Chapter 2: explosion then a forest?
Authors note: Hey guys chapter two is up hopefully it is at least half decent feel free to let me know what you think! That being said I do not own RWBY anything whatso ever that belongs to Monty Oum and Rooster teeth without further preamble on with the story!
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Stalingrad Russia, October, 15, 1942
0200 hours – assault commences
Heinrich slowly looks around the formation as they move all of them are currently arrayed in a staggered column formation where half the squad is on one side of the road and the other half of the squad is located on the opposite side with intervals between each soldier from both their front rear and side facing their squad mates located on the other side of the road so that if artillery or grenades are fired on their formation no more than one or two will be in immediate danger. Unteroffizier Weber is walking in the middle of the road so he can maintain command easily to the rest of the unit. As with all formations the point main is a Obergefrieter by the name of Klaus von Wolfe he had been with the regiment since its founding in 1935 he had been a part of many combat operations against the allies. If anyone could sniff out a kill zone or ambush it would be Klaus he is dressed like Wilhelm except instead of a helmet he is wearing a field cap and a scarf to help keep him warm. As they get closer to the jump off point Heinrich takes this opportunity to look around his hardened light brown eyes that are if one were to guess a lightly cream filled coffee as he walks his breathes come out slow and shallow so as to not waist unnecessary energy and give away too much to possible snipers. As he looks around his grey wool gloves grip his MP40 tightly as he walks he tries to calm himself for the fight ahead. As he does this he closes his eyes briefly and gently rolls his head clockwise and around as he works out some built up tension in it. He soon sees the point man stop and hold his left hand up at a ninety-degree angle with his hand fully closed into a fist the universal sign to stop. Heinrich quickly does so as Hans straightens his left arm out and to the side hand flat as a gardening spade he slowly and deliberately lowers it down to where the tips of his fingers are hip level everyone quickly takes a knee and starts scanning around to check for any hostile threats.
/POV change\\\
City of Vale Remnant, August 25th, 2014
1300 hundred hours
Ruby Rose
Huntress in training
Ruby Rose a current student at signal academy, she is not very tall she is a little over five-foot-tall, she has neck length black and red accented hair, she wears a red hooded cape that she takes and wears everywhere, the most peculiar part about young Ms. Rose is her eyes they are a special trait even amongst remnants very diverse population. For you see her eyes are silver colored they are a mixture for her pupils are black but the iris has two different layers of silver the layer or in this case ring around the pupil are a darker silver color if one where to look closely compared to the outer circle of the iris which becomes a light metallic silver followed by blackness surrounding the rest in a small ring around it. Said huntress in training is currently walking through the streets of downtown vale trying to find her older sister.
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"Hmm I wonder where Yang would be around here?" Ruby muses to herself as she walks her black combat boots make a light tap noise as she walks. As she walks she pulls out a small rectangular piece of glass and hits the yellow colored diamond located in the bottom center of the glass turning it on. She then proceeds to use her left hands index finger to swipe through the various options and mods on the device until finding the message function and checks once again to make sure she has the correct address for her sister's hotel she was staying at. Why might ruby be visiting is quite simple she really really missed her sister and wanted to spend time with her and also try and see if she could check out one of the newest copies of weapons monthly at a store if she is able so as to better upgrade her precious baby. As she sighs and once done confirming that she is going in the right direction to find her sister's place of temporary residence she goes back to thinking about what she can do to help go through the day. Soon she gets a small smile and decides to go to the park to just relax and enjoy the afternoon.
As Ruby goes by the entrance she idly wonders what her big sister yang was up to. As quick as the thought came it went away as she saw a cute little puppy running around the park with some little children and she can't help but smile. She proceeds to check out the park in its entirety so as to find a nice spot to kick back and relax. Little does she know that her life will change drastically that day. Thus, as she finds a nice large tree to lean against and enjoy the view of the park she can't help but feel that something big is going to happen. Call it a gut feeling if you will but one thing she learned from her uncle was that always trust your instincts and your gut feeling. That being said she yawns and decides maybe a nap is in order until she goes to explore the forest in eastern section of the park.
"mmm I hope yang is okay…"
ruby mumbles as she feels her eyelids get heavier and she starts to fall asleep soon blackness consumes her vision as she finally loses against her body and succumbs to slumber.
/POV Change/
Stalingrad, Russia, October 15, 1942
0300 hundred hours
Gefrieter Heinrich Sommer
44th Infantry Division
Thump…..Thump…..Thump….the rapid thumping of the heart does many things to the body for instance it increases the blood flow and hyperactivity of the body during moments of extreme stress what this works in conjunction with is the adrenal glands of the body which are located above the kidneys from this location the adrenal medulla the center of both the adrenal glands which surrounded by the adrenal cortex begin to pump the epinephrine (adrenaline) directly into the blood stream thus speeding up everything from reaction time and perception while also diminishing the effects of pain increasing the pain tolerance for the time of release and the duration of the adrenaline coursing through the very veins that have your blood coursing through them. The effects felt are well noticeable to an extent from rapid breathing and increased heart rate to heavy sweating and pupil dilation increasing sensitivity to certain levels of the light spectrum but It also increases one's perception skill as stated previously.
Right now Heinrich is currently feeling that kick in as he starts to breath slightly faster almost raggedly as he slightly sweats and his breath is hot as it leaves his mouth and meets the surrounding winter air causing a small white cloud to form and as quickly as it comes it disappears over powered by the harsh winds. Little does that help the feeling of dread he has as he crouches down behind a destroyed segment of wall as he watches a soldat (Private) who had just transferred to the unit clutching at the shattered remains of flesh that was the front of his neck as he tries desperately to stop the flow of the precious fluid that keeps us alive. The crimson color of his blood is mixing with the white snow of the surrounding area turning it into a light pink color. As the poor young man chokes on his own blood, Heinrich looks towards Wilhelm and proceeds to use his left hand and imitates an explosion by rapidly opening his hand fully and spreading his fingers apart and closes his hand into a fist again then motions to the current cover that a group of soviet riflemen were currently utilizing.
Wilhelm nods and quickly pulls out one of his stick grenades and gets in position to throw the grenade, he grips the wooden handle of the grenade and crouches low as he hovers his hand over the twist cap located at the base of the wooden shaft of the explosive waiting to pull it and throw.
Heinrich tries to control his over worked nerves as he breathes in through the nose and out through the mouth in a steady repetition, in…..out….in…..out as he finishes calming down he quickly peers over his cover and proceeds to fire short controlled bursts to force the enemy to duck down and seek shelter from the incoming fire in that time Wilhelm strikes quickly he twists and pulls the cap pulling the cord that helps make the explosive live and lethal as he rears back and losses it towards the entrenched defenders one of them braves the fire to pea over the cover and return fire with his submachine gun forcing both Wilhelm and Heinrich back to cover. The explosive lands true into the enemy formation exploding after a couple cries of surprise from the recipients of the lethal gift. The explosion is powerful enough that the squad of Wehrmacht infantry feel the ground tremble slightly from the explosion as the fighting dies down for now they proceed to secure the perimeter and check the wounded and dead. As they do this Heinrich leans against his cover and closes his eyes thinking of what caused this mess.
/Flashback fifteen minutes ago/
Everyone is kneeling looking for any possible threats all of the soldiers in the squad are on edge a large mix of emotions are playing out as they wait quietly for the all clear or the telltale sign of a possible ambush. Heinrich looks around slowly as he tries to keep as close an eye on the surroundings as he can as he does the point man motions for the Unteroffizier to come up front and have a look at the block ahead they are currently one-hundred meters from their starting position for the assault on the Russian communications outpost. "Hey Heinrich?" Wilhelm looks at his fellow soldier
"yes Wilhelm?" Heinrich eyes his friend slightly as he tries to maintain a good line of sight on possible attack vectors.
"Ever wonder why we can't just bomb the city to rubble instead of throwing the infantry into it?"
Wilhelm inquires as he scans his rifle across the area slowly keeping as best an amount of ground as possible.
"No idea Wilhelm I figured it's because we are infantry that they don't see a reason to waste expensive munitions on this god forsaken city so they send us in instead. Saves money"
Heinrich replies back and mutters. "not like we me count for much anyway."
No sooner did he say that the squad leader orders them to form up and quick march to the starting point. None of them are prepared for what lies ahead. As they move they start to calm down and relax as they get closer to their jump off point. Once there they prepare to begin the assault the machine gun team sets up they are utilizing the 7.92x57mm Mauser round based Maschinengewehr 34 (34 for the year of conception which is 1934) it is a belt fed weapon system that can fire 800-900 rounds a minute. It is devastating to infantry and can even give lightly armored vehicles a scare. As it is finished being set up the rest of the squad form up into a standard infantry skirmish line with the fireteam leaders upfront assault-man (SMG carriers) to the left and rear of the fireteam leader to the right is the grenadier of the fireteam and behind him and to the right slightly is the basic rifleman of the fireteam. As they get ready the squad leader looks at the target building it is a small apartment complex five stories in total with the top two levels being bombed out from an earlier air raid by the Luftwaffe. From what can be seen they Russians are heavily focused on the second and third floor but the bottom floor is hard to see what is there defense wise. So that being said the only way to see a trap one cannot find from afar is by tripping said trap. So, he motions the machine gun team to start opening fire as they do so he motions the others to advance and attack the Russians.
Heinrich is panting slightly as he sprints from the start point to a small outcropping of cover made up of debris from a destroyed building as he and his fireteam advance in tandem with the other teams bounding by means of one team suppresses the other advances then they trade off. He quickly leans out of cover and opens fire on the enemy location in two short controlled bursts to have them keep their heads down as they advance. None of the attacking soldiers notice the severe lack of return fire from the enemy encampment expected to be a major communications hub for this sector of the city. As soon as the other team is in position and firing on the soviets Heinrich and his squad take off at a sprint to the next segment of cover available which is right in the sightlines of a team of soviet riflemen who currently laying low until the incoming fire slackens Heinrich is only able to hear gunfire the blood pumping through his veins, and the crunching of snow beneath his booted feet. As he slides into cover behind a piece of destroyed wall Wilhelm comes to a halt next to him one of their fireteam members is currently pinned further back in cover as the fourth one a young one if Heinrich remembers correctly is hurrying up to the two of them.
Unbeknownst to any of the Soldiers the soviets taking cover have had enough and one comes out of cover and sees the soldier out in the open the soviet rifleman aims down the sights of his Mosin-Nagant 1891/30 which fires a 7.62x54mmR round. He aims down the sights and quickly fires on the approaching German sending the round down range and hitting the unlucky soldier in the through as the round pierces the weak flesh of the man neck tearing through and ricocheting out the other side of the neck as the boy drops like a sack of potatoes he can't help but gurgle and reach his hands towards his neck and try and stem the blood flow…
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"Heinrich!"
Wilhelm says desperately shaking the soldier slightly.
"What is it Wilhelm?"
"I Was saying we have orders to secure the inside of the building while the rest of the squad starts setting up a perimeter and taking casualty counts. As they do that Heinrich and Wilhelm's fireteam or what's left of them spread out and check the building Wilhelm taking the third floor, the only other surviving fireteam member besides Heinrich and Wilhelm a Soldat named Karl taking the second floor and Heinrich taking basement sections since the rest of the squad is already on the first floor. As he walks down the steps he can't help but feel a sudden sense of worry as he walks not willing to risk possible death without a fight he has his MP40 at the hip ready for anything just in case as he walks down an almost pitch-black hallway he can't shake the feeling of being watched possibly. So he proceeds to keep his eyes scanning every possible hiding spot as best he can as he moves he spots a semi rusted but usable door so he decides to check it out he carefully edges to the door and opens it peering inside he sees a rather large object but its obscured by the darkness so he walks in carefully not fully alert but not relaxed either which in this case was a healthy option for he didn't see the lone soviet soldier behind him with a knife the only thing that saved him was the soviet gave out a short battle cry as he lunged forward to stab the unsuspecting German. Luckily for Heinrich he turned around quick enough to have the soviet miss the intended target instead of the back of the upper body where the heart is the Russian hit the left arms deltoid muscle barely causing immense pain for Heinrich as he drops the MP40 as it hangs from a strap he proceeds to try and shove the hostile combatant off to get breathing room failing that he smashes his helmeted head against his opponent who is only wearing a Ushanka needless to say the results are immediate the Russians face is hit hard as the crunching of bone breaking is heard as the man's nose is shattered and he reals back in pain. This gave Heinrich the chance to gain some distance as the soviet quickly moves to close the gap Heinrich goes to do the same the Russian on adrenaline anger and pain smashes into Heinrich hard sending him into the object of his previous curiosity.
Heinrich groans slightly as he grips his hands together and smashes them down onto the Russians back the force stunning the enemy but not incapacitating him. With that failing Heinrich grabs the assailants head and slams it into the object which from the sound is for sure something metallic in nature. As the Russian is dazed Heinrich quickly unsheathes his combat knife and goes to plunge it into the mans exposed back unknown to Heinrich the Russian unholstered his sidearm as the knife comes down to make contact the Russian turns at the last moment a gunshot is heard a sickening sound of metal piercing flesh is heard as the knife sinks into the soviets chest the Russian smiles even in death as the round didn't hit Heinrich it his what looked like a barrel of black powder as the light form the flames start to arise Heinrich sees that the giant metallic object is a bomb and the Russian just set the light to ignite it.
"Well played you communist son of a bitch…" Heinrich says before the object explodes blinding him briefly as he then feels nothing and only sees white before the explosion encompasses the whole building killing and injuring anybody and everybody in its destructive radius.
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Unknown, Remnant, August 25th, 2014
Gefreiter Heinrich Sommer, Ruby Rose
44th infantry division, Huntress in training.
Pain the most basic of human feelings and emotions that is all Gefrieter Heinrich Sommer can feel at this moment as he slowly regains consciousness as he struggles to even open his eyes he can feel the sun on his face and notices it isn't as cold as the sun in the Soviet Union. He wonders if this is heaven.
Ruby Rose was asleep before a loud explosion is heard and people yelling and running around confused she proceeds to the commotion and notices that the commotion is coming from the forest located in the park as she searches she sees the source of the panic a young man wearing some weird white uniform that looks like its form atlas and said clothing has red stains on it in some areas she proceeds to get closer to try and help the unconscious man who is in the forest of the park. As she gets closer she sees that he is not into good shape as there is blood freely flowing from his upper left deltoid on his arm made even easier to spot thanks to the whiteness of his uniform. She rushes over and kneels to see what she can do to help.
Heinrich groans slightly as he slowly opens his eyes and notices a pair of silver discs and black and red before he relapses back to the embrace of the darkness he sees that he is in a forest of sorts but its not covered in snow. As he looks he struggles to move but ultimately fails prior to losing consciousness again.
His last thoughts are of confusion.
'Huh…a forest weird why did I end p here….'
Authors Note: hey guys hope you enjoyed this chapter please favorite and review for more updates of Into the breach!
Veni vidi vici: (I came I saw I conquered)
Until next time!
