Hello everyone! How are you doing? I hope you are as well as possible!
Chapter 60 is here and as always, I hope you enjoy it!
Thanks again for following/favoring/ reading the story. I will see you all next Wednesday! Have fun!
Despite the always persistent gray clouds and the currently slowly falling snow, day finally dawned and the improved illumination slightly calmed the survivors' nerves.
Carmel facility was almost ruined. The combination of a bandit assault, a heavy blizzard and Grimm attacks had depleted all systems, the backup generator being the last to give in a couple hours ago.
The five surviving members of Carmel's task force that had been accompanying Sophia and Wenge sat next to a large company van Matthew Moose had spent the last few hours repairing, adding as well a small trolley in its back they had scavenged from the destroyed warehouses.
They had been knocked out cold and woken up in the middle of a nightmarish field only to find their boss and her left hand man had abandoned them and ran away with the only up to that point available vehicle.
Not only that, they had been rescued from the remaining Beowolves by their enemies, got supplied with food and water and were now almost ready to be escorted back to Atlas, far away from this nightmare.
Needless to say, all five of them were also deeply ashamed in addition to being terrified and exhausted. One of them turned to the antler man and cleared his throat before finally saying "I know it doesn't mean a-"
"Save it" holding his gun, the faunus grimly replied. "Thank Ruby, not me. She makes the calls here" he pointed towards the only remaining small warehouse, where the two huntresses were getting prepared, making the man nod in approval.
Inside the warehouse, Weiss had just finished her makeshift bath with molten snow. It was subpar at best, but the small satisfied moans she let out while rubbing her skin showed how much she needed it.
After drying off with some fire dust, she tied her hair in a hasty ponytail and moved to pick up the clothes Ruby had provided for her. Said girl was sitting at the corner of the room, back turned at her naked partner.
A red-and-white colored winter military uniform with isotherm trousers and jacket and a heavy red winter coat were Ruby's choice for Weiss. A thick black belt and light track boots accompanied it.
Myrtnenaster was left next to the clothes. Weiss smiled fondly seeing her prized weapon as well as an ample amount of dust to use for it.
"I checked it a few times. Myrtenaster is as good as new; not that I would expect you of all people to not take care of your weapon" Ruby said.
"If only I could take care of my friends the same way" she replied, as she tied Kendrick's white scarf around her neck. Ruby sighed "nobody blames you for his death, Weiss. Or for our current predicament."
The ex-heiress raised an eyebrow "since when do you use the word 'predicament' Ruby Rose?" The brunette raised a glove-covered hand and scratched her nape "it sounds far better when you do it, honestly."
Weiss rolled her eye and buttoned up her jacket, before Ruby spoke again "on another matter; you told me that Fenris was the one who summoned the Valkraghast you fought two days ago?"
"Kendrick told me Fenris has been heavily into occultism lately. He used Carlo Custard's blood to summon it. And, well, I showed you the circle, didn't I?" she replied. "By the way, you can turn around. Thanks."
"It looks like your glyphs a lot. A scary lot" Ruby agreed, while turning to face her. "Red looks good on you!" she opened her eyes in childlike awe, before narrowing them. "Then again, according to Yang, everything looks good on you; especially he-"
"Let's not continue that particularly embarrassing statement, shall we?" Weiss remarked, her lips a thin line, balancing between her current sadness and her ever present urge to laugh at Ruby's antics.
"Anyway" Ruby got the message and returned to the previous topic "the resemblance between the circle Fenris used and the Schnee family semblance is great."
"So is the effect; he may not have been able to control it, but he did summon a Grimm. And a powerful one at that" Weiss agreed. "He possibly amplified it by using…" she made a sound of disgust "blood."
The brunette let out a similar sound as her face took a disgusted expression. "Say, Ruby; didn't Dr. Oobleck propose at some point the theory that semblances are the remnants of old magic everyone had?"
A brown eyebrow rose at the question. "What if Fenris is merely using magic for summoning Grimm? And my semblance happens to be what remain of the summoning magic my ancestors once had?"
"But your semblance does other things except for summoning!" Ruby jumped up, secretly happy to see her friend thoughtful once again. "Only when I combine it with dust. And the first one to do so, was-"
"Nicholas Schnee!" Ruby's face lit in recognition. Weiss nodded "when we return to Atlas, we are going to have a trip at the old Schnee family archives."
"Aren't they in your mansion, though? The one we are banned to ever step a foot in?" her friend asked. "And that stopped us, when exactly?" Weiss smirked at her, earning a surprised stare.
"Yang is rubbing off on you, way too much" the girl commented before both of them walked out of the facility.
After a series of apologies and explanations, courtesy of the guards, Weiss and Ruby walked at the back of the van along with Matthew.
Inside it, carefully placed and wrapped, were all the guards' corpses they managed to retrieve from the slaughterhouse the facility had turned into.
Among them, carefully cleaned and tended, wrapped in cloth and placed tenderly on top of a small stretcher they had picked from the medical room, was Kendrick's body encased in ice.
Weiss knelt and gently touched the man's forehead. "I am going to do what I should have from the beginning, Kendrick. And it's all thanks to you that I am still alive and willing to do it."
She blinked her eye to keep the tears at bay. "I will tell Yang and Blake about you; please tell Carlo about me too. And…" she gulped and sniffed, trying to control her flooding emotions.
"Should you meet Winter, tell her I love her. Tell her I am ashamed of what she has been seeing me do this past month. And that I will work even harder to not waste this life both of you saved… thank you… and goodbye, my friend."
After leaving the van, Ruby turned to Matthew. "Thank you for everything. Your hospitality, your delicious food and your information. We wouldn't be able to find each other if not for your help" she smiled.
"The pleasure is all mine, Ruby. And don't worry; I will be sure to relay your message to Councilor Hill's forces" he heartily replied.
"If the rest of the council keeps her back, you will find her in the Happy Huntresses' HQ in Mantle. I am asking too much of you, but-" "I will be fine. I may dislike the big city, but there is no way I will let you down."
They both exchanged a brief hug, as Weiss pointed at the direction of the van while addressing the guards gathered around her.
"You will be a little cramped in the trolley, but it's better than riding with the corpses, am I right?" she asked sweetly, earning a series of quick nods.
"When you reach Mantle, you are to put yourselves under Councilor Hill's orders on my behalf. If, and I mean that more than you imagine, you allow any harm to fall upon either Mr. Moose or Kendrick's body, I will dedicate myself into finding you and making you pay for it."
Five quite audible gulps followed that statement. "Am I understood?" "Yes, Ms. Schnee!" they all replied in unison. "Perfect. Now get in; it's time for you to leave."
After the van left the area, the two huntresses moved towards Ruby's snowmobile. "I am a little worried about them reaching Mantle safe with those things prowling around" Weiss said.
"The only two Grimm in the area are the Morkvind and the Nest" Ruby replied. "And, if both we and Blake's group are moving the right way, they will come after us and leave Mr. Moose's team safe."
"That is logical- and a cause for worry as always" Weiss narrowed her eye. "Welcome back to the team, partner" Ruby giggled as she turned the engine on and drove outside of the opening, leaving the accursed facility forever behind them.
-o—
Blood Moon's encampment was in a state of unrest. All remaining faunus belonging to the Company were running up and down, hastily taking off tents and packing their stuff.
In the middle of the camp, cowl removed, Gray Fenris stood, observing his people. Stella Taupe and Robert Ink, both clad in travel clothing, stood next to him.
"All things considered we shall be ready to leave this place in less than half an hour, Boss" the taupe-haired girl announced. "Excellent. Tell them to make in twenty minutes" he replied.
As the slender girl walked away, he turned to the towering man. "I will be taking the Spot siblings and their team with me. You and Stella are to leave this place with yours and reach our secret hideout in Vacuo."
"You are telling us to abandon you with those morons?" Robert gnarled "we could be of more use to you here." The older man narrowed his eyes before replying.
"You are mistaken, old friend. What I need with me are powerful and disposable soldiers, not you. You and Stella have to run the Blood Moon until we regroup; I would never trust those three to do it."
"That's reasonable. I still don't like it, Gray. You are-" "One step away from performing the true awakening I had been waiting my entire life for, Robert. I will see this through- or die trying. End of the discussion."
The bulky man groaned but nodded in acceptance. "Very well. It shall be done as you wish, old friend. I hope I am not signing your death by agreeing to this" he said before walking away.
If I succeed, death shall be nothing but a fleeting dream, dear friend Fenris thought as he saw his right hand man chastising a few of his underlings for fooling around.
A few hours later, two large jeeps armed with heavy machine guns scaled the road up towards Gloomharrow Valley. Ed and Sen Spot with half of their men were mounted on one, leading the way.
Baz and Fenris with the rest of the team followed behind in the other one. They drove as wildly as they spoke and laughed, smiling at each other all the way in anticipation of the big event Gray promised them.
"I thought the paths up the mountain were filled in Grimm, Boss" one of the men asked. "But this is going smoothly."
The wolf-man stared out of the window. The endless series of pines, half-covered by a thick mantle of snow, greeted him. The ground was as pristine as possible and except for the fog nothing else disrupted the beautiful scenery.
But the old faunus knew that appearances could be truly deceiving. That was especially true for this place, with this thing riding the winds of death blowing over them.
"Arachneas who have lost their Hive will not attack unless provoked. They will stay in hiding until a new one emerges and starts controlling them" he finally replied.
Instinctively, he grabbed his talisman and smirked at the thought of the small rosemary charm sealed inside it "the only thing I consider a threat around here is way behind us now."
This was not a lie. But he knew it was also irrelevant. As long as its magical power was not exhausted, the Morkvind could easily appear anywhere it wished and control anything it wished inside the forest.
We are so lucky it's still maturing. We have to take advantage of that stroke of luck, before it is too late. "You mean that thing we sacrificed the traitors to?" Baz smiled.
"Exactly. But even if it finds us, I have the means to deal with it. So, focus on doing your job and don't worry about such things. Let me guide you as you always have."
Ok, that was a lie. He had a few tricks up his sleeve, yes, but he had no guarantee they would work for something that old and powerful the same way they had for the Arachneas.
"I am more concerned about Sophia Carmel and whoever might have survived the attack going after us. She knows about the underground passage to the tomb, so she will try to reach it now that the storm is over."
"Why would she do that when she has already been defeated? Does she think she can take us on her own? Humans are so cocky!" another faunus hissed in anger.
"She is cocky, yes, but her major problem is that she had her wings plugged" Gray chuckled, earning a confused stare from his fellow faunus subordinates.
Idiots! "She begun planning for all these having superior resources, much more information than her enemies and subordinates who would sacrifice themselves for her when things would turn awry" he said.
"She came here, thinking she had the upper hand- and lost all her cards one by one, even those she thought to be unbeatable. She has just realized she is very close to losing- and that makes people desperate."
"And desperate people do stupid things…gehehehe" Baz cackled. "Assuming she managed to survive the onslaught, she will be coming after us. This is exactly what I want this amateur to do" Fenris nodded.
The cars roared and after a few minutes stopped as they reached a large opening. The tunnel entrance was there, usually barred with wooden planks and carefully covered by snow and branches.
But this time the wooden planks were loosed and the cover had been scattered around. A snowmobile was parked in front of the tunnel.
"The engine is cold" Sen screamed "but it doesn't mean anything with such cold outside" the hyena faunus added. "I smell perfume, though, Boss" she spat.
"Looks like Ms. Carmel is as tough as she is stubborn" the Blood Moon leader smiled widely and raised his cowl once more. "Let's go. Our preparations are almost done" he exclaimed as he started moving.
-o—
Sophia and Wenge had used this tunnel quite a few times in the past couple years they had spent studying the Eldergrimm sealed under Gloomharrow.
Sophia knew ordinary Grimm didn't even bother getting closer to the place; the aura emanating from Alginos, even in its sealed state, was enough to repel all inferior predators.
She also had a solid reason to think Gray hadn't gotten ahead of them. The tunnel had been sealed and there were no foot or hand prints around it. Luck seemed to be on her side for once.
But, all things considered, she couldn't fight the impeding anxiety that loomed over her as they ran past the walls, ignoring their ancient carvings, her Goliath-headed talisman hung over her neck.
She hated not being in control! She hated having so many unexpected variables in her plan, despite having spent so many years thinking it over and over and over again!
Fenris, team RWBY… all of them had been carefully accounted for! Her men had been carefully picked, to deal with bandits and Schnee should protect her from any threat they couldn't!
And yet… all it took was for a never-seen-before Grimm to turn her well thought plan to ashes. She really needed a smoke right now- or to punch something that was not Wenge.
Speaking of him… "You are awfully quiet; what's the matter?" she asked the handsome man running by her side, his pistol at his hand.
"I don't like how we not only left Schnee behind us despite coming back to help us, but we also abandoned our men in the middle of a haunted forest as well, Sophia" he replied, a little reluctantly.
She suddenly stopped and he followed suit. Brilliant almond eyes glared at him. "Schnee and Rose will take care of them. We had one chance to get the snowmobile and leave while the faunus was preoccupied and we took it. Our mission takes priority; simple as that" she stated.
"I know, I know" he raised his hands to ease her frustration. "It still leaves a bad taste in my mouth, Madam." Sophia's glare hardened and she took one step towards him.
"How come you didn't exert such conscience when you were fucking my mother behind my father's back, Mr. Knight?" she asked him, making the man's eyes open wide in shock.
"You… you knew?" he asked her. How long had she been aware of this? And why hadn't she told him anything until now?
"I had my suspicions" she replied, her glare not dropping. "You were a young and handsome man, who happens to be especially weak to gorgeous women."
He averted his eyes. "And she was a gorgeous woman without a shred of morality who enjoyed getting everything she wanted; mostly men. It would greatly surprise me if she hadn't seduced you to begin with."
"Sophia, I…" "Let's go. And don't apologize. I grew past this phase quite a few years ago" she replied and started running once more, the man following her with his pride crushed and his head dropped.
As the tunnel ended, they both laid eyes upon the underground city. It was exactly as they remembered it. Its small stone houses and large central road leading to Alginos' mausoleum were still there.
The large structure was surrounded by green flames. Fenris must have created them when he first came here, Sophia thought, remembering Dahlias could do the same thing.
They walked inside the temple and made haste for the central hall. Everything still seemed the same- even Prof. Azure's barrels containing the important concoction were hidden exactly where she had left them.
Everything was still the same. Thank Dust! "Help me with the barrels, Wenge. We have to move them to the burial chamber."
"Are you going to perform the ritual, Sophia?" the man stared at her in disbelief. "Of course I am. Even a forced awakening is much better than allowing this bandit to control Alginos."
"And what if you can't control it?" he asked. "I will let it loose to take down as much of our enemies as possible. Simple as that" she replied as the man moved the first barred to the innermost chamber.
And then, both of them froze. Up until now, everything seemed the same, except for the flames. Heck, even the barrels were there and the doors closed!
That was why, when they stepped inside the room and found that the ancient granite sarcophagus Alginos had been buried into had been shattered and emptied, Sophia couldn't stifle a horrified scream.
What- what? Where is the Eldergrimm? Who- WHO RELEASED THAT THING?