White Group. » Places

         The Morning Light over Lonesome Sands

As the sun broke the east horizon over Lonesome Sands Ruby stood atop an overhang at the entrance of the cave system that led into the faux workshop being prepped by the Black Hornets for the coming showdown. Ruby had a stern, unwavering glare on the horizon line. She was wary of not being caught off-guard. The audacity and arrogance in all the intel reports of Wylde were leaving Ruby nervous. He was unfazed by the White Group it seemed, and the fact he was more than happy to send his proteges after the organization was enough to give Ruby a wary attitude towards the oncoming battle. The sunlight started to creep over the overhang and Ruby felt the instant warmth of the morning sun on her body. It was sostrong in fact she had to follow the diminishing shadowline into a smaller outcrop of rock to sit in the shade. Ruby couldn't help but feel that the already intense heat was another metaphor or sign of things to come.

"You've been up here a whole week... Give it a rest would ya' You're making me tired" James said taunting Ruby

Ruby's gaze was broken momentarily as James rounded the rocks fully and took up a lean against a rock in the shade. Clearly he too felt the heat this morning as well. Ruby looked back out across the horizon.

"C'mon! We've been here a week and a half already... Lighten. Up. The Black Hornets have secured the three exits we've located... Ain't nothing going through those by friendlies..."

"What about the rest of the workshop? Everything set up?"

James rolled his eyes. He was tired himself, but Ruby's apparent watch over the Flatlands the past week and half was making him irritable; she hadn't help with setting anything up - apart from planning the traps within the Workshop.

"Yeah yeah... It's all been done... Just the last few bits and pieces being put together. We've rigged the escape tunnels with dynamite too. We'll be able to get ourselves out and trap the Fed's inside. A fuckin' tomb for the assholes." James said with a grin.

Ruby looked to James and shot him a serious glare, but then felt a small smirk creep across her face. James smiled wider, finally a little break from Ruby's worry.

"You gotta stop worrying... Thanks to Alexia Coleman we're at least equipped with some A-grade rifles... At a minimum we've got an edge on the Feds long distance... and imagine what would happen if we were shooting point blank... Fuck! There wouldn't be a Fed after one shot... Alexia really knows how to make a gun!"

"She certainly does... But good guns ain't enough. Where the fuck is Carla? I thought you said she'd promised Pirate help this time? The one bloody time I actually want her help..."

James shifted uncomfortably. It was true he had managed to strike a deal with Carla, but in that same token, so had Gretch apparently. The only saving grace in the stand-off bargaining had been the fact that neither Gretch nor James knew specific dates needed for Carla's help... The pirate had ended up saying the first person to write to her got the help first... James had written yesterday when a scout has turned up to the faux workshop reporting the Fed army a day and a half away from Lonesome Sands. He'd just hoped Gretch hadn't requested her help yet...

"I sent off the bird with the message... She'll get here I know it.. and When she does, I reckon there ain't no way the Fed's are gonna win!" James said with an even bigger grin.

"What does that mean?" Ruby asked cocking an eyebrow

"Last I heard just before we left Skycove... Carla and the pirates had managed to procure something from New Mesa they reckon was gonna literally cut the Fed's in half!"

Ruby scoffed. So she had seen them carting something from New Mesa; and Ruby had merely been a scapegoat for whatever Carla and the fucking pirates had had planned. Ruby rolled her eyes and sighed annoyed,

"And what the fuck does the amazing Captain Carla Reynolds have that can cut the Confederacy in half?"

"Well, I dunno exactly... But it's supposed to be big!"

"Yeah, well it'd be nice if she was reliable..."

"You need to get a grip... Shit... Although I do remember Sarah sayin' that you were a sensitive woman! haha -"

James stopped suddenly as he saw the look on Ruby's face. Sarah Hawthorne still hadn't been found. According to James, she never made it out of New Mesa, but that being said, no reports of her body were ever found... But that's what made Ruby all the more worried; If Sarah had at least turned up dead it meant that Wylde hadn't gotten his hands on her...

"Yeah..." Ruby muttered.

Ruby shook her head and took a deep breath. Now was not the time to be too sensitive. Precision, tact and a fully equipped resistance was all she needed to think about.

"Alright. Let's fuck these mothers up."

The First Shot and Bad News From Carla Reynolds

Ruby was standing at the end of the large hall that sat in the centre of the labyrinth that was now known as Lonesome Bunker. The Black Hornets had nicknamed the bunker out of sheer boredom but the name spread like wildfire and soon everyone had been referring to the damned place as Lonesome. Ruby was holding Coleman outwards and up towards the ceiling, talking everyone through how to use the rifles Alexia and Kincaid had managed to create for the Black Hornets.

"And that's pretty much it. They're standard like any other rifle you've probably used. But remember they've got more power than you'll be used to. Alright, that's everything."

Ruby reholstered Coleman over her shoulder and stepped over the little plinth at the end of the hall. The current group she had been teaching dispersed and Ruby sat down as James approached her.

"Alrighty, i've definitely confirmed everything... This place is a literal deathtrap to anyone who doesn't know how to move around it!"

"Fuck yeah!" Ruby said with an affirmitive nod.

James sat down next to Ruby and suddenly Ruby began to felt flushed. He'd never been so close to her before, at least not casually. Ruby shifted her weight, but James seemed to move closer to close any gap she was creating.

"So I was thinking...-"

"Does everyone know they're not to step outside their sector of Lonesome?" Ruby cut in

"Uh, yeah.. They all know they've got their section, and that stepping outside of it could end badly for them... Anyway -"

"And they're all aware of their escape tunnel? I mean.. we only have three... we can't have randoms just running to whichever tunnel they feel like going down if shit gets bad in here..."

"Yeah I know Ruby.. they're all aware of what they have to do.. now would you just sit down, I wanna -"

This time before Ruby could interrupt - she wasn't sure where the conversation was going, but she was embarrassed by James' tone - a young Black Hornet came racing into the hall holding a dead bird and an expression of horror on his face.

"Mr Squire! Mr Squire!"

Both Ruby and James were on their feet all of a sudden as the young boy, only in his late teens held the bird high.

"What is is Harry?" James asked hurriedly

The boy was heaving greatly and shaking the dead bird around, as if to say look at this. Flecks of blood spattered the floor and James saw the bird had been shot.

"Why do you have a dead bird?" James asked confusedly.

The boy was trying to regain his breath and Ruby without wasting anytime closed the distance between herself and the boy and snatched the bird seeing a message tied to it's leg.

"You know, you could have led with the message first.." Ruby chided

Ruby opened the message up and grunted cracking the shits,

"Typical. Fuck."

"What?" James asked

"You're girlfriend says she can't get out here at the moment without giving herself away to the Feds... apparently they're about a days travel away but they've got airships out to the east and west monitoring traffic across the sky while the ground is being marched on... They can't get past because apparently the Levithan is following the Cabal... But Carla states that a source informed her the Levithan isn't comin' with them... it's just following them for a bit.. after it leaves she reckons the pirates will be able to bring up a rear assault."

"Damn it... That's gonna make things harder.." James muttered

"We'll have to deal... Besides, the Confederacy is a day away... We've got more time to rethink and tweak our strategy... Perhaps we won't need confront them outright... I dunno..."

Finally the young boy Harry caught his breath and grabbed Ruby.

"No Miss Doom! The Fed's are here!"

Ruby choked on her own spit for a moment

"What? How would you know? This message says they're a day away..."

"But Miss Doom... I was on my way here when I saw that bird flying over head... Suddenly there was a loud shot from a few miles behind me... a really big crack! and then I saw the bird collapse.. I ran to the bird, thinking I could make some lunch from it.. I'm awfully -"

"Get to the point Harry" James cut in

"I got to the bird and as I reached it, noticed it had a message on it's leg... Thought it must be for one of you... I picked it up and another loud boom from behind me and suddenly a bullet just missed me! hit the ground right at my feet... that's when I saw them... the Confederacy! They're about two hours behind me!"

"FUCK!" James and Ruby cried out in unison.

Suddenly Lonesome was in full swing as Ruby and James got everyone into action. The Confederacy was upon them.

An Unexpected Death at Lonesome Sands

The next two hours were a rush os adrenaline and panic for Ruby and James. Fortunately almost all of Lonesome was now rigged and ready for the Confederacy to try it's annihilation of the White Group. Ruby had managed to procure herself a small team at her side; James was to be the tactician, Ruby was the gunslinger, a woman called Tanya was a notorious brawler from New Mesa and begged Ruby to let her fight by her side. Then was Lockhardt, a young man, no older than eighteen whom it seemed was something of a swords expert. Ruby wasn't being fool-hardy this time, the Cabal Sniper Williams and her and James' encounter with Wylde were enough for Ruby to know not to take on a Cabal on her own, especially when there was more than one Cabal member coming their way.

Ruby and James had gone over the procedures and expectations of every member of the Black Hornets in Lonesome. The plan was to leave no trace of a literal army that was waiting for the Confederacy. Sure Confederacy knew they were walking into a trap, but from what Jenner had gathered, they had no idea the Black Hornets had amassed as much of what they had; Alexia's rifles, and a fair number of special skilled resistance fighters too.

It was the last minutes of the two hour deadline that the group had received that saw just how high the tension and nervousness was among the Black Hornets. It was also then that Ruby was wondering if it had been a mistake only bringing twenty Hornets on board. It had been James who had suggested just having the whole of the Black Hornet's at Lonesome Sands - take no prisoners type of approach. But Ruby had told him that the Hornet's were going to be needed in the whole numbers once the Cabal were dead; plus if all the Black Hornets died at Lonesome, then it could be very likely that Gretch may win if the Confederacy loses in the long run.

The minutes passed and Ruby and her present sat in silence as the other Black Hornet members brought along went to their respective parts of the Lonesome Workshop. So far nothing had been heard, but that wasn't surprising. Ruby had speculated they'd probably wander the old ruins up on the surface first and once satisfied no one was up top, make Puck bring them to the cave entrance.

A half hour passed and it was James who began to grow restless. Nothing had been heard at all around the bunker. None of the escape tunnels seemed to have been compromised so Ruby and the rest could only assume they either didn't know they existed or the Fed fucks weren't gonna use them, probably guessing the White Group would have them boobytrapped - which Ruby had made sure they would be.

"What the fuck are they doing?" James said nervously

"Probably holding their dicks tightly" Tanya said smirking

"It's the cabal right? I heard they're really smart and tactful, I even heard they can move invisibly!" Lockhardt whispered looking around the main hall, "They could be in here... just playing with us..."

"That's the bloody Ochils you idiot" Tanya chided "The Cabal are nothing but a bunch of high and mighties... They're a little better than your run of the mill Fed fucks. They ain't nothin' special!"

"Then why the fuck are they attackin' the White Group? Everyone knows you don't fuck with the White Group..." Lockhardt said shooting back to Tanya

James shifted his weight and stood up with his hand held up as if to quieten the two, "Shh. Did you hear that?"

Ruby cocked her head around to look to James, what had he heard? Ruby turned back around and scanned the hall. She had chosen the four of them to take up hold in this hall because it was the first room before the tunnels diverged into the greater labyrinth that was the Lonesome Workshop. It was more of a foyer so to speak and had six or so marbled columns supporting the weight of the roof. Ruby had wondered why the Old Worlders who built places like these bunkers were so grandeur sometimes and others made bunkers to the barest of necessities. It made no sense to her? Or were extravagant bunkers like this Workshop and the real one originally meant for people from a higher class? That didn't matter for the moment, and Ruby just took note carefully of the room and the stairs that led from the cave down into the bunker.

Suddenly the four member tensed up as the slow calculating sound of footsteps gently reverberated. Ruby and the rest unholstered their respective guns and pointed them all towards the stairway entrance. They each moved so they were behind a column and no one dared move for fear of exposing themselves. The footsteps grew louder and louder, but still remained reasonably soft as they approached the columns where the first two of the four were hiding. It was Ruby and Tanya who eyed one another and had a silent conversation across the way to express their own desires of what to do to whomever it was walking. Tanya seemed to want to kill them outright, and not that Ruby was opposed to it, but shooting first and asking questions later may not end well if they gave away their position. But still Ruby aimed her gun as a precaution and flicked the safety off the rifle. She aimed Carefully and so did Tanya and for a moment as the unexpected figure of Sarah Hawthorne moved into sight, catching Ruby off guard who almost shot the woman.

As Sarah passed the column both Ruby and Tanya froze, neither knowing whether or not to call out to the woman or let her keep going lest the Cabal were watching to see if she walked into some sort of trap. All Ruby could think was what a bunch of cowards they were letting a defenseless woman be their scapegoat. Suddenly Sarah stopped walking and turned back around to face the stairs and Ruby brought her hand up quickly to her lips signalling her to remain quiet. Sarah moved without so much as hint to spying Ruby and spoke clearly past her.

"It's clear" the she called out

"Are you sure?" A high pitched flamboyant voice replied

"You can see me standin' here alone" Sarah retorted

"Don't be smart with us whore" a second, more callous voice called back

"Keep going" a third, much deeper accented voice boomed

Sarah nodded and turned around to make her way through the large arch and into the next room where all the tunnels diverted into the various sections of the bunker. Ruby could tell instantly from the three varied voices that those men were the Cabal members. That was less than ideal having three Cabal in the one room, but it was good in a sense knowing how arrogant they all were to be the first ones in.

Sarah made it to the large arch and turned again about to speak back to the Cabal. For a moment though Sarah looked back to Ruby and although it was the slightest of eye movements Ruby knew it would have been enough to alert the Cabal. The flamboyant voice broke the momentary tension and everything that happened next was a blur to Ruby.

"You little liar."

A single shot rung out through the hall and suddenly Sarah's eyes went wide and the woman fell to her knees clasping her stomach. A few tears welled up in her face but it all happened so fast and within seconds Sarah fell to her side, the poor woman was dead.

Ruby felt her stomach churn as her stance staggered for a moment as she processed what had just happened. Then it all hit Ruby like a confederate freight train. Her vision glazed over and suddenly Ruby found herself moving without even being conscious. She turned herself out from the column and aimed once towards the three Cabal fire a shot right into the shoulder of the flamboyant voice man, causing him to scream.

"Ahhh. Fuck! Rakamil, get back to the surface you know what to do!"

Suddenly the hulking Tanu turned on his feet, shouting something affirmative to the flamboyantly voiced man Harvey. As the Tanu left, Ruby tried to shoot him once more, but the giant was too fast up the stairs and her shot missed. Harvey fell back though out of shock that Ruby had tried to shoot again. This time though the last member, the man with the callous voice Oswald lifted his gun nonchalantly and fired towards Ruby.

Suddenly James pulled Ruby out of the way and the two of them fell behind a column. Ruby was struggling to get James off of her, the death of Puck was more than her conscious could handle. But James stayed on top of the woman, his frame bigger than hers and enough to keep her down. Suddenly Tanya was at their sides shouting something and all Ruby could do was struggle and from her current position look angrily at the body of one of her oldest friends. But the agony was soon cut short as anger was replaced with sadness and suddenly reality kicked back in and all Ruby could hear were the deafening sounds of shot after shot being fired around the room.

Ruby calmed down enough to allow James off of her and Tanya helped the woman to her feet as they all stood pressed against the column and Oswald's cold voice rang out above the din.

"Keep firing until Rakamil and the rest have done their part. Make your way through the bunker and kill anyone you see. We'll be back shortly. Coming on Harvey."

Ruby took a moment to look around the side of the column and caught a glimpse of what was happening. About ten men were standing in line firing wildly around the foyer hall. The Cabal weren't taking any chances of being caught off guard. James suddenly grabbed Ruby and the four members were forced to retreat, only just without injury, deeper into the Lonesome Workshop. Ruby was on autopilot again and simply followed as James kept a tight grip on her arm. She looked down to the floor and pooling blood around Sarah Hawthorne's body as the group had to jump over her to make it to safety. Ruby closed her eyes and breathed deeply, a cold shiver running across her body.

The Unexpected Entry of the Confederate Army

Tanya, Lockhardt, James and Ruby managed to make it into the main grand hall of the bunker. Five or so Black Hornets were waiting and James shouted something to them while Ruby slumped herself against the wall, this time completely and utterly crying. The Black Hornet members moved fast and had managed to close shut a giant impassable metal door, just in time too as the ten special forces Fed's were nearly upon the hall. Loud banging and what could only be assumed were small explosives were bombarding the other side of the metal door into the hall, but luckily whatever the special forces were carrying wasn't enough to make an impression.

James rushed over to Ruby who was heaving violently and grabbed her by the arms, shaking her gently,

"Get up Ruby. We can't afford to do this."

"That was Sarah!" Ruby choked

"I know Ruby. I know! They did that on purpose! They probably knew you were lookin' for her!"

"She's dead..." Ruby cried

"I know Ruby! But we need you or we'll all die!"

"I can't... not after that.."

"Ruby! We will mourn Sarah when the time is right!"

"I just wan't to die... I can't keep watching innocent people die..."

Ruby slumped further over and James gripped tighter.

"This isn't you Ruby! You're a fighter! I know people are dying! Everyone is dying. WE WILL DIE IF YOU DON'T DO SOMETHING!.

Suddenly the whole bunker shook and the ceiling above the hall split in two and concrete and dirt collapsed to the floor. James was flung to the side as the shock sent everyone standing to their feet. Ruby fell to her side and lay on the ground as she processed what was happening.

Suddenly James was to his feet pointing in a direction yelling at everyone. The Black Hornets started shuffling around and before long they were all out of the hall as another quake rocked the hall and more dirt collapsed to the ground, piling up while dangerous rubble fell all around the hall. Tanya was back at Ruby's side picking her up and without warning suddenly slapped Ruby across the face.

"Wake up you fool!" she shouted to Ruby.

Ruby staggered backwards and Lockhardt was at her side steadying her.

"Why the hell you hit her?" he sneered

"The bitch needs to realise what is happening! She's in shock. She's no good if this is what the great Ruby Doom is really like."

You can't just go hitting her!" James interjected

"Oh really? I slap her again if it means she starts being useful!"

Another shockwave and the ceiling collapsed more and suddenly the dirt gave way as a giant hole opened up and midday sun glared down into the depths of the Lonesome Bunker.

"Holy fuck!" Tanya cried out

Ruby staggered and fell to her arse. Tanya took it upon herself to help Ruby back up but this time she hit her twice as hard as before. Suddenly Ruby reeled back again but this time Lockhardt missed her and Ruby fell against a nearby column.

"Stop fucking hitting her!"

"Then you get her back to reality!"

Ruby watched as the three argued about what to do. Within herself Ruby could hear her usual self calling out to pick her shit up and start the fight. But her emotions seemed to knocking louder than her fighters logic. Ruby watched as the three stared back and forth yelling at one another as the ceiling gave way more and more creating a gaping hole. Suddenly Confederate soldiers started descending on ropes. Neither James, Lockhardt or Tanya took any notice of the special forces making their way inside the bunker.

All Ruby could think about was Sarah and the unimaginable ammunition that the Cabal must have brought with them to be able to get into a bunker this deep down. Suddenly Harvey descended into the pit and that was when Ruby found herself again. It was as though her autopilot kicked into another gear. It was still Ruby's emotions fighting her inner-logic, but this time they were more proactive and less self-indulgent of pity and crying. The site of Harvey made Ruby lust for his jugular.

"Turn around! They're in here!"

James, Tanya and Lockhardt all turned at once and only just managed to duck and cover as the special forces opened up a hailstorm upon them. Ruby managed to move around a nearby column and avoid bullets too. She took a deep breath and loked towards James and the others. Nodding sternly as James called out a formation plan above the gunshot noises.

Ruby grabbed Coleman tightly and brought him up to aim stepping out from the column and fired three times downing three special forces. Taking the group off guard, Ruby had duck back behind the column as the hailstorm was now directed at her. Her diversion offered the other three enough time to separate and the group now surrounded the special forces and Harvey. The shooting stopped suddenly and Harvey began to talk.

"Well well, you're quite the shot aren't you?" He taunted out through the hall.

"I'm going to rip your dick from you!" Tanya called out

"No thank you. You're not my type, if you get what I mean..." Harvey taunted back

Suddenly the sounds of footsteps rattles the shambled hall and the special forces divided and started to move down random passages.

"Send down the next lot!" harvey suddenly called up and suddenly ten more special forces dropped to the hall and moved in a similar fashion.

"I'm gonna kill all of your men!" Lockhardt yelled out from his position

"Not before we kill yours!" Harvey laughed

"You'll have to find them first!" James called back.

"We'll have no pro-"

Harvey was cut off as violent screams echoed down from one hall and a special forces man came running back with a blackened arm.

"Th-they've got the place trapped!" the man cried before dropping to the ground in shock.

"You're crafty little bastards aren't you... Nevertheless, push on men and kill them all".

By this time Ruby had had enough. She exposed herself from her column and aimed the gun high again and fired once piercing Harvey in the leg, forcing him to the ground in agony.

"Ahhh. Oswald! Oswald! I need back up!"

The sniveling fucker may have been Cabal but Ruby could see the arrogance in the man was just as strong as his fear and pitiful childishness when he wasn't in control. Ruby shot again and pierced his other leg. She wasn't letting him go anywhere. Ruby marched forward and James called out to her,

"Ruby stop! It'll be a trap!"

"Good". She responded.

Ruby moved into the light of the gaping hole and onto the dirt and concrete rubble where Harvey was laying, sobbing in agony. Suddenly she was forced back as bullets shot down towards her. Oswald stood on the precipice of the hole with a few more special forces.

"Don't even think about touching him." Oswald called out sternly.

Ruby gritted her teeth.

"Let me show you what happens to a Confederate cunt when you piss me off" Ruby shouted.

Ruby made her way around the circled of light until she was as close to Harvey as possible. More screams from within the bunker could be heard from the various hallways as more special forces ran into the varied boobytraps around the place. Ruby made her move fast and managed to grab Harvey by the collar of his coat and drag him out of direct sight before the special forces could get her. Suddenly Oswald called down the way,

"I promise you Ruby. Kill him and it this will not end well."

Ruby just snorted loudly, her own rage and temperament beyond idle threats.

"Lockhardt, your sword." Ruby commanded.

James ran to Ruby's side, "Tread carefully Ruby..."

Lockhardt came to the pairs side followed by Tanya and handed his sword to Ruby.

Harvey started to squirm and scream and suddenly Tanya punched him to the throat causing the main to wheeze, unable to talk.

"Keep his restrained. Let me tell you something" Ruby called out to Oswald, "I'm going to show you just how mortal you are.."

Ruby pulled the sword back and slashed it down hard once, twice, three times, four times and five. Her rage unending on Harvey's body. Ruby stepped back heaving with tears across her face as she picked up Harvey's lifeless body and threw it back into the light.

James and Tanya and Lockhardt had all stepped back, almost in shock and awe of Ruby's brutality. Even after her anger had been drained, Ruby felt the sickness of her own handiwork. You could say that Harvey wasn't even recognizable after Ruby had finished with him. But even though Ruby had been as brutal as she had and did feel remorse for the level of personal violence she took. Ruby was still satisfied. Harvey was less than human as far as she was concerned.

"Have a look Oswald. You see that? You Cabal all think you're untouchable... But I think if you were to put Roland, Williams and Harvey here under the spotlight, they might teach you to back the fuck off and go back to the Peaks!"

Silence. Nothing was said, nothing and no one moved as Ruby, James, Lockhardt and Tanya all waited for what was to come next. Lockhardt shyly moved towards the hole in the center of the hall, peeking upwards towards the sky.

"No ones there... What are they doing?"

Lockhardt turned back to face the group and that's when it happened. Suddenly a loud explosion rocked the bunker again, but significantly less than before, then a shout resounded from the surface,

"The Black Hornets are coming from the sides! Into defensive positions!"

James cheered loudly and Tanya did too, "The others must have got out and have come back! Fuck yeah! If we can get to the surface, we should outnumber em' if the other fucks down here are lost or dead from the traps!"

It was then that suddenly Oswald descended and without so much as a warning drove a small knife into Lockhardt's back and pulled a pistol firing it once into his head.

"I told you not to touch Harvey."

The Showdown in Lonesome Sands: Tanya Gould and Oswald From the Cabal

The Black Hornet members who'd been tasked with escaping by James had made it to the surface. James had told them to get the hell outta dodge but it seemed he was rewarded with more loyalty than he had ever expected. They'd come back and started a full blown showdown with the twenty or so Special Forces Fed soldiers still on the surface. They had managed to buy Ruby and the rest enough time to escape it seemed, but not before Oswald put a dent in the foursome by joining James, Tanya and Ruby in the bunker and killing Lockhardt without so much as a hint of trouble in doing so.

Tanya was the first to react to Lockhardt's death. Without a word she pushed passed Ruby and James and brought her right leg straight up to Oswald's chin, kicking the man in the jaw and sending him backwards.

"You two get outta here! I'll buy you some time!"

Tanya looked to the two sternly as if to say, don't waste this precious fucking time! James and Ruby didn't take another moment to wait and the two were off and down a hallway before Oswald could even see them leaving.

"It's just you and me fucker. You ain't leavin'!" she shouted

Oswald steadied himself and rolled his eyes as he looked Tanya over.

"Back down and i'll only break your legs. You can get your own way out of here... that is a gift..."

Tanya snorted and kicked off the ground racing towards Oswald, a hand pulled back ready to collide with his face. Oswald stepped to the side and grabbed Tanya's fist in his hand, bringing his knee upwards into her gut, stunting the woman and sending her onto her back heaving. Oswald then followed through with the kick and dropped his knee down on Tanya's gut, furthering the blow and forcing the woman to her side vomiting.

"I've been told time and time again about how savage you Flatlanders can be... But I'm yet to meet one of you who can even throw a decent punch."

Oswald kicked Tanya to the side and moved past her towards the tunnel Ruby and James escaped down. The man was nearly at the entrance of the tunnel when Tanya suddenly grabbed him from behind in a headlock and kicked the back of his left knee forcing him the ground. The Cabal fell onto his back and Tanya twisted her body so she was no on top of him. Tanya clasped both her hands together and brought them down to pummel Oswald's chest. The man's eyes suddenly opened wide and Tanya cheered as the wind was knocked out of him.

"Ruby was right! You fucks ain't as tough as you think you are!"

Tanya brought her clasped hands back up for a second blow but Oswald buck to his side and sent Tanya underneath him. Now on top of her, Oswald shot her a cold smirk. He quickly shoved his hand to her throat choking her and with his free hand balled it into a fist and smashed the side of her face.

Tanya screamed out in pain as she felt her jaw unhinge and relocate. The power from Oswald's hit was incredible and frightening. Tanya started to buck her hips herself but Oswald was nearly twice as big as her and her small frame was no match. Oswald brought hand back up and was about to hit Tanya again when she spat a gob of blood up in his face. Caught off guard Oswald removed his hand from her throat to wipe himself clean,

"YOU are fucking disgusting" he sneered

Tanya choked a painful laugh and punched Oswald to the gut reeling him over. Tanya pulled herself out from under his weight and pulled both legs up tightly and released them into the Cabal's chest. He rolled down a small pile of dirt and Tanya got to her feet shakily, spitting more blood from her sore jaw to the ground.

"Youth fthuk." She mumbled through her sore jaw "Like I sthaid, youth are weathk"

Oswald got to his feet. His rage was visible by how cold and determined he now looked. Tanya readied herself but Oswald was too quick. In a matter of seconds Oswald moved and brought a hand backwards into her jaw breaking the right side of her face. Tanya cried out and tried to counter his attack, but Oswald forced both palms into the woman's chest, sending her to the ground. Tanya heaved in agony of her broken jaw as Oswald settled down on top of her with a knee pressed across her breasts.

"I gave you a gracious opportunity to fuck off. Now I'll show you what I do to insolent little maggots"

Oswald punched Tanya to the face swiftly, fracturing her nose this time and forcing the woman to choke on her own blood. With his knee positioned over her chest he grabbed either side of her shoulders as tightly as possible. He brought his left hand towards himself while his right hand pushed backwards. Within a matter of seconds Tanya was screaming so painfully is could be heard from the surface. Oswald has pushed and pulled so hard on Tanya's shoulders he effectively dislocated both. He grabbed her by the hair and dragged the woman into the blaring light crumpling her form.

"As you lay here. Unable to speak. Unable to breath properly and probably drowning in your blood. As that blood dries and you realise you made a VERY wrong mistake in backing the White Group, The Black Hornets, Ruby Doom and the Flatlands, just appreciate how Mortal you are and my incredible power. My only weakness you little whore, is that I let people like you live longer than is necessary."

The Showdown in Lonesome Sands: James Squire and Rakamil

Ruby and James had managed to make it to the surface. They had a group of about five Special Forces who'd managed to stay alive in the bunker on their tails. They managed to clear around fifty yards before they surfaced and were greeted with some of the Black Hornets managing to provide tactical cover.

But it wasn't long before Ruby and James were back into the thick of it as the two sides battled it out through the ruins of Lonesome Sands. The gaping hole that went straight into the bunker seemed to be the halfway point for the two sides. The Confederates were sticking to their side of the hole and the Hornet's theirs. Gun fire was back and forth and it seemed for a time that the Hornet's were winning, especially when Ruby got her gun flinging bullets.

As the battle waged and the ruins fell further, a small stop from the Confederacy made everyone nervous. It was five minutes later when Rakamil, the incredibly tall - even for a Tanu - beast emerged from behind a crumbling wall with Puck by the scruff and a cold smile across his face. Puck was struggling, but it was doing no good as Rakamil was so huge, Puck would have been nothing more than a mere nuisance to him. Rakamil pulled a gun from his side and aimed it at Puck who started to scream for Ruby.

Ruby felt her stomach jolt, no fucking way. He wouldn't kill and innocent child? The safety was pulled off. Ruby felt sick she went to fire her gun but it pulled up empty. FUCK. Rakamil bared his teeth in an evil grin and Ruby turned to a Black Hornet next to her, taking his revolver and aiming it as fast as she could. The gun fired and a bullet hit through the bicep of the arm holding Puck up. The Tanu roared in anger and Puck dropped to the ground, bolting towards Ruby's direction.

Ruby jumped the wall she was taking cover behind and tried to close the distance between herself and Puck. Rakamil roared again and held his gun up at Puck and just as he went to pull the trigger suddenly James emerged from nearby ruins and swung himself on the Tanu's arm. Puck flung himself into Ruby and she ushered him into the safety of the ruins where the Hornet's were covered. The gun fire suddenly resumed as both sides were fighting to keep the other from killing their leader.

Rakamil grabbed James by his scruff and threw the man to the ground. He pulled his leg up to brig it down on Jame's body but James was quick enough to roll to the side and take a knife from on him and drive it into the Tanu's foot. Rakamil bellowed deep and brought his other foot up to kick James a few meters across the way. James rolled and came to a stop heaving. The Tanu grabbed Jame's leg and dragged him through the sand, suddenly picking James up and flinging him into a ruins wall. James hit it hard and staggered to his feet, only just ducking as the Tanu hit the wall.

James ducked out from Rakamil but he brought his hand backwards following Jamed and another hit sent the man flying to hit stomach. Rakamil ran to Jamed and leaped into the air hoping to bring his weight back down on James. But he managed to moved out of the way again but not without feeling the vibrations of the Tanu's weight.

"Lay down and die!" Rakamil roared.

James went to pull his revolver from it's holster but Rakamil grabbed him by the throat and with incredible strength lifted him from the ground. Ruby had just gotten Puck to safety when she turned around to see James being held by his throat from the ground. Rakamil held James out as he bellowed loudly across the gun fire,

"Today we kill the Black Hornets!"

Ruby grabbed her stolen revolver and aimed it high to Rakamils head and pulled the trigger but nothing happened as the gun jammed.

"Fuck! No this can't be happening!"

Ruby tried desperately to get the gun working but nothing was working. From her position she could James hands drop to his sides, the man was dying... Ruby looked to Puck and told him to stay put as she moved from her cover and bolted across the way towards the Tanu. Ruby closed the distance in a few seconds and withdrew her own knife driving it into the left thigh of Rakamil. The Cabal man cried out and instinctively dropped James who fell coughing to the ground. Rakamil turned to Ruby and picked her up this time. With two hands he began to squeeze violently on her sides. Ruby started to go light headed and feel her body begin to give way to the Tanu's strength.

That's when the hailstorm of bullets cut across the Confederate Special Forces groups, across the gaping hole into the Lonesome Bunker and sideways up Rakamil. Rakamil released Ruby as she fell to the ground heaving as well, James rushing to her side pulling her out of the way. Blood dripped in the sand as Rakamil turned around and looked to the sky to see what had just happened.

A small ways off, up in the sky hovered Carla Reynold's ship, newly equipped with a smaller version of the Levithan's gateling gun. Ruby could only assume that's what they pirates had taken from New Mesa. As the ship neared closer, Ruby watched as the gun fired up again and this time she and James had to move out of the way as the gun tore through the sand and directly into the Rakamil.

The sight was unbelievable. The gun was no match for the Levithan's power, but still in it's own right was bad enough to literally shred Rakamil into pieces. The Tanu barely had anytime to react as his body was pelted violently with nearly a hundred bullets. Rakamil staggered forward and suddenly his body fell into the pit and down into Lonesome landing crumpled and torn next to Harvey's body.

The Quick and Painful Death

The Black Hornet's cried out in cheers as Carla hovered her ship over Lonesome Sands. The ship landed safely after it seemed Carla had deemed the place safe and disembarked to greet a tired and confused Ruby and James. James was quite beaten and bloodied as he joined Carla and Ruby and Carla wasted no time in reminding the two how good she was.

"So, how much do you love me?"

"Is that what you stole from New Mesa?" Ruby asked in a grateful tone

"You bet your two boobs it was! Couldn't have gotten it without ya too! And just as bloody well I did get it... Seems my time as Queen of the Flats is soon approaching it's end I think... A part from my crew here... It seems after New Mesa I've lost most of my popularity points! Hahaha..."

Ruby couldn't say she blamed anyone in Skycove for wanting to evict Carla.

"Thank god you got here when you did... I think another - "

"Ruby!" Puck suddenly called out

A single shot resounded through the area. Ruby, Carla and James had to turn suddenly as Puck jumped in the way of Ruby and fell to the ground slumped. Ruby confused ran to Puck and picked the boy up propping him against a wall as she noticed her hands stained red. Puck had been shot.

"What the fuck?" Ruby heaved as she looked to Puck

The boy had been shot in the stomach. He had jumped in her way when he'd noticed Oswald appear from a lone ruin. Without thinking Puck had called out to her and jumped in the way as Oswald fired. The Cabal now made his way towards Ruby, firing in rage at anyone trying to take him out.

"Wait here Puck" Ruby cooed

She got to her feet in time to watch Carla and James trying to fire back at Oswald. The man was too good though and dispatched almost all the hornets still alive. He forced James and Carla into cover as he trudged his way towards Ruby. He fired once or twice more and Ruby pulled Coleman from her back, aiming to high as Oswald suddenly stood no more than ten meters away.

"I will kill you!" Oswald roared.

He went to fire his gun but the revolver simply clicked. The man had used up his bullets. Ruby stared the man down as he threw the gun to the side.

"Even better, i'd prefer to snap your neck."

Coleman moved towards Ruby and she aimed the gun down and swiftly shot him in the leg causing the Cabal member to fall to the ground. Ruby took no time wasting the opportunity. She grabbed Oswald by his hair and started to drag him across the sand. The man kicked and roared that he was going to kill Ruby. The woman the whole time was calm and collected and silent as she dragged him.

Jams and Carla removed themselves from hiding and followed Ruby, watching as she took the man to the precipice of the hole into Lonesome. Ruby dropped Oswald to the ground and the man started to crawl away from her. Ruby grabbed an coiled piece of rope that was fixed to a metal pole dug into the ground. She tied a noose into the rope and swiftly walked to Oswald, throwing the rope around his neck. Ruby picked the man to his feet and his nostrils flared as spoke to her,

"You can't kill me! You can't! Wylde will come for you! You know that! You kill me and he'll come for you!"

"Good."

Ruby kicked Oswald to the gut and the man toppled over the edge and his screams were cut short suddenly as the rope tensed. Ruby turned back to James and Carla, her eyes red and pooled with tears. Ruby ran back to Puck, kneeling besides the boy. She grabbed him gently and picked him up, looking to James who was quiet and red eyed. Carla seemed to be stern and quiet too. No one spoke to one another as they boarded Carla's ship.

The Return to the Workshop

Ruby cried the whole way home. It wasn't loud, it wasn't even noisy in the least. She was silent, quiet and painful. The whole way back she clutched tightly onto Puck's body as they moved. No one dared to approach her but in all honesty Ruby preferred it that way. Since joining the White Group, so much had changed for Ruby, for better and worse, as they touched down just outside of the Workshop, Ruby silently carried Puck's body to the main hall where she lay it down on a table in the center of the room.

Ruby left a note besides Puck's body for Miss Reese,

We destroy the Confederacy once and for all.