorry for the delay… again… I really am trying to get this part of the story done, but real life is just getting worse. I hardly have any time to myself lately. Things should relax soon, but only time will tell.
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"Wait, …you're how old?" Carmine blinked, unbelieving. She must have heard wrong. There was just no way.
The girl who called herself Rain merely sipped her coffee patiently. "I don't have an exact count, but I know it's close to 2,000 years. I might be off by one or two centuries – I stopped counting a long time ago."
Carmine, as she now called herself, simply stared in shock. How could a human live that long? Anywhere near that long? It simply couldn't be.
But then, there also couldn't be two of the same people in the same room, yet here they sat.
"And I thought I was old… gods…" Carmine ignored her coffee, just trying to wrap her brain around the concept of someone living that long. Maybe she simply wasn't …human? A robot? Some kind of space alien?
Rain stood from her chair and walked to the large window overlooking the campus of Beacon Academy. She had already shown a great interest in the state of the place, but so far had declined to explain why. Carmine watched her, hoping to catch any sign that might give away what the girl was thinking. She might as well have watched a statue.
The newcomer spoke with a quiet voice, "…The Beacon I knew was never this grand, this… prosperous. What happened to bring it to this point?"
"I happened," Carmine responded without hesitation. "While I don't take credit for every advancement made these last few years, I am burdened with the responsibility of it. In a way, Beacon is my pet project. My baby."
"I wonder how my world would have ended up… if you were there…" Rain murmured, her voice fading away as she gazed out into the distance.
Carmine suddenly remembered the scene from just over an hour ago: total devastation. Rain was sitting atop a cliff and watching a dead, broken city. It looked like it might have been Vale, but Carmine couldn't recognize enough buildings to be sure. What struck her the most was the silence. Pure, unbroken quiet. Like the entire world was just… dead.
What kind of person lived in a dead world? How would that affect one's personality? And most worrying of all – how did that world die in the first place?
As Carmine looked at Rain again, she got a chill. It suddenly occurred to the mad scientist that a girl like this was capable of anything.
What had she gotten herself into?
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Carmine took a shaky breath, swallowing the lump that was starting to form in her throat. She knew Rain might do anything, but to find out she actually did… the scientist was sweating in spite of the room's air conditioning. Her lab was the only place she needed to be tonight.
"Understood, Ruby… thanks for telling me." She was somewhat proud of herself for keeping her voice steady.
"Most of the fires around here are almost out, so we're just gonna wait in the airship and catch our breath. Yang's still pretty shaken up. We all are." She definitely sounded like it. They had basically just witnessed a murder, after all.
"Okay… once you're ready, head back here. You can all get some sleep. I'll make sure this mission gets done, don't worry. You can… you can trust me, at least…"
"Yeah…" She didn't sound too convinced, but the radio clicked off a moment later. Carmine took a deep breath and sat back in her chair, wiping the sweat off her forehead.
The chair rippled beneath her – Omega sensed its masters emotions and tried to lighten the discomfort with a little massage. Carmine smiled, stroking the arm of the chair lightly. It rippled again, seemingly content.
Rain. They would have words later. Harsh words.
The fact that Rain had brought the crazy version of Ruby – later called Ku – into this mess at all was very surprising. It went against every plan they had in place. Now that the girl was gone, Carmine felt like she understood a little of Rain's reasoning. Only a little.
By no means was the matter forgiven. Rain had a lot of explaining to do.
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Ruby Rose walked back to the passenger compartment after her talk with Carmine, sighing deeply. She was still reeling from the loss.
After finally feeling like she was starting to understand Rain a little, Ruby suddenly felt like that girl was truly from another planet. Like her thoughts were so foreign that wrapping her mind around them was almost impossible. After a few weeks, she really didn't know Rain at all.
Ruby sat down next to Yang, who looked the worst of them. The blonde was staring intently at the floor of the cabin, clutching her own shoulders with shaking hands. After their crying had stopped, Yang took on a shocked look and kept it. Ruby could understand why – her big sister had basically killed someone with her bare hands.
True, that someone didn't stay dead… but that didn't change the basic fact that Yang had completely lost control.
Blake's ribbon was pressed almost flat against her head from the pressure of her ears. "How'd she take it?" The brunette's knees had been twitching from agitation for a while now.
"Oddly well… I think she almost expected it," Ruby replied tiredly. "Carmine has had the most experience with Rain out of all of us, so maybe she did. Gods…" The redhead put her head down and rubbed her face with both hands.
"She killed her…" Yang whispered. She'd said that a few times, now.
From her seat next to Blake, Weiss looked over at the blonde with a look that might have been called arrogant on anyone else – but the three other girls knew her better than that by now. "Yang Xiao Long, … … …I know I'll never fully understand what you're feeling right now, but we all need you to move past it. If you keep holding on to the pain like this, it's going to drive you insane. And us, as well…"
There was a tense pause as they waited to see if Yang even heard her. The blonde took one more breath, then choked out a small laugh.
"Well… … … now I know how I'd react… … … if anyone ever took Ruby away from me… … …"
The other three exchanged glances as they waited for her to keep talking. This was a good start, but they had to be careful. Blake appeared a bit relieved, Weiss was more satisfied. Ruby was ready to just hold Yang and have them both cry for a few more hours.
"I think… … … I thought it was Ruby that was dead… … … at first… … … Ku had started to act so much like Ruby did when she was little that I… … … I started thinking of them as the same person… … … Oh, gods… … … what have I done?"
After a beat of silence, Weiss replied, "Nothing that didn't need to be done. Honestly, that girl deserved to get messed up a bit… if only for being so selfish and secretive. Now she knows not to mess with us."
"Are we really gonna just… go back to the room and go to bed?" Blake stared at her hands, trying not to look too concerned. "What about the others? Can they really handle this on their own?"
"Carmine said she'd take care of it. I don't know about you guys, but I'm choosing to trust her," Ruby answered. Blake and Weiss nodded quietly. Sometimes it was nice to act like the team leader for a change.
After a quick word with their pilot, team RWBY's transport began it's ascent into the night sky. Smoke continued to stream upwards from the few lingering brush fires that hadn't quite burned out yet, but the stars were still clearly visible through the windows. Even if there was something of a war going on tonight, at the very least they would have a nice view of the heavens.
Yang leaned over and laid her head on Ruby's shoulder, sighing. She didn't seem to be crying anymore, so that was good. Ruby hoped her sister wouldn't be too disturbed by what happened… that sort of thing could leave some serious mental scars if they weren't careful. Ruby wrapped her arm around Yang's shoulder and leaned her own head back, trying not to think too much.
Team RWBY's part in this battle was over.
She hoped it was, anyway.
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Chapter 17:
The Long Night
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10:55 PM
Amity Stadium, South Docking Station
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Qrow Branwen was a spy in name only. At least, that's what he always told the others. Tai and Summer, specifically. Tonight was the first time that felt like a total lie.
James had been kind enough to 'loan' his team a new prototype low-visibility airship to sneak onto the stadium. Qrow was currently making his way into the bowels of the structure with his team close behind him. They weren't hand-picked – which he would have greatly preferred – but James had assured him they were the best.
Coming from Atlas, that likely meant he'd still have to do all the work. Good-for-nothing pampered fools, the lot of 'em. At least they'd been trained in non-verbal communication. The last thing he needed was a legion of White Fang nut-jobs running down their collective throats because one of his men shouted 'Huh? What did you say?' As such, his small crew made their way into the depths of the facility without a sound.
Qrow never actually liked his job. Sure it had its moments, but gathering information was overall just too damn boring. And frustrating. Especially when the higher-ups get ahold of information on their own and don't tell you. Yeah, he had no intention of letting James forget about that.
Despite the issues, it was the only job he seemed capable of doing. He was practically made for it. Or maybe it was just Ozpin's little gift… He and Raven had never managed to get out from under that man's shadow.
Okay, focus. Hostages first, then time to drink and whine about life later.
The operations room was just ahead. From what Qrow had been told by Atlas' 'supreme' intelligence network (yeah, right), all of the twenty-odd hostages were being held in the large staging room just under the main arena floor. There was a lot of sensitive machinery in there – and a lot of dust containers. One bad shot could do some serious damage. They had to be careful.
A locked door stood before them. One of the members of the team crept forward, an electronic device in his hand. He plugged it into the lock and hit a few buttons.
Qrow made sure to stay the hell away from it while the man worked. No sense in letting his personal brand of bad luck ruin everyone's night.
Once they were in, all they had to do was wait for the right moment to move in and start getting the people out. Their craft was more than large enough to fit them all.
Of course, if they waited too long, they wouldn't have as many to save.
Qrow swallowed hard as the device continued its beeping. There was a lot at stake here. He clutched the handle of his sword tightly. He'd been having a bad feeling ever since they landed, and it was only getting worse. Something was wrong, here. This had almost been…
Too easy.
Just moments before the door opened, Qrow's earpiece buzzed with a frantic call from the man he'd left at the transport as a lookout. The White Fang had found him…? What? They were… taking the transport…?
Then the door opened. A dozen White Fang soldiers poured out of the opening, guns locked and loaded. Adam Taurus actually followed them out, grinning like he'd just won the entire war himself.
Qrow let loose his best curse. He'd been saving it for just the right moment.
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11:10 PM
City of Vale, Downtown Area – Atlas Military Command Center
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The table was now a small pile of splinters and two broken halves. Ironwood's robotic arm was more than strong enough to toss a full-grown Grimm through the air – one little wooden table didn't stand a chance before his frustration.
His men watched him with wary eyes, some visibly trembling. Those were new. Most of the soldiers who served under General James Ironwood knew how strong his arm was. And his temper. Occasional displays served to keep them on their toes.
Qrow had failed. The prototype airship had been stolen. Could this night get any worse?
Ironwood listened to the rest of Sapphire Schnee's report with half an ear. He had expected most of the news anyway. The woman had proven herself just as capable as his other Schnee officer, and in some ways better. Not that he intended to mention that.
Two things had become clear to Ironwood over the last few minutes. First was the fact that he had been vastly underestimating his opponent. The White Fang soldiers were better trained than he had anticipated, causing his own troops no end of grief thus far. The fact that his own intelligence network seemed unable to keep up with them proved how resourceful they were at keeping secrets.
The second issue was sabotage. No orders had been transmitted regarding Qrow's infiltration mission, nor were any messages sent over the network. He had made sure to give Qrow this mission face-to-face. The only way the enemy could have learned of the operation was the presence of a spy in his command tent.
Espionage was not his strong point, but Ironwood was keen enough to keep his suspicion in check for the time being. If the spy ran away because they knew their cover had been blown, he would never find out how deep they had looked into his secrets.
As Sapphire finished her report, Ironwood gave a few orders. Most came out automatically. This sort of thing didn't require his full attention at the moment – his gaze slowly swept over the soldiers gathered in his tent, most of them at various consoles relaying orders.
Which of them was the spy? Were any of them? Were all of them? Was he just being paranoid? Maybe…
And maybe a Deathstalker would suddenly sprout wings.
The girl called Rain had given him a brief report a few minutes ago regarding the operation south of the city. Other than one casualty, James would have called it a success. In all honesty, the fact that those kids had withdrawn from the rest of the operation was a relief in itself. He didn't want them getting involved any more than Ozpin did.
Sapphire had proven herself more than useful and Carmine's technical support was becoming invaluable – other than that, though, James would have preferred to keep all of those kids back at the school. It was safer there.
All in all, tonight was going well. Not great, but well. As long as nothing else went horribly wrong, he knew they would all pull through and win the battle.
As Sapphire went to relay his orders, Ironwood glanced south towards the smoke that continued to rise to the sky. He remembered that distant fireball. And he shuddered.
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11:16 PM
Beacon Academy, West Courtyard – Front Gate
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Velvet didn't bother holding back her yawn as team CFVY made its way into the front courtyard area of the campus. It was past her bedtime.
Team JNPR was just ahead, the first-years also looking weary and ready for sleep. Coco exchanged a few words with Jaune, JNPR's leader. Nothing exciting to report, ho-hum. Ozpin must be getting paranoid in his old age, yada-yada.
Standing next to Velvet in the darkness of the evening, Fox suddenly turned his head and gazed unblinking into the sky. "Something's coming," he muttered. "Sounds like an airship."
"But this isn't the dock," Velvet muttered in response. His quiet tone of voice naturally made her keep her own voice low. "And I don't hear anything. Are you sure…?"
But she was hearing something. A low humming, almost like speakers pumping a deep bass tone at low volume. She exchanged a look with Yatsuhashi, who had heard the whole exchange, and the two of them began their search.
It didn't take long. Velvet and Yatsuhashi soon found themselves staring at a new type of airship that was currently unloading several dozen soldiers with white Grimm-style masks.
White Fang. And they were all armed.
The two second-years slowly made their way back to the others to raise the alarm. It looked like Ozpin was right.
So much for getting back to bed.
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11:17 PM
City of Vale, Downtown Area – Near the Warehouse District
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Red was having a rough night.
Everything that happened after the singing was just… well, it sucked. First he gets yanked into this big anti-terrorist operation, then he gets put in charge of a battalion of Atlas robo-soldiers (and he hated being in charge), and now he has to deal with the fact that Yang would not be arriving later to give him some backup.
On top of all of that was Carmine's news about Ku. He knew that both Sapphire and Rose had also gotten the message, and he wondered how they were taking it. Red had never gotten close to Ku, but the adult-child was always fun to have around. She brightened up the room no matter where she was.
And now that light was gone. Snuffed out by Rain.
The news had shaken him a bit, but mostly due to the idea that he was no longer guaranteed to make it back home. Once, that had been his only safe thought, but now… now who could say?
Amber Celica gleamed in the dim light of the street lamps as he sat next to Rose, waiting for their signal to attack. He had given his gauntlets a good cleaning less than an hour ago, hoping they wouldn't get too much use before the night was over. A foolish hope, that. Rose had her own Crescent Rose in her lap, folded up into its more portable form. She looked nervous, too.
The large warehouse district stood before them, but the crew had eyes for only one of the buildings. According to Carmine's intel, this was the enemy's base. The plan was simple: Sapphire would attack head-on from the front, drawing out the main force, Red would lead a rear charge and lure out any forces laying in wait, and then Rose would sneak in from the side and disable whatever was left before they even knew she was in there.
It seemed simple, but it required a lot of coordination and good timing. Not to mention being able to actually defeat the enemy that came out after them.
Red's earpiece buzzed, and he noticed Rose reacting to hers as well. That was the signal. Time to move.
He moved into position quickly and quietly, giving the Atlas robots the signal to assume formation. His job was simply to draw out the enemy forces, not charge in and quickly destroy. He was a decoy… but he was fine with that.
Rose vanished around the side of the building just a few moments before a small door opened at the base of the warehouse, revealing a very small woman with an odd pink-and-brown hairstyle and a bright smile on her face. She sauntered out to Red's waiting forces while twirling a small umbrella. And she really was small, shorter than anyone Red had ever met save for kids in grade school.
Almost by instinct, Red used his semblance to get a read on the newcomer. He noticed a solid frame, lithe muscles that appeared quite capable of rapid movement, and a powerful set of nerves that could probably match Mom for sheer reaction speed. And that was saying something. All-in-all, Red assumed this girl would not be too much of a challenge.
He would soon learn otherwise.
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Sapphire's night had been going… okay.
Other than the debacle of Qrow's team getting caught and Ironwood's stealth transport getting stolen and used for gods-knew-what, there had been no other major problems. No communication breakdowns, no guerrilla ambushes of their troops, and no all-out assaults on any of their outposts.
The news of Ku's death did not bother Sapphire much. In truth, she found herself mildly impressed that Rain could pull off something like that. She had made a mental note to ask Rain later tonight for details on how she made such a big boom. She was also slightly relieved that she would not have to deal with any of the 'kids' on team RWBY. This mission needed experienced soldiers, not children.
The Schnee woman now led a large assault force against the warehouse where they had learned the enemy was hiding out. Not the White Fang, but the small band of mercenaries that had been helping them. The group that was the 'real' source of the trouble.
Personally, Sapphire would have preferred leading this force of hers in an assault on Amity Stadium – but orders were orders, and she would not be the one to stand against the General this night. Even if she disagreed with his methods or his ideals, she was sworn to follow orders. Death before dishonor.
One of the large garage-style doors at the front of the massive building began to rise, the motor buzzing as it lifted. Sapphire raised a hand to halt her forces as a young man ducked out from underneath. Even from a distance, she recognized his face.
Mercury Black. Of all people. Why not?
It took Sapphire a few moments to remember to keep breathing.
"If you're thinking about blowing us away, Snowflake…" Gods, even his voice was the same. "You might wanna reconsider. We've got enough dust stored here to wipe out half the city."
Sapphire swallowed hard, silver eyes narrow as she fought to keep her voice steady. "And why should I believe you?"
The young man shrugged, his every movement dripping with smugness. "Believe what you want, but you're not getting past me." He turned into a ready stance, his legs clunk-ing slightly with the motion. If she hadn't been listening for it, Sapphire would have missed the noise.
The first time Sapphire had met General Mercury Black was the day after she had been accepted into Atlas Academy. He had been a little older than this one, but his eyes had the same fire behind them. The attitude, the passion, even his mechanical legs… there was no doubt it was the same man.
Sapphire pulled her sword free with a trembling hand. It didn't matter that she knew that this Mercury was not the same as her General back home – he was just too close. She had trained herself too hard to consider him as the only authority worth following. The only man she had ever respected enough to obey, no matter what.
Physically, Sapphire Schnee could beat almost anyone. Mentally, she didn't stand a chance against this young man. He grinned, almost like he sensed his new advantage even from the short distance between them.
This was not going to end well.
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Rose was actually enjoying herself tonight.
She had always wanted to take part in a large military-style mission, even when she was younger. They always looked so cool. It was unfortunate that most of her missions during her first year at Beacon were of the more …boring persuasion. Just killing Grimm, among other things.
Now she could do actual Huntress work. So cool. Rose found herself with more nervous energy than she knew what to do with.
Being sent into the enemy base through a side entrance made her feel like a spy, too. And she moved quietly – Uncle Qrow had given her a few pointers on sneaking around a few years ago. She mostly used this knowledge to sneak a few drinks when Dad and the guys weren't looking. Good times.
Dammit, girl, stay focused.
Her mission involved mostly gathering intel (in other words, figuring out what the hell she was looking at) and moving to disable the enemy base (a.k.a., blow crap up). As she moved through the dark rooms, with the light from outside shining dimly through the dusty windows, Rose quickly found a small room near the center of the building that was brightly lit. She moved to the door and peeked inside.
The first thing she noticed was the large metal cylinder with a glass section on the top half. Near that was a wide bank of computer terminals and other technical crap. It looked important, but Rose was not very tech savvy – that was more Carmine's area of expertise. If she had to guess, however, Rose would say they were likely all stolen.
That was all the time she had for observing, however. In the next moment, the door opened right into her face with a bang. Both Rose and the one who opened the door gave a surprised grunt.
Emerald Sustrai stood before her, scroll in hand. Her face quickly went from annoyed to shocked. Rose's own face mirrored the look as both girls said, in perfect unison, "You!"
Crimson eyes flashed moments before Rose heard a crash off to her left. She glanced away, only to find an empty hall and a broken window.
She looked back… but Emerald was already gone. Dammit!
Rose quickly ducked back into the larger bay of the warehouse, hiding herself behind one of the many support columns scattered throughout the space. Emerald was supposed to be a good fighter, and excellent at hit-and-run tactics, but all Rose could think about was that face.
Not that long ago, back in her own world, her partner Coco had told Rose that that Emerald might have a crush on her. Now this Emerald was trying to kill her. Fun.
A bit of plaster blew off of the column just inches from her face, jarring Rose from her daydream. She didn't see where the shot came from, but she moved quickly to another position, searching frantically.
Rose began cursing her own naïve nature. When they were all getting briefed on the mission, Carmine had offered to give them all the intel on their potential opponents right then, but Rose refused. She assumed she could handle anything they threw at her.
Only now did it occur to her that Rose knew almost nothing about Emerald, or her semblance. Even back home, she never asked about that kind of thing. She never expected to have to fight the girl, for crying out loud.
The warehouse still had power coming to it, so Rose began searching for the light switch. If she was going to fight the green-haired girl, she wanted to be able to see.
She also considered the small spray bottle in her waist pouch. The bottle that was for emergencies only. Carmine had insisted that she take it, but in truth Rose would rather have just thrown it away. After all, what use was it to use that medicine if she just… nullified it?
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11:20 PM
Amity Stadium, Arena
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Cinder Fall tucked her scroll away and grinned. Good news from Emerald. Now it was only a matter of waiting. Minutes, if she was lucky.
She'd never considered herself lucky before tonight. Up until now, she had made her own luck. Power was all she sought; now it was within her grasp.
It hadn't been that long ago that she and her associates, Emerald and Mercury, set out to take down a young woman called Amber. According to Salem, this brown-haired girl was actually the legendary Fall Maiden. Using the tool Salem had given her, Cinder had successfully stolen about half of the Maiden powers for herself. If not for that man with the scraggly beard, she would have had all of it.
No matter. Half turned out to be more than enough. Using her new strength, Cinder was quickly able to bring Adam Taurus and the White Fang to heel…
Quiet footsteps interrupted her thoughts. Cinder turned her attention to a lone young woman walking towards her from the other side of the arena. She grinned as she recognized the figure.
"I see the puppy has gotten lost. Should I call for your parents, little one?"
The figure kept walking, though Cinder knew she could hear the taunt. Her faded red cloak billowed in the breeze, showing off the tattered edge. Deep silver eyes locked with her own.
"Run along, child. This is no place for you." Cinder held up a hand and formed a small ball of orange fire to emphasize her point.
Rain, that was her name. The girl stopped on the other side of the arena from Cinder, not coming any closer. Maybe she wasn't that stupid after all.
"Well, …perhaps the puppy could deliver a message for me. To Carmine, the one who holds your leash."
Rain twitched, causing Cinder to chuckle. It was fun to surprise the enemy.
"Tell her that she's not the only one around here who can hack into computer systems."
At this news, Rain seemed to look away. She appeared to be thinking. She then did a facepalm and muttered, "Wow… … … I can't believe I forgot about Watts."
Cinder almost let her startled expression show itself, but held it back. She should have expected a man like Arthur Watts to be well known to people like this, but still… "Yes. It was thanks to him that we now know all about you people. You, Carmine, Sapphire Schnee, the boy called Red… all of you."
No reaction this time. Apparently she was expecting this news.
"I will admit that it was surprising that so many different versions of that Ruby Rose girl actually exist, but in the end it was all for nothing. Two whole days of running around other worlds and all you found was four kids and one soldier. Five fighters… against my army."
It was at that moment that something seemed to pulse. The air itself seemed to glow around her body as …something… seemed to fill her. A power, a …force filled every inch of her being with energy, with life. This energy seemed to bend and move with her very will.
The time had come at last. Amber was finally dead.
Cinder couldn't resist laughing a bit as she juggled a few flames around her head. "And now I have the power of the Fall Maiden. You people had no chance."
Rain didn't seem to care. In fact, she didn't seem to hear anything Cinder had said. The girl finally spoke after a few moments of silence, but her words seemed to echo through the entire space of the arena.
"Amazing. Nearly everything you've just said is completely wrong."
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Two trashcans and a full dumpster went flying as Red was sent hurling into them, leaving the boy both bruised and dirty. Wonderful. Could this night get any better?
This pink-and-brown girl was tough. His initial scanning only scratched the surface of her combat abilities. It was almost like he'd read the wrong person… but that was impossible, wasn't it?
The girl landed lightly right next to him, not winded in the slightest. Nor was she even slightly dirtied. That was mainly due to the fact that Red was not able to land one stinking punch on her all night. She dodged everything like he'd told her about it an hour beforehand. It was unfair.
Grunting, Red shot to his feet and tried again. He sent his leg out to try and trip her, then sent a heavy right hook, hoping to at least graze her shoulder or something.
The girl deftly cartwheeled over his leg, grabbed his oncoming hand, twisted to turn the force of his punch in a different direction, then planted one foot in his back and kicked hard, sending him flying. Again. For the fifth time in less than an hour. Damn! It!
As he landed back in the street, Red decided to take a breath. That last blow nearly broke another rib – she'd broken one with that little move the first time she'd hit him with it, and he'd only just managed to avoid losing any more as they continued. His luck wouldn't hold for much longer.
She was walking towards him again, but her smile was no longer amused. It looked more like she'd had enough fun, and it was time to end this. Red realized with growing horror that she probably hadn't lost any aura during the scuffle, but Red's own shield had failed a few minutes ago. The girl held her umbrella like a sword… then pulled at the handle, revealing an actual sword blade hidden within.
Welp, he thought, I guess I'm not gonna make it home after all…
Before she even reached him, the colorful girl stopped in her tracks and stared at something just past Red, her eyes showing confusion for the first time.
He was also confused at first, but then he looked behind him… and his jaw dropped.
A very large man was approaching from the darkness of the street. He was huge. He looked like he'd just come from the desert judging by how he was dressed, and one arm bore a metal gauntlet (which looked a little bit like his own).
The man's most distinguishing features, however, were the vast blindfold over the top of his head which covered his eyes… and his dark red, nearly black hair.
"Need some help, kid?"
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Cinder's anger was slowly beginning to rise as the girl called Rain continued. She started channeling her newfound powers, gathering strength.
"First of all, Carmine does not hold my leash. No one does. What I do, I do on my own. Second of all, you do not know everything about us – you know only what is written down."
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Sapphire was alternating between cursing the gods, cursing General Ironwood, and cursing herself for being so incompetent.
As she feared, the Atlesian Specialist found herself unable to use her full strength against Mercury Black. She simply could not get past the mental block that she was fighting her own commander. It was infuriating.
The worst part was that the young man did notice this, and had made the most of his advantage. The only marks he bore were tears to his shirt. Sapphire, on the other hand, was nearly out of ammo and had a lot more bruises than when she started.
He also never missed an opportunity to taunt his opponent. "What's the matter, Snowflake? Having an off day?" He then put on a slightly concerned look, saying, "Wait… it's not 'that time of the month' …is it?"
With a growl, Sapphire used a glyph to shoot a bolt of ice at him – but he easily kicked it away.
"Well, I guess there's not much else for me to do here. Time to wrap this up."
Sapphire watched with a healthy amount of awe as Mercury started …dancing. At least, that's what it looked like. This was not something the Mercury from back home had ever done. He was spinning on the ground, shooting multiple shots from his mechanical legs as he spun. Each shot he fired seemed to slowly rotate in the air around him, like they were waiting for the signal to attack. The more he spun, the more shots were added to the crowd. It was rather impressive, actually. Sapphire made a mental note to mention this technique to the General… if she ever made it home.
As Mercury stopped spinning, he faced her and grinned. Sapphire's heart sank as she realized that the chances of her making it home were suddenly much more slim.
The shots began flying her way. She didn't have the strength to put up a shield.
One bullet seemed to hover just in front of her face, like time had slowed down.
…Just as a small ball of white light knocked it away.
Sapphire blinked in shock. With a blur of motion, two other tiny balls of white light suddenly joined the first, rapidly knocking all of Mercury's shots out of the air. All of them.
Mercury's mouth fell open as he choked. Sapphire was speechless. The three balls of light gathered in front of Sapphire's face, slowly rotating in a triangular formation.
What the hell is that?
"Are you unharmed?" A new voice asked from… above?
Sapphire looked up to find someone who looked like an angel slowly descending towards her. This woman was wearing a fancy white robe and a rather familiar deep red cloak, as well as a set of rather nice leather boots and gloves with silver inlay. She was holding a large staff with a glowing white stone set at the tip, but the staff was shaped like the standard Ruby Rose scythe.
As she landed, a set of glowing white wings vanished from her ankles. Sapphire was struck by the woman's dark red hair that lay in a fancy braid reaching her waist. She was quite beautiful… for a Ruby. The woman looked over at her with eyes as deep as Rain's, but far kinder. Lighter, even.
"Rest easy, …I'll handle him."
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Cinder continued gathering energy as Rain kept speaking, each word landing a critical blow on the new Fall Maiden's composure.
"And thirdly, neither you nor Watts truly understand how travel between worlds works. You think you do, but until you try it, you have no idea. In truth, time works very differently outside of the worlds. Two days passed here, but for me, it was closer to two years."
Cinder felt herself go pale at that revelation. If that were true… "What… what do you mean by that…?"
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Rose apparently didn't need to be here anymore. Someone else had taken over the fight a few minutes ago.
She still hadn't found the light switch, but the darkness just made the newcomer look that much cooler. Especially those glowing red eyes.
Emerald's voice echoed from somewhere deep within the room, sounding rather pissed. "How many freaks am I gonna have to deal with tonight?" Rose had no idea where she was, but she had finally figured out something about the green-haired girl – she was really, really good at hiding. Numerous times Rose had seen shots being fired from empty corners.
The shadowy newcomer didn't seemed the least bit phased, however. Whoever she was, she stood taller than Rose and seemed to have various bits of armor on her arms and legs that glittered in the dim light. Rose found herself wishing she could at least see this fighter.
"Target lost. Scanning… Scanning…" Rose was struck by how the newcomer spoke like a sci-fi killer robot. "Target acquired, commencing termination." She also sounded enough like a female that Rose simply thought of her that way. The woman raised one arm, aiming at another empty corner of the room, then her arm… changed. Like it was transforming, or something. In the dim light, Rose could not see what it was becoming… but a moment later, it fired a blindingly bright burst of blue light.
The corner of the warehouse was suddenly… not there.
Whoever this newcomer with the glowing eyes was, she was strong.
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Rain smiled, sending a powerful wave of goosebumps down Cinder's back.
"Who said I only found five fighters?"
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A/N: Well, I know I never said it would only be those five. :3
=^w^=