Hello there my faithful viewer's. First off, I would just like to thank those that left their reviews for the last chapter. It's good to see that you all enjoyed the chapter as much as I did writing it. Also to Harbinger the Reaper, god I hope that's how you say it, I thank you for sending me your idea's. I appreciate the idea, however, I am unlikely to use it I'm afraid. The story is technically already written down plot wise and it's just a matter of writing it up now. No offence intended of course. Now onto the questions, just the one from 'guest2' asking if RWBY will get their own armour. No, as I believe that it would make sense for them not to have armour both plot and lore wise. Now, on with the show!
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Chapter 9- Hunter: Hunted
Blake ran as fast as her legs would allow her, ducking beneath low hanging branches and jumping over small rocks. She could hear behind her the pounding footsteps and they were getting closer. It had been nearly half an hour since she left the city and evaded the pirates. She had at one point nearly been spotted by another group of armoured individuals fixing a Jeep. She didn't know who they were, but theorised they were most likely scavengers attempting to make a profit out of the misfortune of others. It was people like them that made her sick.
A guttural roar echoed throughout the forest, the footsteps getting louder. The thing was almost upon her, she had to move quickly. As she continued to run, her foot snagged on a hidden tree root, toppling her over with an audible thud. She quickly pushed herself up and turned. The beast came crashing through the terrain and stopped just mere metres from her, saliva drooling from its gaping maw.
It was reptilian in nature, its forest green scales shimmering in the light. A large horned head roughly the size of Blake's body sat at the end of a short neck, yellow eyes gazing at her with malicious intent. A set of pale yellow teeth protruded from it's mouth, some stained with blood, with the top front teeth sticking out when the beasts jaws closed. Long arms supported it's front half, ending with a three toed foot with dagger like claws at the end. Two digitigrade legs supported it's hind quarters with a spiked elongated tail swayed like a serpent behind it. Blake had seen one of these things when she first came across the city, but that one was a runt in comparison. This one had to have been the size of an Ursa Major, if not bigger!
She quickly drew Gambol Shroud, the weapon shifting into its pistol form, and let out three bursts aimed directly at the creatures head. The bullets bounced harmlessly off it's skull, causing it to shake it's head in frustration as it roared back. It's body began to tense, as Blake realised it was preparing to pounce. The beast lunged at her, maw gaping open large enough for it to grasp her, but far to small for her to place a shot there. As the beast was mere inches from her, Blake activated her semblance, rolling backwards as the Shadow Clone took the hit for her. As the beast landed, it began to furiously shake its head, believing it had caught it's prey. It took it a second later to realise it had been duped, enough time for Blake to flee.
She could hear the creature gaining on her again, and she was sure it wouldn't fall for the same trick again. She continued to run, never once looking back, the beast still gaining on her. Her mind was so focused on escaping, she nearly fell into the ravine in front of her, only barely able to stop in time. The bottom was too dark to see, meaning jumping into it was not an option. Turning back was also not an option, the beast now getting closer and closer. She steadied herself and gazed to the other side. The distance was massive, but perhaps she could make it across. She breathed deeply and tensed her legs. The foliage behind her snapped as the creature came crashing through, mere inches from her back.
She ran forward and jumped, the beast lunging at her as it snapped it's jaws shut. Blake held her arms out in an attempt to propel herself forward. She could hear the sound of claws grinding against stone behind her, alongside a panicked wail. Her hand grasped for the edge of the rock, her grip tightening as she felt the cold stone touch the palm of her hand. Using her free hand, she pushed herself up, until she had enough purchase on the rock face to pull the rest of her body onto the flat surface. She looked back and saw that the creature had only just managed to stop itself, the tips of it's pitch black claws hanging over the edge of the ravine. The beast glared at her, before turning tail and leaving in search of easier prey. Blake let out a sigh of relief, turning in search of civilisation but more importantly, put more distance between her and the Pirates.
Seconds turned to minutes and minutes turned to hours as Blake continued to wade through the forest, the only sign of life being the occasional bird or insect. Blake stopped in her tracks and lowered into a crouch, taking a short break before continuing. It had been nearly a day since she had last eaten or drank anything. She had to find something quickly or else starve to death. As she rose, she heard a branch snap. She stopped and surveyed the forest. The foliage made it nearly impossible to spot anything, she had to rely solely on her advanced hearing. She began to move forward, still looking for whatever could have made the noise…
BANG!
The bullet flew past her, the round mere millimetres from her nose. She quickly took cover behind a tree as another shot fired behind her. She steadied her breathing and edged closer to the edge of her cover. She gazed out and saw movement in the foliage, edging closer to her. She saw the unmistakeable barrel of a Sniper Rifle, but what horrified her was the one who wielded it. They wore steel grey armour with a sage trim, another rifle strapped to their back and a pistol holstered to his right leg. Bulky armour covered them from head to toe, but was still small enough to provide flexibility. But the most distinguishable feature was his helmet, shaped like a skull with a large 'X' on the front of it. Locus.
Blake held her breath in an attempt to calm herself and began to analyse the situation in her head. As long as he had the Sniper Rifle and stayed in cover, he had the advantage. She had to draw him out and disarm him if she wanted to even the odds. She unsheathed Gambol Shroud, activating the katana form, and swayed the blade in the ground in front of her, making sure to make as much noise as possible. She held her back against the tree and waited. Locus was quiet, there was no denying that, but she could slightly hear him approaching, the footsteps getting louder. She looked either side to ensure he wasn't circling and continued to wait.
She could see the end of the rifle now to her right, and she continued to wait until a good portion of it was visible. She brought Gambol Shroud down, the hilt locking itself onto the barrel as another shot fired. She revealed herself as Locus raised the rifle again, Blake swatting the rifle with the flat of her blade, wasting another one of Locus' shots. She then raised Gambol Shroud over her head, ready to swing it down as Locus raised the rifle in defence. Gambol Shroud sliced through the rifle like a hot knife through butter, staggering Locus back as he held the cleaved ends of the rifle in both hands. She readied herself to deliver an upper-cut in order to knock him off his feet.
WHACK!
Blake keeled over as she felt a long, metal pole hit her in the gut. She felt the item hit her in the head, staggering her and blurring her vision. Her eyesight readjusted as she saw Locus using the severed barrel of the Sniper Rifle like a bat. He then delivered an uppercut, knocking Blake off her feet and sending her flying backwards. Blake shook her head and rose up from the ground, her clothing stained with mud. She had to admit that Locus was resourceful, much to her annoyance. As she readied herself, Locus threw the end of the rifle at Blake, in a manner similar to a throwing knife. Blake parried the blow with ease, confusion entering her mind as to why he would discard the weapon so carelessly.
As she turned to face him, her face dropped slightly as Locus pulled out the rifle strapped to his back. The weapon was similar in design to a Tommy-Gun, and it was aimed straight at her. Locus pulled the trigger and a torrent of bullets erupted at her. Blake barely had enough time to move was the bullets obliterated everything they hit. She took cover behind a tree, the rifle quickly reducing the front of it to splinters. Blake waited the hail of bullets out, knowing a weapon with an ammo clip that size would take a long time to reload.
She heard a clicking noise, signalling the weapon was out, and she broke cover and charged. Locus was quick with his reloading, but Blake was quicker. She kicked the weapon out of his hands, sending it spiralling into a nearby bush. She then followed through with a roundhouse kick, staggering Locus back further. She raised Gambol Shroud to deliver an overhead slice, but Locus caught her wrist mid-air, tightening his grip in an attempt to cause pain. Blake swung at his head with her left hand, but Locus once again caught the fist. He then drew his head back and head-butted Blake, letting go of her as he did so. Blake staggered back, dazed, dropping Gambol Shroud in the process which Locus quickly kicked aside before kicking her in the gut, sending her flying backwards.
"Weak and undisciplined, I expected more from you..." Locus admitted, shaking his head in disappointment.
"I think you'll find I'm full of surprises!" Blake spat back, raising her fists and entering a combat stance.
"We'll see..." Locus replied, before lunging forward with an upraised fist.
Blake quickly parried the blow and delivered a punch of her own, causing Locus to stagger back and spin around in slight surprise. Locus swung forward with both arms, grasping Blake by her head and kneeing her in the forehead, causing her to yelp in pain and staggering her slightly. Locus swung his right fist forward, Blake only just managing to block the blow with her left arm. Locus threw another punch with his left arm before following through his right arm again, both punches being parried by Blake. Locus then thrust both fists forward, hitting Blake in the gut and stunning her before swinging with his left fist, punching Blake in the face and following through with a kick to her chest, staggering her.
Blake shook her head and charged Locus again. She kicked at Locus with her left leg, both blows easily parried by Locus. She swung with her right leg, but was caught off guard when Locus grabbed her leg, pinning it to his left side. As Blake tried to free her leg, Locus grabbed her by the throat and threw her over his shoulder, sending her crashing into the dirt. Locus raised his foot to deliver a curb stomp and finish it. Blake quickly rolled to her right, Locus' foot hitting the floor, sending sand and dirt into the air. Blake delivered a roundhouse kick as she rolled, knocking Locus to the ground.
Blake rose up and wearily raised her fists. She was no specialist when it came to hand to hand combat, that was Yang's speciality. Not to mention the weight of his armour was making his hits harder than normal. If she wanted a fighting chance, she needed her weapon. Something bright caught the corner of her eye and she turned, a look of relief on her face as she spotted the source of the light. Gambol Shroud laid there, half covered in dirt, only a few feet from her. She quickly rolled forward, grasping the handle of the blade as Locus began to rise.
She fired the blade's ribbon at Locus, wrapping around his waist, causing him to look in confusion. She then thrust the blade to the right, the ribbon sending Locus flying with it into a nearby tree, causing him to grunt in pain. She then thrust it to the left, Locus flying towards another tree with an audible crack. The blades ribbon uncurled itself from his waist as Blake waited for Locus to make his move.
Locus began to slowly rise, shaking his head to relieve the pain. He turned and slammed his fist into the palm of his hand, cracking his knuckles as he did so.
"Enough games, it's time to end this!" Locus seethed, as he balled his hands into fists and readied himself.
Blake swung once again with the ribbon, the ribbon reaching out to grasp Locus once again. Locus raised his right arm and allowed the ribbon to wrap around his forearm. Blake was caught off guard by the irrational move, attempting to understand what Locus was thinking. Grasping the rest of the ribbon with his left hand, he pulled sharply. Blake staggered forward, her iron like grip on Gambol Shroud forcing her to follow the pull. Locus then clasped both hands together and delivered an uppercut to Blake, sending her flying and forcing her to let go of Gambol Shroud.
Blake began to rise slowly, her vision blurred. As she rose, she could taste a blood in her mouth. Her aura must have been wavering before the fight even began and now it was completely broken. She knew the next hit Locus threw would be a finisher, she had to make sure that wasn't the case.
Locus flung the weapon forward like a flail, the ribbon still wrapped around his forearm. Blake barely managed to dodge the blow as her precious weapon pierced the dirt, before Locus flung it yet again. This time, the blade pierced a tree, jamming into the wood. Locus attempted to pull the blade free, but the blade wouldn't budge. Blake grasped the blades handle, clicking the button that allowed Gambol Shroud's ribbon to extend. The ribbon zipped forward, dragging Locus along with it. He grunted as he relinquished his grip on the ribbon and rolled forward. As he lifted his head he saw Blake standing in front of him, Gambol Shroud at the ready.
Locus charged forward and swung a single, powerful punch at Blake, but staggered forward as his fist passed through thin air. He turned and saw Blake's form disappear into nothingness. Locus raised his arms and scanned the area, the real Blake had to be near here somewhere. As he continued to search, a single leaf fell in front of him. Startled, Locus watched as the leaf fell to the floor, where it was joined by more. Locus looked up, just as Blake's boot hit him square on the chin.
Locus fell backwards with a thud, Blake having landed on top of him with her knee placed firmly on his chest. As Locus regained his senses, Blake batted him with the flat of Gambol Shroud, causing him to let out a pained yelp as he became more sluggish in his movements.
Blake knew that Locus would recover fast, so she jumped off and ran with what energy she had left. She could hear the sound of rushing water ahead of her. She could use it to her advantage and put further distance between her and-
BANG!
Blake stopped as she felt a white hot pain run through her right leg. She looked down as she saw a crimson river gush down her right leg. Blood, her blood! She turned and saw Locus, pistol in his hand, the barrel of the gun smoking. She attempted move forward, but the pain in her leg caused her to scream out and stumble. She tried to drag herself forward, but felt a hand drag her back by her right foot, causing her to cry out yet again. Locus then knelt down next to her, the pistol aimed at her head.
"I must admit, you've impressed me." Locus said, causing Blake to weakly lift her head. "But you just weren't good enough."
Locus then grabbed her by the head and lifted her up slightly, so she was staring directly at him.
"Torchwick told me everything about you and your friends," Locus continued, before he grasped hold of her bow, placing pressure where her cat ears were hidden. "Everything!" he finished, thrusting her head down into the dirt, the left side of her face still visible as he relinquished his grip and rose to full height.
"When I heard about you, I was impressed to say the least. You were so much more than what you are now. You were a soldier, someone who would follow orders regardless of the outcome." Locus continued, before he began to shake his head. "And then you threw it all away. For what? A better life? An easier one?"
Locus then aimed the pistol at Blake's head as his finger went for the trigger.
"Once, you and I were the same. We were soldiers. But I see now that whilst I'm still a soldier, you are nothing but a coward!"
Blake closed her eyes as she awaited the eventual darkness that edged ever closer.
"Funny," a new voice announced, startling both Locus and Blake. Both turned to the right and saw a new soldier watching, a rifle in his hand. "I was just about to say the same thing."
"Washington!" Locus seethed, his attention turned to the new individual. Washington fired three bursts from his rifle, Locus rolling out of the way before returning fire. Washington ducked the shots and fired again, the shot knocking the pistol out of Locus' hand causing him to grunt in both pain and surprise. Locus rolled into the nearby foliage, activating his Active Camouflage unit in the process. Washington ran forward and grasped hold of Blake's shoulder, causing her to turn his way, a look of surprise on her face.
"This way!" Washington shouted, helping Blake up and supporting the right side of her body as she limped forward. Washington turned and saw Locus deactivating his camouflage unit, a SAW in hand. "Quickly!" Washington shouted again as a torrent of bullets hailed around him. He was glad for the distance between him and Locus. The SAW was lethal at close range, but it's accuracy greatly diminished as the distance increased.
"There's a river this way!" Blake managed to say, nearly passing out from the pain. Washington followed Blake's hand gestures, Locus still approaching and loading a fresh magazine into the SAW. The two continued to move until they came to the edge of a precipice, a shallow river at the bottom.
"If it's not a car, it's a cliff!" Washington murmured. Blake looked down over the edge, the river was far too shallow to jump down safely and even if they could make it down safely, it would be more of a hindrance than an aid.
Locus was approaching faster now, the foliage around them had offered them some cover but it would only be a matter of time until he could get a clean shot.
Washington strapped the rifle to his back and pulled out a small black box with orange lights dancing around it.
"Hold on!" Washington ordered, causing Blake to grip his body tightly. Washington jumped off the edge as Locus came upon them, bullets flying over their heads. Blake forced her eyes shut, not wanting to see the outcome of their fall. Suddenly, she felt a warm sensation throughout her body. She opened her eyes, and saw orange electricity arcing around her before an orange light engulfed them both.
Locus looked over the edge, watching as Blake and Washington were consumed by the energy of the teleportation cube.
"Unfortunate..." Locus sighed, before he activated his own cube, teleporting back to the Pirates base.
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Blake saw nothing but orange for a few seconds, still clutching onto Washington's waist out of fear of what would happen if she let go. Then, the light was replaced by that of a city and both her and Washington landed on the floor with a light thud.
"OH MY GOD! WASH BROUGHT BACK A CAT!" a child-like voice shouted. Blake turned and found herself staring at a group of individuals in similar armour to Washington, three of which she recognised from the ruins.
"Caboose, it's a person, not a fucking Puma!" Tucker said, turning to face Caboose as he spoke.
"A what?" Sarge queried, turning to face Tucker.
"It's a big cat!" Tucker replied, turning his attention to Sarge.
"You're making that up!" Sarge said after a brief silence, causing Tucker to groan.
"But look at her head! They have cat ears!" Caboose continued, pointing at the top of Blake's head.
"Yeah, it's called a bow moron." Grif replied, shaking his head in disbelief.
Blake watched in slight confusion at the bickering group before turning to Washington.
"Who are you people?" Blake finally managed to say, causing Washington to turn towards her.
"BLAKE! YOU'RE ALIVE!" a familiar voice shouted.
Blake turned and was nearly knocked off her feet by Ruby, who gripped her in a bear hug that could rival one of Yang's. Blake laughed to herself as Ruby continued to hug her, who was followed quickly by Yang and Weiss, both of which had smiles plastered on their faces.
"Looks like the gangs all back together!" Yang announced, the smile still present.
"Oh hey look, she brought Kool Aid with her!" Caboose said, staring at Blake's lower half.
The huntresses stared down and nearly gasped in shock. Blake looked down and saw her right leg was nearly caked in blood. Her head suddenly felt light and her vision began to blur rapidly as she strained to hear Ruby.
"Blake, what happened?!" Ruby asked, panic in her eyes.
"Long story..." Blake muttered, before she fell over and saw nothing but darkness…
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Dun dun dun! Another chapter complete! Sorry that it was shorter than the last chapter, but I hope the fight scene more than compensated for that. Just a bit more news before I properly finish, I said in the last chapter that I had started production on another fan-fic. I have decided to put the story on hold until after RWBY volume three is finished, the main reasons being to see how the series ends and how much further Pyrrha will develop as a character. In the meantime however, I am working on another fic that takes place before these events transpire so expect another story soonish. Finally, I'm thinking of making a cover for this story and I was wondering what you guys believe would make a good cover. As always, please leave a review and constructive criticism is always welcome. If you have any questions, PM me or leave them in your reviews.
Raging Archon out!