RWBY: Silver Eyes on the Mountains

Mountaintop Blitz

"You think your speed will avail you!? You will tire! I will not!" The hammer wielding undead roared, swinging the aura hammer at Azura's head.

Azura's eyes widened as he was forced to fall flat on his back to avoid the hammer. The mighty weapon soon slammed into the wall, cracking it and sending vibrations up into the ceiling. Swiftly, Azura leapt up and over the mummy, attempting to swing his sword into its skull, only for his attempt to be stopped by the hammer's haft.

Gritting his teeth, Azura kicked off the haft to flip over his opponent. Landing behind the undead abomination, he swung his blade, cutting into its neck. However, when he drew the blade out, the undead's Aura merely began to heal the wound like it was nothing. Azura looked in disbelief at the feat.

"What the hell are you…?" Azura asked in disbelief.

"A man denied by the gods, who rose above them." It growled back, taking up an offensive stance.

Gripping his blade, Azura sheathed it before dropping into a stance, his legs bent, his body turned so that his sheathed blade pulled back behind him, and his left hand gripping his sheath while his right hand hovered over the hilt of his blade. A stance that the mummy recognized from experience with past travelers.

"You think your foreign tricks will work against me?" It growled. "I have slain your kind before."

"We'll see if your luck holds out this time." Azura growled out preparing to move.

"There is no luck involved, boy. My power was earned. I walked the path of smoke, and I came out the other end stronger!" He roared before swinging his warhammer hard enough to create a wind blast.

Faster than the mummy could react, Azura ducked under the swing, the air rushing past him above his head. Dashing forward faster than the mummy could react, he got within a range where his foe could not use its warhammer. Drawing his blade, he slashed at his opponent's belly mid-swing.

"Thunder Soul Style! Black Thunder!" Azura called out as he sliced open the undead's stomach. Pivoting on the ball of his foot as he ended up behind his foe, he spun around with his blade in mid-swing and aimed for his opponent's spine. "Thunder Soul Style! Black Thunder: Two-Flash Cut!" He called out, slashing through his opponent's back and cutting into the spine before following up with an even faster cut to the nape of the neck.

His foe gasped, like air leaking from an inflated sac as he staggered back. Just as it looked like he would fall over, he caught himself on his heels. Even after that, Azura saw him slowly straightening and standing up. The wounds healed slower than the ones previously, but they still healed. As he saw his papery lips twisted into a smile. Soulless orbs staring at him in a way that showed he took delight in Azura's failure.

Azura gritted his teeth in frustration. 'That did not work either. I need to find a way to stop it from healing!' He thought before getting an idea.

Dropping into the same stance as before, Azura shot forward like an arrow in flight. Drawing his blade at exceptionally high speed as soon as he got close, he slashed his blade across its chest as a spark came off from his blade. "Thunder Soul Style: Fire Thunder!" He called out as the cut caught ablaze from the spark, the slash across its chest erupting in flames that obscured his foe from view. Slashing with a downward cut from left shoulder to right hip, Azura's fiery blade cut into the undead abomination again as a blazing blur of motion.

"Thunder Soul Style! Fire Thunder: Tiger Claw Flash!" He called out as his blade bit into the flesh of his foe's chest over its heart and down its hip before pulling his fiery blade back for a thrusting stab. "Thunder Soul Style! Fire Thunder: Tiger Bite Flash!" He called out as his blade pierced its heart, unleashing a fiery explosion.

Jumping back, Azura swung his blade to disperse the flames. Slowly, he sheathed his sword as he watched the flames and smoke for any signs of movement. To his surprise, he saw motion within the flames as a figure began to walk into view.

The smoke cleared to reveal the mummy was using his hammer to keep standing like a crutch. A deep, horizontal cut went across its chest, leaving the deepest part through its blackened heart. A long, diagonal cut went from the left shoulder down to its right hip, again with the deepest part of the cut going into the heart. And, for good measure, the heart was also stabbed cleanly. Yet there was no sign of any of the concussive forces or the fire leaving any visible damage. It did not make sense to the young samurai; his whole chest should have been obliterated by those attacks.

'Okay, so fire did not work. Wait… these things became this way because of heat. And the opposite of heat is…' Azura thought before smirking as he sheathed his blade.

Dropping into the same stance one more time, he spread his legs apart more to get a bit lower. Dashing in at high speed, he stopped in a low crouch in front of his foe. Drawing his blade, he coated it in freezing cold Aura as he slashed upwards, cutting the mummy from groin to head. "Thunder Soul Style! Cleaving Thunder: Blizzard Cut!" He called out as the slash wound soon froze over from the icy Aura surrounding his blade.

This time, it was clear that the mummy felt the blow. Letting out a horrible scream, a combination of air leaking from a sac and a desperate human scream. Then it was over in an instant as the two halves of him fell towards the floor. But they did not reach the floor in that state.

Bringing his blade up for a stab with it still coated in icy Aura, Azura unleashed a barrage of thrusts as he stabbed into the two halves at incredibly high speeds. "Thunder Soul Style! Young Thunder: Swallow Flock Blizzard!" He called out as, in rapid succession, each individual stab wound froze over while the two halves of the corpse began to break into icy pieces.

As soon as the pieces hit the ground, they shattered into icy particles like glass. With a deep, tired sigh, Azura sheathed his blade as he looked around. The main chamber had cleared of the cultists, either having fled from whence they came, or into the flaming tunnel. He was about to turn to walk away when he saw a larger frozen piece of the mummy laying there, a piece of his cheek bone. The young lord grimaced as he then stomped on it, crushing it into a smear of icy dust, before spitting on it.

"Regenerate from that…" He grumbled to himself.

"Azura!! You did it!!" The voice of Yang came from the rooms. Azura turned his head to see Yang rushing out, before having to stop to catch her breath.

Azura smiled at her. "I take it you came to assist me after defeating your own opponent?" He asked, clear pride in his voice.

"Sorry it took so long. Those things aren't easy to kill. But it looks like you didn't need any help after all." Yang answered him, before brushing her blouse off.

"I will admit, it took me a bit to figure out how to kill it. But I did figure it out in the end." Azura replied, dusting bits of frozen dust off himself.

"Alright, let's search this place and… wait a minute." Yang said, before stopping herself.

Azura's eyes widened as he and Yang realized at the same time who they were forgetting. "Kenshi!!" They both called out in concern.

Meanwhile: With Kenshi

"En garde, you foreign born bastard!" The sword-wielding mummy roared as the two clashed deeper and deeper into the seemingly unending hallways.

'Bastard!? I'll have you know I was born in wedlock!" Kenshi roared as he pushed back against his foe and went for a big slash.

"Then it will be a great shame that they will not be able to bury you together too!!" The mummy shot back, parrying the blow before going for an overhead chop.

Kenshi growled as he raised his blade and blocked the overhead chop. Pushing up against his foe, he pulled his large blade back for a stab before unleashing a rapid barrage of thrusts at surprising speed. "Thunder Beast Style! Young Thunder: Eagle Hurricane!" He called out as the barrage of thrusts stabbed into the mummy's body, punching holes into the undead abomination's body.

To Kenshi's surprise, despite the damage, the mummy merely was forced to stagger back after getting hit. "It appears you've let a breeze come in, boy. Shall I get some curtains?" The mummy mockingly said.

Kenshi growled at being mocked by a corpse. "Then try this!" He roared out as he brought his blade down for a swift overhead slash aimed at the top of his opponent's head, slashing down onto his opponent's skull. "Thunder Beast Style! Great Thunder: Helmet Splitter!" He called out as he seemingly cut his foe in half.

Hefting his blade, Kenshi smirked as he watched his opponent split apart. However, his confident smirk soon turned into a look of stunned horror as the two halves began knitting back together through the use of a fiery Aura. Soon, the mummy was fully healed, as if the cut had never even happened.

"You foreign mongrels sure do love naming your attacks, don't you?" The mummy asked, his papery lips curling back with a sickening crunch.

"That… was supposed to cut you in half…" Kenshi uttered in disbelief.

"Oh? Let me try, and then we can compare notes…" The mummy answered sarcastically before readying his sword.

The undead abomination took off with surprising speed, slashing at Kenshi with a horizontal chop that forced him to bring his blade up to defend. The force of the blow through Kenshi off his feet despite his successful defense, sending him flying back. Digging the blade of his sword into the cave floor, he stopped his momentum. Looking up, he saw his opponent going for a thrust and ripped his blade out of the ground, bringing it up just in time to deflect the stab. The mummy then brought its blade up for a diagonal slash that Kenshi barely parried before coming in with another stab, forcing the young samurai to block with the flat of his blade like a shield as he was pushed back.

"You're a slippery little devil, aren't you?" The mummy growled, shoving Kenshi between the wall and his own blade.

"People tell me that a lot…!" Kenshi replied, trying to push back against the impossible strength of the flame scorched horror.

"Then how about I assist you with that? By turning you into a smear on the wall!" It roared, soon adding its own body into it to try and crush him.

'Come on, Kenshi! Think! Think!' Kenshi thought as he tried to push back against the incredible power of the mummified monster before him.

"Kenshi Sōtora!? Where are you!?" Came the distant, echoing cry of Yang through the hallway.

"It is Sōtora Kenshi! You are saying it backwards!" Azura's voice called out as well.

"Now is not the time!!" Yang's voice shot back.

"A little help, please…!" Kenshi called out desperately, trying to push back to avoid being crushed.

"We're coming! Use ice against them! They are weak to the cold!!" Yang's voice cried out, before the two's voices fell silent.

"Weak to the… why didn't I think of that!?" Kenshi called out in disbelief.

Getting an idea, Kenshi coated his leg in icy Aura before lashing out with a kick at his opponent's exposed groin. The thunderous, freezing shot hit home as the mummy squealed in agony like a stuck pig. Stumbling back, the mummy dropped his blade as he cupped his jewels, trying and failing to heat himself up to compensate. Gripping his blade with both hands as he coated it in freezing cold energy, he swung it down onto his opponent's head with full force and speed.

"Thunder Beast Style! Great Thunder: Avalanche Waterfall!" Kenshi called out as the blow cleaved his opponent in half, freezing him solid down to his very blood as it cut him in half.

The flame-scorched wraith screamed in agony as the attack connected before being swiftly cut off as he was frozen solid. Not even his blood avoided being frozen as it froze in mid-spray. Smirking, Kenshi swung his blade horizontally, shattering his opponent into pieces. The two pieces fell to the ground before shattering like glass, the icy shards scattering across the ground.

"Compare those notes. Bitch." Kenshi growled before sheathing his sword and heading back the way he came.

Mercifully, Kenshi found Yang and Azura in the hallways. To Kenshi's surprise, Azura rushed up and pulled his brother into a hug. Kenshi then looked over his brother's shoulder with a look that clearly said, 'what do I do here?'

"Hug back!" Yang hoarsely whispered.

Hesitantly, Kenshi hugged Azura back as the two embraced. Soon, Azura pulled away and gave his younger twin a smile as he looked around the place. A smile Kenshi returned with one of his own.

"It took you long enough, Ken. Did you really have that much trouble against a walking corpse?" Azura playfully asked, clearly trying to mask his concern with bravado.

"Dear brother, I was merely upholding so much familial honor that it slowed me down." Kenshi replied with a smile.

Yang simply rolled her eyes and smiled. "Boys… Always having to act tough…" She muttered exasperatedly.

"Let's call the troops in here to search the place. Hopefully, we can get some more of those cultists and find some gold for our troubles." Kenshi said, patting his brother on the shoulder.

"Right behind you, Ken. Ready to go, Yang?" Azura replied before looking at the blonde fighter.

"Absolutely. This place still gives me the creeps." Yang said before turning around to leave.

As the trio left, Azura stopped in the main chamber and looked down at the great flaming tunnel. How many people had gone down that way? And could it truly work? Even despite having fought undead mummies, part of him still questioned if someone could survive that. With a shake of his head, he followed behind Yang and Kenshi to leave. He would leave those who went down the flaming tunnel for the gods.

Back in Patch: Azura's Manor

Taiyang slowly roused himself from a nap, sitting up on his bed in the medical wing. Rubbing his eyes, he reached for the glass of water left for him on his nightstand. After a quick drink, he then looked over to Ruby's bed. Instead of his daughter lying there, he saw… nothing. Tai blinked once, then twice, then three times. Before immediately jumping out of his bed.

"OWW!! Lady Sen'otome!!! Ruby's gone!!!" Tai roared through the pain of moving so quickly.

"SHE'S WHAT!?!?" Sen'otome's voice called out before the woman herself rushing into the room.

"I woke up from my nap, and she's gone! She was there then I went to sleep…" Taiyang explained through panic and confusion.

"We must find her immediately! She is in no condition to be moving around yet!" Sen'otome said in concern.

As Sen'otome called for some of the guards and began to make hand seals, something clicked in Tai's head. He then rushed over to the Shugenja and grabbed hold of her before she could complete the hand symbols.

"The mine! She must be going to the mine!" Taiyang said, slightly shaking the poor woman in panic.

"Then I must hurry! Stay here and focus on your recovery!" Sen'otome told Tai, her concern for them both evident on her face.

"Please save her… if I lose her…" Taiyang said, his throat trembling a bit as he spoke, before stumbling on his feet.

Sen'otome gently took Tai's hands. "You will not lose her, Sir Taiyang. I will make sure of it." She told him firmly.

"Thank you…" Taiyang said, before going back to his bed.

With a nod Lady Sen'otome made a new set of hand seals in a way Taiyang had not seen her do before. Then in a blinding flash of light, on her arm was a large bird, though more ethereal than a living creature. The bird looked odd to him, but it did kind of remind him of some of the hawks that lived in the mountains.

"Fly to the mine and search for Lady Rose, Takamaru. As swift as the wind." Sen'otome ordered the spirit.

The hawk spirit bowed to his summoner. "As you wish, my lady." He replied before spreading his wings and taking to the sky, passing through the walls of the manor as if they were not there.

Sen'otome took one more look to make sure Taiyang was okay before rushing out of the manor. She knew time was short. She just hoped that she was not already too late…

Meanwhile: Near the Cultist Stronghold 

Thick, black smoke billowed from the mouth of a great cave entrance, blackened by repeated fires in a thick soot layer. Charred bones and corpses lay outside this mouth, of those who attempted to leave the tunnel, but failed. Yet as the fires still raged in the center of the tunnel, producing a soft, orange glow, a hand reached into the outside world. It was nearly skeletal, draped in black, scorched skin that flaked and chipped. Then a foot clumsily stepped out, with the same scorched and dried body. Then came the body of a man, or what was left of one, slowly but surely shambling out of the cave. Forced to stop and put his hands on a rock, he breathed the non-smoke-filled mountain air, hacking and coughing up smoke from inside him. Till finally a smile contorted around a charred, ruined face.

"The way of smoke… has given me… strength!!" The 'man' gasped, before eyeless sockets looked to the sky and smiled. His faith was rewarded…