The Shadow of Fire
Chapter 28: Separation
"Damn it!" Saturn roared out, slamming his right fist into the main table of his throne room, growing very frustrated.
Gore, his prized pet, had been slain as if it were a simple worm under a boot. He couldn't believe it, the countless hours put into Gore had gone to waste!
Saturn growled fearsomely as he crushed a bowl of fruit nearby, his Guardians hissing behind him.
The Guardians ghost like hands had changed to their natural shape, twin snake heads, one on each end of the Guardians. The twins slithered around in the air, purring as they floated by Saturn's head and view.
"At least I still have you, my prized possessions." Saturn considered out loud, petting the right snake.
The left hand snake brought his Scroll to view once more, depicting the teams of Hunters heading down one of the narrow hallways.
"Ah... It seems I can still turn the tides of this battle yet..." The crime lord pondered, tapping a few keys on the Scroll with a wicked grin.
Vale Border
Underground Complex Hallways
"Come on guys!" Ruby called back to her friends, all running down the hallways as fast as they could. "We gotta go faster."
"Ruby..." Weiss said, out of breath. "Slow down... For just a second... Need... Air..."
Ruby jammed the heels of her boots into the ground and slid to a stop, turning to face her team and friends.
"We can't slow down." Ruby said to her breathless teammates, full of energy. "We have to keep going, Ulysses is counting on us. Orion is counting on us."
"Just... A second..." Weiss coughed out, breathing hard. Blake and Yang leaning on each other for support.
Team JNPR were all collected nearby, Jaune and Ren lying against the walls while Pyrrha attempted to get Nora to stop running around.
A sharp hiss echoed around the physically strained teens as the walls shuddered around them, everyone going alert.
In less than a second, the ground behind Team RWBY and in front of Team JNPR opened up, a large white wall with a glass window in the center rose up, cutting the two teams off from one another before anyone could react.
"Jaune!" Ruby shouted, teleporting across the hall at lightning speed. She reappeared and instantly began slamming her fist into the wall, looking in the glass. "Are you all alright?!"
"We're good!" Jaune called back, pulling out his sword and shield.
"Nora," Jaune said, turning to the explosive hammer wielding girl. "Can you get this wall down?"
"Yessir!" Nora said happily with a mock salute, her teammates taking a few steps back.
"NORA..." Nora began, grinning like a maniac. "SMASH!" The energy filled team shouted loudly, slamming her war hammer into the glass wall.
Nothing. Not even a dent.
The wall was fine, including the glass the separated the teams. Not even a crack was shown from the devastating hit, greatly surprising Nora, who was now taking deep breaths.
"No smash?" Nora asked the group, nervously looking down at her weapon.
"It's impenetrable..." Weiss commented in amazement, running her slender fingers down its surface. "Or at least hard to damage. My best guess would be one large attack, it may damage it enough for Nora to break through with her hammer." Weiss summed up, spinning her rapier to the Red setting.
"Alrighty then, you heard the girl." Ruby said, preparing Crescent Rose for the combined attack.
"One..." Ruby spoke slowly, everyone ready to attack at once.
"Two..." Jaune said nervously, flaring his Aura.
"Thre- LOOK OUT!" Ruby screamed, pointing behind the other team, fear in her eyes.
Jaune spun around just in time for the spider-like foot to miss him by a mere inch, causing him to fall behind Pyrrha in fear.
A large spider drone stood behind the group, aiming its cannons at Ren and Pyrrha, not making a sound.
No one moved.
"Ruby..." Ren spoke calmly, slowly building up his Aura. "Go on ahead... We can handle this fight."
"But!" Ruby began, wanting to rip open the wall with her bare hands to save her friends.
"We can handle it... We will find Ulysses when we are done. We can meet up once we regroup." Pyrrha answered back, holding her shield tightly.
Weiss took Ruby's right hand in her own, drawing the girls attention. Weiss's icy blue eyes wore the look of sadness, yet determination. Ruby read her look, understanding what she needed to do.
"Understood..." Ruby said, putting her scythe away. "Be careful."
And with that, Team RWBY proceeded down the hall, not daring to look back.
"Now... What's the game plan?" Jaune asked, standing somewhat tall behind Pyrrha.
"Live and fight, or die." Pyrrha said, looking over the mech.
"Ah..." Was all Jaune could respond with.
"Nora?" Ren asked his friend, the bubbly girl looking at him.
"Yeah Ren?"
"Smash."
And with that, the girl they were speaking of let out a crazed giggle.
Nora charged.
Saturn's Throne Room
11:17 PM
Saturn pressed a small button on the side of his Scroll, clearing his throat before issuing an order.
"Spider Drones Delta and Omega to corridor 11-B. Drone squad Green and Purple to corridor 11-B." He spoke calmly, removing his finger from the Scroll before looking at the screen.
Team RWBY was still proceeding down the hallways, only a few minutes from his very location. The crime lord tapped his fingers on the dinner table before he got an idea.
"Drone squads Red, Blue, Silver, and Yellow to Hanger 6. Spider Drones Eta and Iota to Hanger 6. Drone squad Maroon, prepare an evacuation craft." He spoke into the microphone, once again removing his finger from the device.
"Well Touko, it seems that you will play a part in this after all." He said with a grin, tapping a few buttons on the screen of the device before heading towards his throne.
"Weiss!" Ruby called out as she ran with her girlfriend down the winding halls. "How much further?"
"You know," Weiss began, nearly falling over. "Every time someone asks that, something bad follows it."
"It's just bad luck, dumb luck." Ruby replied as Blake jumped over the girls head in a front flip, running in front of the pair.
"Isn't that what Weiss said before you were shot?" Blake asked bluntly, Yang running behind the trio.
"Hush." Weiss scolded, having a quick flashback to that very moment when the bullet entered Ruby's chest. Weiss could have sworn that she hadn't had a moment to breathe that day.
That wouldn't happen again.
"We should be at the end of the hall soon." Weiss replied to Ruby's earlier question, looking closely ahead. "I see a shift in the light; we are coming out of the hall."
No sooner than the words had left her mouth, a wall descended down from the ceiling, blocking off the exit to the team.
As the team reached the newly placed wall, Yang let out a groan in anger.
"Damn it!" She yelled loudly, punching the wall with her right fist. "So close!"
"Let's all just relax and calm down." Blake said wisely, looking around the hall. "I'm sure we can get around it."
The white wall behind Blake slowly opened up, revealing a hidden room behind the girl. As she turned to see the new area, her eyes locked with a pair across the room.
A woman with long brown hair stood at the other end of the room, her hazel bunny ears shifting around as she adjusted her white trench coat, a personalized black Scroll in hand.
"Touko..." Blake muttered lowly, a near growl.
"Oh dear..." Touko said softly, her two White Fang body guards moving before her. "Belladonna."
"Blake..." Weiss asked, hand on her prized rapier. "Who is that?"
"A teammate from my White Fang days, an executive of the group."
"Is she friendly?" Ruby asked hopefully, while she knew the answer was clearly no.
"No." Blake said before pulling out Gambol Shroud, quickly firing several pistol shots at the woman.
Touko ducked on instinct, her two body guards spinning sharpened metal spears in hand, deflecting the bullets which promptly fell to the floor.
Blake raced forward towards the woman, her teammate's shouts of protest going un-heard as she charged across the room.
Yang ran after her, Ember Celica at the ready. She wouldn't let Blake just run off into battle without her: it would ruin the fun.
Weiss and Ruby exchanged looks before they went to follow the girls when a harsh hiss was heard, echoing around them, causing them to stop in their tracks.
In a split second, a large glass window, the same type as the one that blocked Team JNPR off from them, appeared in the exit, cutting the two half's of the team off from one another.
"YANG!" Ruby called out, pounding her fist on the glass, shouting for her sister.
Yang slammed her boots into the marble flooring, turning back to her sister.
"We will find a way around! I'll keep Blake safe!" Yang shouted back before giving a salute to Weiss, running over to Blake who was battling the White Fang body guards.
Ruby refused to move from the window even as Weiss tugged at her shoulder. The girl stared into the glass, watching as Blake engaged the White Fang body guards while Touko ran out of the room. Ruby knew deep down that Yang and Blake were a sound team, and that they could handle any opponent as long as they were together.
She was just worried about her and Weiss.
"Ruby." Weiss began before getting cut off, a speaker echoing in the hallway.
"Ah, so it's down to you two." Saturn's cold voice echoed around them, Weiss gripping her rapier.
"Ready to come face the music and fight?" Weiss asked aloud, thinking that he could hear her.
"Well since you asked so kindly..." Saturn's voice said before a hiss filled the room.
A wall appeared in the hall a few feet away from the two teens, sealing them off in a box room with their only view being Yang and Blake.
"Come, dinner is served." Saturn spoke with a mock chuckle, the ground under the teens rising up as the ceiling opened.
The heiress and Faunus rose up on the platform, weapons in hand as they ascended upward.
The platform stopped in a well lit room, the sound of a waterfall echoing around them. A massive dinner table was laid out before them, a large throne at the very end by a railing.
A lone figure sat in the throne, petting a pair of ghostly black snakes casually.
"Welcome." Saturn spoke calmly, looking lazily towards his previous opponents. "How are you enjoying my home?"
"It ends here Saturn," Weiss said boldly, pointing her blade at the man. "You're finished."
Saturn let out a loud cackle, his snake hissing black smoke.
"I'm afraid that it's quite the opposite." He said, clapping his hands together.
Behind the teens, twenty red and grey drones stepped out of the nearby shadows, weapons and guns at the ready, surprising the pair.
Weiss tightened her grip on her weapon as Ruby put another fresh clip into Crescent Rose, both in a battle stance.
"You ready?" Weiss asked her girlfriend, ready to fight.
"Always." Ruby responded back, equally ready.
In a flash of light, the pair of Huntresses attacked.