Pet Quartet (ch20)

2-DAY EARLY RELEASE FOR ALL MY PATRONS!

It's time...

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

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													Chapter 20. An Unsettling Night

That night, all around the neighborhood, the shadows shifted on their own. Lanky cats and ratty dogs prowled through the bushes, digging up gardens and pristine lawns as they went.

Under Adam's orders, they'd all covered themselves in mud or trash for the purpose of making their collective scent confusing and jarring, mainly to throw off the retriever. Only Cinder and her group remained without such coating.

Adam's army was spread all across the neighborhood at different houses, waiting for his signal. He was with Cinder, Emerald, Mercury, and Roman a few houses down from Blake's.

For a while, they waited on a report back from Neo, as she could see and move better in the darkness than the hawk could on a night with no moon.

As they waited, Adam flicked his tail, and already felt his mouth beginning to water at the thought of battle, and the victory meal that would come afterward. He flashed his orange eyes to Cinder, who had raised herself up as tall as she could go. Beside the snake, the two rats were chuckling together.

"I can't wait," Mercury said. "We're finally gonna get rid of those pesky little pets."

"I know," Emerald agreed. "Just imagine sinking our claws into that annoying little mouse and holding her down for Cinder…"

"Don't forget," Cinder interjected. "Once you two have gotten her for me, you may raid the house to your hearts' content. Take all of the food you can carry and eat whatever you like. You as well, Roman."

"Much obliged, boss." He blinked, then swished his tail. "She's back."

All of them looked up to the rim of the hedge to see Neo suddenly appear out of nowhere. She gave a tiny nod. Adam smirked.

"Perfect. We stick to the plan - attack the skunk and draw out the others. Once they're all outside and the exit is blocked, we can kill them all."

Adam peered through the bushes before slowly creeping out. He lifted his tail, and all of his soldiers saw the signal from their hiding spots. They all began to prowl forward toward the target house. Adam, Cinder, and the others began to move as well, though they would be hanging back for most of the fighting, until their prizes presented themselves.

Adam guided his smaller group straight into Blake's yard and concealed them in the thick foliage of a bush. Once they were in position, and his warriors had surrounded the house, he nodded again to Neo. She took off into the grass toward the porch, and Roman followed after her for good measure.

The plan was to have Neo - the smallest and least intimidating of the group - wake the skunk and draw her out under the guise that she needed help. Once one of his cats had blocked off the hole beneath the porch, the rest would be easy.

Adam kneaded his claws into he earth as he waited. After a few moments, his ear flicked at the sound of an unfamiliar voice.

"Oh! Well, sal~u~tations there, little one! Can I help you?"

Adam crouched down in a position ready to pounce, seeing his warriors doing the same all around. It wasn't long before he could see a small black-and-white skunk meandering from beneath the porch, no doubt following a newt that was too small to see from such a distance.

Adam waited until the skunk was far enough away that she wouldn't be able to make a run back. Then, he made eye contact with two of his cats and gave the signal. They took off instantly toward the porch to block the skunk's hole. And it was around the same time when the skunk paused and lifted her nose to the air.

"Hold on a moment, little friend. I seem to be smelling something strange… It smells like a lot of garbage and mud… and a lot of unfamiliar animals-" She gasped, but it was already too late.

Three more cats exploded from the bushes and charged her all at once. Adam watched as the skunk shrieked and tried to flee, but once she saw the two blocking her escape route she skidded to a halt. She raised her tail at them, but just before she could do anything more, the others pounced and tackled her to the ground.

Adam's whiskers twitched, and he grinned to reveal his fangs. But before he could soak in the victory too much, he heard the commotion from the yard.

"Get off of me! Or you'll be sorry!"

"Good, good!" one of the cats laughed. "Scream some more. No one is gonna help you."

"I don't- need anyone's help! I'm combat-ready!"

With that, the skunk somehow managed to twist herself and bite a few paws. As the cats shrieked and jumped back, the skunk took aim and sprayed. Adam flinched at the sight, but quickly sent in one of his dogs.

As the cats raced away yowling, the skunk wasn't given a second to budge before a huge skinny shepherd was on top of her. He clamped his jaws around her entire body and lifted her up, then started to shake her. The skunk shrieked and yelped, entirely helpless now, filling the night with the sounds of her terror.

Adam relaxed and signaled for his next group to get ready. Cinder swayed beside him.

"Quick thinking," she said. "You knew if the first batch got sprayed she wouldn't be able to attack again for a moment. So you sacrificed your cats so the dog could attack. But now we've lost 3 fighters."

"We won't need them," Adam chuckled. "There are only 4 of them in that house, and two of them are morsels."

Cinder dipped her head thoughtfully.

"I suppose." Her tongue flashed out as she looked to her rats. "Be ready, you two. As soon as that mouse shows herself-"

"We're on it, boss," Emerald said.

Across the grass, the skunk continued wailing meekly in the jaws of Adam's dog. And in the shadows, they all braced themselves as they looked to the flap in the door and waited.

Blake woke first that night, still feeling a bit of an ache in her body from the fun and crazy day they'd had at the beach.

When she opened her eyes, the house looked the same as ever - quiet and still. Yang was sleeping next to her, and both Ruby and Weiss had nestled into the dog's bandana tonight.

Blake smiled at the three of them briefly before her ears caught sound of something. It sounded like it was coming from outside.

She sat up for a moment with her ears perked tall, assuming it was probably raccoons or possums going through the garbage cans again. They'd often tussle amongst themselves for scraps and make ridiculous sounds in the process.

But when the sound came again, Blake could tell this wasn't quite the same.

There was an animal crying out, and it sounded like it was in pain.

Blake felt the fur on her spine begin to bristle, and as she stood up her hackles raised. She snuck over to the window and leaped up onto the sill, peering out into the darkness beyond the glass.

At first, she didn't see much, even with her expert night vision. But after a moment, she could definitely catch sight of movement in the shadows of her yard.

And the noises came again, high-pitched wailing sounds. Only this time, the sounds of the prey was followed by the sounds of the predator. Deep, low growling, the kind she'd learned to recognize all too well when she'd been out on the streets.

"A dog-" She couldn't see one, but as the noises continued, she could tell they were coming from near the house.

Or more specifically, near the porch.

Blake's heart immediately dropped.

"Oh no… no, no-" She leapt down back onto the carpet and raced over to the others in a panic. "Guys! Yang! Wake up!" She head-butted the dog in the shoulder to rouse her.

Yang jolted herself awake, effectively waking up the smaller animals as well.

"Wha-? Blake, what's going on?"

"It's Penny!" she hissed. "I think she's in trouble."

"What?!" Ruby was up instantly, jumping to the floor. "Then we've gotta go help her!"

"Hold on," Blake said, flicking her tail out in front of the mouse. "I think it's a dog… Only Yang and I should go."

"A dog?!" Weiss shrieked. "In our yard? At this time of night?"

"I'll go," Yang said, shaking herself off. "You guys can stay here and wake the humans for help."

"No way!" Ruby squeaked. "Penny's my friend! I'm going to help!" And without waiting for any of them, Ruby tore off across the living room and headed straight for the flap in the door. Usually, she wasn't able to open it by herself, but the adrenaline and fear for her friend rushing through her this time allowed her to squeeze her way through before anyone could stop her.

"Ruby!" The others all called after her and gave chase, and at that point had no other choice but to follow. Yang pushed through first, followed by Blake, and finally Weiss.

"I'll get Ruby," the bird said to the cat. "You two handle the dog."

"Got it."

Blake took off after Yang toward the front porch, and the sounds only grew louder now. Weiss flew on ahead, calling out for Ruby to stop.

Yang was already growling more ferociously than Blake had ever heard her before. Blake caught a foreign scent of dog all over the yard and wrinkled her nose as her fur continued rising.

Then, Yang suddenly came to a halt, and Blake almost bumped into her. She darted around to the side and gave a hiss at the sight before her.

A large, gaunt stray dog had Penny between its jaws and was shaking her harshly. The poor little skunk was so hurt and dizzy she was barely moving anymore. Ruby was already trying to charge forward at the predator.

"Let! Her! Go!"

But before she could get too close, Weiss swooped down and plucked her up by the cape, the dragged her back a little ways.

"Ruby, stop! Let Yang handle this! It's too dangerous!"

"You heard her!" Yang barked. "Let our friend go!" She snarled, curling back her lip to show her teeth. Beside her, Blake lashed her tail and hissed, revealing her claws and sinking them into the grass.

"Let her go, and get off of our yard."

But the intruding dog didn't seem all that intimidated by them. It was almost as if he expected to see the four of them…

Just then, everyone's ears swiveled at the sound of a small, weak moan from the skunk as she lifted her head slightly.

"Penny!" Ruby tried again to run forward, but Weiss held her back.

Penny blinked, dazed and feeble, then gasped.

"Ruby-?"

"Don't worry, Penny! We're gonna save you!"

"No!" Penny cried. "Go back inside, all of you! It's a trap!"

"What-?" Blake's ears went flat immediately as she whirled around.

Suddenly, there were two ruffled cats and another dog blocking their path to get back inside the house. But before she could even react, her ears picked up on the sharp rush of air coming from above.

"Look out!"

Somehow, she managed to leap forward just in time as a hawk appeared out of the sky, its massive talons aimed right for Weiss and Ruby. But Blake bowled into it, swiping her claws, and knocked it off-course by a few inches. The bird screeched and flew off with empty talons, but something told her it'd be back soon.

"What was that?!" Weiss cried, shielding Ruby with her wings. Both of them were trembling now. Only Yang was still occupied with the other dog.

"What the heck is going on?"

But Blake already knew that answer. Such an elaborate and horribly dirty plan could only be devised from one mind she knew of.

She whirled around toward the street, watching as more and more unseen cats and dogs revealed themselves, backs arched, clearly ready for a fight. She spotted two awfully-familiar large rats, and a few other smaller things in the grass.

And then he emerged at the center of it all, stalking forward with his fangs bared, his orange eyes burning triumphantly into hers.

Blake's heart nearly stopped as the army surrounded her and her friends, but her eyes never left his.

"Adam…"

He purred, a rumbly, gravely purr she'd once used to find comfort in. But now, it brought her only fear.

He raised his tail and his chin, and smiled.

"Hello, Blake."

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A/N: It begins! Will they be able to avoid a fight and end things some other way...?