Ruby looked back at Yang and those that were traveling with her one last time. She was concerned that they would be well off but her concerns were valid as there was a lot riding on their shoulders. The fact that they were going to take the brunt of the assault that day and it had Ruby wondering if she made the right choice to send them out there. There wasn't a thing that she could do about it though, and now she had to live with what comes of it.
Their journey went quickly though, their progress going unhindered. Ruby was pleased with how things were going, so she decided to give everyone a break. Once everyone got settled Ren walked over to Ruby.
"Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?" Ren asked.
"Sure, what's on your mind?"
"I'm interested in getting to know the others that we are working with. Other than yourself and Miss Belladonna here, I haven't had the chance to learn about those that we shall be working with. If you don't mind giving me some of the basic info on your companions then I feel that would be most beneficial to myself," Ren stated.
"Well that seems simple enough," Ruby said as Pyrrha and Blake walked over to her. "You already know about Blake, so why don't we start with Pyrrha over here. Pyrrha is a Captain of the Sanctum Royal Guard, first female and youngest captain in the realms history."
Pyrrha nodded. "Well, it does help having opportunities that most others don't, though I try to not let my success get to my head. Success only means that the expectations are higher for the next time."
"True, though even if something should happen, as long as you give it your best, then the people will understand that even you aren't perfect," Ren stated.
"I still feel pressured at times because of it. When people put you on a pedestal, you eventually lose touch with those that put you there in the first place," Pyrrha said. Ruby swore she saw Pyrrha look hurt when she said that about herself.
"You know that we're more than willing to look at you like a normal person, especially Jaune. I don't know if you've noticed, but he seems to really like you most of all Pyrrha," Ruby said.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Pyrrha said.
Blake, who had just been listening to the conversation heard something off in the distance. She turned towards the sound and saw that there was a light shooting upwards. Not giving anyone a chance to ask her what she thought was wrong, Blake jumped up to the top of the tree line. Once she was up there, Blake looked to see that there was more movement heading towards the source of the light. Knowing just what it was, Blake jumped back down to Ruby.
"What was it Blake?" Ruby asked once Blake landed.
Blake started to walk towards their objective again, prompting everyone to continue on with her. "Yang's group must have set off a signal flare for some reason. There's something out there that's moving towards them," Blake said.
"Her group was supposed to draw the enemies attention. Maybe they realized something and had to jump into the fight," Pyrrha said.
Ren took the lead as they ran through the forest. "She's right. From what I can tell, they were doing their job and so we shouldn't worry about them. If they set it off, they would know that a fight was coming and they would prepare for it," He said.
"I guess you're right. Let's just keep moving so that they don't have to stand in the line of fire for too long," Ruby said.
They continued on their path, having managed to avoid the enemies that were drawn away from them. Eventually they came upon the ruins of an old settlement. "This place used to be overrun by Grimm," Ren said. "See these markings, the Grimm use them to mark their territory. This nest looks fresh though, almost like the creatures that were here just up and left recently."
Ruby remembered the light that they believed came from Yang. "Maybe this was why Yang telegraphed her groups presence to everything in the forest. Somehow she must have known that the Grimm were in our path," She said.
"That looks to be the case. If it were anything, I would suspect that either Sun or Weiss noticed this, maybe both of them. They would have realized this was in our path and would've taken action," Blake said.
"We should keep moving then," Ren said as he continued on. "We're getting close to the stronghold and from there we can end this job." Leading everyone on, Ren pushed further into the forest. They eventually came upon the stronghold. It wasn't that large of a hold, but it was well defended. "Be on your guard. There will be a contingent of guards here even though Yang pulled most of them towards her."
Ruby looked up and saw an open window up near the top of the structure. "Blake, toss me your weapon. Pyrrha, send me flying up there," Ruby said to her companions. Blake pulled out Gambrol Shroud and converted it into it's pistol form, handing the weapon off to Ruby while keeping the line of Ribbon with her. Once Ruby was ready, Pyrrha threw Ruby up towards the window in question with her semblance.
Ruby went soaring through the window. Upon entry, she noticed two guards standing there and shot them down. "Well so much for a quiet entrance," She said as she walked towards the window. Nodding to Blake, she made sure that she had a good grip on Gambrol Shroud and waited as Pyrrha and Ren climbed their way up to her. Some of the White Fang members decided to check out the gunshots they heard and they came up to see Pyrrha just climbing in through the window.
"Stop right there!" One of them said as they drew their weapons.
Pyrrha immediately sprung into action. She launched herself into the room, drawing Milo and Akouo from her back. Rolling under the first swing, she brought her shield up into the gut of the first guard. She spun around and swept the legs out of the other and brought her blade down into his chest. Pulling it out, the hilt of Milo came down on the back of the first guards head.
Blake had finally gotten up to the room when Pyrrha finished fighting. "Well that was easy," Blake said as Ruby returned Gambrol Shroud to her.
"This was only the first wave, it'll only get worse from here out until we finish the fight," Pyrrha said. "Keep your weapons ready at all times, we don't know when someone will pop up out of nowhere." Right as she said that, the door opened again and more White Fang guards showed up. This time Ren jumped into action, spinning in a circle like a top and slicing at the men who had just came in. "Like that."
"We need to keep moving," Ruby said, pulling out Crescent Rose and leaving it as a sniper rifle. Having her weapon as a scythe was only going to get her companions hurt. Ruby took charge and led them through the halls of the stronghold, searching for the man in charge. As they charged through, they fought off anyone in their way. The resistance thrown at them was growing stronger and stronger.
Blake realized that there were guards coming from down the hall that they currently were at and she called for everyone to stop. Climbing up to the roof, she readied her weapon and waited for the guards to appear right underneath her. Once they were, she dropped down in the middle of them and slashed at the guards that were immediately around her. Pulling the katana out of it's sheath, Blake jumped towards the guards and swiped at them one by one until they were all on the ground.
"Nice touch, figured they would have gotten the jump on us because of the fact that they're Faunus. They have the advantage of enhanced senses," Ren said.
Blake sheathed her katana and rested Gambrol Shroud on her back. "It's not an advantage when both sides have it," Blake said as a grin crossed her face. "Take that as you will."
Ren could tell exactly what Blake was saying. "Glad to hear that then."
They continued to push through the stronghold, each of them taking turns at fighting the forces in their way. Ruby knew it would be beneficial to them because it allowed her team to rest often and conserve their energy. Soon enough, they came upon where the man in charge was staying. Blake called them to a stop, silently alerting them to the presence in the room. Ruby and Blake stood along the wall next to the door, with Pyrrha and Ren on the wall next to the other side.
Pyrrha stood next to the handle, her shield out and ready for action. She kept one hand on the handle and the other readying her defense for when they charged the room. Pyrrha looked up to Ruby as she nodded, giving Pyrrha the signal to open the door and enter the room. Pyrrha took a deep breath and cleared her mind. With a swift motion, she opened the door and burst into the room.
Once she moved in, a hailstorm of gunfire came in her direction. Her shield protected her from most of the fire, but the amount of fire sent towards her did make it's mark. A few shots managed to fly past the shield and leave only her aura to protect her. One of the bullets pierced past her aura and grazed her leg, forcing the sentinel to drop to her knee when she felt the shot hit her.
Ruby, Blake and Ren came in right as Pyrrha got hit and they opened fire on the White Fang guards in the room, dropping them quickly. Blake looked around to try and find the man in charge, noticing a person run towards the window in an attempt to escape. She recognized the man immediately, taking note of the black coat and black pants the man wore. His reddish-brown hair and bull horns caused Blake to freeze up. She didn't need to see the mask the man wore to know exactly who it was that was running away.
Ruby looked over to where Blake's gaze was focused and she shot at the man who was running. He looked back before jumping out the window. Once he jumped out the window, Blake finally moved again. She ran towards the window that the man jumped from and stared down at the ground beneath it. She saw the man running into the forest away from the stronghold with the few remaining guards closing in behind him.
As Blake looked out at where the man ran off to, Ruby and Ren went over to check on Pyrrha. "How bad is it?" Ruby asked.
"Just a grazed shot, nothing major. When we get back to the Vacuo I'll have it looked at by the doctors. Till then just need to wrap it up," Pyrrha said as she took a cloth from her waist and wrapped it around her leg where the shot hit, covering her injury to prevent it from getting worse.
Ren helped her stand up and waited to see if she could walk normally. When she winced after putting pressure onto her leg, Ren helped keep her upright. After a few moments, Pyrrha finally felt able to stand up on her own. "We should take our time getting back to Vacuo so that we don't make that wound any worse than it is. You may feel fine now, but that still needs to be looked at as soon as possible.
"Does that mean we're done here?" Ruby asked Ren.
"I believe so," Ren said after a moment to think things over.
"Their leader ran off and any remaining guards here went with him," Blake said as she walked over to join the conversation. "There's no point in sticking around because they realize that this stronghold is a lost cause. The White Fang isn't reckless and they wouldn't risk the manpower to take this stronghold back."
"Very well then," Ruby said. "We'll head back to Vacuo and meet with the King to inform him of the victory. Let's get moving then."
As Ruby led Pyrrha, Blake and Ren out of the stronghold, Blake's mind was pondering what was occurring. 'Adam, just what are you up to exactly?'
AN: So this is another chapter that hasn't been edited, though after seeing all of the changes that were made so far on my writing, I'm starting to just include them into the story anyway. In any case, it matters not.
These stories (Of Roses and Dragons/Burning Rose) have been the stories that have gotten the lowest support for me so far, but honestly I don't mind because it's still an enjoyable series for me to write. I hope it get's bigger than what it is now, but I'm not going to be surprised if this is where it stays at for a while.
Anyway what I'm trying to get at is, to those of you who follow this story and leave reviews on what you think of it, thank you. Thank you for being awesome people that make me want to just keep on writing. I hope you enjoyed this chapter of Burning Rose.