Chapter 85
Liam
Atop the Shade academy, Liam fought off Grimm after Grimm. He, Weiss, Winter and the others fought against the creatures.
Decapitating an ursa, an alpha beowolf leapt at Liam from behind. Before it could reach him, a sabyr tackled it. The beowolf made quick work of the sabyr but gave Liam more than enough time to kill the alpha.
Killing off another, Liam placed his hands on his knees as he took deep breaths, tired from fighting so long. Seeing the last were finally taken care of, Liam sheathed his weapons before flying down to the ground below.
Winter had already taken a group to clear out any stragglers. Weiss and Emerald were standing beside each other, both donning different gear.
Emerald now wore a green tank with brown shorts and black boots, while Weiss wore a white t shirt, light blue jeans, and ice white high heel boots.
"You two okay?" Emerald asked them.
"Yeah." Liam rubbed his right shoulder as he cracked his neck.
"These attacks are getting more frequent." Weiss stated. "Do you think Salem's finally deciding to strike?"
"It's getting more and more difficult to tell." Liam said. "These attacks keep lasting longer and longer but Salem still has yet to make any sort of appearance. Not even her followers have shown their faces."
Heading back to Maya's house, the trio walked in, placing their weapons by the front door before venturing further into the residence.
"It doesn't make sense." Liam said. "After being so gung ho, I thought Salem would be itching to attack."
Crying echoed in the house, getting Weiss' attention.
Heading to the back room, Weiss found Ren sitting beside a crib, his eyes closed as he focused on his semblance. Beside him was Nora.
"Fighting over?" Nora asked once she noticed Weiss.
"How is she?" Weiss asked, moving to the crib.
"A bit stressed." Ren answered as Weiss picked up a baby with snow white hair and blood red highlights. "She missed her mother."
"Of course she did." Weiss smiled as her baby cooed in her arms. "Hey, Wulfrun."
Liam emerged from the doorway behind Weiss, looking at the baby over her shoulder. Their eyes met. Much like her father, Wulfrun's eyes were also heterochromatic. Her left eye was just like her mother's, a healthy light blue. But her right eye was her father's: silver.
Shadow
Approaching a man in a dark hood, Shadow sat across from him. Cinder was with him, deciding to stand behind Shadow.
"You Sean?" Shadow asked.
The man didn't reply, only picking up his drink and finishing what was left.
"We have an offer you may find favorable." Cinder stated.
"What is it?" Sean asked.
Cinder smiled before pulling up a chair.
Chrome
Sitting at the game table across from the Red Prince, Ruby looked to the game board.
"So, uh, what're the rules?" Ruby asked.
The Red Prince smiled widely.
"Rule one!"
The guards hup and stand at attention again. The pawns on the game board suddenly come to life.
"Each player may move every pawn one space each turn. Rule two!"
Little yelps. The guards hup again, causing one of the pawns to fall over.
"Whoever gets the most pawns to the other side of the board wins. Rule three!"
The guards hup one more time.
"To take over a space, you must dispose of whoever occupies it…"
"Dispose of?" Ruby repeated questioningly.
The Prince snaps his fingers, and the red pawns on his side of the game board draw their weapons and organize themselves into formation. The white pawns on Ruby's side of the board all groan, already looking roughed up.
"Okay… um… I think I'm missing some pawns…" Ruby states.
"Hmm… How perfect that you brought along friends to play then…" the Prince stated.
Within an instant, Yang, Blake and Chrome were each surrounded by red mist and shrunken down to the pawn's size.
"Hey!" Ruby shouted. "What are you doing?! Chrome?! Yang?! Blake?!"
"Now we're all Littles!" The mouse stated.
"We're okay!" Yang gave her sister a thumbs up.
"Ruby! The most important thing is winning this game!"
"What's wrong with them?"
"I dunno, they look stupid." Two of the pieces said.
"I guess these are our teammates…" Blake sighed.
"No one's going to get hurt… right?" Ruby asked.
The Red Prince smiles smugly. "As I am a gracious ruler, the white team may go first. Begin!"
The lights around the room suddenly go out, a single spotlight shines only on the game table at the center of the room. The game has begun.
"Uh…" Ruby pointed to one of the white pawns near the front of the formation. "Can you advance one space forward please?"
The white pawn groans as they face the red pawn in front of them, who is clearly larger than them. The white pawn charges forward and engages in a duel with the red pawn, but gets knocked down. It dramatically "dies".
The Red Prince laughed.
"Victory for me!"
Ruby winces. A stretcher appears next to the downed white pawn, and they roll onto it. It floats away and the pawn on it stretches its arms and yawns.
Chrome's irritation at the obviously unfair game was now growing. And quick.
"Okay… How about you three?" Ruby points to the three white pawns in front of Blake and Yang.
They charge forward, but get easily knocked down. Ruby groans and Little facepalms.
"Chrome, do you think you can take that space?" Ruby asked while pointing at a spot on the board.
Chrome brandished his blades before effortlessly taking the spot. Afterwards, Chrome shoved his hair back, glaring at the Red Prince and his ridiculous game.
"Beginner's luck. Doesn't bother me!" The Prince stated as he checked his fingers.
Ruby looks back down on the game board. The prince's expression turns from a smile to a serious face.
"So… tell me, why do you want to go to the tree?" The Prince asked.
"We want to go home, and we believe the tree can get us there. Yang, you're up!" Ruby answered before ordering her sister to take a spot.
"All over it!"
Yang cocks Ember Celica and goes forward. She flips into the air and knocks another red pawn to the ground, delivering a barrage of blows. The white team cheers her on as she takes in the glory. Blake gives a small clap at her.
"Who are these people?" A red pawn asked.
Yang smugly rubs her chin with her thumb. The prince growls and nearly balls his hand into a fist, before calming himself down again.
"And how do you know this?" He asked Ruby.
"Well, it… worked for someone we know." She answered while rubbing the back of her head nervously. "Uh… Blake, your turn!"
Blake then goes forward, easily taking down another red pawn with Chrome's spare blade. The crowd cheers for her.
"Yeah."
"Someone you know, hm…?" The Prince asked, livid.
"Hey, hey! What about us? What do you want us to do?" One of the pawns asked Ruby.
Ruby points forward, and the white pawn charges forward taking down another red pawn.
"ENOUGH! It's my turn! ATTACK!!! Full speed ahead!"
All the red team charges forward and clashes with the white team, leading to an all out battle. Chrome, Blake and Yang help take down some pawns too. Some pawns are sent away on stretchers. The prince slams his fist against the armrest.
"No!" He kicks his throne. "This is not how it's supposed to go! This isn't right! This isn't fair!"he falls to his knees. "You're… you!" He breathes heavily. "Wait… what type of creatures did you say you are again…?"
"Well, uh… Blake is a Faunus, Little's a mouse, at least I think… And the rest of us are human?"
Suddenly, a pair of turquoise eyes appear behind Ruby. The pawns gasp. Some of the red pawns raise their weapons at Chrome, Blake, and Yang. The Prince's porcelain head suddenly cracks upon hearing this.
"Human…? HUMAN?!! I KNEW IT!!! You must've cheated!" The Prince shouted as hr hops onto the table. "ALL OF YOU! GET THEM!! GET THEEEEEM!!!"
Chrome let out a sigh of relief.
"Finally! No more rules."
Creating a Glyph behind the Prince, Chrome put everything he had into his semblance. Enlarging it, Chrome summoned his Arma Gigas in all its glory.
Towering over the Prince, the summoned knight raised his massive sword high into the air.
The others' eyes widened as they realized Chrome fully intended to behead the would-be-king. Before any of them could say anything, the Arma Gigas brought its sword down.
End of Chapter 85
