The Shadow of Fire
Chapter 38: Blake's Bootleg Surgery
Two hours later...
"Ow... Ow... OW!" Weiss groaned as Blake continued to make cuts in Weiss's face, or more specifically, above her eye, searching for a way to remove the tracker implanted on her skull.
"Sorry. Sorry. It's been a while since I've done this." Blake said softly, biting her lip, digging with Gambol Shroud, blood pouring off Weiss's face.
"Blood bucket?" Yang suggested, taking pictures and videos of Weiss with her Scroll, which the heiress could care less about at the moment.
"Indeed, getting pretty messy..." Blake noted, holding Yangs bucket near Weiss's face, collecting blood up, placing it back on the floor.
"Well?" Weiss groaned.
"Well, I see parts of the device; cords and wiring mostly. I'm still looking for the main body of the tracker." The cat Faunus said, dabbing a wet towel on the heiress's open wound, which caused her to hiss.
"Hmm... Yang, get me my first aid kit. What blood type are you Weiss?"
"Type O." Weiss said, wincing in pain.
"Good, I have a blood bag full of it, pays to be prepared." Blake said happily, still cutting away. "Don't want you to bleed out."
"Wait. When did you get a blood bag?"
"A while ago. I've been taking blood from you all at night since day one as a team." Blake said simply, as if this was completely normal.
"Wait, what?" Weiss said before her eyesight went dark. "Ack!"
"Oops! Sorry, thought that was a cord, not a vein. I did say I am a bit rusty." Blake said with a frown, sprinkling some pink Dust on the wounded vein, which fused back together.
Weiss's eyesight flashed back, blinking quickly.
"Are you even licensed, Blake?!" Weiss demanded.
"Well, technically." Blake noted, cutting more flesh off as fresh blood poured out. "Any time now, Yang."
Yang wobbled back over. "One fresh bag-O-blood. Get it?" Yang said happily, proud of her pun.
"Yang, dear, I'll buy you all the pop or soda that you want if you could stop the puns until I'm done. But I will say that was a good one." Blake asked, cutting deeper, hitting something hard.
"Alcohol?" Yang asked.
"Don't push me." Blake said with a roll of her eyes, looking down at Weiss. "Think I found it."
"Why are you purple?" Weiss asked, growing dizzy.
"Ah, forgot to start the blood transfusion. My bad." Blake said bluntly, setting the blood bag up with Weiss's veins, checking it all over to make sure she didn't forget something. "Better?" She asked.
Color returned to Weiss's vision, the heiress taking a deep breath. "Yes."
"This part might hurt..." Blake said slowly as a ebony portal opened up behind them, Orion walking out with a blue slushy.
"Hey ladies." Orion said, taking a sip, looking over the situation. "How are things?"
"Peachy." Weiss groaned as Blake chipped away at the silver spherical device.
"Ah." Orion said with a slurp. "Mind if I borrow your Ruby? I'm going run her down the do's and don't's of being a Goddess."
"I suppose so. Just don't break her." Yang said, giving a sideways smile. "Will I need to did this once I, ya know, become a Goddess? At least I assume I will."
"Not sure. You most likely will, but you seem pretty mature." Orion noted, patting her back.
"Awe! Thanks!" Yang said, holding the blood bucket. "Oh! We should fill up the salsa bottles with this! That would be the best prank!"
"I stand corrected..." Orion said with a sigh, taking another sip.
The God then turned to Ruby, placing a hand on her shoulder, snapping her attention away from her game.
"Bah!" Ruby cried out in surprise.
"Hey, it's just me." Orion said with a soft smile. "We gotta go, I need to explain a few things."
"Oh? Um... Okay." Ruby said gently, almost quizzically.
Orion waved off to the rest of the team, the duo of Gods teleporting away in a dim flash.
"OW!" Weiss cried out from the bed, wishing she could go with them, or just be anywhere besides here.
Juniors Club
Downtown Vale
12:29 PM
A lone man sat alone at a small circular table in the middle of Juniors bar area, several alcoholic bottles taking up most of the space on the table. He sat slouched over, drunk as a drunk could be, on the verge of passing out.
"Hey," The club owner walked over, Junior, who knew the man very well, looking slightly concerned. "We are closing up in a bit, alright? Do you need to stay the night again?"
"..." The man said nothing, glancing up at Junior.
His eyes were shut tight, blinded for the longest time, his black hair messy and greasy, his all black suit cut and stained in various colors.
"I owe you more favors that I can count, it's okay. You stay as long as you want, understand?"
"Yeah... Thanks Jay." The man said in a raspy voice, looking blindly at the table below, calling Junior by his personal nickname.
"Anytime boss, I'll get you another drink." Junior said as he walked off, shooing his two assistants in red and white away, who had looks of pity towards the man.
The lone man sat alone, hiccuping, his Aura flaring for a moment before dimming out, groaning and slouching back over, waiting for his drink.
"I hope he is alright... I'm not the best at surgery..." Melanie said to her twin sister, playing with the ends of her white dress.
"Don't worry, sis." Miltia said with a small pat on her sisters shoulder. "You did your best for him, that's all you can do. Just be glad the Dust worked."
"I suppose..." Melanie said softly, walking with her twin over to the bar for a drink.
The Grass Lands
Unknown Time
Ruby and Orion popped into existence upon a long grassy field that stretched miles in length, various statues of the Gods and Goddesses spread out upon the area.
"Come." Orion said in a hushed whisper, leading Ruby to an open area in the statue garden.
Orion turned to Ruby. "I need to explain your powers. But first, I need you to build yourself a statue."
"Um... Okay...? How?"
"Just imagine what it looks like, the materials, the shape, the size. And once you have that all thought up, snap your fingers." Orion explained, awaiting the results.
Ruby slowly nodded, closing her eyes and breathing deeply, drawing the image of her statue, and once she had the image in her head, she snapped her fingers.
"Well..." Orion said, looking over her new statue with a raised eyebrow. "Good work?"
Ruby opened her eyes, looking over the statue.
It was on a diamond podium, the statue of her made of hundreds of roses all forming her body. Her statue was in the shape of her body, which was posed oddly.
Ruby was posed in a carefree stance, her arms open for a hug, one of her legs up and to the side, so she was balancing on one of her legs.
"Yay! Just what I wanted!" Ruby chirped happily, mocking the pose.
Orion sighed, taking a sip of his slushy. "Now for powers. As the Goddess of Time and Space, you will have the power to manipulate those two aspects of reality, but only to an extent. Like all other Gods, you can also spawn in various items, almost anything you can think of. And finally, you can assume your primordial form."
"My what?" Ruby frowned, tilting her head.
"Recall how Grimmlock changed form? Just like that." Orion explained. "Here, I'll show you."
Orion clasped his palms together, speaking in a strange language.
"Kreval, dorsh, exvail!" Orion said aloud, glowing a ebony black, his golden eyes growing dim in the color.
Once the color cleared, where Orion once stood was a large black wolf, as large as a Beowulf on its four legs, with glowing golden eyes. Orion barked, a shockwave emitting from his mouth, destroying a large section of the grass a short ways away, which refused back to normal.
Orion then transformed back, nodding towards a dumbstruck Ruby.
"Just like that." Orion said happily. "Now your turn."
"Um... Okay..." Ruby began, coughing a little to clear her throat.
"Kreval, dorsh, exvail...?" Ruby said aloud in the language of the Gods, suddenly glowing a dark red and silver color...
Orion took a step back, sweating noticeably at the sight before him, gulping aloud as he looked nearly straight up due to the height of Rubys new form.
"Oh..." Orion said with another gulp, backing away.
Ruby began glowing and changed back, blinking a few times.
"Um..."
"Yeah..."
"I'm scared..."
"Me too Ruby, me too..." Orion said softly, clearing his throat. "Well, you can just think those words to change form as well; it helps surprise your enemies. Now, one last thing..."
"Huh?" Ruby asked, scratching her mop of hair, her eyes ticking away.
"You can also assume your "true" Godly body, which I NEVER want you to do on Remnant." Orion said, pointing to her.
"Repeat after me." Orion said. "I will never assume my true form on Remnant unless it is a last resort."
"I will never assume my true form on Remnant unless it is a last resort." Ruby repeated, frowning. "How come?"
"I'll just give you a demonstration of the power." Orion said, closing his eyes, suddenly opening them, the golden orbs glowing fiercely.
A massive explosion shot out from his body, and if the statues and grass hadn't been protected by a barrier of magic, they would have melted away. Ruby herself felt as if her body was being crushed, the air became non-existent, her soul felt like it was being ripped apart. She could make out the form of Orion in the light explosion; his body was glowing gold, and had Ruby's Scroll been with her, his Aura meter would have caused the device to overload and probably explode. Had Ruby not been a Goddess, her body would have been destroyed completely under the power he was emitting.
Orion stopped his power, turning to his normal form, breathing heavily.
"That is why. If you were mortal, you would be completely obliterated, soul and all." Orion explained, pulling his slushy back out, sipping it.
"Wow... I promise to not break that... promise..." Ruby blinked.
"Good, now, I wanna give you the Godly tour..."
Later that day...
Beacon Academy
Team RWBY Dorm Room
8:32 PM
Blake hooked Gambol Shroud to her back, dressed in her combat attire with her teammates and Orion, her blade freshly cleaned from the Schnee blood that was on it most of the day, luckily not stained with it.
The group was nearly ready for their mission, all putting on their combat attire, Weiss looking in the mirror.
Blake had removed the tracker from her head, after not only once blinding her for a few moments, but several times during her "licensed" surgery. Currently, a white bandage and cloth was placed over her left eye, a white tape like fabric wrapping around her head to keep it firmly in place.
Weiss had too much on her mind. Where was her father? Who has his Scroll? Do they know where she is now? All these questioned flooded her mind, drowning her in fear and worry.
"Okay team!" Ruby chirped happily, clasping her hands together as she hooked Crescent Rose to her back, grinning happily. She looked so happy and innocent, save for the insane look the clocks in her eyes gave her, that and the massive scythe. "Mission time!"
"Everyone ready?" Blake asked, puting her bow on, looking at Ruby. 'Shame her ears are gone... They made me feel safer...' Blake thought randomly.
"Yep." Said Yang.
"Uh huh." Nodded Orion.
"Ruff!" Baked some animal.
Everyone paused, looking towards the sound, which was a small brown tube on Weiss's table.
Yang walked over, frowning in confusion.
"I need you all to watch the contents for a few days, sorry I haven't socialized with you both for so long, at least now you understand why. Take care, love Dagonus." Yang spoke aloud, reading the tag attached.
"Could it be..." Ruby began.
"... what I think it is?" Yang finished.
Yang popped the lid.
A grey-ish and white Corgi jumped out of the tube, landing on the floor with a bark, its tongue poking out of its mouth happily.
"ZWEI!" Ruby shouted happily, jumping in joy as little Zwei's ran around her head in her mind.
"Ack!" Blake shouted, jumping up onto the ceiling, gripping the ceiling fan.
Yang kept looking at the tube that Zwei was in, looking inside of it.
Weiss just stood there confused, trying to understand how it fit in the tube.
Zwei walked over to Orion, sniffing him before looking up at him.
"Ruff!" Zwei barked.
"Do I know you, little dog?" Orion asked, Zwei nodded, barking he shook his body, a envelope falling out of his fur, which only confused Weiss more.
Orion plucked it up, seeing it was addressed to him, ripping the seal and reading it.
"Huh..." Orion said, frowning for a moment as he pocketed the note, looking at Zwei before smiling. "You were the pup that Ozpin and Qrow showed me way back when."
"Well, he is WAY too cute!" Weiss said, dashing over to cuddle it after snapping out of her confusion, deciding logic was out the window in her life now.
"Girls..." Blake said slowly, eyeing Zwei. "We need to go do our mission. And that dog is staying here..."
"O-oh! S-sorry Blake-y!" Yang said awkwardly, grabbing Zwei and placing him on Weiss's bed, where he snuggled up for bed on the pillows, despite Weiss's protests for more cuddles.
"Mission time!" Ruby chirped happily, leading the team out of the room, un-aware of the massing group of people heading toward the Emerald Forest at the same time...
The Emerald Forest
Vale Kingdom
8:45 PM
"Flowers, flowers, looking for some flowers~!" Ruby chirped happily, skipping around as the group of 5 proceeded deeper into the woods.
"So... Anyone know any good jokes?" Orion awkwardly asked to pass the time, Yang instantly brightening up.
"Oh, I have one!" Yang began.
"NO" Weiss and Blake shouted at once, Orion "dying" from laughter as Yang pouted.
"So mean..." Yang commented, walking with a slouched back and arms limp, letting out an exaggerated sigh.
"Oh...!" Orion chuckled, wiping a tear from his eye. "THAT was hilarious! Your team just shut you out."
"Shush..." Yang pouted some more, dragging her feet along, making Orion laugh even more.
"Oh... This team is perfect." Orion noted, talking a deep breath to stop laughing.
"So, where's the plants that Ozpin wanted?" Weiss asked, Blake frowning.
"Come to think of it... he never said what they looked like..." Blake noted, Orion coughing awkwardly.
"Yeah... Ozpin didn't send that mission for you all, I did." Orion said quickly, coughing again as the girls all looked at him.
"What." They all said at once.
"I've been planning something for a while, and I needed a reason to get you all out here. We are meeting some new friends." He said cheerfully.
"Friends?" Ruby asked, tilting her head, her little wolf ears popping up for a moment before they teleported away.
"Yeah, 8 of them in total." Orion said, pulling out a Scroll. "Although I absolutely hate the last one... I can't believe I added them... Let alone how impossible it was to add them..."
"What?" Weiss asked, intrigued.
"There are 7 currently, and I've been tossing the last one in my mind for a while... But after Xalveris's attacks..."
Orion turned to Weiss. "I want you to run a trip downtown, I want you to find him."
"Who?" Weiss asked, blinking with her one good eye.
"You'll know who it is when you sense their Aura. Be warned, don't do anything too crazy when you see them... Just know that I don't like it any more than you do, understand?"
"Yeah, sure." Weiss said, her new rebuilt rapier to her side, which Ruby called "M 2.0" or something like that.
Orion nodded, giving a hopeful look before teleporting her away...
Downtown Vale
Outside Juniors Club
"Oh Gods..." Weiss said as she looked at the building before her, recalling Yang speaking of it a while back.
Weiss sighed loudly as she made her way towards the club doors, a few men in black suits eyeing her at the entrance.
"Right this way..." One said, a hand on his pistol in case she acted up, Weiss giving a small smile to him before walking into the building.
Weiss glanced around the massive room, empty besides the workers and a duo of girls, along with a rather tall man in a suit, who was walking away from a small circular table.
The man walked over to Weiss, frowning down at her, the two girls watching closely.
"Ma'am, we are closed." The owner, Junior, said with a sigh, as if he had too much on his mind.
"You must be Junior, Yang told me all about you."
Junior paled. "B-blondie?" He stuttered, gulping aloud.
"Mhmm. Now, are you going to make me leave? I could always call her to come down here..." Weiss threatened.
"U-Uh... N-no, you can stay, Ma'am. Pick a table and I'll bring you a menu; drinks are on the house." Junior coughed, his pupils wide.
"Thank you, Junior." Weiss said, patting a hand on his back as a man coughed in the bar, at the circular table, a wave of Aura shaking the room a bit.
Weiss walked closer, her good eye twitching.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Weiss growled under her breath.
Weiss walked closer, nearly to the table.
"How are you alive?" Weiss muttered, walking up faster.
The man was asleep, wearing a black suit and had messy and greasy black hair, he periodically coughed in his sleep, muttering something.
Weiss growled again and walked over, kicking the table, knocking over all his drinks scattered upon the table, startling the man from his sleep.
"Get lost." The man muttered, looking blindly towards Weiss, growling himself.
"You just don't stay dead, do you...?" Weiss said, arms crossed over her chest, looking at the man with a glare.
"Ah... Weiss Schnee... How are you, princess? Here to do business, are we now?" The blind man who should have been dead, Saturn Laos, asked with a drunken smile...
A/N: I don't apologize for what I've done.