Chapter 9
In the ruined castle.
Black pools of dark energy, manifested as a thick black goo, spawned forth Grimm of all kinds. The sky churned, and lightning flashed in the dark clouds. A single tower rose, in the middle of the city, looming above the ruined buildings and the Grimm that infested it.
Ahria soundlessly appeared from a large swath of shadows, and looked up at the tower. He could feel a pair of eyes on him, ever since he set foot in the ruined castle. Then shadows shifted, and he disappeared.
In the tower, Salem sat down, her eyes a little wide. For the first time in almost a millennium, she felt threatened by the person down there, vanishing and reappearing from shadows. She turned towards a crystal ball, looked at it for a while, and sighed. Then she stood up, and slipped into the shadows.
Ahria's left ear twitched, and he turned around to see Salem appearing from the shadows, around 50 feet away.
"So, you're the one up in that tower?" Ahria asked, eyes squinting.
"That is none of your concern, mortal fool." Salem rasped, and raised her hand. A ball of black energy was already gathering, and her eyes narrowed as she fired the energy blast at Ahria.
Shadows shifted, and the energy blast tore through the space where Ahria was standing, distorting the space around and creating small black fissures in space. She relaxed visibly, and disappeared again.
Ahria reappeared in Oasis, in the shadows of the walls. Then he took out a large torn cloak, fastened it around him, drew the mantle up, and walked away.
In another part of Oasis
"Hey, what's that up ahead?" Nora asked, her hand shielding her eyes from the sun.
"I think that's the Lord of Oasis, with his cohort of guards." Pyrrha replied, slightly craning her neck to look ahead.
"Well, whatever they're doing, let's go check it out." Jaune's curiosity was also piqued.
Then sounds of an explosion shook the living daylights out of all of them.
"W-What was that?" Jaune asked, shield already up and sword drawn.
"Whatever it is, we better get ready for it." Ren replied, magical energy channeling into the two crossbows in his hands.
JNPR pushed through the panicked crowd running away from the site of the explosion, determined to find out what happened. As they neared, they could feel a weird pressure against them, almost as if there was an invisible force field or barrier trying to push them away. As they struggled forwards, each step getting heavier, they heard heavy footsteps coming towards them and looked up, right into the glowing red eyes of various Grimm.
Shadows flew about wildly, as hordes of Grimm rushed at a hooded figure on the street. Mayhem ensued, Grimm was slain so fast, the street was covered in the smoke their bodies dissipate into.
Team RWBY had their own plates full.
They had teleported to Oasis after receiving a distress call from team JNPR, but the moment they appeared in Oasis, Grimm had seemingly come out from nowhere and rushed towards the girls, their magic a beacon in the darkness to the creatures of Grimm.
Ruby and Yang's eyes gleamed in excitement, and charged headfirst into the hordes of Grimm, spreading destruction in their wake. As Grimm died, their body dissipated into smoke, but none of the girls, or almost anyone else, seemed to notice that the smoke seeped into the ground, instead of floating into the sky and dispersing.
Hours later…
In the ruined castle, Salem stood in her throne room, looking at the crystal orb in front of her. Her face curved into a cruel smile, and shadows started to dance as she slipped into them, disappearing from her throne room and reappearing in Oasis.
Team JNPR was passed out, after having rendezvoused with team RWBY and fighting through wave upon wave of Grimm. Team RWBY, on the other hand, took up the job of looking for reinforcements, while staying close enough to JNPR so that if anything should happen, they could come back and protect their friends.
The shadows near the center of the city stirred, and Salem rose, regal as a queen about to take her throne. She looked up, and saw the mansion which belonged to the Lord of Oasis. Of course, it was more like a fortress, as guards and higher-ranking Huntsmen and Huntresses patrolled the grounds. She put her hands before her, thumbs and index fingers touching, palm facing forward. Runes formed around her, pulsating, and spun around her in circles. Then they sunk into the ground, layer upon layer, until a complex arcane circle had appeared in front of the fortress. A sinister red glow came forth, and a faint dragon's roar could be heard.
"W-What was that?" A soldier asked, looking from the walls of the fortress.
"I think it was a dragon." A huntsman replied, his eyes darting back and forth, looking for the threat. His hand slid to the weapon hanging on his waist, and he looked around for reassurance.
"Don't panic. The dragon needs time to be summoned, and by then we will have readied our countermeasures." Wioll, the Lord of Oasis, declared. "We've got Blazewyn armed and ready."
To be continued…