Ember Legacy, Volume 4

Chapter 33: Red Like Roses

Kingdom of Vale

"I do not care what comes after; I have seen the dragons on the wind of morning."

~ Ursula K. Le Guin, The Farthest Shore

"Adult dragons are astute, powerful, and sure of their strength."

~ Ciruelo Cabral, The Book of the Dragon

The Silver Dragon shot into the sky, wings beating furiously. Behind her, eagerly crouched low against the back of her neck and clutching a dark bow in her hand, was a raven-haired Cat Faunus. The duo's eyes were focused ahead at the larger form of a massive Red who was currently winging her way through the still-raging battle above, batting aside any who opposed her with disdainful ease.

Ruby growled low in her chest as she watched another Silver, encased in fire and trailing smoke, drop noiselessly past them, a victim of the Dragon they pursued. "How many arrows do you have left?" she called back over her shoulder.

"Only six," Blake answered determinedly. "All enchanted. I'll make them count."

"I know you will," she chuckled in reply, but then squawked as her vision was filled with that of an unfriendly Onyx Dragon, mouth open and prepared to incinerate them both.

Before she could even think to react, however, the midnight-scaled Dragon snapped his mouth shut after receiving a painful sting in the back of his throat. And then he reared away in fury as his right eye was put out with another black-feathered arrow.

Ruby grinned widely as she shot past the momentarily disabled opponent.

"Four," Blake announced cheerfully.

"Gods, I love you," the Silver laughed. Her eyes narrowed, however, as she saw how the skies in between them and their target were beginning to fill with a disproportionate number of Reds, Browns, Greens, and Whites as if they were attempting to cover their mistress' retreat.

"That is a lot of Dragons for us to fly through," the Faunus Rogue warned.

She felt the other woman start in surprise against her neck when a voice called out from behind them. "Perhaps some assistance would not be unwelcome?"

The Silver craned her neck to note the flight of other Dragons of her kind as they drew near. She grinned at the sleek argent forms of her friend Arslan, followed by both Reese and Nadir. Trailing behind were a handful of other hatchlings who had joined her cause, some of them bearing wounds from talon or fiery breath.

"Hey, Arslan!" she called back thankfully. "We need to catch up with Cinder, she's trying to escape!"

The other Silver's emerald green eyes glinted dangerously. "Ember's mate? Oh, yes, she is not escaping, especially if she is the cause of all of this."

"She very much is the cause," Ruby growled. "And I intend on chasing her down and making her pay."

"Then allow us to clear for you a hole," Arslan stated firmly. The elder Silver quickened the beating of her wings, the others following in her wake.

"Tuck in behind us!" Reese shouted gleefully. "We'll get you guys there!"

"Well," Blake said with a trace of awe in her voice, surrounded on all sides by silvery forms. "This isn't something I thought I'd ever see in my lifetime."

Ruby opened her mouth to answer but snapped it shut as they entered the bulk of the fighting. A massive Red form crashed through their formation, and two hatchling Silvers immediately latched onto him, riding the howling ambusher down and away from them. Another hatchling was grabbed from behind by a White, who quickly tore off both of her wings, leaving the shrieking Silver to plummet from the sky.

With a fierce snarl, Blake turned in her seat and quickly fired off a pair of simultaneous shots. The White reared back, blood streaming from his ruined eyes before he was tackled in the side by a Bronze.

"Two," the Cat Faunus stated regretfully.

Ruby could only nod in response as she concentrated on her flying, weaving in and out of the battling Dragons. Now that the opposition had gathered all in one area to impede the Silver's progress, the rest of her allies had assembled as well, making the fighting there fierce, bloody, and dense. Bodies collided with each other in mid-air as they struggled, but fortunately, most of the Dragons held back from using their breath weapons for fear of injuring their companions.

A pair of Onyx Dragons shot by, wingtip-to-wingtip, as they did their part to clear out some of the opposition. Several Browns and a Green fell in their wake, grievously wounded. Only the Green was able to pull up in time to painfully wing his way out of the battlefield and towards the safety of the mountains in the north.

"Ruby, was that…?" the Faunus girl began to ask.

"Qrow and Raven, yeah," Ruby replied. "Are you in range of Cinder yet?"

"Amost!"

"Let me know when you are, we need to get her attention to slow her down!"

o o o

In her grey enameled armor, an indigo-haired Elven Knight strode forward at the vanguard of Valesian guardsmen. The towering, bestial visages of Orcs loomed over her, only briefly before they fell to her flashing sword.

"Move up!" she shouted. "Keep pressing forward!"

There seemed to be no end to the invaders, green-skinned armored brutes wielding a variety of deadly weaponry. Two of them charged forward to intercept her, one with a thick-hafted spear and the other with a battleaxe. The nimble Knight dodged the spear thrust first, slicing through the wielder's abdomen while ducking under the axe swing next. Rising back up, before her attacker could finish his backswing, she deftly lopped his head off with an overhand strike.

"My Lady!" a panting voice called out. She fell back slightly and turned to see approaching her the only remaining member of the Valesian Order of the Knights of Artemis.

"Dew! Are you injured?"

"No, but we are sorely tired," her blonde friend and comrade-at-arms reported. The other woman, clad in green armor that matched the style of her own, paused and sucked in a great lungful of air. "Just a suggestion, but we should pull back and regroup before we're overrun so far from the walls."

Nebula spun about, her eyes widening as she realized just how far off their group had gotten. "Oum's sodding balls, yes, thank you, Dew. Alright, people!" she barked out next, picking out the veteran soldiers who served as each unit's sergeant. "Let's keep it close together, form up ranks and fall back in order!"

Several screams from behind her made her whirl back about. More Orcs were pressing in, and the few regular soldiery opposing them were woefully unable to keep them at bay.

"Damn! Dew, to me!"

The pair of Knights surged forward, shoulder-to-shoulder, relieving the pressure on the dark green-clad guardsmen. While the soldiers fell back, the pair of armored women gave them breathing room to do so.

"My Lady, I fear we will be cut off in short order!" one of the sergeants, a woman by the name of Garnet, warned loudly. Her green tabard was torn, but both armor and shield had held firm against the onslaught so far. "We've regrouped but cannot move!"

"Any ideas?" Nebula asked her fellow Knight wearily.

"Well, I imagine surrender is out of the question."

"Naturally."

"I've always thought the best defense to be a good offense."

"You would," the indigo-haired Elf snorted inelegantly. "Fine, then, let's-"

She broke off at a fierce cry from the direction of the walls. Started, the pair of Knights pulled back behind the lines of their soldiers before turning to see what the commotion was.

Surging towards them were more guardsmen, as well as some of the common Valesian soldiers carrying pikes and spears. The armed Humanoids fell upon those Orcs in between them, and Nebula grinned widely at the sight of a familiar red mane of hair leading the charge.

"I do believe our reinforcements have arrived," she noted drily.

"Oh, like you were really expecting that," her friend scoffed quietly before shouting out orders to those guardsmen still alive and in formation. "Right! Defensive hold here, shields out, form a square! East side, facing the wall, prepare to open up!"

In short order, their small group of soldiers was considerably bolstered. A widely-grinning Pyrrha, joined by her equally excited blonde squire, joined them soon thereafter.

"Welcome to the party!" Nebula greeted them with wry humor.

The redheaded Knight chuckled as she gave her a rough embrace. "Well, we could not allow yourselves to have all the fun!"

"Oum," Jeanne sighed humorously, clasping forearms with first Dew and then Nebula. "I think Ruby has begun to rub off on her now."

"Is the Orb safe?" the dark-blonde Knight inquired.

"It is," Pyrrha affirmed. "Safe and secure within our own vault in the Order's compound for the time being. I came across two of our sisters from Vacuo there who had sheltered inside the city when the fighting started, they will guard it with their lives until relieved by one of us."

"Excellent." Nebula grinned widely as she unsheathed her sword once more and pointed at the enemy milling nearby still. "Shall we, then?"

"By your orders, Lady Violette," the redhead nodded with a smile.

The bolstered Valesian troops pushed forward, engaging the bulk of the Orcish horde still surrounding the city. With the addition of another pair of Knights and the disciplined ranks of soldiers and guardsmen pressing forward relentlessly, however, it was enough to finally break the enemy. At first a slow trickle, and then in greater numbers, Orcs began to fall back and fade into the surrounding forests, heading towards the direction of their various clan's homes in the wastelands in between Vale and Vacuo.

Once the Warchiefs began to join the exodus, though, the battle was well and truly over, becoming more of a cleanup effort at that point.

"Right," Nebula stated calmly, cleaning the brackish blood off of her sword on a nearby Orc corpse. "What about the enemy at the north gate, do we still need to deal with them?"

"No, matters were well in hand over there." Pyrrha turned with a grin as she spotted movement from around the walls of Vale. "And I think the cause of that has finished up."

Riding towards them were perhaps forty Knights in gleaming silver armor with gold tabards. On each shield was the crest of a gold field with a black hawk gripping a sword. Unlike the Order of Artemis, those Knights of the Order of Oum were a bit more uniform in their appearance and wore crested helmets as well.

The column pulled up once they reached the four dismounted Knights. The one in the lead removed his gleaming helmet, revealing a messy head of dark red hair and a youthful face.

"Well met, Sisters of Artemis! I am Sir Nolan Porfirio, a humble Knight of Oum, at your service!"

Nebula laughed, the tension of the past hour falling from her shoulders. "Well met, indeed, Sir Knight. I am Lady Nebula Violette, and if I may be so bold, I would request of you the use of a horse."

"Of course," the Knight replied with a genial nod. "If I may, I also recognize your name as the ranking Valesian Knight here, and duly place myself and those of my order at your disposal."

"I am very glad to hear that." The indigo-haired Elf nodded gratefully as a lesser-armored figure, likely a squire, dropped from his horse to hand the reins over. "I would certainly have use of you and yours to pursue these Orcs to the very borders of our Kingdom."

"Pardon me," Jeanne interjected differentially. "But… you said Lady Violette here was the ranking Knight in Vale?"

"Indeed," Nolan replied sadly. "The head of our own order, and several ranking members, were all assassinated a fortnight ago. I know the membership of Artemis is perhaps minuscule compared to some such as ours here, but I am aware that she was next in line to succeed the Head of the Order of Artemis' chapter here."

"So that makes you the closest thing to leadership that we have," Dew warned her friend. "Don't do anything stupid, okay?"

"I shall try my best," Nebula reassured her as she mounted the warhorse. With a fierce cry, she drew her sword and held it aloft, turning to face the other mounted Knights. "Let us chase these vermin out of our lands! For Vale!"

"For Vale!" roared the column of Knights as they set off, hooves thundering in pursuit of the retreating army.

"So," Pyrrha began conversationally. "If our dear Nebula is considered to be the highest ranking Valesian…"

Dew glanced at her nervously. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Well, it just goes to reason, that would make you next in line." Pyrrha smiled at her unrepentantly. "You're in charge."

"What? No, I'm not."

"Oh, but you are."

"You are far higher-ranking than I!"

"Ah, yes," Jeanne snickered. "But we're Mistralian, not Valesian."

The redhead and blonde glanced at each other humorously before turning and snapping off smart salutes.

"Your orders, My Lady?" Pyrrha asked courteously.

"I order you to stop acting like a pair of loons," Dew grumbled as she stalked past them, the snickers of the other pair echoed by those guardsmen in listening range. "And get these people organized, let's head back to the city and start cleaning up."

"As you command, My Lady!" Jeanne barked.

"Oh, do stuff it, Novitiate."

o o o

Ruby was becoming quite fed up with the sight of the ancient Red's posterior. Any time it seemed as if they might finally catch up with the elusive Dragon, more of Cinder's allies would swoop in to intercept them. It was only the four Silvers now who remained focused on their target.

She winced briefly as she saw Cinder's escape momentarily halted by a large Gold, still significantly smaller than her, as they clashed in the air. He was left reeling as she managed to tear great chunks out of his hide, though he managed to slightly damage one of her wings in the exchange.

The quartet was broken up again by the rush of a flight of the enemy, this time a large group of Browns. In hot pursuit were a pair of Bronzes that she recognized, Fox and Yatsu, but one of the attacking Dragons had managed to latch onto Reese, staggering her. Nadir, though, had remained on target, evading the Browns and arrowing in on the bulky Red.

"Dammit, Nadir!" Ruby bellowed. "Wait!"

Arslan turned, startled, from where she was embattled by another pair of Browns, though she was handily dealing with them. She pushed them aside and struggled to reach the other Silver.

Ruby could only watch in horror as Cinder turned, a gargantuan gout of fire billowing forth to envelop the much smaller Silver. He screamed only for a moment before his smoldering form plummeted from the sky.

"Nadir!" Reese screamed desperately, trying to break the hold of the Brown on her. "No!"

And then her opponent sprouted an arrow from his eye, causing him to flinch enough for Reese to escape. She sent a grateful look towards them before she closed her wings and plunged down towards where Nadir had fallen.

"One," Blake murmured sadly.

"It's okay, Blakey," Ruby rumbled. "An arrow well spent. Arslan, still with me?"

"I am," her friend reported, slightly out of breath. "A bit wounded, unfortunately, but I shall keep up with you."

She eyed the other Silver cautiously as they raced forward, now past the battle. The Dragon had a few minor scratches along her legs, though one gash along her flank was cause for some concern.

But before she could give voice to her misgivings, movement from behind caught her attention. Another pair of Dragons, a young Red and a Brown, were in pursuit. Though they had no hope of intercepting the speedy Silvers, they would be a major problem once they all caught up with the escaping Red.

"Arslan?"

"I see them." The elder Silver gave them a wink. "Go introduce her to the Abyss, Ruby."

Arslan's wings flared out as she wheeled around abruptly, flashing by the pursuing Dragons and scoring deep, painful wounds along their flanks. The young Red opened his mouth to scorch his attacker but then gagged as an arrow flew unerringly into his maw to lodge painfully in the back of his throat. The Silver took advantage of the distraction to quickly dispatch the Brown and then latch onto the Red, the pair of them grappling furiously.

And then they were beyond sight, falling quickly behind as Ruby raced forward.

"Well, I'm out," Blake sighed, slinging her bow behind her back. "I'm not sure what help I can be, now."

"You still have your enchanted dagger, yes?"

"I do. Will it even scratch her scales?"

"Won't know till you try." Ruby turned her head slightly and offered her a grin. "Let's just hope it doesn't come to the point where you're actually able to try it."

"Weiss should be here with you," the Cat Faunus grumbled disconsolately. "At least she could throw some spells until her aura ran dry…"

"I don't want Weiss with me, I want you."

Blake sighed as she gripped her neck tighter. "But why?"

"Didn't we already go through this, Blakey? I love you."

"And I love you. Don't be worrying about me, alright? I don't want to be a hindrance."

"You never would be," Ruby retorted. "Okay, we're starting to actually get close now…"

Blake nodded, eyeing the massive form growing ever larger in their field of vision. "You think she'll use the same tactic on us as she did upon Nadir?"

"Quite likely…" Ruby watched the muscles along the Red's flanks closely. As soon as they began to bunch, she abruptly launched herself upwards. "Hang on!" she cried out.

Cinder had paused in midair, bellowing angrily before she breathed a long line of flame back towards where they had just been. Quickly reversing direction, Ruby flashed downwards, scoring a deep gash along her flank as she darted past, causing the ancient Red to roar once more.

Blake clung to her back, leaving her dagger sheathed to allow the use of both hands. Her head was on a swivel, tracking the movements of the Red as they swung back around. "She's about to breathe at us again!" she warned shrilly.

Without hesitation, Ruby flattened her wings and spun, reversing their course. She lost some of the built-up speed but was able to easily avoid the effects of the next flame attack. Instead, she climbed up into the sky once more to gain a higher altitude.

"What's she doing now?" the Silver called back.

"Um, chasing us."

"Well, we got her attention."

"Yes. Yes, we did. So, what now?"

"Well…" Ruby flashed a cheeky grin over her shoulder. "Now I kill the bitch."

"Mmm." Blake glanced over her own shoulder. "I think we have sufficient height, now…"

"Yep." With that, Ruby wheeled around, an argent streak across the sky as she arrowed in. Her flight became a wide corkscrew to throw off the Red, but eventually, she managed to dart in, lashing out but missing the large, more fragile wings. Still, Cinder's painful scream told that she did indeed feel the deep gash in her tail.

"Alright, let's try to inflict some real damage," Ruby growled determinedly. Her course changed once more, diving in towards the great Red's neck.

All four of her claws ripped into the scales and flesh as she soared past, but her flight was abruptly interrupted. She could only let out a startled urk as a massive clawed hand closed around her torso, bringing her to a halt.

Unfortunately, while she may have stopped, the momentum was far too great for Blake to hang on any longer. The Cat Faunus hurtled forward, arcing towards the distant forest below them, screaming out Ruby's name as she dwindled to a speck against the lush green.

"No!" the Silver shrieked, struggling mightily but to no avail. She froze in her actions, great drops of tears forming in her eyes, as she heard the deep sound of her captor chuckling.

"Now, isn't this amusing," Cinder rumbled in amusement. "Tiny little Silver, thinking she can be a hero like her mother…"

With a furious roar, Ruby twisted and turned, lashing out with her claws and teeth. She was momentarily freed as she shredded the tendons in the back of Cinder's hand, but the other claw whipped out and scored deep slashes along her flank, drawing blood and mangling her left wing.

The Silver screamed at the agonizing pain, but before she could plummet to the ground, she was firmly grasped yet again by Cinder's uninjured claw. Black talons dug painfully into her torso as Cinder squeezed.

"Now, now, no running off," Cinder growled. The Red's enormous wings beat as they began to rise higher into the sky. "We're not done talking yet."

"Go fuck an Ogre," Ruby spat out, wincing in pain.

"Such a deplorable lack of manners." The Red chuckled once more. "Tell me, pathetic little Silver, have you ever heard of the works of Shan Yu?"

"Yeah, I heard of him," the Silver gasped as Cinder tightened her hold. It was becoming difficult to breathe, both from the grasp as well as the increased altitude. "Sadistic crap legitimized by

florid prose. I take it you're a fan?"

"Indeed. So, Ruthralynnaerias, daughter of Sumethorynnaerias…" Cinder brought her captive up to her eye level. "I'd like to introduce you to your own personal volcano." She extended her hand, relaxing her grip somewhat. "Let us see if we can meet the real you."

Able to finally move somewhat, Ruby twisted and clamped her maw down firmly on Cinder's thumb before she could be dropped. The Red let out a painful howl as her appendage was severed.

Ruby spat out the blood, clinging tenaciously to the wrist of the writhing Red. Acting fast, she clambered up Cinder's arm and launched herself at her neck, her left wing flopping uselessly behind her.

Cinder's screams became louder once the Silver tenaciously clung to her new position. "Alright, you great big bitch," Ruby snarled, her talons digging in deep. "You want to meet the real me now?"

The Red spun in place even as she rose higher up, her wounded hands unable to dislodge her attacker, the furious howls almost deafening.

"You just killed the woman I loved," Ruby shouted, burrowing in deeper. "So let's go out together, shall we?"

With that, her jaws darted forward to latch onto the other Dragon's neck, right at the pulse point, crimson scales parting under her sharp teeth. The hot rush of blood washed over her, but she ignored the sensation, worrying at the wound like a Gnoll at a bone.

Though her wings began to beat slower, the Red continued to rise into the sky, higher and higher. They were well above the clouds now before her wings slowed enough that they were simply keeping them aloft and at the same altitude.

Finally, Cinder managed to wrap both of her hands around the troublesome Silver. She was far too gone in pain to be thinking rationally, and so she simply tore her away from her. As she did so, great big chunks of her flesh came off, spewing more of her lifeblood across the landscape far below.

Ruby was flung away, but she had the satisfaction of seeing the Red slump, eyes dimmed in death as her corpse began it's descent towards the ground.

The Silver closed her eyes, feeling the wind whistle past her. Her wing was hurting something fierce, so she turned as best she could and used her good wing to cover it and keep it from being jostled by the air currents.

I hope you can be proud of me, mom… I did it, I avenged you and completed what you started…

The tears from her eyes were flung from her before they could reach her cheeks.

I'm so sorry, Blake, I never should have brought you along…

She ruminated upon what could have been, what the two of them could have had together for even as brief a period of time as the Cat Faunus' lifespan allowed. Missed opportunities for adventure, warm nights together, stolen kisses, and so much more...

If only I'd had the courage to talk to her sooner about us…

Her thoughts shifted to the others she was leaving behind, her dear friends, and wishing with all of her might that they would have escaped from the battle alive and well.

Ancients watch over them all, and please, for the love of Oum, will Yang and Weiss finally stay together already?

Ruby chuckled to herself morosely at the thought. She was afraid to open her eyes, though the wind whistling in her ears was becoming louder now.

I'm sorry to leave everyone behind, but it was worth it, so very worth it, to finally bring about the evil ancient Red's end.

I'm scared of dying.

But I think I'd be more scared of living, knowing I was the cause of Blake's death.

And Yang had better not grieve too long.

It sure is taking a while to fall. Hopefully, this won't hurt too-

A/N: I'm sorry. Go ahead and say it, I'm a complete shit. One more chapter and we're done… But because I have a little humanity still left in me, I'll be posting it tomorrow instead of making you wait a week, so you can at least get some closure. If you have any torches or pitchforks left over from Chapter 29, feel free to use them.

Once again, credit for Shan Yu goes to Joss Whedon's Firefly.

Thanks to my patient Beta, KellyConnely, and bountiful apologetic hugs for all of you readers and reviewers. AntonSlavik020, carpenter656, bankerrtx01, RatedRSuperStar87, TacoKing23, ZHsteven, Boombox94, Crescent Sunrise, DeamonHunter, OverDude12, Minesniper, FutureHangover, apologies as well for not responding to any reviews. I didn't really trust myself not to let something slip.

Stay shiny!