The Shadow of Fire

Chapter 43: This Wolf has Fangs

The Maelstrom

Sky above Fort Scatter

Vale

4:32 AM

"Cookies..." A high pitch voice mumbled out in her sleep as Ruby snored quietly in the pillow, nuzzling up against the white soft object next to her.

Which happened to be Weiss.

"Ruby... Get off. I'm trying to sleep..." Weiss groaned as she sighed and went back to sleep.

Ten seconds passed.

Weiss's eyes shot open, rolling off the bed with a minor shriek, landing on the snow and ice colored floor with a thud in her nightgown.

"RUBY!" Weiss shouted as she jumped up, blushing as she glared at the girl in her bed. "GET OUT!"

"But you're so soft..." Ruby said as she began to nuzzle Weiss pillow.

"I locked the door! How did you even get it here?!" Weiss said, blushing Ruby red.

"Mmmm... Goddess of Time and Space... Went back in time and unlocked your door... Mmmm..." Ruby sighed as she snuggled on the bed. "Mmm... Come cuddle."

"Go cuddle Zwei." Weiss retorted, looking at the clock.

A light ding echoed throughout the ship, Orion clearing his throat on the other end of the speaker system.

"Attention all passengers, we have reached our destination. Please gear up now and head to the mess hall for breakfast before we arrive." Orions voice came from the speakers on the ceiling before a light click stopped the voice, Weiss sighing as she pushed Ruby off her bed.

"EEEE!" Ruby yelped as she teleported away before she could hit the floor, popping up next to Weiss.

"You...!" Ruby said with a huff, crossing her arms. "Meanie!" Ruby finished her angry statement, her clock eyes ticking along, showing the time.

"Oh shush, you little baby." Weiss sighed as she pecked Rubys cheek. "Go feed your dog. Yang took him in her room I think. I'll get you your breakfast."

"Finnnnnnnnnnnne!" Ruby huffed as she walked off towards the door slowly. "I'm a big girl! I can get my own food!" The girl added.

"Then stop dragging your feet." Weiss added, sighing as Ruby closed the door behind her.

"That girl..." Weiss sighed as she tried to recall why she liked her in the first place, changing into her combat skirt and gathering her gear before heading towards the cafeteria room of the ship.

Weiss sat down at her own private table, much away from the others, who were having a blast talking together, telling stories, and just having a fun.

Weiss, however, was still thinking of her father. Even if he was a massive asshat and was mean to her girlfriend, Weiss still loved him. He was her dad after all.

"Chin up." Saturn said as he plopped down across from Weiss at the white table, holding a glass of what seemed to be vodka.

"Alcohol down." Weiss said as she snatched the glass, placing it on the floor next to her.

Saturn sighed. "If you weren't my employer, Weiss, I would have just tossed you across the room for that."

"Bah." Weiss rolled her eyes. "I'm sure you would."

Saturn pulled out a small brown bag, his Guardians popping up and slithering around in snake form, Saturn feeding one a block of some strange purple food, which the other hovered by Weiss's face, interested in her for some reason.

"He likes you." Saturn said randomly as he pet the snake by him. "But Sara doesn't."

"Sara?" Weiss blinked at the snake by Saturn.

"My sisters name. Felt it fit. She was a snake tongued girl after all." Saturn noted. "The best thief I ever knew."

"And this one?" Weiss said, lightly petting the one before her on its head.

"Him? He doesn't have a name." Saturn explained, petting "Sara."

"Ash?" Weiss asked the black ghostly snake.

The snake shook with a twitch, glowing a purple hue.

"Uh...?"

"He likes you a lot. They only do that when they are happy." Saturn said as the one by him did the same.

"Ash it is then!" Weiss said happily.

Ruby popped in from nowhere, in the seat next to Weiss, wearing her combat skirt and cloak, chewing a waffle.

"Hello!" The Goddess chirped.

"Ack!" Weiss exclaimed as she nearly fell out of her chair. "STOP THAT!"

"I'M SORRY! IT'S EASIER THAN WALKING!" Ruby shouted out equally as loud.

Feng walked past the table with a single apple and a bottle of water imported from Atlas, spotting Weiss and Ruby.

"Mind if I join?" The monk asked, wearing a tunic as usual.

"I suppose." Weiss replied as she handed Saturn back his vodka glass. "Get this out of here."

Saturn rolled his lenses as he stood up, moving away from the table as Feng sat down.

Weiss and Ruby began to eat their meals, while Feng stared at Ruby the whole time.

"So. You are the new Goddess... I still can't believe it." Feng said softly, thinking...

'As darkness falls upon the world... the light, woman of white, shall uphold... With the fall of the heir, son of old, the world will follow his descent... With the death of the Gods, and the birth of a new, will light be restored forever...' Feng finished the Prophecy inscribed on the ruins of the temple, deep in thought.

"I know! It's amazing! I feel like I can do anything!" Ruby said as she disappeared, only to reappear in the middle of the table, phased into it from her waist down.

"Ack!" Ruby cried out, pushing down on the table to try and escape, realizing she was stuck. "Glitch in the Matrix!"

Weiss felt droplets of blood drip from her nose, dotting the table below.

"Weiss-y? Are you okay?" Ruby asked her girlfriend, Feng frowning.

"Yes... I am. Just an aneurysm out of complete stupidity." Weiss noted, cupping her nose.

'The heroes of our world... Are complete idiots.' Feng thought before sighing and smiling.

"Can someone get Orion? I seriously can't move." Ruby said, struggling.

"Can't you just teleport?" Weiss suggested as she cleaned her nose.

"Oh yeah!" Ruby chirped, teleporting away.

Sadly, the table went with her.

Weiss fell on the floor on her bottom, landing with a thud as Feng landed on his feet, looking around for the reappearing Ruby.

Ruby popped up and was now out of the table, which was somehow phased into the ceiling now. Ruby herself was lodged in the wall now, struggling to move.

"Help!" Ruby exclaimed as Weiss sighed, walking out to go get Orion.

Blake and Yang sat with Zwei, just watching all this go down.

"Hey Yang?" Blake asked her girlfriend, staying away from Zwei, who was on the other side of Yang.

"Yeah, Blakey?" Yang asked as she tossed an apple core across the room, the remains of the apple landing in the garbage bin. "Score!"

"When was the last time we did anything in this story?" Blake asked Yang, Yang blinking.

"The what?"

"The story. This story." Blake explained.

"Blake... What are you talking about?" Yang frowned.

"Stupid headache... I haven't been thinking straight." Blake muttered as she huffed. "Okay. How about this. When was the last time we did anything productive?"

"That... Is a good question." Yang noted, petting Zwei.

Lucas, Felix, and Morris were all enjoying their meals, chatting about their weapons and what not while Hayden, Cheshire, and Jacob were all gathered at another table, Hayden eating quietly as Cheshire and Jacob were engaged in a long conversation about the Gods, Cheshire eating a strange substance that she kept claiming was a steak, Jacob not entirely believing her.

Weiss walked back in the room with Orion, who looked at the stuck Ruby and the table in the ceiling, blinking.

"Are you kidding me?" Orion asked.

"I wish." Weiss sighed as her nose began bleeding again, dabbing it with a tissue. "I wish."

Maelstrom

Bridge

5:00 AM

"Okay everyone!" Orion said as he pressed a red button on one of the many computers on the bridge control center, the floor under him shifting into a glass window, showing what lay below.

The large group of warriors looked down, a few taking a few steps back in surprise.

Under them was Fort Scatter, the former Valerian military base. Twelve large airships were docked around the base, belonging to the backers of the White Fang based on the white wolf emblem on the sides of the crafts. The base was massive in size, and according to schematics- very deep underground.

"So... That plan?" Saturn asked as he scratched his chin.

"Simple. We have several drop pods in the hanger. I'll begin an orbital bombardment of the base while you all drop down in the pods, and once inside, you all can meet up at this position-" Orion said, a holographic blue map hovering in the air before the God, pointing to a location inside the base. "Once there you all proceed down to the prison bay, get Mr. Schnee, and get out. Simple as that."

"It's never simple with us." Yang noted as she stifled a laugh, Blake face palming.

"Any questions?" Orion asked, looking around.

Saturn raised a hand.

"Good." Orion said, ignoring Saturn as the former crime lord gave a rude gesture to Orion in response. "Get to the hanger, find a pod, and get set for a combat drop."

When Weiss climbed into her oval shaped pod that Orion had directed the team to, she had expected it to be a little more... more. The thing was not that large on the inside, the black leather seat taking up most of the room as Weiss adjusted her rapier so she could fit comfortably. Various buttons and levers dotted the interior along with a large section of glass before her, showing her the hanger outside of the pod.

"Hanger bay 1 opening." Orions voice echoed around the pod as Weiss closed the roof hatch above her head, adjusting her tiara upon her white hair. "Pods locked and ready... All systems check... Good luck everyone. Stay safe."

Three low beeps, three seconds apart, echoed throughout Weiss's pod, before a green hue flooded her pods interior. Suddenly, the sensation of falling began its effect on Weiss's body, as the picture on the other side of the glass changed from the hanger to open skies, the sun slowly rising on the horizon.

"Commencing bombardment." Orion said as Weiss looked up at the orbiting ship above, watching as a large rod shaped missile shot from a cannon along the Maelstrom, flying downward before colliding with one of the parked airships below, exploding into thousands of pieces in a massive orange fireball.

An air raid siren began sounding from the base below, the sound sounding very low and very quiet from inside Weiss's pod as she soared down below.

A large "warning" holographic sign in red and yellow letters popped up before Weiss's face, indicating that impact with something was imminent, and within seconds, Weiss's world around her went dark, and her vision went black as an explosion slammed her head into the side of the pod.

Twenty minutes later...

"We-s? We-ss ca- y-u hea- m-...?" A staticky voice echoed from the speakers inside her ruined pod, sparks of electricity shooting from several controls on the walls around Weiss's seat. "We-ss? Weiss...?"

Weiss slowly blinked awake, rubbing her aching head as she felt a bit of blood running from her forehead.

"Weiss? Good. I thought I lost you there." Orions voice said to the dizzy heiress. "Their anti aircraft guns launched when you all were falling. Blake and Feng got hit on the way down like you, and I never saw Ruby make ground. But I need you to get out of your pod, Weiss. You need to move, now. I'm drawing their attention as best as I can, but Jacob radioed in, and their are White Fang teams looking for survivors."

Weiss looked around the ruined pod, her glass window cracked in a number of ways.

"You hit ground and fell through three floors of the base, right through the heart. You need to get down deeper to the checkpoint and meet up with everyone. Good luck Weiss." Orion said as his voice clicked off as the speaker system in the pod sparked with electricity, a soft hum indicating a power loss.

Weiss shifted herself to kick out the glass window before her, only to realize she had no room to do so. The heiress grunted as she punched and pushed on the glass, trying to break free from the confinement of the pod, even trying the escape latches on the glass, which had been broken on impact.

Weiss heard the muffled sound of gunfire from outside the pod, and sounds of screaming, causing her to pause in her efforts and attempted to see past the broken glass.

Five White Fang members ran down the hall where she was, ignoring the pod as one turned to fire a burst from her rifle at something behind the pod. A golden katana flew from behind the pod, impaling the girl in the chest and into the ground, dead instantly. The remaining White Fang found themselves at a dead end at the end of the hall past Weiss's pod, the group banging on the wall, as it was actually a large grey door, locked shut once the attack began.

Saturn Laos walked up, holding two golden katanas in hand and one in the air with one of his Guardians in hand form, spinning the three around as he proceeded forward.

Weiss closed her eyes as Saturn reached the group of panicking White Fang, hearing the sounds of their screams as Saturn cut them down.

A tap on the glass caused Weiss to open her eyes, seeing Saturn on the other side of the glass, waving at her.

Weiss slowly waved back, scooting back in her chair as Saturn gripped the sides of the glass, ripping it off and throwing it to the side, holding a hand out to Weiss.

"You alright, Schnee? You fell hard. Thought we lost you on impact." Saturn noted, helping Weiss out as she took his hand.

"Yes, I'm fine. Little bruised up, but fine." Weiss replied, wiping the blood on her forehead on her dress sleeve, the white fabric dotted in blood.

"Good. Grab your sword. We need to move. I doubt this is the only squad of White Fang coming this way." Saturn said as he yanked a katana from the faunus girls dead body, blood dripping from the blade.

"Y-yeah. Let's go." Weiss said as she began following Saturn down the hallways he came from.