The Shadow of Fire
Chapter 16: One Foot in the Grave
Unknown Location
Unknown Date
Unknown Time
Darkness.
The darkness was all that Weiss could see. Technically, you can't see darkness, but Weiss couldn't care less about technicalities at this time.
Her mind was foggy; memories seemed distorted and vague, names and places jumping out at her before sinking back into the depths of her mind.
Weiss felt around with her hands, her pale palms touching what felt like stone, signifying that wherever she was at had some sort of earth to it. The heiress stumbled around on the stone ground below her, groaning as the previous pain from moments ago filled her body again.
Where had she been to get hurt this badly? Why was she in so much pain? And why couldn't she remember anything about the injuries? These thoughts plagued her confused mind like a sickness on an empire, spreading fast and without hesitation.
Weiss rubbed her aching chest and came into contact with a deep cut in her skin, the wound reaching her back. As Weiss ran her slender fingers up and down the cut, her foggy memories became clearer, which was neither good nor bad for the young heiress.
'So if I'm here... well, wherever I am, then the ship must have been destroyed.' Weiss thought, closing her eyes. 'Wait... Where's Ruby? Where's Saturn?' She quickly thought, looking around for pair of crime lord and lover, forgetting that she was surrounded by darkness.
Weiss had no choice but to press on, attempting to ignore the thoughts of Ruby as she followed the stone pathway. A few feet from her came a small, yet powerful light. Weiss suddenly felt a tug at her heart, a flicker of hope that she might find her way out of this mess.
The heiress took a few more steps forward, the light glowing brighter. A few more steps creating an even larger light. Weiss gathered all the energy left in her legs and ran, taking long and quick steps towards the light. Within seconds she reached the source, a large sphere of pure light. Weiss felt compelled to reach out and touch it, possibly bring it home for Ruby to see its beauty.
"Oh Ruby..." Weiss muttered under her breath, a lone tear falling down her face.
Suddenly the world around her began to shake, harsh whispers of men and woman alike echoing around her, all repeating the same word.
Ruby.
The orb of light shook violently, expanding and then condensing over and over again, lighting up the world before casting a blanket of darkness. The stone flooring behind Weiss began to give way, falling into the darkness around her. Weiss took a deep breath, tightly closing her eyes as she backed up and raced forward into the orb of light.
Beacon Academy
Headmaster Ozpins Chambers
Professor Port scanned the aftermath of the assault on Beacon from the Headmasters Tower, watching as a few squads of elite students raced around helping the wounded and accounting for the dead. Every time a death was confirmed, another name would be added to a list upon a large television screen set up on Ozpins wall, each name carving a hole in the elders heart. In all of Ports years of training and teaching, he had not once seen so much death in less than a day. Had they been prepared, even just had a few minutes to get ready, perhaps the death toll would have been lower.
Port scanned the list up and down with Yang and Blake as the two sat in two of Ozpins leather chairs, recognizing friends and classmates names appearing every few minutes. On the right side of the screen, in a very small box, was a list titled "M.I.A," or missing in action. Only two names were placed in the box.
Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee.
Others had joined them before in the box, eventually being discovered alive or dead, leaving the list and its occupants. It had been hours since the attack, and over 70 had been killed thus far, and that number was rising.
Blake looked across the room at Ozpins personal sleeping chambers, the Headmaster fast asleep upon his large bed, resembling a standard Beacon dorm room bed, however this one was king size, hence its size. The professor had been asleep ever since the explosion of the flag ship, leaving him unknown to the death count or the massive scale of the damage.
Beacon had been nearly reduced to rubble, roads and sidewalks turned to chunks of stone and marble, building and houses burning and in pieces. This wasn't what Beacon should look like.
Damages alone would take weeks to fix, even with the promise of help from Signal and Torch, there was just so much damage. Dorms would need rebuilding, roads, the bodies of drones and students moved, airships to be taken to the scrap yard, or at least used as building materials. The biggest issue would have to be the crashed cruisers. One had been sent on a crash course with the Emerald Forest and Forever Fall, which would be a painstaking task to remove, not to mention the Grimm population being displaced.
The biggest issue though, was the loss of team RWBY's two members. Even as a year one team, the group of girls had made quite the name for themselves, reaching the top spot in the year one group of best teams. The team worked as a powerful force, nothing able to defeat them.
That was until two of them were blown up in a massive explosion.
As much as Yang pleaded the Professor, search parties couldn't just focus on two students alone. There were too many things to focus on at once, and if the pair was alive, they could hold out just a tad longer.
"That's it!" Yang voice suddenly entered the professors' mind. "I've had it with all the sitting around! My lil sis is in that ship and I'm going after her!" She declared, standing up in her seat.
Port turned to face the brawler with a look of frustration. "The fires around the ship are too intense for any human or Faunus! Your fire Semblance can only handle 400 degrees fahrenheit, and those flames would be more than three times that temperature!"
"Do I sound like I care?!" Yang countered, activating Ember Celica.
"What would Ruby say to this? Or Weiss? Would they authorize this course of action?" Port asked, not backing down from the blonde brawler and her weapons. "I forbid you two to leave Beacon for the search; we've lost too many people as it is."
The professors harsh and sudden words hit Yang like a Ursa, causing her to freeze in place. The idea of Ruby or Weiss authorizing such action was a definite no, at least while other people were in danger. The brawler sat down in her seat, head in her hands as she forced back the tears.
Professor Port exited the room, claiming that he was going to personally look over the damages to the main buildings and towers, leaving the pair alone.
Blake looked out the window with a calm and neutral look on her face. She had seen much death in her time as an agent of the White Fang, but nothing on this scale. The Faunus took a sip from a water bottle in front of her, sighing in utter sadness. They had saved so many, but failed to save their friends.
A small hum came from the Faunus pocket, causing the girl to pull out her scroll. As the tablet expanded in her hands, a message appeared on the screen, from two that she hadn't expected to hear from.
"Is everyone ok?! Penny has been worried ever since the initial attack. We are heading to Beacon ASAP."
The message was from Sun, the monkey Faunus the team met a few months prior to this very day. Blake bit her lip slightly as she typed a reply, carefully choosing her words before sending it.
"Yang and I are fine. Ruby and Weiss... They... We haven't heard from them. Where exactly are you two?"
A few minutes later the scroll began to buzz. Another message.
"Twenty minutes away, what do you need help with when we arrive?"
Blake quickly typed out a message, an idea popping up in her head which could give them a loop hole towards Ports anti-search party idea.
"Have you two seen a giant, burning cruiser?"
Another buzz.
"Which one?"
"The one at the bottom of Beacon Cliff, closest to Vale. Can you get there? We think Weiss and Ruby may be trapped inside." Blake typed, choosing to not tell the two about the lack of life signs from the ship.
The last message brought a small smile to the raven haired girl.
"Got it. We are heading there now. We will keep you two updated. Optimus Primate out."
Blake chuckled slightly at the last sentence of the message, drawing Yang's attention.
"W-what's so funny?" The emotionally crushed girl asked, dabbing a tissue at her eyes.
"Sun and Penny just make a good couple." Blake said, kissing Yang gently on the cheek.
"But... They have nothin in common..."
"Do Weiss and Ruby?" Blake asked, smiling slightly. "Or us?"
"I... I guess that makes sense." The blonde said quietly, looking out the window. "I hope they made it out somehow..."
"Ditto."
Unknown Location
Unknown Date
Unknown Time
The first thing Weiss felt was something extremely warm, as if a heat wave was flowing wherever she was. As the young heiress opened her eyes, she was greeted with a very odd sight.
The world around her was dark red, a strange red liquid dripping from the rock above her. She appeared to be in what she thought was a cave, judging by the large amount of rock and the lack of light. The only thing keeping the heiress's sight intact was a line of torches posted every few feet along the wall of rocks, which appeared to stretch deep into a tunnel. The icy teen spun on the heels of her boots to try and exit the cave through the ball of light from before, only to be greeted with a wall of rock.
'Perfect.' Weiss thought sarcastically, turning back to face the tunnel ahead. The heiress took a few steps forward, the ground shaking a bit as she walked, as if the tunnel was ready to collapse at any given moment.
As Weiss pressed on, nearly losing her balance due to the shaking ground, she eventually stumbled upon a large room within the tunnel. The massive room had large black and red carpets upon the stone floor, leading up to a large black throne. A line of torches suddenly lit up, giving Weiss a better look at the throne.
It appeared to be made of dark grey steel, the cracks and damage to the steel giving it the appearance that it had existed for a very long time. Along the exterior of the throne was row after row of human and Faunus skulls, each complete and all facing Weiss, seemingly eyeing her. Weiss took a few steps forward, despite the feeling in the back of her mind telling her to run as far away as possible. Weiss took three steps forward when her right foot began to sink into the floor. The heiress stumbled back in shock, examining her foot to see if she was injured in any way. After deducting that there was not a single mark on her leg or foot, the heiress examined the flooring. Weiss pressed her palm down on the stone that her foot had once rested on, causing the section to sink in.
A pressure plate.
Weiss scanned the room around her, looking for any sort of trap or danger that would be unleashed upon her if she was to trip the trap. Weiss took a few moments to compose herself before she pressed down on the plate with her foot.
A powerful earthquake shook the room around Weiss, causing her to stumble around as she tried to keep her hold on the floor.
'This is worse than when I was in that ambulance.' Weiss thought to herself as she held her ground. Within a few moments, the quakes stopped.
The sound of clapping greeted Weiss as the quakes subsided, causing the heiress to look up at the throne of skulls. In the throne of steel and bone, sat a man dressed in a full black tuxedo, appearing as if he was about to attend a funeral. His pure black cloak was draped across his back, torn and damaged. The man's face was obscured by his cloaks hood, causing Weiss to gulp in a mix of confusion and utter fear.
"Congratulations! You've found the pressure plate!" The man's harsh and deep voice sent shivers down Weiss's spine, her body feeling freezing cold momentarily. "What can I get you for a prize? A box of Schnee Dust? Some coffee with cream and 5 sugars? Or perhaps some cookies?" The man asked, laughing as he finished his questions.
"I want you to tell me where I am." Weiss demanded, despite her body telling her to shut up.
"It doesn't matter where you're, my dear girl..." The man began, walking down from his throne, discarding his cloak to show his facial features.
He had a very strange combination of hair and eyes; his eyes silver with a spark of blood red and a strange hair cut. His hair was cut short, messy like Ruby's own. However, half of the color was red and black on one side, while the other was blonde, the blonde section seemingly on fire. The man wore a stern expression, glaring at the teen before him.
"It's a matter of why you're here."
"But where is here? How can I know why I'm here if I don't know where I am!" Weiss argued, looking up at the man.
The man gave a soft sigh, looking at the wall of torches.
"You're in the land for the damned, my dear." He began, turning back to face the Schnee, arms crossed behind his back. "Welcome to Lord Dagonus Moriam's Realm of Sin, the land you promised you would meet Saturn Laos at." He added, glaring into her eyes.
"Welcome to Hell, Miss Schnee."
Beacon Cliffs
Airship
Sun cracked his knuckles as he leaned out the airships open door, holding onto a handle with his tail. He wore a stern look as his eyes scanned the scene below.
The massive cruiser was laying in metallic heaps upon a small series of hills at the base of the cliff. Fires raged every few yards, lighting nearby trees and bushes on fire.
Sun scratched his chin with his right hand, humming slightly as he formulated a plan, a crude plan at best, but still better than nothing.
"Boyfriend Sun?" Penny asked, sitting in a nearby chair within the airship. "Are we going to save friend Ruby and friend Weiss?"
Sun nodded slowly, almost trying to convince himself. "You bet Pen, I've got a plan."
Unknown Location
Unknown Date
Unknown Time
Weiss shook her head, tightly closing her eyes.
"No, no, no, no!" Weiss screamed, holding her head in her hands. "I can't be dead!"
"Not many can survive an explosion of that caliber." Dagonus said calmly, pulling a chocolate chip cookie out of thin air. "Saturn should consider himself lucky."
"He's alive!" Weiss yelled quickly, turning to face Dagonus. "Mr. Moriam, you have to hel-"
"Mr. Moriam is my father, you may call me Lord Dagonus, Lord D, the rightful ruler of existence, whatever you wish." Dagonus interrupted, eating the cookie.
"You need help me Lord Dagonus! Please! I have to get back to Ruby and the others!" Weiss pleaded.
Dagonus's expression suddenly turned harsh, crushing the half eaten cookie in his hand. His eyes glared into Weiss, clenching his fists.
"So you are the Weiss who was making Ruby feel low on her first day at Beacon Academy?" He asked, his voice low.
"Well, yes but-"
Weiss was caught off by a knee slamming into her stomach, causing her to fall to the floor in pain, coughing loudly as Dagonus pulled his leg back from the attack.
"No one harms my daughter without paying for it." He stated coldly, walking across the room to a large book shelf.
Weiss groaned on the red stone floor, clutching her hurting stomach."Daughter...?" Weiss muttered, letting out another groan in pain.
Dagonus walked back to the girl, four balances floating behind him as he walked. Once he arrived, the balances were rested down on the floor, each with a name upon them.
One was labeled Ruby Rose, the other Weiss Schnee. The next two labeled Blake Belladonna, and the last Yang Xiao Long. Each was also labeled with two more tags, the one on the left part of the balance labeled Peace, the right side labeled Hell.
Ruby, Blake, and Yang's balances were all leaning towards the left, seemingly stuck on Peace, several marbles holding the balance down on that side, none on the other side of the balance.
Weiss's was different; a few marbles were resting on the Peace side of the balance. However, many more on the other side were causing the balance to be leaning towards the Hell side.
Weiss eyed her balance and suddenly felt her eyes tear up, water blocking her vision as she realized something.
All the horrible things she's said before, the terrible things that she's done, all added up to her ending up here.
Weiss couldn't believe it.
"I know it's probably hard to believe, but I do know how it feels..." Dagonus sighed as he looked down at the balances. "I was once with my family, had a wife, a few children... but I made one too many mistakes and my father banished me here. To my new realm and to your mortal realm. I was forced to do his dirty work, but managed to find some happiness. I met a nice woman named Summer Rose, and took her hand in marriage, and she blessed me with two beautiful children... Yang and Ruby." He stated, looking at Weiss. "Then Summer passed in a battle against the Grimm, and I've lost hope for humanity. Only a small speck of hope of mine resides in Ruby and Yang, my last children."
"Lord Dagonus..." Weiss quietly made out as she sat up, looking at her balance. "I'm so sorry... I had no clue of your family's struggles. I simply met Ruby on poor circumstances. But I managed to fix it! And I'm very sorry for my actions..." Weiss said slowly, looking down at the ground.
Dagonus slowly plucked a handful of marbles from the Hell side of her balance and placed them on the Peace side, shifting the balance a tad, but still resting on the Hell side.
"I am a gambling man. Name your terms and I will wipe your slate clean." Dagonus said calmly, gesturing to the scales.
"Whatever you want, it's yours." Weiss said slowly, looking at the shifting scale.
"Your soul would be what I would want first of all... but you seem special..." He said simply, scratching his chin. "How about this? I will keep in contact. When a situation arises that I require moral help with, you will do the job without question. Deal?" He asked, plucking all the marbles off the Hell side.
"Deal." Weiss said, watching be balance shift to the Peace side. "Thank you sir. I won't disappoint you. And I will keep your daughters safe."
Dagonus smiled slowly, grinning a tad. "You're a very interesting girl, Miss Schnee. Brave as well. Not many have the courage to let me determine the terms. I can see now why Orion spoke so highly of you the last time he visited." He said calmly, the balances teleporting away. He extended his right hand, an orb of white light appearing in his palm. "Touch it once you're ready."
Weiss nodded and placed her index finger on the orb, cutting off her vision.
Burning Wreck of The Liberator
December 25th
5:37 PM
A pair of bodies were lying in the buried command center of the crashed ship, both not moving. One was dressed in a torn black and red dress, while the other wore a white and icy blue dress.
The girl in the icy blue dress lied on her back on the metal flooring, her hands open and lifeless.
Suddenly, the girls' left palm tightened into a harsh fist, gripping the air around her with newly found energy.
A/N: Thanks for sticking around for all these chapters, and I can promise more to come soon. This is the end of the "Beacon Arc" and the next arc, the "Judgement Arc" will be coming around in a month or so, maybe earlier. See you soon, stay safe.