The Shadow of Fire
Chapter 15: Checkmate
Weiss and Ruby stood outside the command room to Saturn's Flagship, both of their weapons drawn, ready for combat. Even with all the minor confrontations with the drone squads on their way to the room, the pair of heiress and Faunus both had plenty of strength left for battle.
"Ruby. We're almost done. We have him cornered." Weiss said eagerly, flashing a wild and wicked grin at the wolf before her.
Ruby nodded slowly, a look of worry and determination in her eyes as she looked into Weiss's icy blue orbs.
"You know we can't let him escape Weiss..." Ruby stated bluntly, reloading Crescent Rose with the little ammunition she had left.
"We won't let him. We can stop him." Weiss replied to her girlfriends tone, looking into her mini purse for any Dust bottles, only finding a little bit of light blue. "I'm running very low on Dust."
"Yeah, I have about three or four shots left in my magazine, I guess we wasted a lot more on those security and spider drones." Ruby said simply, dropping an empty red magazine on the floor.
"Don't worry. We have enough, we can win. We will win."
"You know as well as I know that's not true." Ruby said calmly, frowning slightly. "You know we can't let him escape. We need to truly end this. By any means necessary."
Weiss frowned for a moment before a scary thought came to her mind. "No. No no no no! We are not doing that!" Weiss nearly shouted at the Faunus.
"We have to. They will understand. It's the only way to make sure he dies."
"But..." Weiss somehow managed to make out without stuttering. "If we do that... You know what will happen to us..."
"I know... I'm sorry Weiss. But we both know it's the only way." Ruby argued back, her ears flattening down on her mound of red and black hair. "I've just accepted it faster than you."
Weiss's words were caught in her throat as she tried to argue back. This couldn't be the only way out of this, it can't, there has to be another way!
But there wasn't. And Weiss knew what she had to do.
Weiss reached up to her black earpiece, turning the small device on. Immediately, sounds of explosions and gunfire blasted into Weiss's ear, causing her to flinch slightly.
"Professor Port! Can you hear me?!" Weiss nearly shouted into the device, hoping that the axe wielding man was still alive after the bombardment throughout the last thirty minutes.
"Miss Schnee? Is that you? Oh thank God you're okay!" Ports rather stern yet worried voice came from the other end of the earpiece. "What is your status?!"
"We are green sir! Ruby and I are right outside the command room to the ship! We are about to move in." Weiss replied, looking over at Ruby.
"Excellent! Headmaster Ozpin has just woken up! I'll have Luna scan the ship for any escape pods for evacuation! Just get that pilot taken care of so you can get home!"
"No sir."
"Excuse me?" Port asked after a moment of silence, confusion covering his voice.
"Port, I need you to do something for me." Weiss began, locking eyes with Ruby, who nodded slowly. "If you hear anyone say the word "Checkmate," you will have Headmaster Ozpin fire ALL cannons on the belly of this ship. That includes The Rune! Confirm!"
"..." Port said nothing in response, a few seconds passed before he answered Weiss's demand.
"I-I'm sorry Miss Schnee, it sounded like you said-"
"You heard me sir! On "Checkmate," hit this ship!" And with that, Weiss jammed her index finger on to the power button of the device, shutting off professor Ports cry's for her to reconsider.
But if Ruby wouldn't reconsider, Weiss wouldn't.
Ruby gave a small nod at Weiss as her grip tightened on Crescent Rose. "No matter what happens Weiss... I will always love you." She said as calm as she could, her tail wiggling around slightly, a look of truth in her eyes.
"Same to you Ruby, same to you." Weiss replied, smiling slightly at her partner. "One." Weiss said, looking towards the steel door.
"Two." Ruby continued for Weiss, chambering a round for her sniper scythe.
"Three!" The duo shouted, kicking in the steel door.
The command center of the flagship was very large, that is if it was compared to another cruiser. However, this one was outfitted differently, almost specifically made just for the pilot. Black and crimson colors made up the interior of the room, large steel grey strips running down the walls as well. Several tables were set up around the room, each with a vast array of computers, buttons, dials and many other mechanical devices. At the center of the chamber stood a large oak wooden table, three chairs made of the same material surrounded the table upon a large circular black rug. Two of the wooden chairs stood alone, lacking a person to sit in them. However, the one across the table held a tall man, wearing a black outfit with a red Santa hat, one eye tightly closed.
Saturn.
Weiss's grip tightened on Myrtenaster, ready to slice the man where he sat, and finally quell her revenge.
"Weiss Schnee, it's quite the pleasure to meet you after all the trouble you caused my organization. My name is Saturn Laos, and your time is now at an end." The elder man said abruptly, smiling slightly in his delivery. He placed his hands on the table, seeming to relax in his chair.
Weiss scanned the man up and down as he just sat there. The first thing she noticed was the lack of weaponry in the command center. Out from the corner of her eye Weiss could spot the man's weapons, his sniper and pistol were laying in a nice pile outside on the balcony. This seemed to be giving the duo an edge, but Weiss knew the man was hiding something.
"I wouldn't be too sure Saturn, we've got you cornered. There's no escaping." Weiss said with a slight growl, rivaling Ruby's' own.
"Come now Miss Schnee, learn to relax a little. You're just like your father, calm, cool, and collected. But at the same time very deadly." Saturn stated, looking over at Ruby. "So you were the one I shot all those days ago... are you feeling better?" He asked calmly, nearly friendly. Weiss could have sworn that his question was genuine, actual concern in his voice as he spoke.
"Better now." Ruby growled at the man, pointing Crescent Rose at him. "I'll be better once you're dead."
"Why so serious you two?" Saturn asked, spreading his arms dramatically in the air. "Can't we just learn to forgive and forget?"
"That's not an option." Weiss stated, pointing her rapier at the crime lord before her.
"Well, if that truly is the case, couldn't you stay for a nice drink before you attempt to kill me?" Saturn asked nicely, reaching under the table, pulling up a tray of several white tea cups. "I am told that this tea is made from very special herbs, soothes the soul." He said loudly, pouring a bit into each cup.
"What kind of trick is this?" Weiss asked, slowly lowering Myrtenaster.
"No tricks, just tea." He said, taking a sip of his own. "Ah, that's very good."
Ruby lowered Crescent Rose a tad, a look of confusion adorned her face. How could this man be a crime lord? He's normal enough.
"Come now, don't be shy you two. We can kill each other later." Saturn said, gesturing the two forward with his free hand. "It's nice and warm compared to this cold ship."
Weiss and Ruby hesitantly sat down at the oak table, placing their weapons to the side in case Saturn had anything planned.
"Now that we are all nice and calm, can I interests you girls in anything to eat? Apples? Oranges? Crackers?" He asked, pulling an apple from under the table.
"No." Both girls said at the same time, eyes narrowing at the elder man as he bit into the apple.
"Suit yourself." He said simply, tossing the apple across the room after only two bites.
"Why are you doing this?" Weiss asked, glaring at the crime lord.
"Being nice? Oh it's a custom for up close encounters. I like to kill from a distance, but when I get up and close to my targets, I like to strike conversation. Makes it much more exciting to kill you later on." He said rather happily, as if he already knew the outcome of the two on one battle.
"There is no way that's happening." Weiss said, sipping a bit of tea, her throat parched after the long battle prior to entering the room. "We have the advantage."
"Ah yes... Orion was it?" He asked, cracking his knuckles loudly. "I'm highly certain that he won't come and help you two this time. He has a habit of appearing to help one minute, then disappearing for a long time." He said simply, shrugging his shoulders. "So I guess it's just you two against me."
"Are you done with your little tea so we can get this show on the road?" Ruby hissed out, flashing her sharpened teeth at the sniper.
"Of course. You're both very energetic girls! My my, I will need a minute to stretch out before we fight thought." Saturn said, standing up slowly, the duo of girls jumping up as well with their weapons drawn.
"No you won't." Ruby said, aiming Crescent Roses blade at the man, ready to fire a shot.
"Oh, now that isn't fair." He said rather sadly, cracking his neck. "Well then. I guess I won't play fair either."
Saturn tightly closed his good eye, leaving him blind to the duo of Huntresses before him. Before the pair could attack, Saturn's Aura began to flare around him, the black, dark energy expelling like an uncontrollable fire. Saturn's good eye flung open, glowing a dark black color. The black fire that was his Aura began forming into two different lines, snaking around his body. The two lines of fire slithered around, eventually reaching his shoulders. The two separate fire snakes seemed to connect themselves to his shoulders, rising up into the air. The ends of both suddenly began glowing a darker color of black, forming a pair of solid, yet misty hands.
"I call them Guardians, a rare Semblance, only two users recorded in known history." Saturn boasted, Ruby and Weiss taking a step back from the man and his powerful Aura. "They are physical, but feel no pain. The perfect weapon." He stated, pulling two golden pens from his pants pocket. Saturn clicked both ends of the pens, both elongating themselves into a pair of golden katanas. Saturn spun the weapons in his human hands before tossing them up in the air, the Aura generated Guardians catching them.
"Today my blades tastes the blood of a Schnee!" Saturn announced, pointing the blades at the pair. "En garde!"
Ruby was the first to react, letting loose a harsh bark before racing forward at impossible speeds, fueled by her rage towards the man before her. Ruby brought Crescent Rose down at the man's head, prepared to slice directly through him with the blade.
Saturn caught Crescent Rose with the two golden katanas, holding them in an X, containing and stopping the blow from the massive scythe. Ruby's speed suddenly stopped, causing her to stand in utter awe that he could deflect a blow that powerful and fast with little effort. Ruby's eyes met Saturn, who gave a harsh, twisted smile in return, hitting the girl in the stomach with a savage punch. Ruby was knocked across the room, slamming into the oak table, which proceeded to cave in and break into pieces.
Weiss hissed at the man before her, who was currently laughing at the pair.
"Guardians are like a second mind, they can react quickly." He stated, cracking his knuckles once more. "Your turn, Schnee!" He welcomed, gesturing her forward.
Weiss flicked her wrist forward, generating an array of white Glyphs across the room, along the ground and in the air. Weiss race forward with her rapier at the ready, jumping on to one of the many Glyphs, soaring into another, and another, and on and on and on, each movements meant to distract and confuse Saturn and his strange Semblance until a moment to strike presented itself.
Saturn's good eye followed the Schnee as she flew across the room in random directions, fading in and out of view a few time due to the lack of sight in his left eye. The man focused his Aura more into his Guardians, causing the weapons to begin focusing on the left side of his body.
Weiss, spotting the change in defense, shot to the right at quick speeds, generating a Glyph that shot her forward into his weakened area. Her rapier was positioned to spear the man, possibly damage a vital organ in the process.
Saturn had been accounting for this, sending a specially kept reserved amount of Aura into his left hand. As the rapier was within spearing range, Saturn brought his hand up, catching the blade in his hand. Weiss wore a look similar to Ruby's just a few minutes ago, the look of absolute confusion. No person could possess so much Aura at one time.
Saturn laughed loudly, bringing this twin katanas down on the Schnee. Weiss reacted quickly, spawning two small Glyphs above her head to deflect the blow. The katanas were jolted back due to the surprise collision with the Glyphs, causing Saturn to stumble back, releasing Myrtenaster in the process.
Weiss went to slice at Saturn when a battle cry came from the side. Ruby appeared from thin air, bringing Crescent Rose down on the man before Weiss could.
One of the Guardians move to block the blow, holding Crescent Rose in place with the katana, locked in a desperate struggle to stop the girl from bringing the scythe down on its master. Weiss took this as an opportunity to attack. However, as Myrtenaster would close in for the kill, the other katana would deflect the blow, forcing Weiss to jump back and attack again.
"My my, you two sure have a lot of energy and stamina." Saturn said in a calm tone, forcing Ruby back a few inches. "As do I."
Saturn deflected another blow from Myrtenaster, this time jabbing the hilt of the blade into Weiss's stomach. Weiss fell to her knees in pain, Myrtenaster falling from her grip. As the blade fell, the dust chamber spun to black, causing the blade to fire a blast of dark matter and energy at one of the nearby windows. The glass shattered into a massive explosion, the wind from outside causing papers to fly around in the air and out the newly formed exit.
Saturn glared down at Weiss, who was currently holding her stomach to catch a breath of air, kicking her in the side. Weiss let out a painful cry as she rolled on to her side a few feet away, still clutching her sides in pain. The crime lord directed his second, and now free, Guardian to defend against Ruby's scythe, forcing her back even farther. With his free human hands, Saturn plucked Myrtenaster from the floor, weighing the silver blade in his hands.
"Remarkable piece of technology." Saturn said out loud, giving a few test swings before looking out at the broken window. "Let's see if it can fly."
And with that, Saturn held Myrtenaster's handle like a javelin and threw it in the direction of the open window. Myrtenaster soared across the room before exiting the chamber, falling towards the earth below.
"Ah, I guess it can't." Saturn said simply, turning his attention to Ruby, who let out a mild hiss in anger.
Saturn raised an eyebrow at the younger girl, scanning her determined expression which adorned her pale-ish face. "So unlike regular humans or Faunus, you gain more stamina as you fight rather than lose it." He stated, making a note of that in the back of his mind. "You could have been much better suited for crime than a Huntress." He added on, forcing the blades down more on Ruby. Ruby's feet suddenly gave way due to the pressure, sliding down to the floor with her scythe.
Saturn lifted the girl up by her hood before throwing her across the room into an array of computers, all set on a group of tables. The Faunus groaned loudly as a few drops of blood began dripping from her jaw and lips.
"Does Beacon train you two at all?" Saturn asked to the pair of wounded students, cracking his knuckles. "Perhaps your friends, who were they again? Blake and Yang, was it? Perhaps they could have put up a better fight than you two." He finished, looking down at the battle below as a kinetic rod blew up a chunk of the main library. "I bet they were killed not too long ago. Kinetic rods are such magnificent weapons."
Weiss slowly reached into her dress pocket as Saturn rambled on about White Fang technology, searching for any Dust that she could have forgotten about. Her slender fingers touched a small, long, metallic object and pulled it out. Within her palm was a silver sniper round, spent already from the café incident. Weiss snapped the object in two, a small amount of icy blue Dust poured into her pale palms.
This tiny amount of Dust could mean the difference between life and death for the pair, and Weiss knew this more than anyone.
Weiss forced her mind away from the pain throughout her body and rushed Saturn, jabbing her right hand as a fist into his stomach.
The elder man gave a small grunt but didn't move an inch. Instead he brought down one of his katanas on the girl.
Weiss had been hoping for that, diving under the blade and throwing the small amount of icy blue Dust up at the man. As the Dust made contact with the golden katana, the blade began to freeze up in a matter of seconds. Once it completely froze the blade exploded into hundreds of tiny chunks of ice.
Saturn hissed at the girl before picking her up with the weaponless Guardian, tossing her across the room into a table.
"Now you two can see why even Orion couldn't kill me! I am more powerful than anyone alive!" He boasted, cackling like a maniac.
Weiss groaned in pain as she looked out a window at the ground below. The battle down there must be going better than this.
Beacon Courtyard
Headmaster Ozpin stood at the base of The Rune, glaring at the ship above them.
"And she really wants us to fire on the ship?" He asked Professor Port beside him, a kinetic rod crashing into a nearby fountain. "With them inside?"
"Yes Headmaster, they believe that it's the best course of action." He stated, frowning at the cruiser above. "We can only hope that Checkmate isn't sent over the com channel."
"Professor!" A feminine voice came from the side of the duo, Yang and Blake running up to the pair. "We've thinned the drones out, and team JNPR and CRDL are handling the rest!" Yang explained to the teachers, looking around. "Where's Ruby and Weiss?"
"Still in the cruiser, I'm afraid." Port answered in a false calm tone. "We are just waiting for a message from them."
Yang looked up at the cruiser, glaring at the metallic air ship. What could be taking them so long?
Saturn's Command/Flag Ship
"Do you finally see that death is your Fate?" Saturn asked the pair, swinging the katana around in the air. "Are you two ready to accept it?" The elder asked, looking at Weiss.
Ruby ran forward at the thought for Weiss being killed by this man, the negative thought fueling her rage like oil added to a fire. The Faunus slammed her fist into the man's chest, sending him across the room into the wall. Saturn fell to his knees, a loud snap signifying that a rib had broken inside of his body. The crime lord roared in anger, running forward towards Ruby. The man sent his free Guardian forward, the snake-like hand holding Ruby in place as he closed in, the girl struggling to escape the hands grasp on her.
Saturn reached the struggling girl, brining his katana down at the girls head.
A cry of absolute pain followed as the blade pulled away from Ruby, soaked in blood. The hand around Ruby lifted her up before slamming her into a console of ship controls. Blood was dripping from Ruby's face, a line of blood and torn dress fabric ran down her body.
Saturn lifted Weiss up with little effort, the weak girl struggling to free herself. Saturn pulled the katana back and suddenly sent it forward. The golden katana stabbed into Weiss's chest, missing her heart by mere centimeters, the blades end exiting the other side of the girl.
"Any last words before I send you to Orion?" He asked, slowly twisting the blade within Weiss.
Weiss grinned slowly, blood dripping from her lips as she smiled. "Hey Saturn? Mind answering me a question?" She asked, slowly bringing her hand to her ear.
"What is it that you want?" He asked, ignoring the rising hand.
Weiss struggled to bring the hand up, but slowly did so. With her index finger and all the strength that she had left in her, Weiss tapped the ear piece on.
"What's the name of the last move in a game of chess?" She asked the elder man before her, chuckling softly.
"I don't know, why is that important right now?"
"The final move is called..." Weiss said calmly, flashing a wicked smile at the man before her. "Checkmate."
"Checkmate confirmed." A disappointed and sad voice came from the other end of the ear piece. The sound of the person on the other end was loud enough for Saturn to hear.
"What did you just do?! What is "Checkmate" you infernal girl!" Saturn hiss out, pushing the blade deeper into Weiss chest.
"It's been fun Saturn, see you in Hell." Weiss said happily, her icy blue eyes closing slowly, the darkness embracing her with open arms.
Then the pain was gone, and Weiss felt nothing.
Beacon Courtyard
"Checkmate confirmed." Port said sadly, looking towards Headmaster Ozpin, who had already entered The Runes control seat. "Fire on the ship when ready!"
Yang's eyes widened as she came to understand the meaning of those words. "NO! You will not fire!" She yelled out, attempting to run forward. Blake grabbed both of the brawlers' arms, holding her back from the Headmaster. "They will die!"
"Luna! Target all cannons on the belly of that craft!" Ozpin shouted, Luna's avatar appearing nearby.
"Already done. Target locked." Luna stated with a bitter and sad tone, not meeting the Headmasters eyes.
A single tear escaped Ozpins eyes as the cannons began charging up, a simple command which would end two friends life's in mere seconds. As much as Ozpin wanted to stop and personally save the two, he knew deep down that this was the only way.
"Fire."
All the cannons around Beacon fire simultaneously at the belly of the ship. Among all of the projectiles of pure energy soaring across the sky, The Runes energy shot hit the craft first. The blast destroyed the ships shields like fire to paper, disintegrating the hanger in a massive fireball. The remaining shots entered the newly made hole in the ship, the combined shots finding the engine room to the craft.
A painful silence followed the first explosion before the craft blew up in a massive orange fireball, causing everyone to look away. As the light simmered down, the collective group of teachers and students looked at the burning wreck, eyes glued to the ship as it fell out of the sky.
"Ruby?" Yang asked softly, staring at the burning ship, Blake hugging the girl as tight as she could.
"Miss Schnee?! Miss Rose?! Anyone?!" Professor Port barked into the mic looking towards Luna. "Luna! Scan for life signs!"
"I'm so sorry... all life signs have gone offline..." Luna said softly, seemingly crying.
"Ruby?" Yang asked again, falling to her knees as the burning ship fell. As much as the brawler didn't want to, she broke into tears, Blake holding her close as the sound of Yang's sobs filled the area.
Ruby and Weiss were gone, and there was nothing they could do about it.
A/N: Hope the ending wasn't too rushed, and I hope you enjoyed the early release. :) See you next chapter for the season final!