Ember Legacy, Volume 2

Chapter 19: Fragmented Fellowship

Mountain Glenn

Cinder's Lair

"Dear Diary,

Went out shopping today. Picked up half a dozen sheep, two pigs, and a princess. The sheep are rather depressingly thin, the pigs and princess only slightly less so."

~ Tad Williams

Blake stood with her back against a tree, the cresting sun behind her sending rays of ruby-red light across the clearing. Most of the fellowship were sleeping still, save for a now-recovered Pyrrha who stood watch and Ren who was gathering supplies up to make a meager breakfast.

Her amber eyes, however, were focused on none of that. Instead, they regarded the slumbering form of a certain red-cloaked brunette.

She was trying, truly she was. Her attraction to Ruby was undeniable, nor was the chemistry the two of them had shared before… well…

The Cat Faunus sighed softly, her tail twitching behind her. What am I thinking here, she's a Dragon for Oum's sake, a great big bloody Dragon who will live longer than an Elf, not to mention a Faunus like me…

But she's only eighteen, truly, a small voice whispered in her head.

But that doesn't negate the fact that she's a Dragon!

Well, then you shouldn't have fallen in love with her.

The murmurings of her conscience brought her up short. Wait, what? How can I…? Since when did I feel…?

The Faunus Rogue let out another sigh as she was forced to accept the facts. Yes, she did fall in love with a Dragon. Gods, it sounds worse when I actually say it, even if it's in my head.

So, then, if she could begin to accept that simple fact, could she not try to accept Ruby for who she was? Yes, a Dragon, but also an oftentimes goofy and irrepressible girl who gave really nice hugs.

She blushed lightly at that last admission. And if this form, this Human-like appearance was supposed to be a manifestation of their soul… Well, then, Ruby had one incredibly cute soul.

Blake buried her face in her hands. Okay, now that sounded unbelievably lame.

"Mornin', Blakey!"

The Cat Faunus let out a startled squawk at the cheery voice that piped up from right next to her. She flailed backward, but ended up tumbling to the ground and onto her back, her ears flattened against her head in embarrassment.

Warm, silver eyes peered down at her in concern. "Um… You okay?"

"Fine, just fine," Blake replied breezily. "Nothing wounded save for my pride."

"Well, that's okay then," Ruby grinned widely. "Nothing we can't do without, right?"

"Right," she chuckled back, accepting the helping hand up. The brunette gave her a wink before moving over to help Ren prepare breakfast.

"That was quite smooth," Weiss snarked in a low murmur as she sauntered over.

The raven-haired girl sighed, keeping her voice low enough so that the Silver's enhanced hearing wouldn't catch her words. "Yes, well… she does tend to have that effect on me."

"You seem to be doing… better?" the Elf prompted hopefully.

Blake nodded slightly. "I'm trying," she repeated her now-familiar refrain.

"That's nice." Weiss leaned over and gave her a quick hug. "You let me know if you want to talk any more about it, alright?"

"I will, thank you, Weiss," she smiled.

"Alright, break it up you two," a boisterous voice sang out from across the clearing. The buxom blonde strolled in from the treeline, smirking widely. "Don't go tryin' to steal my girl, now, kitten!"

Blake raised an eyebrow, feeling unusually playful that morning. "Really, Yang, if I were trying to steal her away, she'd be stolen. I am a Rogue, after all."

Just about everyone in the fellowship, now all awake, burst out into laughter at that. "Oooh, shots fired, blondie!" Nora chortled.

Ruby, though smiling as well, was sending her an altogether different look. One she recognized as both possessive and heated.

The Faunus girl turned away with another blush. Son of an Orc… Yeah, okay, so there's little doubt my feelings are reciprocated… but will I ever be brave enough to talk about them with her?

The group sat down to a companionable meal, bantering back and forth easily. Perhaps unconsciously, Blake ended up sitting next to the brunette, an action that caused the other girl to look over at her, startled, before resuming her conversation with Weiss.

Eventually, though, Ruby stood up and cleared her throat. "Okay, then. If we're all prepared, we should head back in. Ren?"

The half-Elf nodded firmly. "Rested, and I have my potions along."

The brunette nodded, turning to her other side next. "Weiss?"

"I'm ready," she stated simply, leaning over towards Blake. "I, er, took the liberty of enchanting some more arrows for you while you slept. I couldn't get to the whole quiver, but…"

"Thank you, Weiss," she smiled back. "You should have rested, though."

The platinum-haired Elf waved her concern away. "It was nothing, really. I'm ready to go."

"Okay," Ruby grinned. "Let's go delve us a dungeon, then!"

"I think that's supposed to be 'delve into' a dungeon," Blake murmured as she rose to her feet.

"Eh, semantics," Ruby chuckled. "Forward!"

The group set out in their usual formation, Ruby and Blake out in front to scout and the armored forms of Pyrrha and Jeanne on the flanks. Nora paced along just ahead of Ren and Weiss while Yang brought up the rear.

Nothing seemed to have changed since the last time they had entered the cavern. The remains of their previous battle still littered the floor, discarded limbs and weaponry along with the corpses of Goblins and Trolls. The formation halted in the center of the room.

"So, I think maybe we should try this one," Ruby stated, indicating a corridor leading off to the right. "That's the one we chased that Goblin down and found the Chromatic. Might be the right direction."

Her opinion was met by semi-agreeable shrugs. "Well, alright then," the brunette snorted. "With that resounding vote of confidence, let's give it a go."

At that point, they were forced to travel two abreast due to the width of the corridor. Pyrrha and Jeanne moved in to back up Blake and Ruby, while Ren held his staff overhead after attaching a magical globe of light to the tip.

Soon enough they entered the chamber where Ruby indicated they'd found the other Dragon. A large blood stain in the middle marked where the Goblin corpse had been, though it must have been removed at some point, while six other passageways led off in different directions.

Wordlessly, Ruby gave Blake a nod, and the Faunus Rogue began her search. Tracking underground was quite a bit different from in the city, with different traces left behind and fewer objects to displace in passing. She did note some pebbles that looked to be disturbed along one corridor, while another looked to be rather worn down.

Standing up and brushing the dirt from her black leather pants, the Cat Faunus returned to the expectant group.

"I found one heavily-used passageway, and another less-frequently used but has seen traffic recently."

Nora grunted, peering down each tunnel. "No idea what made the tracks?"

The raven-haired girl regarded her levelly. "I'm not that kind of Rogue."

"Right, right, sorry…"

After a brief discussion, they opted for the heavily-used path, hoping it would lead them towards their goal. They set out once more, moving cautiously enough for Blake's keen eyes to search ahead for any sign of traps.

After a few twists and turns, not to mention a good fifteen minutes of walking, the Cat Faunus pulled them to a halt, sniffing cautiously.

"What is it?" Ruby whispered, silver eyes probing the darkness.

"Oil, I think?" she murmured in reply. "Like from lanterns, it's wafting down our way… I think we might have company ahead…"

The brunette nodded and turned to pass the word along. They crept forward more cautiously now, keeping as silent as possible until they could see a steady glow from around the next bend. Ren was instructed to dismiss his illumination spell, and they moved forward to the next corner.

Blake crouched down and slowly eased around the edge of the passageway, enough to take a peek before pulling back again.

"I see four men in dark robes," she breathed into Ruby's ear, entirely too hyped up on adrenaline to be affected by how near she was to her. "Four armored guards with spears along the walls, might be more I can't see. Dais in the middle with an altar of some sort, the four robed men are standing around it, not moving."

Ruby nodded and moved her face so that she could murmur into her ear next. "Some kind of ritual?"

Blake just shrugged in return, and Ruby flashed her a quick grin. She squeezed her shoulder briefly as she ghosted by her to pass along the news. The Faunus Rogue crouched back down by the corner, ears straining for any sound of movement while she waited for them to be ready.

After only a few moments, Ruby was back with Nora and Yang. With quick hand movements, she indicated that the three of them would perform the initial rush, with Pyrrha and Jeanne staying with the spellcasters and Blake to shield them. The Faunus rolled her eyes at Ruby's protectiveness, and as if she could read her mind, the Silver stuck her tongue out playfully before lining up for the charge.

Watching the intense concentration on the brunette's face as she readied herself, massive warscythe unfurled and held at her side, almost took Blake's breath away. She had to physically give herself a shake to regain her focus.

And then, at some unseen signal, the three members of the vanguard were off, charging into the room. They were met by fierce cries of "Intruder!", unoriginally enough in her opinion. And then in a clatter of armor, Pyrrha and Jeanne were charging in, Weiss and Ren on their heels. The Faunus Rogue nocked an arrow as she hurled herself around the corner and into the chaos-filled chamber.

There were quite a few more spearmen that she hadn't been able to see, but they were being readily handled by Ruby and Nora. Yang had surged forward and had already bashed in the head of one of the dark-robed men. Two more had drawn maces, while their hands drew intricate runes in the air. But of more concern to the Cat Faunus was the fourth spellcaster who clutched a mallet in his hands, bringing it around to smash against a large, ornate, brass gong.

"Shit!" she barked out, quickly pulling back and releasing her arrow. It arrived too late, however, as the loud reverberations of the gong rang throughout the chamber while the lifeless body of the spellcaster dropped to the floor.

As the ringing sound faded, the ground began to vibrate.

"That is not good!" Pyrrha called out anxiously. By her side, Jeanne let out a startled yelp as a hand shot out from the packed earth floor and latched onto her ankle.

Blake spun around, nimbly leaping about as more hands emerged, all of them trying to grasp onto her. They seemed roughened, perhaps stone-like, and she doubted her arrows would do any damage.

As she tumbled to the side, she was brought up short by a stinging pain. Looking behind her, Blake spied a stony hand from the wall that had latched onto her tail. With a furious howl, the Cat Faunus spun around and began beating at the hand grasping her appendage.

"Let! Me! Go!" she shrieked. Now that she was immobile, though, more hands emerged to try and seize hold of her. Her left foot became trapped, and she winced at the steady pressure on her ankle, grinding her bones together.

Snarling, the raven-haired Rogue dropped her bow and whipped out the enchanted dagger Ruby had gifted to her. She began to hack away at the hand trapping her ankle, but as soon as she freed it another one grabbed hold of her right foot.

"You stupid little piece of Ogre shit!" Blake yelled angrily, still trying to yank her tail out at the same time while fighting off more grasping limbs.

"Blake!" a welcome voice hollered. "Stop moving!"

She quickly complied, only wincing slightly as a massive warhammer came smashing down on the edge of the hand holding her ankle. Another deft strike and her sore tail was now freed.

"Thanks, Nora," she sighed, grasping her damaged tail and wincing at the pain shooting throughout her nervous system.

"No worries!" the orange-haired warrior replied cheerfully. "I was made for this kinda stuff!"

Sure enough, the diminutive pink-armored girl seemed demonstratively apt at dismantling the stone hands. Before too much time had passed the group was standing around a room littered with potholes from her hammer strikes, while Nora leaned on her weapon, breathing heavily but wearing a huge grin on her face.

"That was awesome!" she cheered mutedly, barely able to raise an arm over her head. "Let's do it again sometime!"

"Well, if we do, you'll be the first we call for," Ruby chuckled as she picked her way along the companions. Ren was tending to Weiss, who seemed to have a broken ankle, while Pyrrha had one of her boots off, making a quick repair to the damaged armor plating.

"Hey," the brunette said softly as she approached Blake. "You okay?"

The Faunus Rogue nodded wryly as she turned to retrieve her bow. "Yeah, just… got my tail caught. Hurts a bit."

"Oh no!" Ruby exclaimed softly as she came up behind her. "I'm so sorry! Here, lemme see…"

Blake froze as she felt Ruby take hold of her tail, smoothing it out and stroking the end of it.

"Where does it hurt?" the brunette asked innocently.

"Um…" She was very glad to be facing the other way to hide her blush. "Just… the end…"

"Okay…"

Blake closed her eyes as she felt the brunette girl massage the end of her tail, dispelling some of the soreness with her cool hands.

I will not let myself be turned on by this. I will not let myself-

"Is that better, Blakey?"

"Yes," the raven-haired girl squeaked before clearing her throat. "Yes, thank you, Ruby."

"Anytime!"

She heard Ruby move off but remained facing the wall resolutely.

Until she felt the familiar presence of Weiss by her side.

"Interesting wall," the Elf deadpanned.

"Yes, yes it is. Fascinating, really."

"Well, I do believe we are ready to move out again."

"I see."

"In case you were wondering, your blush is gone."

"Yes, thank you, Weiss."

Without further conversation, the pair turned around and moved to rejoin the group.

"Whelp, at least there's only one way to go," Ruby was musing, peering ahead. "Shall we?"

"Sounds like a plan," Yang grinned.

They headed out once more in their familiar formation. Blake was quite carefully not looking in Ruby's direction anytime soon.

"Hey," she eventually murmured, brow furrowed. "There's a blood trail, very faint…"

"Did we miss one that got away?" Ruby opined.

"Could be, I know I was distracted…"

They kept on, Blake noting that the blood drops were fairly steady. Eventually, though, they came to a four-way intersection, each corridor looking the same. From that point on, however, there were torch sconces in the wall, spaced apart every so often. Some of the torches were lit, sputtering fitfully.

"Blake?" the brunette murmured.

She indicated to the right. "Blood leads off that way."

"Well, it's as good a bet as any I suppose…"

They continued on, taking several more branches, the corridor making unexpected turns, seemingly doubling back on itself at times until Blake was hopelessly turned around.

"Okay, wait," Weiss called out from behind, bringing the party to a halt. "Is the blood trail still leading us on?"

"Yes, it's continuing," Blake replied, nonplussed.

"Any normal Human would have bled out by now," the Elf stated, her brow furrowed.

"Son of an Orc," Ruby breathed. "She's right." The brunette bent down, sniffing at the ground. "Is this even Human blood?"

"What does it taste like?" Yang asked helpfully.

"Yang, I am not licking the dirt floor."

"It's just a suggestion, I mean, if you wanna know…"

"Why don't you try it, then?"

The blonde grinned at her unrepentantly. "Hey, you're the fearless leader here."

Ruby crossed her arms and glared at the other Dragon while Blake bent down at another blood spot.

"No, it's not Human," she reported calmly. "Might be a cow."

"How the heck did they get a cow down here?" Nora asked curiously.

"You know," Blake murmured as she stood back up. "Half the time I don't know if she's actually serious or not."

Ruby grinned and opened her mouth to reply, but then the walls next to them suddenly sprang upwards and into the ceiling, revealing a literal horde of heavily-armored and -armed Orcs on either side. The remaining walls shook from their bellowed war cry.

"Oh, look," Blake shouted calmly over the din as she loosed an arrow, striking what looked to be a chieftain through the eye. "An ambush."

"Well, it was bound to happen eventually!" Ruby yelled back before launching herself forward.

In short order, the members of the fellowship found themselves embroiled in a wild melee. Blake's ranged weapon quickly became useless, and so she shouldered her bow and filled a dagger in each hand, grinning eagerly.

"Alright, then," she smirked at the pair of Orcs looming over her. "Let's play."

The Faunus Rogue dove in between them, slashing out and hamstringing the pair of green-skinned humanoids. They tried to turn, emitting howls of pain, but she spun around and neatly eviscerated the pair.

Before she could react further, she was forced to leap back as the previously-raised wall suddenly dropped back down again, trapping her on the other side from the main corridor.

The raven-haired girl didn't have time to ponder on her situation as she was sent tumbling backward again by the halberd that crashed down where she'd been crouched, narrowly missing her head. By the sounds of things, she wasn't alone, but she needed to take care of this little problem first.

Blake surged forward, crossing her arms in front of her and then slashing out. The Orc backpedaled, trying to bring his polearm around again, but once she was within his guard it was over in a matter of seconds. She stood over the corpse, panting, while glancing around.

Pyrrha stood in the middle of the corridor, her sword and shield set though there were no opponents facing her. "Is there anyone else here with me?" the redhead called out somewhat anxiously.

Right, she can't see, Blake mused to herself. None of the torches on this side were lit.

"I am here," Ren replied softly as he warily approached the Knight from behind.

"And I as well," Blake chimed in. "Ren, some light perhaps?"

"Of course."

The three of them blinked their eyes in the sudden illumination, though it was easier to ascertain now that they were all unwounded, at least. The corridor stretched out in both directions.

"Well, now what?" Pyrrha sighed, shifting her stance worriedly.

"Jeanne will be fine," Blake murmured. "She has the others looking after her."

"Of course! I mean, I am worried for all of our companions!" Pyrrha smiled at her brightly, emerald eyes still filled with concern.

"As are we," the Cat Faunus replied with a nod. "So, I suppose we should just pick a direction and see if we end up in the same place, yes?"

"That sounds agreeable," Ren chimed in.

The three of them set out, Blake in the lead while Pyrrha brought up the rear. They encountered no other opposition as they crept along, unwilling to call out and attract enemies to their position.

"So, are we in a maze of some sort?" the redheaded Knight spoke up from behind.

"That does seem to be the case," the half-Elf agreed. "Though I have never heard of a moving maze before."

"Moving maze…" Blake paused, her brow furrowed. "It does move, doesn't it…"

"Blake?" the Cleric murmured questioningly.

"I think we're going about this all wrong," the Cat Faunus replied quietly. "If the maze is moving, then they can just keep changing walls on us and herd us into more traps or ambushes. We need to get outside the maze."

"How, precisely?" Pyrrha asked.

Blake shrugged uncomfortably. "Not sure on that part, but I'll keep working on it."

They continued forward until they ended up in a circular chamber with a slightly higher ceiling. Three other passageways led off. As soon as the trio entered, however, a wall slammed down across the corridor they'd just entered from, creating a seamless barricade.

"Well, this is lovely," Pyrrha snarked as howls and pounding feet sounded from each of the other three exits. "Get behind me as best as you can."

"We're too exposed," Blake stated worriedly, nocking an arrow and letting it fly down the leftmost corridor. She was rewarded with a scream of pain.

"Each of us can take a portal," Ren stated calmly, twirling his staff about his body as he strode towards the center passage.

"Ren-" the redheaded Knight called out in protest, but she swallowed it as the first few lightly-armored Human berserkers came sailing out at the half-Elf Cleric.

With seemingly nonchalant ease, Ren dodged the strikes sent his way as he wielded his thin staff with skill and mastery far above what a mere Cleric should possess. Even though Blake was sending arrow after arrow down her assigned portal, she couldn't help but keep an eye on the man's dizzying display of martial prowess.

Ren dove and twirled about, laying into his foes with abandon. Cracked skulls, broken necks, and even a few kneecapped victims were left littering the floor by the time the dust settled.

"Sweet mother of Oum," Pyrrha murmured incredulously. "Ren…? How did… I mean, what was that?"

Ren tilted his head as he walked towards the other pair. "I suppose an explanation is in order… May we wait for the others, though? I hear them moving down the middle, so long as the walls do not change again…"

They were rejoined by the rest of the fellowship in short order, Nora sailing in ahead of the party to glomp onto her boyfriend. Jeanne and Pyrrha met halfway, looking each other over for injuries. They smiled worriedly at each other while not physically touching.

Blake let out a huff of air as she was tackled by a red-cloaked brunette.

"You okay, Blakey?" Ruby asked, peering up with silver eyes filled with concern.

Blake smiled and returned the hug with only slight hesitance. See, I'm getting better at this. "I am fine, thank you, Ruby. It would appear we were in good hands with Ren."

"Oh, didja get to cut loose, Renny?" the orange-haired hammer-wielder burbled excitedly.

Pyrrha stepped over cautiously. "So you know about his skill, Nora?"

"Oh, sure!" she responded nonchalantly. "My Renny can take care of himself just fine, he just loves me enough to let me do it."

"Yes, Nora," he smiled indulgently before turning to the others. "Well, I can explain briefly… Are you aware of the Order of Oum?"

"Certainly," the redheaded Knight replied evenly. "A more religiously-oriented Knightly order, few in numbers but highly skilled…" She trailed off, brow furrowed as she regarded the nodding half-Elf.

"That's correct. They are mostly utilized to protect monasteries and pilgrimages, but oftentimes for more… warlike… activities of retribution and the like."

"And you were a Knight of Oum," Jeanne breathed, sapphire blue eyes wide with wonder.

Ren nodded once more, pulling a piece of cloth from behind his belt. It consisted of a gold field with a black hawk gripping a sword in the center.

"I got tired of the killing," he stated softly. "Dedicated my life to Oum in a different fashion. But yes," he smiled, "as Nora stated, I can handle myself."

"Just full of surprises," Ruby snickered, shaking her head. "So, then, we're all together now. Where to?"

Blake cleared her throat. "I think we need to circumvent this maze. We cannot successfully navigate our way if they keep changing the pathways."

"Okay," Ruby agreed. "So how do we do that?"

Weiss pointed upwards, drawing attention to herself. "We go up."

"Up?" Nora asked skeptically. "How do we know it isn't solid rock?"

"They must control the mechanism from somewhere," Weiss replied reasonably. "Since the walls go up, it must be up there."

"Whelp, sounds like a plan," the orange-haired warrior giggled, hefting her hammer eagerly.

"Wait!" the Elf implored. "Please don't just… go smashing down the ceiling, we might cause a collapse. Allow me, please?"

Nora shrugged with only a trace of reluctance. "Yep, go ahead!"

Weiss paced the room, peering up at the domed ceiling. "Yang, sweetie, would you be able to lift me up into the center?"

"You betcha," the blonde grinned. "Now?"

"Yes, please."

"Don't you have that levitate spell?" Blake asked curiously as Yang bent down to grasp her girlfriend by the ankles.

"I need to be able to move about, and it will be difficult to concentrate on both of these activities… Eep!"

The Elven Mage let out a startled yelp as she was hoisted up, tottering unsteadily as Yang pulled her up and onto her shoulders.

"Very well, then," Weiss squeaked, holding her arms out to the sides to stabilize herself. "Er, right here please, and then begin to walk backward when I tell you to… Everyone else should move into the corridor behind us as well… And Yang?"

"Yeah, babe?"

"Stop looking up my skirt."

The blonde snickered unrepentantly but looked back down in compliance.

As the others moved back, Weiss placed her hand upon the ceiling. The stone there glowed white briefly as she murmured directions down to the Gold, who moved her steadily backward. After only a few moments, Weiss was back down on the floor and scurrying towards cover with the rest.

It began in a trickle, then quickly evolved into a downpouring of sand as the stone disintegrated. Soon enough there was a sizable mound built up as the ceiling stabilized, the sand trailing off to a trickle once more.

"That's it, then?" Ruby asked.

"Perhaps," Weiss stated nervously. "We should wait a bit. Just in case it's not yet done."

"Sweetie, I think it's finished," Yang said soothingly, rubbing the Mage's back reassuringly. "What, are you afraid of a cave-in?"

Weiss turned her head slightly to glare up at the taller woman. "I am an Elf. We are not meant to be underground like this."

The blonde chuckled and leaned over to place a kiss on her lover's forehead. "You are so cute," she murmured.

"Alright, let's move out of here," Ruby grinned, trotting forward to scramble up the mound.

It was a bit difficult for the more heavily-armored of the group to climb out, but between Yang's strength and Weiss' telekinesis they managed to all assemble up top eventually. Spread out before them was what looked to be a vast, low cavern with patterns along the irregular floor. Here and there a wall jutted upwards, and mechanisms littered the landscape to allow for the maze's reconfigurations.

"This is quite the architectural accomplishment," Weiss stated quietly as they moved towards where they could see a red light emanating from.

"Yeah, Dragons can be like that," Yang chuckled. "Especially the ones who like to flaunt their superiority and intelligence."

"Well, at least you're not that way, dear," Weiss smirked.

"Yeah, I'd like to think… Wait, are you mocking me?"

"Who, me? Certainly not!"

Yang sighed heavily over the snickers of the rest of the fellowship. "Ruby, I think I'm being mocked here."

"Yang, I might have to agree with you," the brunette giggled.

By that point, they'd reached the end, and dropped down into a small chamber that opened up into a larger cavern, seemingly filled with lava at the bottom of a chasm.

"Whoo, gettin' hot in here!" Nora laughed, fanning her face. "I say we let the fire-immune Dragons go first."

"What, you don't want to test your own invulnerability?" Yang teased as she stepped past.

Nora opened her mouth with a grin to reply, but Ren laid a restraining hand on her arm. "No, Nora."

"Aww, but Renny…"

Ruby and Yang cautiously made their way out and onto what seemed to be a raised pathway leading to the exit on the other end. It was wide enough for three of them to walk abreast if they weren't concerned with falling into the molten rock many feet below. They reached the other side without incident and waved the others forward.

The remainder of the party started along the pathway, Jeanne bringing up the rear guard this time. Halfway across, a low growling sounded from somewhere.

"Uh-oh," Yang murmured, turning to Ruby with wide eyes. "I just remembered a favorite pet of Reds…"

"Oum's bloody balls," Ruby groaned, extending her scythe. "Hellhounds." She and Yang stepped to either side of the path as she called out for the others to hurry.

They scampered past, Ren muttering a hurried "Language!" as he ran by, just as the fiery beasts found purchase upon the path. There were four of them, and they stalked forward eagerly two-by-two.

Jeanne let out a yelp as she noticed the company and turned, shield upraised as she continued to move backward at a cautious pace while the others escaped.

"Ruby, go," the blonde called out. "I'll help Jeanne, you make sure there's nothing waiting for us in there!"

The brunette nodded, darting forward and into the next chamber. It was fairly large, though the only exit had a large, round door that seemed to be operated by a round wheel set into the center of it. No other danger present, Ruby turned and motioned the others past her.

By the time she made it back to the entrance, Pyrrha was still standing there anxiously, poised on her toes to charge in. There simply wasn't room for her to do so, however, as Jeanne and Yang stood together, trading blows with the giant demonic canines. Yang was wisely out in front, shielding Jeanne from the flaming breath of the hellhounds while the other blonde would dart in with a quick piercing attack with her sword.

Blake stood just behind Pyrrha with her bow out, though she was fairly certain that even her enchanted arrows would be ineffectual against the Hellspawn creatures.

"Yang! Jeanne!" the brunette yelled. "Come on! We can fight them from here!"

Nodding, Yang indicated for Jeanne to start heading back, but just as she turned to do so, all four hellhounds pounced as one.

The Gold growled angrily as she was latched onto by the demonic monsters. She managed to kick one back over the edge but then landed on her back as she stumbled. With an angry roar, the blonde lashed out, sending a pair of them sailing backward and over the head of the retreating squire. They crashed against the cavern wall above the corridor the others were in, causing a rumble to shake the ground.

"Back!" Ruby urged, setting words into motion as the rock face began to give way.

"No!" Pyrrha screamed anxiously. "Jeanne!"

Ruby grabbed the redhead by the arm and hauled her from the collapsing tunnel behind Blake. "It's okay! She's with Yang!"

"But-"

"Pyrrha, she's a Dragon, she can protect Jeanne, alright?"

The Knight stood in the middle of the chamber in silence for a moment before giving herself a shake. "Right. Let's move on, then, and hopefully we shall meet back up with them soon."

They approached the next portal warily, the Faunus Rogue searching for traps but finding none. Nora set her muscles to work and cranked the wheel to unlock the door, opening it for the others to peer ahead for trouble.

"Looks clear," Blake murmured. "But I believe the door shall seal behind us. It has a counterweight."

"Well, there's a wheel on this side too, so we should be okay." Ruby pursed her lips as she looked the circular door over. "Odd design."

"Like on a ship," Weiss murmured. Her almond-shaped pale blue eyes were crinkled slightly with worry, though she gave no voice to her fears. She knew Yang could handle herself, deep down, but there was always the small anxiety of being separated from her lover now.

The six of them traipsed through the door, hearing it slam shut behind them and the wheel turn by itself. Once it was finished, and they were halfway to the next intersection, a low rumbling began to sound.

"What is that?" the Elven Mage asked in concern.

"I dunno, but let's step it up," Ruby ordered, setting a brisk pace as they surged forward. She ignored the side branches since they sloped downward, instead heading straight ahead.

They exited the corridor into another large, circular chamber. In the middle stood what looked to be a giant tube made of metal that stretched from floor to ceiling.

"What now?" Nora asked, walking over to the tube and peering inside. "Hey, it's a long way up. And there's a lever inside here, maybe it's another mechanism of some sort?"

"Could be…" Ruby was chewing on her bottom lip thoughtfully. "I think I've read about something like this…"

"That noise is getting louder," Blake advised.

"Yeah, it's coming from in here," Nora's voice echoed hollowly from the tube. "Actually, it-"

She cut off with a surprised shout as water began to geyser out of the tube from the floor. As the water rushed up and out, a door began to descend to seal the tube off.

"We gotta get in there!" Ruby shouted, racing forward across the now-slippery flooring. "That's what it is, it's a water trap!"

The five outside tried to run, but most ended up falling down from the effort as more and more water began gushing out. Nora staggered towards the entrance of the tube and dropped her hammer to the side, bracing her legs apart and pushing up on the descending door with her arms.

"Graaahhh!" she roared. "Come on, I can't hold this for long! And the platform is starting to rise!"

The brunette hurtled herself inside next, lunging for the lever inside and muscling it back once more to keep the platform locked in place. "Okay, I got this!" she shouted. "Hurry!"

Blake slid to the side, desperately trying to find purchase, before one of her flailing arms caught on another hand. Startled, she looked up to see Weiss gripping her frantically, while she, in turn, was anchored by Pyrrha on the edge of the tube.

The Elf strained to haul her in, but simply didn't have the muscle strength to do so. With a sudden shout, the redhead hauled backward, sending the both of them through the door past Nora.

The Cat Faunus landed in a wet pile atop Weiss, sputtering at the water surging upwards and into their faces. The waterline was knee-deep to Ruby by now, who looked to be seriously straining, the muscles in her neck and arms bulging.

"Hurry!" she gritted out.

As soon as Blake tried to regain her footing, it was lost again as Ren was sent hurtling into her. Pyrrha followed, clattering to the floor and coughing wetly.

"Nora!" the brunette shouted, her voice strained.

But the orange-haired girl had been steadily losing ground to the onrushing water, and her stance was now tenuous at best with her feet further out into the room. There was a clank as her hammer was swept away by the current.

Nora looked at her lover with bright turquoise eyes. "Be safe, Renny!" she called out sadly, before letting the current carry her out. The door slammed down with explosive force, and the pressure suddenly became unbearable for the Silver who was flung from the lever.

The five of them were pinned to the ground as the platform shot skyward, water streaming away until their meteoric rise slowed to something a little more sedate.

Blake rolled over, meeting the somber eyes of her half-Elven friend. "Ren…"

"She'll be fine," he murmured, a tenuous smile on his face. "She always is."

"Of course she will be," Pyrrha stated bracingly, helping them to their feet one by one. "That girl is unstoppable."

"I only worry about how much trouble she will get into without me there," Ren joked weakly, lifting his staff off of the floor and shaking the water from it.

Ruby rested her hand on his shoulder briefly before turning to the others. "Okay, unless I'm mistaken, this will take us up to the main chamber. Let's be ready for a fight."

"With this group?" Weiss laughed, wringing her sodden white hair out. "I'm always ready for a fight."

The platform slowed with a grinding noise, and then they were at the top. A door in front of them slid upwards noisily to reveal another stone-lined chamber. This one was well-lit by torches, allowing all of them to see the forces arrayed against them.

They stepped out, arrayed in a semicircle with Ruby in the center to face a rather large group of Lizardmen armed with a variety of weapons. As soon as they exited the tube, one of the bipedal coldblooded creatures barked out something in a guttural tongue, and a crossbow string hummed.

Blake stepped to the side to dodge the attack, but she wasn't the target. Instead, she heard a pained gasp come from beside her. Ruby staggered back, her scythe falling to the side as she clutched a crossbow bolt embedded in her shoulder.

The raven-haired girl's eyes widened in shock. How could a simple bolt even affect the Silver? But there was no denying that the brunette was mortally wounded as she collapsed backward in a limp heap.

"Ruby!" she shouted anxiously, dropping her bow to slide down by the wounded girl.

No… No no no I can't lose her already, I haven't… We haven't even… I have to tell her…

Ren was there as well, his brow furrowed as Pyrrha and Weiss moved over to cover them. "I don't understand," he murmured in confusion.

Blake gave a start as a bloody hand closed over hers where she grasped Ruby's arm. Silver eyes, clouded with pain, stared up at her as the brunette whispered a word that made her blood turn to ice in her veins.

"Dragonsbane..."

A/N: Well, shitbiscuits. Not only have I tossed the fellowship all over the place, now I leave things on a cliffhanger. 'Cause, yeah, I'm evil like that.

One of my inspirations for this story are the excellent works by David Eddings. I took the idea of the maze in this particular chapter from his Tamuli series of books. The water trap was kinda my own idea, though.

Stay tuned for next week's installment and the last chapter in this volume! Who lives? Who dies? Who got to punch a hellhound in the mouth? (Three guesses as to the last one, and the first two don't count.)

Much love for my wonderful Betas, KellyConnely and PandaAnimeLover, and endless gratitude for all of my readers and reviewers. RatedRSuperStar87, carpenter656, Trewill91, Boombox94, AntonSlavik020, kaiju62, RedWing36, Ninjapandas0010, Reaper Whisper, DeamonHunter, djjohns94, FoxyFoxation, and TacoKing23, thanks for taking the time to leave me a note!

Stay shiny!