The Great Chase, part 1 "Escape Patch"
AN: Sorry I missed my day, this was finals week and I had my priorities.
Now that I'm back, here is the new chapter; I will be on time next time.
On to the story!
"This is one of the pieces to Sauron's master ring! This is the ring of Darkness." Qrow said as he looked to Ruby and Yang.
They were each sitting on the couch as Qrow was drinking out of his flask, standing in front of the fireplace. The ring was placed on the table between the huntresses and Qrow.
"Piece?" Yang asked as she looked closely.
"Yes… before the Dark Lord Sauron passed into the next life, he gave his daughters his master ring, the ring that was forged of both light and dark. After splitting it in two, the power of the ring was also divided, separating the light and dark." Qrow then walked over to the bookshelf and pulled out an old storybook named "Dark land of Mordor", with it he showed them what the ring used to look like.
"This half went to Sauron's eldest daughter, Salem." Qrow said as he turned the page to show two female silhouettes, one was outlined in black ink, the other in white.
"And this is her ring? How did it end up here?" Ruby asked as she slightly moved away from it.
"The ring was taken by the hand of Salem herself when Isildur Numenor lead the battle of the Last Alliance." Qrow said as he flipped to the final page; it showed Isildur, Joan, Themistocles and Henry standing in a row, facing a large dark figure, Salem.
"But I thought Isildur lost the ring in the river… when he died…" Yang said with a bit of fear in her tone.
Qrow nodded, "He did… but not too long after, someone... or rather, something found it. Some say it was once a Faunas… some kind of amphibious, or maybe reptile… I can't remember" Qrow said after taking another sip form his flask. "Anyway, it came to be known as Gollum. And when he took the ring, he spent the next 80 years or so in hiding."
"And then mom found it… In Gollum's cave…" Ruby remembered when her mother used to tell her of her adventures. And she specifically remembered her telling of her encounter of Gollum when Yang was born.
"Luckily for her it didn't do anything to her." Qrow said with a bit of a smile.
"What do you mean?" Yang asked.
"Well… It is said that before the battle of the Last Alliance, Salem reforge the ring to have some kind of curse… a curse that would corrupt anyone who so much as touched it." Qrow said after another sip from his flask.
"So why didn't it do anything to mom… Or to ME?" Ruby asked with a bit of shock.
"If I were to guess… your silver eyes had something to do with it." Qrow said as he put down the book, "But that's not what we should be worried about…" He walked towards the window and looked out beyond the front yard. "I recently heard that a fortress near Mordor just went down…"
"When you say 'down'… do you mean…?" Yang felt too afraid to finish the question.
"…Massacred. But your friend Penny managed to save a good number of them." Qrow said as he turned back to the girls, "But that wont be the end of it. Evil is stirring in Mordor again… and Salem herself has returned."
"But she's dead… Isildur killed her in the battle, right?" Ruby asked.
Qrow shook his head, "If only it were that simple… Aside from the curse, Salem implanted a 'piece' of her soul into that ring. And so long as that ring exists, she has an 'anchor' to this world. Some people call it a 'Horcux'… and that is very dark stuff."
"Why now?" Yang asked in confusion.
"I don't know… maybe she feels it again… maybe it called to her." The two of them looked at him in confusion, he nodded, "Yeah. It can do that." He then took another sip.
"But she doesn't know it's here." Ruby said as she stood up, "I mean… if she knew it was here, then she would have sent someone here already right?"
Qrow looked rather uneasy as he answered, "Gollum knew your mother had the ring… I knew that, and so does she… I looked for him for days, but I was told that they got to him first." Qrow then drank the last of his flask; he turned it upside down to see that it was empty. "I don't know how long they tortured him for… but the only thing they could get out of him were two words, 'Patch' and 'Rose'."
"Then they know to come here!" Yang shouted in realization.
Ruby then grabbed the ring and tried to hand it to Qrow, he quickly responded by backing away as if someone just put fire in his face. "Take it, Uncle."
"No." Qrow tried to back away.
"Take it, you can get it out of here!" Ruby said with fear in her voice.
"You can't give me this ring!"
"Why? You can keep it safe?" Yang asked in confusion.
"DON'T TEMPT ME RUBY!" Qrow then slapped the ring out of her hand and onto the floor. The both looked to him as if he were crazy. But then given as he's drunk most of the time it wouldn't seem that weird, but this was different.
"I'm sorry, kiddo… But I can't touch it… not even you, Yang." Qrow said as he sat down, "Believe me, I would want to use it to do good… but through me, this ring would turn me into a puppet, and then Salem would eventually get it. And if that happens, we can kiss this bright and sunny world goodbye."
"Then what should we do?" Ruby asked.
Qrow looked to them both and gave them a slight grin, "You guys still remember the roadway to Rivendell form here?"
Ruby and Yang packed two backpacks full of spare clothing, food rations and bullets. Yang then grabbed her keys and walked with Ruby to the garage. Qrow was on his scroll, calling both Blake and Weiss, because the other two asked him to.
"Where are we going to go?" Ruby asked.
"First you'll have to get out of Patch. Head to the airport." Qrow said as he ended his scroll call. "Your friends say they're on their way, and will have a plane waiting for you by the time you get there."
Yang tossed Ruby her spare helmet as she put on her own. "Do you have any idea what Salem will send after us? That way we know what to look out for."
"She may send her Nazgul. If that be the case, if you begin to feel cold or see your breath, hide." Qrow said as he opened the garage door.
"What's a Nazgul?" Ruby asked.
"Something you don't want to run into, trust me." Qrow said as he gestured the girls to hurry up and exit the garage. "Try to stay off the roads as best you can."
"Then it'll take longer…" Yang said with a groan. "And my Bee isn't made for off-road."
"It's the only way to be safe, I'm sorry." Qrow said.
"Not exactly what I had in mind when I wanted a new adventure." Ruby said as she put on her helmet.
Qrow then looked to the two girls, seeing them in their huntress outfits and smiled. "You guys remain me of your parents every time…" (Outfits we saw in Vol. 4)
Qrow then walked up to Ruby, "Where is the ring?" Ruby then patted her backpack pocket. "Good… Now one thing you need to remember, Ruby, and this is crucial. Never put it on. The moment you do, they know where you are and come for you. That Ring wants to be found, so don't give it the chance to be."
Ruby nodded in understanding. "I won't let it."
Qrow then stood back as they both climbed onto the bike, "Once you're in the mainland, head for the village of Sequoia. And go to the Inn of the 'Prancing Pony'. I was told you'll find someone there that will help escort you to Rivendell."
"Who?" Yang asked.
"I don't know. I didn't ask." Qrow said.
"No I mean, who told you all this stuff. How could you possibly know what Gollum said, let alone that someone would escort us in Sequoia?" Yang asked with a bit of confusion.
"The leader of our 'inner circle' has great information gathering… and it's kept us alive thus far. I trust it." Qrow then patted both their helmets, "Now go, and keep each other safe."
Yang then revved up the engines and then rode down a dirt path that ran parallel to the main road. Luckily for Yang, dawn was around the corner and gave her enough light to see where she was going.
Qrow couldn't help but feel fear for them both, "Be careful, you two…"
Meanwhile in Vale, Jaune and Pyrrha had been spending the morning and mid day together in the city. At one point when they were in the markets, Jaune and Pyrrha split off to buy separate things. They went to get 'gifts' for each other.
Pyrrha went into a dress store and bought a new party dress, and then into a lingerie store. "Let's see… What would most definitely get Jaune's heart rate up…?" she thought as she was looking through her options.
At the same time, Jaune went into a jewelry store and bought a 1-carat green diamond ring, and two green earrings to match her eyes. "I know she'll love this… And tonight will be the night that I ask…"
They met up back together for a night at one of the most romantic restaurant in Vale, "Castillo del Amor", which meant "Castle of Love". He didn't pop the question when they were eating; he wanted to wait until they were back at the airship. Almost as a way of teasing her into thinking that he was going to do it right then, when really he planned on doing it at their temporary home.
Jaune and Pyrrha entered the airship; the crew was still enjoying their week off duty so they weren't onboard. Jaune and Pyrrha walked up to the door to the commanding officer's cabin. They both still had smiles on their faces; they enjoyed themselves a lot tonight. And they both have their own idea on how to end it on a high note.
Jaune used his right hand to open the door and put his left hand into his pocket to pull out the ring. He kept his eyes on Pyrrha, but when he saw her look forward and her smile vanish, he looked to see what caught her attention.
Sitting at Jaune's desk was Ozpin; he was only visible from one lamp light on the table. "Apologies for interrupting your date night…"
Jaune's hand came out of his pocket, leaving the ring inside, as he folded his arms across his chest. "What are you doing on my ship? How did you even get in here?!"
"You haven't been answering any of my messages and ignored all my calls. You gave me no choice. And as to how I got in, your crew were nice enough to let me in." Ozpin said as he stood up from the chair.
He used his cane to help him stand, the wounds he received from his isolation and imprisonment in Dol Guldur had lasting damage to him. Even today he still couldn't walk like he used to.
"What do you want?" Pyrrha asked.
Although she wasn't as hostile as she would have been two years ago, she still doesn't trust him now. Ozpin looked to Jaune and sighed, "Jaune... something terrible has happened, and I need your help."
Jaune rolled his eyes and leaned against the wall. Pyrrha walked over to the bed and sat down. She decided to stay out of this conversation, it was clear that this was more about Jaune and Ozpin than about her.
"What happened that was so important that you went so far as to sneak into my ship?" Jaune asked.
"I'm sure you were told of the events at Minas Ithil?" Ozpin asks with his usual monotone.
"The reports say a hoard of Grimm overran the base... But Ironwood's 'Unofficial report' he sent me said it was the Nazgul." When Jaune mentioned them there was a bit of fear in his tone. "If that's true, why would they attack that fortress?"
Pyrrha was a bit surprised to find Jaune sound so fearful. The last time he seamed this worried was back when they were entering the tournament four years ago.
"They took the fortress because she is on the move." Ozpin says with 100% contempt in his voice. He knew without a doubt that he was right, and Jaune could tell just by seeing it in his eyes.
"Salem..." Jaune said with a bit of a hiss in his tone. Ozpin nodded. Pyrrha remember hearing mention from one of the guards at the Spire when she was Cinder's prisoner. She knew her only by name and that she was Cinder's superior.
"Still don't see why you came to me..." Jaune says with the same irritated tone he had from before.
"I need your help to escort someone that has something that Salem wants. You will find them in Sequoia village in Vale, at the Inn of the Prancing Pony." Ozpin says as he places a paper with the coordinates to the village.
"Who am I meeting and what are they holding that Salem wants to badly that she would start moving now?" Jaune asked with complete confusion. He may not know much about Salem but he knows she's not stupid. To reveal herself now would mean that she is ready to start another Great War, but as far as he knew, the "Grimm hoard count" hasn't spiked in over a year. "Why would she risk exposing herself now? It would be too early for her..."
"The object she wants... It's her ring... The Ring of Darkness." Ozpin says with a bit of fear in his tone.
Jaune and Pyrrha both were taken back by this news. The Ring... THE Ring, has surfaced again. It had been 80 years and nobody has seen or heard from it in that time. "No reports, investigations without ends, and NOW it turns up?"
"Who is the currier?" Pyrrha asked. She noticed that Ozpin didn't ask Jaune's first question, and she couldn't help but ask.
Ozpin looked to them both, with a bit of hesitation on his face. He knew that if he lied they could tell, and if he told the truth Jaune would force him to leave. But this wasn't the time for personal feelings. "The one who is currying to Sequoia... Is Ruby...?"
Silence took the room. Pyrrha was silent; she may not have looked it, but she was fighting back a wave of anger and hatred from bubbling over the rim. Jaune on the other hand just looked at Ozpin. If you looked long enough you'd think he wasn't blinking for more than five minutes.
"You... put this... ON RUBY?!" Jaune exploded.
"We didn't have a choice!" Ozpin shouted back.
"BULLSHIT! THAT'S A LOAD OF BULLSHIT!" Jaune shouted louder.
"Jaune!" Ozpin shouted, "The Ring corrupts any who hold it, EXCEPT those who have silver eyes. Now I'm not saying I wanted this for her, but it has to be her, for now!"
"Who's the next person you're going to put a burden on? Nora? You have a VERY nasty habit of putting your problems on other people who have NO qualification!" Jaune spat.
"It has been two years, Jaune! It's time to MOVE ON!" Ozpin tries to confront him but Jaune brought on just as good of points as he did.
"You USED Pyrrha for your own game!" Jaune shot back. "And now you're using Ruby!"
"That's not fair! I didn't ask her to do this, nobody did! She just found the ring and that's it." Ozpin started to get irritated.
"Get out!" Jaune said as he pointed to the door. "Get out before I throw you out!" Jaune had enough of Ozpin's excuses and had no patients to hear any more of them.
Ozpin saw that he would get nowhere further than this. Jaune didn't want to see him anymore, let alone talk to him. Ozpin placed the coordinates on the desk and walked to the door, using his cane to walk with. Just as he reached the door, he was standing next to Jaune. "Not a day goes by that I don't regret my choices… my only hope that there will come a day when I can make amends for them…"
Jaune didn't say a word; he had nothing left to say. Pyrrha remained silent, there was nothing to add and she knew it.
Ozpin walked off the ship and walked towards Beacon. There was a small tear that dripped down his left eye. He quickly wiped it off and continued down the walkway towards the academy.
Jaune sat down at the bed and put his hands on his forehead.
Pyrrha stood up and sat down next to him. She placed a hand on his shoulder, "Jaune… Ruby needs our help…"
"If I do this I'm just doing Ozpin's dirty work again…" Jaune said with a bit of a low tone. He then stood up started to growl in frustration, "And I am NOT going to follow that arrogant son of a-!"
Before Jaune knew it, Pyrrha stood up with him, got in front of him and slapped him in the face. Jaune's face was that of pure shock. "Snap out of it, Jaune! This isn't about Ozpin, or Us, this is about the whole world!"
Jaune looks her in the eye, "Did you just slap me? You never slapped me before."
"I didn't think I had to until now…" Pyrrha said with a bit of irritation in her voice. "Look, Jaune… you can't keep holding this anger towards Ozpin forever. You need to let it go."
"You're asking ME to let it go? Pyrrha!" Jaune wasn't expecting this from her.
"YES I'm asking this; because if you don't do it now, you never will." Pyrrha was trying to be as calm as she could about this.
"I can't believe YOU are defending him. You're actually being the devil's advocate right now?" Jaune asked with confusion.
"He's not the devil!" Pyrrha gave a bit of an annoyed look.
"You know what I mean!" Jaune said as he crossed his arms. "After what he tricked you into doing, what it almost costed you; are you saying you forgive him for that?!"
She then puts her hands on his shoulders, "Jaune! I'm not asking you to forgive him… I haven't… Not yet anyway… But you have to let this go."
Jaune tried to look away, but Pyrrha put her hand on his chin and turned him back to face her, "You have to let this go… If you let all this anger stay built inside you, you'll fall back into the same darkness that you were in when you had the Arkenstone…"
Pyrrha hit the nail right on the head with that one. When he told her what he was like, what he almost became because of that damned rock, she refused to let him fall back to that. "Right now, Ruby needs our help… That means we need to work with Ozpin and the rest of his 'inner circle'… Ok?"
Jaune sighed, "Ok…" He then gave her a hug; she quickly returned it in kind. She then started to rub her hand down his back, and a bit down the back of his head.
"I know it won't happen over night, but I believe there will be a day where we forgive him… And I have a feeling hating Ozpin wasn't something your father wanted…" she said as she held him tighter.
Jaune then smiled a bit, "Ok, that's just cheating…"
"I know." She said as she smiled.
Then Jaune's scroll began to vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw that it was Carol calling. "Hello?" he said as he answered the call.
"Jaune, we have a problem!" Carol said with a very concerned tone.
Jaune and Pyrrha entered the main military command center and saw that Carol and Qrow were both standing over the holo-map of Vale.
"Report." Jaune said as he walked up to the table.
"The boarder villages have shared reports of unknown ships off the coast. Others say their Grimm-detectors are showing hoard massing in sector 4 and 7." Carol said as she highlighted all that she mentioned on the map.
Pyrrha looked to Qrow with confusion, "When did you get here?"
"I've been here for hours… A little birdy told me to come by and help with what I can." Qrow said as he swirled his flask and then took a sip.
"Those sectors are in Mirkwood and near one of the outer villages. Have you sent support troops?" Jaune asked.
"Already done. But if those reports are accurate, Jaune…" Carol says with a bit of worry in her tone.
"Then an invasion is coming our way." Jaune finished with a bit of a hiss in his voice.
An assistant walked up to Carol with a data pad and then walked away. Carol read the repot and her eyes widened with fear, "Jaune, something is happening at Fornost!"
Pyrrha looked confused, "What is Fornost?"
Jaune typed in the location and zoomed in the ruined fortress on the map, "Fornost is an old fortress that Vale used to use… It was the last fortress to hold the coast before Vale's counter attack. But by the time the reinforcements got there, the troops stationed there were wiped out."
"We abandoned it decades ago because we didn't need it anymore… now there are reports of large scale Grimm-massing!" Carol said as she updated the image to present day. The map lit up as if the fortress and the forest around it were painted red; thousands of red dots, Grimm, massing inside the fortress and in the surrounding forest.
Jaune started to get worried, so much was happening in so little time. Salem was more prepared for war than he had originally thought. "How many men can we spare for a siege at Fornost?"
"None." Carol said bluntly.
Everyone looked to her with confusion, so she elaborated, "Jaune, there are too many hoards and possible invasion zones, Vale's forces are spread too thin to deal with something like this. Same goes for the Sky Knights."
"Then how on Remnant are we going to stop the army at Fornost?" Jaune asked with a bit of anger in his voice.
Everyone's attention was pulled towards Qrow as he cleared his throat loudly. "I think I have a solution to the problem…" Qrow then pulled out his scroll and forwarded four images of people.
"These hunters have the training, the skill, and the power to take care of Fornost." Qrow said with full contempt.
"Are they reliable?" Pyrrha asked.
"I've seen them in action myself, they can do it." Qrow said with a calm voice.
Carol rolled her eyes, "Four people can't take on an army on their own!"
"They're smart, I'm sure they'll find a way to win. However, it will take some convincing to get them to do this…" Qrow said as he took another sip form his flask.
"Convincing?" Jaune asked with confusion, he then realized what he meant when he saw Qrow rub his index finger and thumb together. "They're Freelancers, aren't they?"
"OH NO! I am not asking for Freelancer help! They are greedy drunk lowlifes." Carol said as she crossed her arms.
"Hey, I was a freelancer once!" Qrow said with a bit of a whiny tone.
"I rest my case." Carol said with a dull look
Qrow was quiet for a second then shrugged his shoulders, "Well, you got me there." He then drank more form his flask.
"Can they get it done?" Jaune asked.
Qrow looked to Jaune and nodded, "Yep."
Jaune looked at the map; first looking at the rumored invasion sightings, then to the villages that were facing hoard attack, and then to Fornost. He lowered his head and sighed, "Set up a meeting."
"Jaune!" Carol said with disbelief.
Just as Carol gave her outburst, another assistant walked up to Pyrrha and pointed to her comlink. Pyrrha followed the assistant to her console and answered the call.
"We're out of options, Carol." Jaune then turned to Qrow, "Can you arrange a meeting?"
"I can get you their informant in Vale, but you'll have to meet them yourselves." Qrow said.
"Carol, you meet with them and send them to Sequoia, at the Inn of the Prancing Pony. I'll meet them there." Jaune said as he stood up straight.
"What will you be doing there?" Carol asked with confusion.
"I have my own mission to do, and the only time I'll be in public will be then. Tell them to meet me there by Monday." Jaune said as he backed away from the table.
"Jaune, I don't like asking Freelancers…" Carol said with the same irritated tone she had before.
"You aren't asking them to help, I am. Just tell them to meet me at the village and then you're done, ok?" Jaune asked.
Carol nodded and then walked away. Qrow gave Jaune a smile and then started to walk away.
"Qrow… Why did you come to this meeting?" Jaune asked out of complete curiosity.
"Like I said, a birdy told me you may need my help, and I'd say she was right." Qrow said as he held his flask up a bit and then turned away.
Jaune then walked up to Pyrrha as she just finished her call, "Ok, I'll be there soon. Love you too. Bye."
"Who was that?" Jaune asked with a bit of jealousy in his tone.
She smirked at him, she found it a bit cute he was jealous, "It was my cousin. He said he needs me back home. Help inspire the troops, I guess. Something odd is happening in Mistral that is similar to here… But don't worry, I'll meet you in Rivendell."
"Ok, while you're in Mistral, why don't you bring Ren and Nora with you, with what's going on it may be best to have the whole team back together." Jaune said as he held her.
"My thoughts exactly…" She then hugged him hard, "You better get there before me, or I will come after you…"
"Yes ma'am…" Jaune said as he let go. Just as Pyrrha was walking away, he called her again, "Oh and Pyrrha, tell your cousin I said good luck."
"I'm sure he'd say the same." Pyrrha said with a wink.
In Patch, Ruby and Yang had been driving through dirt paths for almost a full day. They stopped because Yang's Bee had some problems with the gears. While yang was working on her bike, Ruby was keeping lookout in the tree above.
"You almost done down there?" Ruby asked.
Yang groaned as she rubbed motor oil off her forehead, "Do you have any idea how much damage to the inner gears this does to the engine? This bike isn't made for off-road!"
"Qrow said we need to stay off the road, that means going through all the dirt paths." Ruby said as she looked down her scope to look at the surrounding area.
"I would have this set for off road, but you didn't give me time to set it when we left." Yang said as she placed the outer plating back onto the bike.
"You were the one who was eager to get going. Nobody said we had to leave right then!" Ruby said.
"I know! I just don't like blaming myself." Yang mumbled that last part to herself.
Using her scope, Ruby looked around until she saw the main road, then she saw what looked like two women on rental bikes riding down the road. Judging by the direction they were going, she realized they were heading to their house. Ruby then zoomed in to see that they were Weiss and Blake.
"Yang! Weiss and Blake are on the road!" Ruby shouts as she jumps down. "If we hurry we can catch them on the road.
Yang didn't need any convincing as she hopped on her bike and waited for Ruby to hop on too. She started the engine and gunned it down the dirt path. With luck they reached the road just before Blake and Weiss could pass the path.
Weiss and Blake parked their bikes and gave them both hugs. "What are you guys doing here? I thought we were supposed to meet up at the airport?" Ruby asked as she held Weiss tightly.
"We were at the airport, but when you guys were taking too long we got worried." Weiss said.
"Qrow telling us to hurry and not answering our questions didn't exactly ease the tension." Blake said.
Yang looked at their bikes, "Where did you get pieces of junk like these?"
"They're rentals at the airport, Yang." Weiss said as she rolled her eyes.
As Yang, Weiss and Blake were talking, Ruby's attention was pulled elsewhere. She first started to feel a bit of a chill flow through the air. She then saw what appeared to be smoke come up from below her eyes. She looked down to see it was her own breath. She looked down the road and fell something dark approaching. She then heard a faint screech echo down the road to confirm her fears. "Get off the road! NOW!"
The other girls were confused as to why Ruby was freaking out, but then they began to feel the same darkness she did. They moved their bikes down to a nearby storm drain tunnel that ran under the road. It was large enough for them to be standing straight up and not hit their heads on the ceiling.
The bikes were parked deeper into the drain, while the four huntresses all lined up against one of the walls and waited. What they were waiting for, they had no clue.
Less than a minute after they settled in the drain, they heard the sounds of horse hooves tapping above them. Then they stopped.
Ruby looked down at the muddy water and see that it was beginning to frost over. Ice was forming out of mud before her eyes, and she couldn't believe it.
Then they heard what sounded like a person landing feet first on the road. Someone had dismounted one of the horses. Then they saw a shadow come over the entrance to the drain. They heard what almost sounded like sniffing.
"Do you smell anything?" A formal woman voice asked.
"Not much… I think a few rodents. And maybe a cat…" said a more energetic woman's voice.
"What good are birdlike abilities if they don't help us find them." Said a bratty woman's voice.
"Stow it, Jackie, I'm concentrating…" Said the energetic voice but with a bit more annoyance in her tone.
"Are they close?" asked the formal woman in more of a whisper.
"Yes." The energetic one said.
Ruby and the girls could feel them getting closer. If they didn't know they were in the drain, they would have gone on by now. They were teasing them.
Blake took a quiet deep breath and then walked towards the middle of the drain. She then activated her semblance. While it was common knowledge that she could form shadow clones, but this time was different, this time when it formed, it started running out of the drain fast. It ran so fast it was almost as if it was the original. But the True Original was still in the drain with the rest of the group.
They immediately heard a screech as one of the women saw Blake's clone run off. "AFTER HER!" Shouted the bratty voice.
With that, all two women rode off after the clone, and the third flew off with her own wings.
All four women sighed in slight relief, but they were still terrified. "What… the hell… was that?" Weiss asked.
"What is going on Ruby?" Blake asked.
"I'll explain later, right now we need to get off the island." Ruby said.
"We're not far from the port, let's go." Weiss said as she mounted her bike.
The other women mounted their bikes and rode out of the storm drain and back onto the road, gunning it all the way down to the airport.
They reached the airport just after sunset. It was dark and most of the public airfares were already gone or were shut down for the night.
They reached a bullhead that had a Schnee Dust Company logo on the side. "You're dad let you borrow one of these?" Yang asked as she loaded her bike onto the plane.
"Borrowed sounds like an understatement. It's more like 'commandeering'." She said as she winked.
"And here I thought I didn't teach you anything in our academy years…" Yang smiled.
Weiss then walked into the cockpit and began starting the engines. Yang was so surprised to find that Weiss knew what she was doing. "When did you learn how to fly a bullhead?"
"When I turned 18 my sister taught me. If I'm going to be a huntress, I'm going to need to know about a lot of stuff." Weiss said as she continued the preflight sequence. "Go outside and remove the fuel line and tell the others that we're ready."
Yang nodded as she ran out of the plane and to the fuel line port.
Meanwhile, Blake and Ruby stood watch not far from the plane. If those three women were able to find them on the road, they may very well be on their way here now.
"GUYS! We're good to go!" Yang shouted as she ran back into the plane.
Blake and Ruby then turned back to the plane, ready to put those nightmares behind them. But then they both heard a faint screech in the wind. They both turned back to see two horse riders and one large aviary heading right for them.
They both instantly ran as fast as they could to the plane. "WEISS, TAKE OFF NOW!" Yang shouted as she grabbed on one of the supports and held her hand out to grab the girls and pull them onboard.
Blake reached the plane first just as the plane lifted off the ground. Weiss started to fly away from the port, but she did it slowly enough so that Ruby could reach.
Ruby ran so fast she ended up using her semblance and rose pedals started to fly behind her. The plane was starting to get higher and she was out of Yang's grasp. Weiss couldn't go lower because she was about to hit the guard fence surrounding the port.
Ruby drew her weapon, converted it into scythe mode and shot straight down. She propelled herself upward and grabbed onto Yang's prosthetic arm. Blake grabbed Ruby along side Yang and pulled her up.
They pulled her onboard and all four of them fell on each other in the main hold. Just when they thought they were safe they heard that same screeching, only it was a lot louder and closer.
Zyra was holding onto the hull of the plane with her talons buried into the plating. She was about to climb into the plane but then found herself at the reviewing end of a sniper rifle. "No hitchhikers." Ruby said as she fired.
The bullet hit Zyra in her left eye, she arched back in pain and let louse her talons.
"What was that?" Weiss shouted in confusion. Ruby and the others all gave off a sigh of relief. Yang then pressed a button to close the main door.
"Get us to the mainland. We need to get to Sequoia." Ruby said as she sat down in the cockpit. Luckily it was designed to be open enough for all four of them to sit in it.
"Now will you tell us what's going on?" Blake asked as she looked at two sisters with a rather desperate look on her face.
Zyra's body continued to fall straight down into the water below and made a large splash.
The water seamed clam after a minute, then Zyra came up and gasped. "That little bitch…" The bullet hole appeared to have sand on the inside. Then the sand started to move and form together, healing the eye and making it whole again.
"Have a nice swim?"
Zyra looked up to find both Jackie and Jadis looking down at her while they were on their horses. Zyra looked down to see that they were standing on a frozen glacier that was undoubtedly made by Jadis as a means of their travel between Patch and the Mainland.
"Stow it, Jackie." Zyra said as she crawled onto the ice.
"Why don't you go fly after them already?" Jackie asks when Zyra pulls herself out of the water.
"Like regular birds, my wings don't work when they're wet!" Zyra then crossed her arms and growled, "We were so close! It was right there, I could feel it!"
"It's not like we can't still go after them." Jackie said as she held her hand out to allow Zyra to ride with her. "Once we reach the main land we can go searching again."
"But we don't know where they're going! Sanus is the biggest continent in the world, they could be ANYWHERE!" Zyra said with an angry shout.
"The Ring is in the possession of humans… Eventually one of them will make the mistake of putting it on and we will find them. It's only a matter of time."
AN: And that's where I end it.
Jaune is on his way to help Ruby, Ruby is on her way to Sequoia and the Nazgul are hunting her.
For those who want to know about that team of hunters Qrow mentioned, they are the OCs of one of my partners, Breakawayfan. He will be posting his parallel story along side mine soon, and when he does check it out. It will be following a similar story to the LotR game "War in the North".
I am SO sorry it took me so long but I had Finals to worry about and other personal things to get settled before I could finish the chapter.
I will have the next one done next week, not entirely sure on which day yet, but it will be next week for sure.
Please R&R
And last but not least, ARKOS!