Ruby tried to stop herself, but Komoth's spell wouldn't let her. They had been running across the ice for hours and her legs felt like they were about to fall off. Her muscles burned with the extreme build-up of lactic acid and she was dizzy from blood loss. "Please, I have to stop. My legs-" He stopped and she immediately ran into him. The purple haze vanished and she fell to the ground, gasping for breath.
"It seems I've found a place to stay for the time being." She looked past him and saw Amity Colosseum against a mountain.
"What happened to it?" Her voice shook with fear and loss. Pietro and Maria had been aboard when it went down.
"I don't know, but let's find out shall we? I've never seen such a huge ruin." He lifted her from the ground and threw her over his shoulder again before running towards it at full speed. How can he still be going? she said to herself.
In under a minute, Komoth had covered the distance and flung her onto the ground before pulling The Bereaver from his back. He heaved it above his head and swung, slicing right through the foot-thick metal wall. He cut an X through the steel, put his sword away and punched the hole further open. She could have sworn sparks flew when he struck. In under ten seconds the wall was flattened against the four surfaces on the other side. He pointed to the space beyond the opening, big enough to fit two of him through.
"Inside," Komoth commanded.
"I won't," came Ruby's weak response.
"Now." His voice hissed through his helmet, thick with venom and danger.
"No, I will no-" A metal clad boot struck her mid section, knocking her into the nearby panel of metal and breaking several of her ribs. She gasped for breath through the pain, feeling liquid start to fill her lungs. If he doesn't heal me again, I'll drown in my own blood. Her weakened heart began to pump faster with the panic that was now setting in.
"You will obey me. There are things far worse I can do to you, and things I can make you do." He picked her up by her arm and threw her to the other side of the opening before bending the metal back and using his fireball to seal the breach. "Get up."
"I, can't." Her voice barely made it out of her body. "I, can't, breathe."
Komoth rolled his eyes and held out his hand. The red glow from before enveloped her and she found the strength to stand. In fact, she didn't feel any damage or exhaustion at all. Her head was even clear and the frostbite was gone. One more chance, her eyes narrowed. Thank you, Komoth. She shot up to her feet, a flurry of rose petals swirling around her and she directed her momentum towards him. Somehow he managed to get out of the way and turned to face her, but not before she made it around the corner and bolted through the corridors.
"You think this will help you?" Despite Ruby being a hundred yards away by that point, his booming voice still echoed through her head. "It won't. This only makes things worse. Once I find you, you are in for a world of pain, unlike anything you've ever experienced before." Four glowing orbs appeared around him as he walked forward, a slicing sound coming from his back as he drew his sword again and four ethereal blades came into existence.
He focused on a part of the ground in front of him and the would of a White Balverine rose from the floor. "Sniff her out. Bring her to me."
The creature nodded in response and ran on all fours, following the scent through the air.
It had been a few minutes since she had gotten away from him. She had to get to the armory, if she could get a hold of a weapon, it would be there. She had to save the aura she had left for another encounter. If only she knew where she was she could find a way there.
It was at that moment that a howling echoed through the halls, and her heart stopped for half a second. It had to be the wolf creature from before. She stopped to look behind her and saw it rounding the corner, the clear purple form of a beowulf charging her at full speed. She turned to run at the same time it crouched to jump, and before she could move again, it knocked her to the ground, tearing a gash across her chest and sending blood everywhere. She got to her feet, adrenaline pumping through her bloodstream, and turned the corner to run again.
The beowolf jumped at her again and caught the edge between the two walls with it's claws and flung itself down the hall. Ruby ducked beneath it and ran the other way as it hooked it's back feet into the floor and spun around to come at her again. It jumped and caught Ruby's cloak with it's claws, jerking her feet out from under and onto her back. It pulled, throwing her to the other side of the opening so that she was facing it. She tried to stand but it struck her across the face and slammed her head into the wall, dazing her and she fell to the floor.
It lifted her from the ground and threw her over it's shoulder, much like Komoth had done, and began to walk in the direction it had come from. Ruby could feel her body drain of blood as she watched it drip down her limbs and past her face through her blurry vision.
Winter stood in front of Ironwood's desk as he sat and thought.
"Do you know which direction he went?" The general requested.
"He was headed west into the tundra, towards the setting sun. I think he may be trying to find Amity Colosseum. It went down in that direction, and it would be the safest place to hide from the grimm if it's still intact." She took a breath and waited for a response.
"I see." Ironwood stood and made his way to the hologram table in the floor. "What are our options?"
"We can follow his demands," she replied, "and have the possibility of getting Ruby back from him. Or we could wait for him to return and fight him here."
"There's one more option." He laid his hands on the surface of the table. "We seek him out. From what we've seen, he doesn't have any ranged attacks or weapons, which means he's vulnerable against airborne fighters. His lightning might still be a problem, so we'll send a fast and light strike team. With the Ace Ops gone, I want you in command. You've fought him before, and once Qrow and the others can fight, the operation can begin."