Pet Quartet (ch13)

2-DAY EARLY RELEASE FOR ALL MY PATRONS!!

Once again, such clever readers I have!

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

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											Chapter 13. A Frightening Snake

After the first day Ruby had gone into the basement and met Emerald and Mercury, she began waking even earlier to venture down. This was so she could spend a bit more time with them and then creep back upstairs to curl herself into Yang's fur and pretend to still be asleep so none of her friends would know she'd been gone.

She didn't really like keeping secrets from them at first – she felt as though she was going behind their backs and doing something bad by going to see the bigger mice downstairs without telling the others.

But one morning she'd voiced her concerns to Emerald and Mercury and they'd reassured her.

"Think of it this way," Mercury had told her. "Isn't it exciting? Getting to slip away and then hang with us and then go back?"

"And," Emerald had added. "It's even more fun when you think about how soon you'll be able to bring them all down here and introduce us?"

Ruby had perked up at their statements.

"Yeah! You guys are right! It's kinda like a secret mission!"

And ever since then, she hadn't felt a sliver of guilt about sneaking away in the mornings. Ruby fully believed that one day, as soon as Emerald and Mercury were ready, they would introduce her to the other friend they'd told her about earlier. And then Ruby would introduce her own friends, and they could all be friends together!

The thought delighted her, and so she did her best to keep things secret until the time was right.

Of course, Emerald and Mercury had other plans...

They scudded along the wet basement floor together, lumbering about side by side as they discussed things.

"So when do you think would be a good time?" Mercury asked.

"Whenever she says so," Emerald replied. "That dumb little mouse'll never know what hit her."

"Just gotta make sure her friends don't catch on."

"Who cares? Even if they do, they'd never be able to get down here and find us before we're already gone. We can make an escape from here in a second. Not even that big stupid dog would be able to track us down once we got into the sewers."

"Yeah. Guess you're right. I just think we should speed things up a bit. Y'know, before she accidentally spills the beans to the guys upstairs. If they catch on, all our hard work goes to waste, and then she gets nothing."

"Now, now~" said a new, rather suave voice. Both rats looked up to a spot on the wall. The shadows moved suddenly, peeling off the wall and scuttling down, sharp, tiny claws chipping the stone. Emerald rolled her eyes.

"What do you want, ya stinkin' reptile?"

"Hey, now. That's kinda hurtful, don't'cha think?" The animal that had slipped down off the wall was a long, skinny lizard, covered in dark orange scales. Emerald hissed softly at him, in disgust and annoyance rather than real hostility.

"Beat it, Roman. We don't need your help."

"I dunno," Mercury said to his partner. "Maybe the old guy can help us out."

"Really," Roman tutted. "You kids these days have no manners. I swear, if only I'd hatched the size of a komodo or somethin' I'd've already made a meal outta you two."

Emerald's whiskers twitched in amusement.

"Big words for a guy who just breaks his tail off so he won't wet himself."

"Hey, you!" The lizard crawled up right into her face and snipped at her nose.

"All right, all right," Mercury pushed between them. "Let's take it easy. We're on the same side, right?"

"Speak for yourself," both of them huffed.

"Anyway~" Roman went on as though his spat with Emerald hadn't happened. "Sounds like you two are havin' a little trouble keepin' your prey interested in the bait, eh? Well, I think Neo and I can help ya out there."

Just as he'd said her name she appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. She was a much tinier lizard – a newt in fact – and she could change the colors of her scales at will, something no other newt they knew of could do.

She flashed her colors from black to yellow to green to brown, then pink, which was her preferred color. She swished her tiny tail with a smirk, then stuck out a pink tongue. The two rats shared a look. Mercury shrugged uncaringly and Emerald clicked her teeth together.

"Fine," she spat. "Take the little runt off our paws for a change. I'm getting sick of her cheery optimism and crap. I can't wait till the day Cinder-"

"Oh, I can't wait either~" hummed the final voice.

All four creatures gathered together, a bit stiffened now. The fur along Emerald's and Mercury's spines rose up as shudders ran through them. Roman's claws clutched the stone floor tightly and his tail poked straight out. Neo shifted her colors and faded away to match the grey floor.

They all turned to the source of the voice, seductive enough to draw just about any creature to its doom. The sounds of scales slithering over stone could be heard, gliding easily through the hard surface of the inner walls.

She revealed herself at last from a broken section of the stone wall, one that led in from the dank, dark sewers. Her scales were jet-black, tinted by just the faintest outline of red. When she opened her mouth, two long, skinny fangs protruded above a forked red tongue. Her body was long enough to coil around a kitten and squeeze the life out of it with ease. She even bragged she'd suffocated a small stray puppy once.

Cinder approached them, keeping herself on her belly at first, low to the ground, just an inch high. But once she was near enough, she lifted herself up high, towering above the rest of them.

The rats' whiskers twitched while Roman swished his tail to keep it from breaking off. Being the bravest of the bunch, Emerald found her voice first.

"Cinder! We were just discussing-"

"I know, dear," she hissed gently, lifting her tail to run it along the underside of the rat's chin. "I heard everything. I always do~"

Emerald swallowed, and for the umpteenth time was silently grateful for her size. Just a few ounces lighter and Cinder would have been able to kill her without much effort if she wanted to. The rat tried to keep her cool better than the others present.

"So then... what do you think? Should we-"

"Oh, I think it's tiiime," Cinder hissed, swaying herself from side to side in that hypnotic fashion of hers. "I'm very much ready for our little guest to finally come and meet me~ After all, it's been weeks since we've been able to settle down in one place for so long. Though I assure you all that you did a fine job with the last group we encountered~ It was a very clever idea on your part," she said, coiling her tail around Emerald's back.

"To think of sneaking into a pet store to steal their mice. I'm still very impressed. Should things go awry with this plan, we'll go back there." Now, her voice hardened as she fixed her yellow, slitted eyes on all of them in turn. "Things won't go awry here."

It wasn't a request. It was an order.

Mercury nodded numbly, but it was Roman who composed himself enough to speak next.

"Right you are, madam," he said, dipping his head a bit. "I can assure you I've got just the plan you'll need to get that little morsel right into your coils."

Cinder nodded slightly.

"Good. I'm looking forward to it."

With that, she slipped away into the shadows as though she'd never been there at all.

The other four were left trembling and silent, all quarrels forgotten now as they counted just how many times now it had been they'd managed to escape certain death themselves.

"I sure hope this doesn't fall through," Mercury mumbled. "Cuz if it does and we can't get back into that pet store, we're sure as hell next on the menu."

The others said nothing, but nodded in agreement.

The very next morning, Ruby was lured down into the basement by the promise of more fun tours by her guides. It was that morning Emerald said she'd introduce Ruby to a few more of their friends.

"Oh, oh!" Ruby bounced. "Is this the friend you'd talked about the first time I met you?"

"Not yet," Emerald said. "But that friend, we can introduce you to soon. Very soon."

For this morning, it was Roman and Neo whom Ruby was made familiar with. She'd only seen a couple lizards before at the vet's office.

She really liked how Neo could change her colors. At one point, the little newt laid on Ruby's back and matched the color of her fur, and Ruby squeaked with laughter.

Roman was funny, too. He'd do crazy stunts like crawl up the walls and even all over the ceiling, which amazed Ruby to no end. She even tried to follow him onto the ceiling rafters a few times, but her claws didn't allow her to cling onto the wall past a certain point. Roman chuckled and commended her.

"Nice try, kiddo. But you'll have to do a lot better than that."

"Then maybe you can teach me!" she exclaimed. "And then I'll surprise Weiss and Blake and Yang when I suddenly crawl up to the ceiling one day!"

Roman swished his tail around.

"Yeah, yeah, sure. I can teach ya." He flashed a quick glance over to the shelf where Emerald and Mercury were huddled together, muttering. They met his eyes and nodded. That was his cue. "But, ah, maybe we can start your, uh- training tomorrow, kiddo. For now, I think it's time you meet our good friend."

Ruby quickly hopped off the wall and sat up straight, her tail almost wagging like Yang's.

"Really? I can finally meet them?"

"Oh, yeah," Roman smiled. "She's been wanting to meet you all this time. She's a lotta fun. Trust me. It's to die for." He chuckled to himself, and Neo amusedly changed her colors red.

But before Ruby could begin to wonder what he'd meant, Emerald and Mercury appeared on either side of her.

"Now then," Mercury said. "Let's take you to her."

"You'll love her," Emerald promised. "And she'll love you."

Flanking the small mouse, the two rats guided her path. Rather, they were more like captors, ensuring she wouldn't run off.

They'd gotten her this far. Just a little bit further and this would all be over with.

Emerald always found it amusing to watch Cinder kill her prey. She was so cruel and ruthless about it, coiling around the small, helpless bodies and crushing the breath out of their tiny lungs. She always made sure to go slowly, to make it last as long as possible.

But she really couldn't wait to see this talkative mouse finally get silenced for good.

They led her to the hole in the wall and paused. Emerald called out.

"Cinder? There's someone here to see you."

Ruby waited eagerly for this new friend to reveal herself. It was so exciting with Emerald and Mercury and Roman and Neo all there with her. She couldn't wait to introduce them all to the others.

Maybe tomorrow! Either I can bring these guys upstairs or I can bring Weiss, Blake, and Yang down here!

But for now, she gave her full attention to the hole in the wall. Her ears pricked up when she heard sounds from within.

They were puzzling sounds. It wasn't paws or claws like hers or Blake's or Yang's, but it wasn't feathers like Weiss', either, nor was it the little popping noises of a lizard's toes.

It was... long and dragging, never lifted off the ground.

A chilly air came out of the hole, immediately followed by a much hotter gust of breath.

"My, my~" hummed a hypnotizing voice. "What have we hhhhere?"

Ruby waited for this friend to reveal herself. But she felt Emerald and Mercury pressing harder against her sides. She tried to wiggle away, but couldn't move.

"H-Hey, um, guys? I can't-"

But she didn't finish speaking. A long, skinny, dark shadow had emerged from the wall. Ruby had never seen anything like it before.

But something told her instinctively that this creature was not her friend.

Run.

The shadow slithered closer, flashing out a red tongue just inches from her nose.

Run.

Emerald and Mercury were pressing hard against her, deliberately keeping her in place.

Run-

A loud hiss nearly stopped her heart. Ruby could feel a cold, scaly tail curling around her front legs, weaving between her paws, constricting-

The frightening voice sounded again.

"What a scrumptious little meal you'll make~"

She couldn't run anymore. She could only scream.

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A/N: Cinder the snake! Yup, some people called it for sure! And I probably should've had Roman and Neo be something a bit more intimidating than lizards, but I wanted Neo to be able to blend into things and Roman had to match her in species. I also wanted them to be much lower on the food chain than Cinder, since she's the biggest baddie here.