AN: OK! Almost there! Bastion is about to be finished with he first pillar! The team infiltrates the palace of the damned! They encounter the enforcers of the mysterious Salem and one of them even has a one on one meeting with the big bad herself! All this and more in this chapter of Bastion!
The interior of the bullhead pause, time froze and ground to a terrifying halt as Jaune red the word on his scroll.
"Salem? Who the hell is Salem?" Jaune asked as he looked up to his teammates.
"Kage?" Jaune asked the wide-eyed brown-skinned boy as he paused.
"I got nothing boss."
"Fuck. Ruby? You know anything about a Salem?"
"N-no!" The girl said her mechanical eye zooming out of her skull, peering onto her scroll as it whirred.
"Mika?"
"I have an idea."
"And that is?"
"Not good."
"No shit," Kage added as Uzep swore.
"Oh fuck me! The Grimmlands?! Who the fuck lives in the god damned Grimmlands and why do we have to kill them!?" The woman asked her hands gripping her scroll her purple eyes wide with fear as Jaune stood. Up. He needed, and she would give them to him by will or by force.
"Uzepi."
"Not a good time Blondie!"
"Now is the perfect time," Jaune said his gaze meeting Uzepi's hard cobalt met bright purple as he snarled.
"Where the hell are we going?"
"You hear me! We are going to the fucking Grimmlands!"
"Why? Who is Salem?"
"I don't fucking know! I was asking Ludo that just now!"
"And? What did he say?"
"He just said that more information would be given as we progressed! He didn't say shit!" Uzepi said her voice rising to an awkward degree. The usually stoic cocky woman was shaken her pupils shook and widened, her body was shaking like there was a wire in it as Jaune frowned.
"So you don't know anything?"
"I know we are about to get into some deep shit!"
"Fuck me. Does anyone have any insight!?"
"I think we need to get ready for the worst, we are going to the worse part of Remnant Jaune. This planet is already dangerous for humans we need to prepare for whatever we are getting into." Mika said her voice perfectly flat and calm as she began to clean her hatchet.
"We don't know what we are attacking, but we know that is important enough for Bastion to declare an emergency to do so. We must think that this is the worse." Mika added her eyes locked onto her weapon as Jaune saw them simmer.
"Mika you make a lot of sense, ok! Arkham I know this is looking bad and I know we are going into some shit! But I need you all to keep it together. We are going to be in a bad spot, but we are going to get out of it!"
"And what is our plan boss? Cause breaking into a random ass part of the most hostile place on Remnant to hunt down and kill a random person who is bat shit crazy or impossibly strong enough to be in or worse to live! In the fucking Grimmlands is not on my idea of things to do." Kage added already taking apart and putting back together with his pistols as Jaune sighed.
"I don't know what we are going to do, but I know how we are going to do it. We are going to go in there, stick together work as a team! Kill this Salem person and get the hell out of there in one piece ok?" Jaune said as Arkham gave him a suspicious look the moral of the team plummeting as even Ruby looked like she did not think highly of their mission success chances.
"Look! I know I don't agree with him, but Blondie is right. He makes a good point, we don't know what we are getting into here but moping around and acting like a bunch of bitches won't save our asses. If we are going to pull out this and I do intend to pull out we need to keep our heads down and our guns up."
"She's right, we need to keep our heads up and stay focused. This isn't the first time we've been tossed into the fire, and I will be damned if this ends up being the last. Team Arkham always pulls out, no matter what is tossed in our way."
Jaune said as some light came back to his team.
Ruby gave him a soft smile flashing him a thumbs up as her mechanical eye whirred back into her skull. Not glaring as baleful as it used to do.
"I believe in you Jaune," Ruby said smiling evenly as Jaune returned in.
"I mean if it comes down to getting killed and killing something else I vote to always kill. So I'm with this last ditch hurrah! Or whatever the hell we are calling it." Kage grumbled as he let out a sad sigh as he refitted his pistols.
"Thanks for the support but we are not going to make a last hurrah today Kage. Our last hurrah is not going to come so long as I am the leader."
"Great. We have an idealist for a leader, I've been on suicide missions with worse, I guess."
"I believe in you Jaune! Let's go and kick some eldritch horror ass!" Mika said pumping her fist into the air as Jaune cocked his head.
"Did you say Eldritch horror? Why the hell did you say that?" Jaune asked not sure why she used the words Eldritch horror? What the hell did that even mean?
"Oh don't you worry about it Jaune! I'm just thinking ahead." She said her voice low, and resonation as Ruby's eye whirled out locking onto Mika as it glared at her.
"I see... well, in any case, we need to be ready Eldritch horror or not we have to be prepared, Kiara!"
"Yes?! What's up!?"
"How long till that supply ship comes in?"
"Less than thirty minutes! We are going to be rearmed and I must! Stress that the ship is unmanned! It will only give us the weapons and leave! The ship will crash when it goes, away so we can not steal its fuel!"
"Well, there goes that plan." Jaune and Uzepi said as one as the locked eyes in a moment of mutual understanding before Jaune rubbed his head.
"Ok, the ships coming everyone gets ready, we have a mission to do."
The rearming or Arkham did not take long.
"Ok! Bring it in!" Jaune yelled the howling air from the outside entering his ears as the backdoor to the Vesperia was opened mid-air.
Kage and Mika both went up pulling on a large black monolith type device. It was league dark and bulky. It had several compartments and lockers on it and reminded Jaune of some type of pure black clock tower?
"OK! That's it!" Jaune yelled as the pulled the strange object in the craft as a loud pneumonic hissing! Sound was heard as the Vesperia finished getting what little fuel it would need for its journey.
"Docking complete! We are about to depart!" Kirara said as the ship shuddered. The craft bucked and rolled as the unmanned craft departed it's thrust flying away taking the bullhead off somewhere into the night as Jaune sighed.
"Ok! Ok! Everyone! This is it! I don't know what's in these lockers but take whatever you think is necessary!" Jaune said as low hiss! Filled the air, the back of the ship rose up silencing the roar of the wind allowing only the sound of the vessel owns internal air recycling fill its interior with a low hum.
"Holy shit," Kage said as he pressed a locker as several racks of weapons spilled out. Large blocky assault rifles along with racks on racks of ammunition hung out.
Jaune counted assault rifles, snipers, SMG's, pistols, and several small circulars and blocky objects that Jaune counted as grenades as-
"Oh my god! That'a Jarga XKLR! And that's a Vaco Havoc mark seven!? Those are illegal! Oh! A Sonic resonator!? That was never built!" Ruby said her fack eye zooming in and out her real one shimmering with anticipation her inner gun nut coming out as-
"Plasma grenades, and Xfour? Fuck my life this is serious." Uzepi said picking up a small circular object, and a thick, blocky one that looked like a delivery satchel with a This end up place on it's front.
"This is real hardware kid. Whatever we are going to kill it's serious." Uzepi said already moving to pocket the grenades as Jaune grimaced.
"Kiara! Do you know what the hell of these things are?"
"Weapons sir! Weapons and bombs! I don't know exactly what's in there but I suggest that you get whatever the hell you need! I don't know what is going to be in that landing zone so I'd suggest you don't take any risks!"
"We won't, Arkham! Take what you need."
As the team armed themselves, Jaune found that very little about them changed. They all fought with custom weapons so picking up a random gun no matter how good it was that was not your tried and truly seemed like a bad idea.
Ruby had to be almost consoled when her favorite guns were too heavy for her. Not in the sense that she could not lift them her augmented body was much stronger than it used to be, but the weapons took her off balance, and she was reduced to putting several pistols and an SMG on her side.
Jaune was similarly armed, he put a simple SMG hooked to his side with a magnetic attachment and a few more grenades on him.
Kage faired a bit better, he had slung two of the bulkier rifles on his shoulders. The boy was better able to carry them and had opted for a simple assault rifle and a battle variant that fired in three shot burst and had a considerably longer range.
Mika had not gotten much if any arms, she simply took some explosives of her own choosing she called them Melta and sticky charge citing it would help them chew through walls if they found any.
"Ok! That's it, Kiara! You got anything new?" Uzepi asked cock an SMG as she turned up to the Pa system.
"Yes! I have been given a scan of the area! I know what you are getting into, here is a visual, sending to your scrolls!" The pilot said as Jaune turned to his scroll where a loading screen popped up as he saw a diagram pop out.
"Is... is that a palace?" Kage asked as what looked like a medieval castle? It was a tall structure that looked like a literal medieval palace. It was massive with imposing walls buttresses that reached out into the sky and several large towers on it.
"That is a palace." Jaune said as he blinked rapidly, who the hell had a palace surrounded by Grimm?"
"The fuck is this? Why is there a building in the Grimmlands!? WHo the fuck lives there?!" Uzepi demanded shaking her scroll as Jaune sighed.
"Ok. Everyone calm down."
"It's like a fairy tale!"
"Ruby this is more like a nightmare you know?"
"I like it! I wonder if a lonely princess is waiting for us to rescue her!"
"Mika this is an assassination mission, not a rescue."
"So we will not rescue anyone?"
"If there is someone in need of rescuing and we have the time, and we complete our mission then yes we will rescue all we can," Jaune said earning a supportive nod form Ruby as he looked over the schematics.
The palace as it was now called was huge. It had several floors with long winding corridors. The schematics were very detailed marking entry and exits that could be used for possible intrusions, all leading to what looked to be a throne room in the center of the area. Making Jaune narrow his eyes.
"There. There in the middle that looks like a throne room."
"A throne room where someone is likely to try to fucking rule. God dammit this is a palace."
"Exactly and if it is that, then it has a ruler, and every ruler should never be far from their throne."
"Wait a second, what the hell is that?" Uzepi asked as Jaune turned to the mystery of the monolith.
The massive object had when opened begun displaying a clock, on its front or what looked to be a clock at first but then revealed itself to instead be a timer that was ticking down.
And a timer that ticked down was never a good sign.
"Not going to lie a timer that ticks down is usually a bad thing," Kage added his brown eyes flicking to the time as Jaune nodded his head in agreement.
"I can see that but what the hell is it? And why is it counting down?"
"It's a bomb." Mi words silenced the craft as all eyes turned to her.
"What?!"
"Simple Jaune that is a bomb a fusion one. Primitive but the best kind this planet can produce."
"How do you know that?!"
"I am pretty good with technology really. But that's not the point, the point is that that bomb is insurance. Whatever or whoever we are going to kill since it has a name is dangerous enough for our success to be put in doubt."
"Then we have to make sure we kill it! Right?" Ruby asked as Jaune frowned.
"Kiara!"
"Yes, sir?"
"Take us off course for a few seconds!"
"What? Why?"
"I want to see something."
"OK!" The pilot said fear in her voice as the ship turned to the left. Inta the time sped up going from fine hours to under eight the numbers blurring down as-
"Back on course! Take us back!"
"OK!"
"Did you see that shit?!"
"Yes, Kage I saw that shit. If that is a bomb-
"It's a bomb. Trust me."
"Ok. That bomb is tied to the ship. If we don't go exactly where we are supposed to it blows up killing us."
"Great. Now we are really dead." Kage drawled not looking too happy, or that bothered by his imminent death. More like he had just been told that a bar was out of his favorite drink than anything.
"Look no one is going to die here. None of us! Now Uzepi."
"Yes?"
"What do you know about storming a damn castle?"
"Besides take whatever you think will sell for a pretty lien?"
"Yes. Besides that."
"We need to be fast. We only have to kill one person. So we should make a line for the enemy throne."
"But what if they are not in the throne?"
"Then we bait them, Ruby. We attack here. We have the Vesperia blow open a hole in the wall, and we breach."
"What if the place is guarded?" Kage asked now staring at his scroll as Jaune spoke the plan.
"Then we kill or incapacitate as need be. After that? We go find this Salem."
"What the hell does she look like? We don't have a physical description of the target just a name. How the hell do we deal with that? Just start asking around for a sight of her?"
"You are assuming its gender. It might be a man, we don't know if it is a woman. The name can fit both."
"Salem is usually a woman's name Mika, but you make a point. We need to be sure, so some footwork is needed. Ok, so we break in then fight our way into the throne, figure out just who the hell this Salem person is and kill him her or it with extreme prejudice ok?"
"Sounds good blondie but how the hell do we get out of here? We do not have the gas for the return flight."
"I think I have a solution to that, Kirara! You listening in?"
"Sir yes, sir!"
"Good. Ok now assuming that we do have some fuel remaining how far can we get back?"
"Best guess? We can get a quarter of the way back to Bastion."
"Worst?"
"Less than half."
"Great. Ok, so when we are attacking some of us will hunt for some fuel to refuel the ship. I'm assuming there will be some in a fucking Grimm palace. Once inside if we can! We move the damn bomb out of our ship into the palace itself. It there is a big enough blast we can eve ride that someway out of it."
"That's a plan, in theory, that is. I have no idea how the hell that will work for this."
"Kage, we don't know how it will work but besides go in kill Salme do we have any other options?"
"Not really. I Guess we are going in then."
"Damn right we are. Now if anyone has a suggestion please this is the time."
"What kind of enemies do you think we will face? This is a structure in the Grimmlands. That means it was built by people. Who the hell could do that?"
Mika asked, but her eyes seemed to already know the answer.
"I don't know Mika, but whoever or whatever it is will be strong. We need to be ready for anything."
"Jaune! When we get out of here, how are we going to make it back to Bastion if we don't get the fuel?"
"Leave that to me kid, I know how to get in contact with some of Bastions operatives. If! And I do mean if we make it out alive I can get us back home assuming we don't land in the fucking middle of nowhere that is."
"Good. Thanks, Uzepi."
"Don't thank me I'm just here to not die. And if we don't succeed my ass is grass just like yours."
"Welcome to the club, now you know how I feel."
"Hardy fucking har now let's get this over with."
"I agree, everyone we have a mission to do! I know it won't be easy, but we have to do it! Until then? Lock and load."
"Ok! We are almost there!" Kiara said as Jaune nodded, taking the tip of the team.
"Alright, remember the plan! We need to get in and out! Kiara, you are weapons free!" Jaune yelled as he heard the ship shudder, the twin missiles that the rearm craft had fitted onto thier wings flew off as Jaune counted down.
Five, four, three, two-
"Impact! You have an in!" Kiara yelled as Jaune nodded.
"Ok! Everyone! We are going in"! Jaune yelled as the ship banked taking a hard eighty-degree angle as it spun to its side allowing-
"FUCK!" Kiara yelled as the ship rocked a massive wave of pressure passed through nearly sending the occupants to the floor as-
"Kiara?! What was that!?"
"A dragon!"
"A what?!"
"A fucking Grimm dragon is here!"
"What the fuck is a Grimm dragon!?"
"A big ass dragon!" Kiara yelled as the ship banked a massive roar filled the air that Jaune felt in his ones. The roar made all of them fall to their knees clutching their ears as-
"You need to go now!" Kiara yelled as they banked sharply as the landing ramp lowered. A roar of air along with another ear-splitting roar that made Jaune hell like his eardrums were going to burst.
"Jaune! That's loud!" Ruby said covering her ears as the ramp lowered. The vision that greeted Jaune was a massive hole blown in the side of the castle, the heavy flapping of wings filled his ears as he waved his hand forward.
"Everyone out! Now!" Jaune yelled as he ran all of his team sprinted Mika pulled Ruby out of the craft as the jumped. There was a brief feeling of weightlessness as team Arkham plus Uzepi hit the ground at once. Rolling as they did. There was a loud THUD! As the monolith bomb slammed down after them along with the roar of engines as the Vesperia began to turn.
"Kiara! Get out of here!"
"You don't have to tell me twice!" Kiara said as they craft bankes sharply blasting out of sight as Jaunehear the heavy flapping of wings along with another ear-splitting roar that shook him to the very core making all of her team collapsed as a massive shadow flapped away.
Something gigantic flew away leaving Jaune and his team alone in the ruined section of a grand hallway. The hallway he was now in was massive. Filled with large stone pillars and walls all made of some type of onyx? The halls were draped with bright red tapestries, and the floor had a thick red carpet on it.
"Ok! You all know the plan! Stick to your objectives and let's get the hell out of here!" Jaune yelled as his four companions nodded.
"Right!" They all said as the Arkham broke up and sent on the offensive.
The plan was not complicated. Jaune had made a rough estimate of what his team needed to do to survive. Like Kiara said before they left it didn't matter what they did if they all died in the process means that even if! They killed this Salem? They still needed fuel to get back home.
So to improve this task, Jaune split his team up. Ruby, Mika, and Uzepi would go looking for fuel. The palace schematics showed several areas that Jaune guessed!
And he did mean guess that could be used for potential fuel storage, Mika, Ruby, and Uzepi would look for fuel there and if worst came to worse they would attempt to find another way home if Kiara did not dodge the dragon. Jaune still had no idea what the hell that was.
Meanwhile, he and Kage would go looking for information. They needed to know what they were dealing with. To find out who or what this Salem was and learn how to kill it.
"Left!" Kage said as the two turned a hallway, doing their best to keep their feet moving. They needed to hit the throne room for some information. That was where Salem should be and-
"You there!" A loud booming voice said as a mountain of a man stood before them. He was a literal brick wall. Tall and broad with arms that rivaled tree trunks. He had a short, well-kept mane of black hair and skin the color of dark sand. His eyes were a light hazel color, and he was dressed in a tight green shirt and tan pants as-
"Who are you and what are you doing here?!" The man growled as Jaune and Kage both shared a worried look before Jaune opened his mouth.
"Well if we said we are here to not kill Salem what would you say?" Jaune asked as the man paused his eyes widening as he froze.
"You... you know who Salem is?" He asked a look of pure shock and horror in his face as-
"Yes and we are here to assassinate Salem," Kage added as the man growled.
"You won't touch her!"
"So it is her?" Kage asked as the man froze. His rage subsiding as he took a deep breath.
"Enough. Come with me you two, you will not fight back."
"That's one opinion I have another," Jaune said raising his plasma pistol as the man sighed.
"There doesn't have to be any bloodshed today. Please put away your weapons, and I guarantee your safety." The man said, and for some reason, Jaune found no dishonesty in his voice, in fact, he sounded almost sincere? Jaune knew he was foolish, but he detected no lies coming from the man. He... the man was not lying...
"You... you don't want bloodshed?"
"Not if I can avoid the act. Please, do not let us come to blows over this. You both are clearly well armed and strong young men. I'm sure Salem would love to add you as subordinates. Please, come with me." The man said his voice cool and calm not a hint of anger or irritation in it as-
"Sorry big man. As much as we would love to we kind of have to kill Salem." Kage said as the man's eyebrow twitched.
"Why? Who is your master? I guarantee they are not as powerful as mine."
"Does it matter? See these things on our necks? If we don't kill Salem, they blow our heads clean off our shoulders."
"That is barbaric. I can not fathom who would do that to children."
"Thanks, your words mean a lot."
"Wait... you I know your voice?"
"You... you do?"
"Jaune Arc?"
"You got the wrong man, he's not-
"Venke Kage. I knew I recognized the both of you. Bout of you are looking good for dead men. Tell me what's your secret?" The man asked a cocky grin on his face as Jaune and Kage shared a worried look.
"You know him, boss?"
"Never seen him a day in my life."
"But he knows who the hell we are."
"I noticed.
"That's not good is it?"
"Probably not."
"It is not good or bad, now please put your weapons down, and come talk to my mistress. If you do not put your weapons down, I will make you."
"Sorry, we are tam Arkham, and we don't take kindly to being ordered around," Jaune said raising his plasma pistol and firing once. The superheated ball of gas shooting out impacting against the man's aura as the roared.
"Fine! If you will not come willingly, you will be brought in by force!" THe man yelled reaching into his pockets pulling out twin glowing orange shards of dust? And stabbing himself in the knees. The man screamed as he veins began to glow orange as he let out a terrifying bellow.
"What is he doing?!"
"Boss! I think he just injected himself with dust?!"
"The fuck does- Jaune never finished that sentence. The man moved with an impressive speed sprinting across the hall in a matter of seconds. Covering easily three hundred feet before Jaune could so much as blink!
A fist slammed into his chest and sent him flying back. Jaune gagged the air being forced out of his lungs as he was yanked off the ground.
"Boss!?" Kage yelled as Jaune hit the back of the wall with a sickening crack! His aura flared, and his body armor cracked!
He felt his spine bend in a way that was fully unnatural and not healthy. Jaune eyes bugled and his mouth began to foam. He spasmed on the ground as another sickening crack! Filled the air as the monster slammed Kage against the wall. There was another sickening crack! Along with a single cry of pain from Kage as he slid down and thudded against the floor with a silent whump.
"Kage?" Jaune groaned he tasted blood in his mouth, his legs twitched and shook violently as the monster of a man sighed. His earlier anger all but vanished as he began to stalk over to Jaune.
His massive feet thudding onto the floor as he growled.
"I warned you both, I gave you the chance to come peacefully but no. You had to make this difficult, now you get to come to Salem broken.
The man said as one final thud! Filled the air as the massive booths, both larger than Jaunes head filled his vision. His eyes shaking with fear as they hid behind his gas mask.
"You two will both be brought before her. I'm sure she will be interested in both of them men who snuck into her tower." The man said reaching down as- BANG! Twin bangs filled the air as the man spun, his legs pulled out the limbs pulled as if they were on a string. Twin yellow bolts crashed into his chest as Kage fired into him.
The man spun back the bolts yanking him off the floor the other boy battered his recently repaired crimson body armor cracked down the middle blood seeping down his lips as he aimed his guns. Bang! He fired again twin bolts slammed into his chest the man gagged the massive rouns burst into his body. Aura was not meant to protect against that. Ove nine hundred calibers of force crushed into him as the round broke past his aura and burrowed into his chest.
The mass reactive rounds tunneled into him before detonating twin massive explosions were heard along with a loud wet crunch! The man's chest burst, blood, and bone flew everywhere as he was slammed into the wall the man gagged, choked threw up a massive amount of blood but he did not die. He fought back up missing half of his enormous chest, eyes filled with fury-
Bang! Kage fired four more times. Every bolt hit the man in his chest tunneling into him before detonating as one. The mass reactive rounds bursting the man's chest tearing the top of his body free from the base killing him in one brutal motion.
The man fell without a word his top half ripped to shred only his messy torso remained as Kage groaned limping up to Jaune as he winced in pain.
"Boss? You ok?"
"I feel like shit."
"That makes two of us, get up we need to find the girls."
Ruby was not having a good day.
"DOWN!" Her eye shouted as Ruby fell to the floor her scythe rising up in a desperate attempt to save her own life as she threw herself to the floor. A loud ting! Filled the air as her metal clanged against the long, deadly looking stinger of her adversary.
"OHOHO! Good! Good work little girl! You almost look like a threat!" The voice of the mad faunus said as Ruby fell back, the faunus that had intercepted her Mika and Uzepi acted like a force of nature. He surprised them during thier search for fuel and had forced them into what looked to be a kitchen of some sorts. Pressing the three females back as he began to toss them around the room with contemptuous ease.
"Die already!" Uzepi yelled hacking up a wad of blood, on hand clutching her side as a dark black liquid dripped from the back of her brown combat armor as she fired on him.
Her purple bolts impacting against his aura as he giggled. Dodging her remaining fire as he tucked and rolled out of her with preternatural grace.
"Naughty! Naughty! You need to learn your place girl!" The man yelled a flash of silver flew from his hands as twin gauntlets shot out from his hands.
He slammed into the woman landing one punch right in her gut. Uzepi crumpled like a house of cards. The woman gagged before the mad faunus tucked fore tossing her over his back slamming her right next to Ruby as she crashed into the wall with a heavy thud!
"Uzepi!"
"I'm! Fuck! I'm fine kid. I just need a break." The woman said wiping a long line of blood from her lips as-
"No breaks for you!" The man said leaping forward, Ruby rolled dodging out of the way bringing up her gun as she froze.
"Stop that!"
"Ah! Ah! AH! Red! You can't do that! You don't want to risk anything do you?" The man asked yanking Uzpei up using her as a human shield. His long poisonous stinger dripped with purple poison as he ran it up to her neck.
"Let her go!"
"Not without a please!"
"Take the shot Red! Fuck this guy!
"Oh what a mouth on this one! I like my women to have a bit of fight in them!"
"Odds of a successful shot are twenty-three percent. We don't have a clean shot." Her eyes said as Ruby grimaced, her fingers twitched on her trigger as she glared at him.
"Oh? Is miss Red going to risk a shot? Do it! Do it Red! Show me what you got! I want to see how lucky you think you are!"
The faunus said cackling wildly as-
"Hah!" Mika yelled her battle ax flashing forward, slamming into the man and pushing him back.
"Hah! A sneak attack!? That's the spirit girl!" The man said twirling into her ax blade stepping into her guard and-
Fisht!
"Ger!"
"Mika!" Ruby screamed as his stinger slammed into her gut. His venom coated stinger entered her abdomen making her gag. Mika coughed gagged and stuttered, her body going stiff as he yanked out his barb with a wet plop!
The girl fell to her knees her veins becoming the color of an eggplant as her body shook. Blood leaked from her mouth as-
"Bad girl! You know that bad girls get punished right?" The man asked raising his barb as Ruby blurred. She didn't know if Mika's semblance would heal venom, but she didn't care!
He hurt her friend, and he was going to pay! Ruby blurred out slashing down with her scythe her blade slammed down right at the tip of his tail.
Fit!
"AH!" The man screeched Ruby's blade slicing off his stinger making blood fly in mid-air as-
"You BITCH!" The faunus screamed his hand lashing our gripping Ruby by the throat, the girl hagged the faunus yanking her off the floor and slamming! Her onto a kitchen counter! Ruby felt her bones or what was left of them crack! Under the pressure, she tasted blood and...lubricant in her mouth as she spat up blood. The man pressed a blade to her neck as he hissed!
"You little slut! I'm going to rip your throat out-
"Ruby!" A familiar voice yelled as a flash was seen as a ball of blue crashed into the man. A rolling ball of superheated plasma filled the air as the faunus howled. Falling off her as Jaune appeared in the room alone. His plasma pistol bearing a bright crimson color as Jaune walked in. His armor was pitted and cracked in some places, his gas mask was halfway off, one eye mirror shatter and his dark black armor were pitted with what looked like needle marks.
"You fool! I'll keel you!"
"Shut up will you!?" Uzepi shouted appearing behind him punching him in the back of his shin. The man hissed collapsing as he glared at the downed woman still bleeding profusely from the cut in her gut courtesy of his gauntlets.
"You bitch!"
"Fuck you," Uzpe said raising her pistol placing it right to his head and pulling the trigger. There was a loud fisht! As she fired, blowing out his brains in one motion as Jaune sprinted to the downed Ruby.
"Ruby!? Are you ok?!"
"I'm fine-
"Jaune?! Where is Kage?!" Mika asked as Jaune's eyes widened as he grimaced...
"Oh, fuck me!" Kage yelled moving his head to the side as a tentacle shot past. He was literally being attacked by a mob of tentacle monsters. Floating black balls that shot out tentacle that could pierce his armor and treat it like paper.
"I've seen enough porn to know where this is going." Kage drawled raising one of his added weapons the assault rifle once. Placing three shots. Braka, Braka! The weapon barked the sonic stakes slashed out cracking! The balls of the things making them fall to the floor as he smiled.
"Three down dozens to go!" Kage said before ducking back as even more of these things appeared. Floating at him in eerie silence as he sprinted down the hall.
"Fuck me, fuck me! I hope blondie is ok! I really don't want to be the leader!" Kage hissed taking a turn and seeing an out. He and Jaune were separated by these things, and now he was alone, alone but not quite dead.
"That will do," Kage said spotting what looked to be a vent, not too far from the ground.
"Better than waiting around to die!" He yelled as he slung the weapon over his back. Taking a deep breath and leaping up!
He barely caught on the end of the vent grunting in exertion as he forced his way up.
"Come on! COme on you!" He yelled pushing up yanking the bottom of the vent grunt once before he tore it off! The thing clattered to the floor as he pulled himself up.
"And they said gym never paid off." He grumbled shuffling his way into the air shaft away from the floating horrors as he did, know where that kind of porn needed and wanted to be nowhere near that. So with one and pointing a pistol forward the other covering his backside, he shuffled into the vents.
The journey into the vent's of this mad palace was not eventful thank Oum. He shuffled his ass as far into the labyrinthine set of vents as he grimaced it was far to tight for him, he was a big boy.
"Six one is good! Be a good boy! You are built like a fucking wall! Now, who's laughing?!" Kage growled barely fitting into the cold passage as he shuffled forward, his long trek of mind-numbing boredom finally ended up common to a grate.
"Finally! I'm out of here.' He hissed kicking the grate out and falling out. He landed on his feet with a heavy thud! Falling feet first as he froze.
"Oh fuck me. I had to land in the throne room didn't I?"
"Yes. Yes, you die, and might I ask why you are in my palace?" A soft oddly soothing? A feminine voice asked a Kage grimaced and slowly painfully slowly turned around. Venke Kage was not a man to scare easy. Not at all, he had seen men, women boys girls ripped apart by Grimm. He had seen people tortured, shot, executed and hacked apart hell he had even done some of that himself.
He was a soldier by trade and a killer by choice, but even he had his limits, he was only human and what stood before him terrified him.
It was a woman of that there was no doubt. A tall woman with skin that was white as chile, filled with thick red veins stood before him. Her eyes looked like red embers and glowed like coals in a furnace. Her body was shapely impossibly so curvaceous in every sense of the word with a massive bust and a perfect hourglass figure that seemed to spit in the face of physics. Her body resonated power and poise as Kage did the only thing he knew how when facing a superior enemy he raised his guns.
"Please." The woman? Said as she flicked her hand, instantly several black hands shot out of the ground removing him of his weapons sending them scattering across the floor as Kage groaned.
"Well, there goes that idea.'
"Did you think that would work?"
"I had to try."
"That you did now tell me boy what are you doing in my home?" The woman asked her voice booming with power making Kage step back as even more hands appeared out of the ground in black inky pools as he groaned.
"Oh fuck me, I should have stayed on the ship..."
"You lost him!?"
"Yes, Mika we got separated!"
"How!?"
"Tentacle monsters!"
Jaune said as he Mika and Ruby pressed on the throne room door. Kage's scroll tracker said he was inside and still alive thank Oum. His aura was up, and his vitals were good even if his heart rate was skyrocketing. Over two hundred beats a minute as Jaune sighed. Uzepi was taking a prisoner Watts? To find fuel for the Vespira that was dodging a literal dragon!? Of all things and-
"Ok! ON three we break!" Jaune said as all teens nodded as they formed up on the door Jaune in lead and Ruby on his right Mika on his left.
"You better hope nothing happened to Kage"!
"I do but less talking more acting! One, two, three!" Jaune yelled as he kicked the door to all three members or Arkham came in guns up and-
Time stopped. All three teens faces jaws dropped, weapons clattered to the ground, and a collective gasp was heard. Jaune felt his feet rooted to the ground as Ruby's jaw nearly fell off her face. Mika's eyes she tears or rage, pain, and anger as she witnessed her partner being violated. Her fist clenched into balls as she saw the jaw-dropping mind-shattering horror in front of her as the teens froze time stopped coming to a grinding crashing halt as Mika screamed...
AN: There we go! Almost there! One more chapter until the end of the first pillar! It's been over a year but here we go! Jaune and the gang have come to the see Salem in person! Kage even has a close and personal encounter with her! It's almost there! The next part ends the first pillar and then we have the start of pillar two! The Soliloquy arc! I hope you enjoy! The next fic up is The Apprentice! And it's finally an official fic so look forward to it! Until then? Omake...
Omake. Hero of Remnant volume two part three. Family matters.
"So are either of you going to tell me how the hell you are related?" Jaune asked taking another swig from his flask enjoying the Amesact that wonderfully burned his throat.
"Well, first of all, we have different moms but the same dad," Yang said the sister sitting down putting her combi melter on the table taking out her own ornate flask that had several large flames on it as she took her own hearty swig.
"Same dad? Who the hell was he?"
"Yo know who Tai-Yang is?"
"The melee specialist who killed the beasts of the Fell wall?"
"Yup! That's our dad! He met my mom first. She was the leader of the Ordo of the Bloody claw.'
"The Bloody claw!? The sister group that hates men that Bloody claw!?"
"Yup! That's the one!"
"He bedded the fucking Matriarch of the Bloody claw!? But how?!"
"Simple! He challenged her to a one of one bare-knuckle fight! If he won she married him if she won he would be her slave for a month."
"That... that seems like a real one-sided deal to be honest.'
"Yeah... my mom was kind of arrogant back in the day, she didn't think a mere man could bet her but! He has the Emperor's blessing! And he beat her within an inch of her life!"
"That... that's almost romantic? In a weird Stockholm kind of way." Jaune said choosing his words carefully eying Yang warily as she laughed loudly, tossing her hair back as she smacked the head of the table.
"Nah! Mom totally loved him! She was looking for a man to beat her in a fight!"
"She was?"
"She's really obsessed with being strong. That's why she was a Sister of battle! She wanted to find the only man brave enough to challenge her to a fight and then beat her into submission! She loves him!"
"This explains everything," Ren said his voice low and flat as Jaune nodded, his best and well only friends natural phlegmatic tone calming him somewhat as he turned to the other sister.
"And you? Tai beat your mom up before knocking a baby in her?"
"Nope! Aunt Raven got hurt in a fight with the Grimm! My mom was a general at the time, Summer Rose!"
"You are her kid?! The first female general in history is your mom?!"
"Sure is! When Yang's mom went down my mom took him inot her private quarters to comfort him! She got a bit liberal with her liquor and bang! I was born nine months later!"
"Did... did she date rape him?" Jaune asked as Ren nodded.
"It seems so, she is a child of rape."
"I... Ok... so you two are sisters?"
"The best!"
"I love her!"
"Great, now I need another drink," Jaune said taking another long swig of his flask finishing it off in one smooth motion as Ren sighed.
"Another?"
"Keep em coming Ren we have a long day ahead of us.