Hello everyone! Chapter 49 is up. I hope you enjoy it!
Thanks once more for keeping up with my story and thank you for reading/following/favoring! You are the best!
I will see you all next week and I hope you are all doing as well as possible under the circumstances! Stay as strong and as positive as you can be!
"Weiss-baby. I love-" the gunshot blew Yang's head, splattering her blood all over the petite woman. Just like Blake. Just like Ruby. It was a dream; she knew it.
For she wouldn't be there to see them. She wouldn't be there to smile and try to even ease their pain. For all she knew, her beloved Ray of Happiness and her dependable faunus friend were already dead.
And after them, she would die. The only consolation was that she would probably get executed before her partner. The idea she thought that as consolation was so bitter it literally woke her up.
Her eyelid opened and viewed the same car interior she had been seeing for the last many hours. There were two things different than usual though; it was empty and not moving.
"Ghhh…" she re-positioned herself, ignoring her stiff back, and wiped the dried tears off her cheeks. It was slightly cold, but she didn't mind. She doubted she could feel warm for the rest of the journey any way.
"Well, look who decided to finally wake up!" The voice was male and belonged to a man sitting next to the open door.
He was dressed in a heavy winter militaristic outfit and a snow mask covered his face. A simple rifle was aimed at her. "You sleep like a real princess, Missy. Thank Boss is merciful enough to let you."
She looked at the gun barrel; how easy would it be to conjure a knight and slice the man's arms to drop it. Even hand and leg-cuffed as she was, she could take mostly one bullet; it wouldn't even graze her aura.
She looked at the people behind him. Sophia was talking over a map with the handsome man- Wenge if she remembered well- along with six more mask-clad guys.
It would take her three seconds at best to overcome her guard and as soon as she got her hands on his weapon's dust, she was pretty sure she could annihilate all of them.
She could do that. She had any reason to. These people had killed her teammates! She should tear them apart and burn them to a crisp! Slice them, dice them and freeze their lungs to asphyxiation!
She should be feeling these things, yes. Then… Why isn't my summon working? Her eyes widened as she felt the barrel closer to her. Why am I not knocking this guy out cold?
"Too scared to talk, huh" the man chuckled. "Guess even Weiss Schnee is afraid at the face of death." NO! I am not afraid! I am Weiss Schnee! I am the W of team RWBY- WORK, YOU STUPID SEMBLANCE!
"Looks like it's not working, is it?" without her notice, Sophia had gotten closer to her. "Do you really think I would let you with only a pair of cuffs and a single guard without any extra safety measures?"
"What did you do to me?" she asked, her body trembling with anger. "That's a secret" the CEO replied and grabbed the girl's chin with a pair of well-manicured nails "but rest assured; you have greater issues to worry about at the moment."
Weiss gulped. "Like what?" Sophia let her and nodded to the guard. The man released her leg cuffs- and earned a well-balanced kick in the guts.
The huntress charged to the CEO, but Sophia smiled at her. "Fall, if you please." The moment those words left her mouth, Weiss felt an immense exhaustion overcome her.
She fell down flat, panting and gasping. She tried to resist, but was immediately knocked down by the butt of Sophia's pistol. "Didn't you hear WHAT I SAID?" she raised her voice.
"Stop acting like the spoiled prized huntress and accept the truth. YOU LOST!" Sophia screamed. "Meet your fate with dignity, damn persistent Atlesian brat! I hate people like you who don't know their place."
Weiss gritted her teeth, trying to contain her anger. "I will… make you pay for this! For killing my team… even if it the last thing I will ever do- AH!"
The guard grabbed her from the wrists and dragged her over aside. "Madam, what are we going to do? She won't be any help this way!"
"Of course I have taken that into account as well!" the woman, now a little calmer, lit a cigar. "Weiss" she knelt next to her and grabbed her face.
Cyan locked with almond as Weiss felt her heart tingle again. No… not this! "NO! I WON'T-" "You will help us infiltrate the facility and take down the forces defending it to the best of your ability."
Her heart resisted; she would never do this! This woman was the devil itself! She would never help this woman, despite being someone she would easily die for.
"Yes, my Lady" she nodded, her entire body visibly calmer. "Remove her cuffs" Carmel smiled triumphantly "and someone get me a painkiller please."
Her men complied and Wenge gathered everyone around the map. "This is the facility. Despite being in the middle of the forest, it has one single entrance and the area around it is cleared and easy to defend."
Weiss nodded. "But what is this then?" she asked, pointing to a long line starting from the north of the building and reaching deep inside the woods.
"That, Ms. Schnee, is a small secret escape passage. It is accessible from the facility's warehouse and reaches down to the forest, only a few hundred meters away from our current position."
"Then it would be an excellent place to infiltrate" the pale girl said. "Unfortunately, it also seems easy to defend. It has a single narrow corridor. A team of gunners would butcher anyone trying to use it."
Sophia grinned. "That's no problem. It was designed for cases such as this. The twenty people here and Peros are the only ones who know of this place. Not even the facility's workers are aware of its existence."
Weiss raised an eyebrow. "How is that possible?" The woman's lips stretched even deeper. "It's sealed by a mechanical door carefully manufactured to resemble a tunnel's end."
The huntress snapped her head at the woman. "My Lady, this is-" "Exactly like the one your team fell upon in Yugure. We were the ones who designed it, you see" she winked at her.
"Impressive… In that case yes. It will definitely work! We only need to create an effective diversion for nobody to notice us until we reach the upper floors!"
"It is exactly as Ms. Schnee says" Wenge followed her. "Eight people will attack the facility in exactly three hours from now. The rest will use the secret passage and take down the defenders from behind."
Weiss solemnly nodded. "My Lady; I cannot attend combat like this. I can't use my semblance and I need to get my weapon back." Sophia raised her hand and carefully caressed the girl's hair.
"Of course you will, my dear" her heart soared. How could this woman be so beautiful; so perfect? She would do anything for her- anything only for those gorgeous shining eyes to keep staring at her this way.
"And the moment we take them all down, you will use it to stun yourself senseless, ok?" she rubbed her cheek with her nail. "Anything for you, my Lady."
"Good. Now go get prepared" she sent her off and then turned around to meet the gazes of Wenge and one of the masked guards. "What do you want?" she flatly asked.
"That ability of yours scares me shitless every time I see it, Boss." She narrowed her eyes "good; that way it reminds you who gives the orders around here. Dismissed."
As soon as the guard left Wenge spoke. "You are playing a dangerous game, Boss. Giving Schnee her weapon? Playing mind games? This is way too risky for my taste."
"I trust my semblance and the skill of your unit, Wenge. As for the mind games, they have worked finely so far" she whispered.
"As long as you don't blurt out anything, she will continue thinking she can't use her semblance. My entire being is focused on controlling and manipulating her- our strongest weapon is the stories we feed her."
"Madam" he narrowed his eyes. "I have been working for your family since I was her age; I would never do something like telling your secrets to her; or them."
Sophia smiled "and this is the reason at the end of all these, you will probably be the only one who will survive alongside me, Mr. Knight."
-o—
A couple hours later, the infiltration group consisting of Wenge, Weiss, Sophia and nine lightly armed guards was walking inside the secret passage.
They made no sound; even Weiss had been provided with an operation outfit resembling the others' save for the snow mask. "We should be there in about five minutes" their vanguard said.
"Good. Continue." The team moved on, Weiss carefully walking next to her master, trying her best to steal glances at her. "Shay sharp" the caramel-haired woman chastised her. "Sorry, my Lady."
Suddenly the first guard stopped. He raised his torch and showed everyone that the tunnel actually ended there. "Good" their Boss whispered. "They didn't find it."
Wenge raised his arm and everyone got their weapons ready. Weiss grabbed Crown and revolved its chamber to earth. Her mission was to observe, analyze and protect Sophia Carmel from attacks, after all.
Her charge walked slowly and carefully to the wall and started rubbing the stone. After some time, she found the hidden switch. The CEO drew her gun and then pressed the button.
The fake wall split in half with a slow, low-key mechanical sound. Everyone inside the passage was so tense; the rumbling of iron on stone sounded really louder than it actually was.
"Go!" Leading the team, Knight rushed forward. They all ran and checked the interior of the warehouse. Besides a few supplies, it was rather empty.
However, the sound of footsteps was heard from outside. Three men ran to the large door and opened it, while the others aimed towards the enemies-
"Wait!" as the door opened wide, everyone was shocked to see not the Fenris' forces, but the diversion team standing in the middle of the front yard.
"How did you get here?" Wenge asked. Confusion was evident on his face. "We checked most of the outer facility and met no resistance, Sir. Something…took down the guards."
"What do you mean by something?" Guarded closely by Weiss, Ms. Carmel stepped out. "We found remains of the guards, Madam" the man replied. "What killed them couldn't be human or faunus."
"Grimm…" the woman whispered and pointed towards the huntress. "Show her these remains. She might be able to find something."
Weiss realized at once why the guard had called them remains instead of bodies. The level of brutality those poor faunus had been killed with was not a first for her, but was definitely alarming.
Seeing such a beautiful woman casually checking the dismembered remains that way, was truly an unsettling scene. Most guards didn't get closer, preferring to check around for any chances of ambush.
"To be honest Madam" Wenge told his Boss as he stood next to her "I will be pretty impressed if she manages to deduce anything out of these… remains."
"I agree" Weiss replied, rubbing her boots off. "But I can learn a few things about how they died at least." Both the CEO and her henchman sent her a curious look.
"There is no bullet fired from their guns" Weiss explained. "Whatever that Grimm was, it took them by surprise. Additionally, they were all killed away from the fence and their weapons" she pointed at the distance between them and the entrance.
"Wait" Sophia interrupted her. "You mean they tossed their guns and fled?" The huntress smiled "exactly my lady. And, if I haven't made any mistake, this is impossible to happen with such clear view of the area."
"That is… wait that's impossible. Unless…" Wenge stopped, as Weiss nodded in approval. "Whatever killed them came out of the facility. I seriously doubt anyone inside the buildings is alive anymore, Madam."
Almond-colored eyes narrowed in anger. The amount of bad luck lately was starting to annoy her. "Whatever. Our goal remains the same; if the Grimm did our job, the better for us."
"Boss, I must disagree" the man complained. "We barely know anything about this and save for me and Ms. Schnee nobody is trained for taking down Grimm."
"I said, our goal remains the same" she shot a flat, emotionless glare at him. "Of all the people here, you should be the one who knows exactly how great the stakes are, Wenge."
"Miss Sophia" the man bit the inside of his cheek "if I let you die, the stakes won't matter." "Then don't let me die" she replied. "We have to at least confirm Fenris is among the dead. Then, we can leave."
The man was ready to protest, but suddenly stopped. The image of a caramel-colored woman smiling deviously at him as she quickly unfastened her blouse flashed through his mind.
"Nobody will get hurt, Mr. Knight"
He gulped and closed his eyes. "As you wish, madam." Sophia flashed a smile and turned to Weiss who was waiting for her command. "We are searching for Fenris' body. As soon as we find it, we leave."
"Yes, my Lady."
-o—
One of Carmel's men slammed the door open and two more rushed inside, providing cover. "Another dead body" one of them shouted "no enemies."
Sophia stepped in, Weiss accompanying her. The pool of torn flesh and gooey blood was splattered across the wall, splatters all over the staircase. A single broken gun was in front of it.
"My Lady" Weiss said as she walked next to it "stay on my right side where I can see you. If this Grimm is able to tear armed men apart that easily, I want to save every second I would need to rush to your aid."
The woman moved, smirking. Who would have thought Weiss takes her role that seriously? Her short-distance radio sounded and she picked it up "Wenge?"
"The power station is clear, save for six more remains. Proceeding to the staff rooms." She licked her dried lips "roger; we should reach the control room in a while. Stay alert." "Over and out, Madam."
"My Lady" Weiss walked next to her. "The situation is very bad. I found what sort of Grimm we are facing." Sophia stared at the snow-colored girl in front of her, silent.
"There is a mark on the wall, like as if the victim was impaled by a huge spear. Or, more accurately, by a spear-like tail. We have a Valkraghast Grimm to deal with." "Never heard of it" Sophia replied.
"They are extremely rare and immensely dangerous. They look like a large Skeleton with long claws and a very powerful stinger in their tail. It has no poison, but is hard as a diamond."
"Madam! The stairs are clear! Do you want us to proceed?" a guard disrupted her. "No; we first check the storerooms below and then we go up! Two of you, stay here to guard the passage. The rest follow me!"
As her men started moving, she grabbed Weiss' arm and whispered "are you sure about this?" The huntress simply nodded.
"The only other species with such tails are the Deathstalkers and there is no way such a thing entered the facility unnoticed, My Lady" she replied, enjoying the firm contact.
"Ok" Sophia gulped. Then she grabbed Weiss' chin and stared at her, her eyes catching once more the young woman's breath. "Do not tell anyone. Understood?"
She nodded. How could she tell anyone if this wonderful woman asked her not to after all? "Good" she smiled, making the Schnee's heart flutter. "Let's go! Clear the way" she addressed her men.
With more confidence and total lack of the severity of their situation, the guards moved down the corridor, carefully checking every path. Two more butchered corpses were found, but nothing else.
Until one of them started checking the storerooms. "Good Lord… Ms. Carmel!" To his call, everyone rushed, their expressions a mix of horror and disgust when they viewed the interior of the second room.
Weiss and Sophia brushed them aside and walked in, both stopping to gasp.
The remains of a man, horribly butchered, were on a large table. The thick wood beneath him was dyed red with his dried blood and a huge bloodstain had spread and frozen from it.
Around the stain, a large circle was made, filled with weird-looking runes, slowly and steadily pulsing as if alive, formed by the slaughtered man's blood.
"This is weird…" the petite girl knelt and used a little fire dust to light the area. She turned around to stare at her Boss "it looks a lot like my glyphs… My Lady?"
It was a shock for Weiss and her men; no one, even the ones working for her since she formed this unit five years ago, had ever seen their boss staring with her mouth open like that.
Why is there a fresh summoning circle here? And what did it summon? Was it that Valkraghast? WHY WOULD DAHLIAS TEACH ANYONE TO SUMMON GRIMM?
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHH! NO! HELP ME-" the horrified screams and sounds of gunfire broke the silence. "This came from upstairs!" Weiss ran out and spun Crown to its earth side.
The men around her readied their weapons and stood in front of her, as the sounds of heavy, inhuman footsteps echoed inside the corridor.
"Shoot it as soon as it makes its turn- it mustn't get closer to us!" Weiss explained. "And be ready to dodge- we don't know what it is!"
Sophia was still inside the room, her left hand on her chest as she tried to reach the other group. "Wenge, we have engaged something really dangerous. Please, come as soon as you can- we need you!"
The footsteps gradually became heavier and louder, as the thing moved closer to them. Everyone was tense, fingers ready to commence fire within a moment's notice.
On her own part, Weiss was becoming nervous. Something inside her told her this wasn't the place she should be. But she immediately discarded her thought; if Sophia was here, then so would she.
And after a few tense and terrifying seconds, the Grimm came into view. It slowly stepped around the corner, leaving bloody footprints behind it.
It was large, like a small Ursa, and had a human-like torso and an oval-shaped head with several spikes, small, pale red eyes and huge jaws.
Long, thin skeletal legs and equally long arms that seemed like they could make it walk on fours touched the ground. A large, bony tail with a massive, bloodied spike at its edge rose from behind its back.
The most horrifying thing about it was its color- the thing was so much covered in bone plating; it was almost entirely white with only a few black lines along its belly and joints.
That was all the ex-heiress managed to see before the men around her opened fire, showering the monster in dust-powered bullets.