Notes: To clear up some confusion this chapter use to be a set of two chapters but as of 09/25/15 I have updated them and combined them into one chapter in order to be more in line with the rest of the work. If you have read these chapters in the past you will find that they are far more detailed now.
Search and Rescue
When we last left are hero's George Bolt created quite the uproar in the library but not nearly as big as the one his team did when they discovered he was missing.
"THAT LOW DOWN GOOD FOR NOTHING DIRTY APE! WHEN I GET A HOLD OF HIM HE WILL REGRET EVER BEING BORN! I MEAN REALLY I TAKE MY EYES OFF HIM FOR ONE MINUTE AND HE DISAPPREARS! I SWEAR…" Embers rant was cut short as Ruin pats her on the shoulder and shrugs before making several gestures with his hands.
"I don't have enough data to say for sure but. It seemed as if Ember could understand Ruin's simple gestures almost like another language." Penny thought to herself. She then decided it would be best to try and defuse the situation. "I am sure he is just lost, after all Beacon Academy is a big campus. Even when I use my GPS program I have lost my way a few times." She explains.
Axel nods in agreement before speaking himself. "Penny has a point. We need to hear his side of the story first. Then if we don't like it we can kill him."
"Fine but one problem, how are we going to find him? Penny just said she has trouble finding her way around in this place and we just got here. So how do we even begin to look for George in this massive place?" Ember complained.
The group breaks out into a heated brainstorming session. The ideas thrown around ranged from crazy to downright impossible. The group was getting no place fast and Ruin had long since lost interest in the conversation. So he had been staring out of the dorm room's window for the last few minutes. As a sniper he enjoyed mapping out the grounds in his head. Thinking of good vantage points and the best ways to attack and defend each location if the occasion came up. When he was nearly finished his attention was drawn down towards the ground and he noticed a pair of faunus like figures running out of the forest like they were trying to escape from something. He reached into his nearby bag and pulled out a pair of military grade binoculars to take a closer look. He soon noticed that the male faunus looked very familiar he looked just like George… With a pack of Grimm on his tail! Ruin began to flail wildly to get the attention of his team.
"Oh is this charades?! I have always wanted to play!" Penny declared in excitement.
Ruin palms his forehead and hands the binoculars to Axel as he push's him towards the window. "What is it Ruin? We are still in the middle our strategy meeting." Ruin then points him in the right direction. Axel then decides something must be up so he uses the binoculars to take a closer look. "Well look what we got here!"
"What is going on out there Alex did you spot him?" Ember inquires.
"I can't say for sure if it's him or not but one thing is for sure. It's time to suit up team, it seems killing him may have to wait."
A few minutes earlier we rejoin George as he is pulled down the hallway by his new rabbit eared companion.
"Hey what are you doing?! Let go, I can take them!" George says in a distorted voice.
"That's not important right now! If professor Goodwitch finds out you were fighting on campus, she will rip you a new one. Since I haven't seen you around before and you picked a fight with Cardin I am guessing you're new here. Last thing you want to do on your first day is get on Goodwitch's bad side. Well that or get anywhere close to Cail from team CRUS but she is another story."
George remembers Goodwitch from the information sheets he was given at the start of this mission. If it was her that was disciplining him he didn't think he would mind getting punished too much. Though of course he chooses to keep that one too himself. "Hey bunny girl, where are we going anyway?" George inquired.
"Anywhere else, what can't you hear them chasing after us? Also it's Velvet by the way, Velvet Scarlatina. How about you, do you have a name?"
"The name is George. George Bolt and who is chasing us?" As he says this he begins to realize how much his hearing has improved. It was almost like the world around him was filled with white noise. Out of the chaos he picks up loud footsteps joined by angry voices moving in their direction. He couldn't really make out what they were saying but. He could tell it was two of Cardin's team members and he could make a guess what they wanted from that. For a moment he wondered what happened to the third member of their group. He could only guess that the third member was attending to their injured leader.
"These guys don't give up I will give them that much." George said in a slightly annoyed tone.
"You shouldn't have started things with them you know, they can really hold a grudge!" Velvet said in a panicked voice.
"Hey they had it coming! I just can't stand people like that." George declared.
Velvet sighed and began to speak "Well nothing we can do about it now. At the end of this hall there is a door that leads to the out side. It is close to the forests edge we can lose them in there." A moment later just as she said they had reached the doors leading to the outside. They pushed the doors open and then they both sprinted for the mouth of the forest with the two boys giving chase soon after one being Russel Thrush and the other being Sky Lark both of team CRDL. As they came to the entrance of the forest the two boys came to a stop and turned to face each other as a set of grins appeared across their faces.
George and Velvet just kept on going for several more minutes until they had to stop in order to catch their breath. "Did… we… lose… them?" George squeezes out in between breaths while confused look takes over his face.
Velvet's large brown rabbit ears twitch back and forth violently for a few seconds before seeming to deflate. "I don't hear them anymore, so I guess we did." Velvet says with a sigh of relief.
Suddenly two flares fly high into the sky above them and explode with a particle like effect you would come to expect from dust based explosives. Almost in sync Velvet and George swear under their breath. Because they both recognized the type of flare that was just fired and know it means trouble. "Those flares are designed to draw in large groups of Grimm for advanced combat training!" George mutters to himself. He almost feels like he needs to apologize to the girl next to him. Not just for dragging her into this mess but for his father creating such a thing. The moment he finished this thought he could hear Grimm coming from almost all directions. "We need to get out of here now!" George says in a panic.
"I am already on it!" Velvet states as she leaps to her feet and gets a head start on George.
"Hey that's not fair!" George says as he gives chase. Once he catch up to speedy rabbit faunus a question accurse to him. "By the way don't your weapon lockers double as rocket transports? Shouldn't you call for your weapon?" He asks.
"Ya they do but I don't want really want to waste it here! I spent all year building it up you know what I mean?" Velvet says with a sad look in her eyes.
"No not really… What do you mean waste it!? Does your weapon only have one use!?" George shouts with a very confused look in his eyes.
"I'm sorry I just can't use it now, and what about you don't you have a weapon!?" She snaps back at him in a slightly annoyed tone.
"Hey as you guessed earlier, I just got here today so I haven't even been assigned a locker yet." George responds.
"Well that's just great what are we going to do now…" Velvet began before the pair came face to face with a massive pack of Beowolves. As a flock of Nevermores appeared over their heads and begins to circle.
"Well it looks like we will have to fight our way through" George says as he readies his claws.
They two of them rush forward kicking and clawing through the Grimm with everything they have but. Their numbers seem endless and George's aura has yet to recover from his last encounter leaving him little room for error. So he focuses on evasion above all else. George was surprised by Velvets skill in hand to hand or in this case hand to claw combat. Despite her timid nature she can really hold her own in a fight. "Her leg strength is unreal, it's got to be that rabbit faunus blood of hers. Man faunus really are lucky." he thought to himself.
After a few minutes of constant combat they finally broke through the tree line out into the open area near campus once they made it there the Grimm wouldn't stand a chance but. The Grimm had no intention of giving up their pray and continued to press their attack. Even with their goal in site their energy was completely drained. George knew what he would have to do if ether one of them was going to have a chance.
George turned to face the incoming Grimm horde and went into a fighting stance. "Get out of here Velvet I will distract them!" He said while trying to sound as heroic as he could.
"Please don't give me that crap! You and I both know that you're in no shape to face them on your own and we are both getting out of this no matter what!" Velvet said unshaken by my words.
Suddenly as if on queue a rocket zoomed past them and struck right in the middle of the incoming horde. It was soon followed by machine-gun fire ripping through their ranks. Then George heard a sound that would normally bring him dread but not today. Today it was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard.
"Hey you look even dirtier than normal George, what did you do to yourself!?" George looked up to confirm his suspicions and he spotted the brown haired and hot tempered monkey girl known as Ember Wheldings. Ember was hovering above the ground with a thruster pack and a set of matching thruster boots. Ember's small mouth then seems to form an impossibly large grin before speaking. "Well don't worry you dirty monkey team GEAR has arrived to save your candy ass!" She then presses a button on the side of her head which causes a helmet to unfold from behind her head and cover her face. "Now then how about a little warm up!" She shouts while a pair of arm mounted machine-guns begin to rev up.
Meanwhile a several yards away Axel and Penny make their way into the mouth of the forest and towards their companions. Axel presses his fingers to a headset he was now wearing and listens in. "Ember has made contact with the target. I repeat Ember has made contact with the target! Penny and I are moving into position now. What is your status Ruin?" Axel says through the head set.
Axel quickly glances down as his wrist mounted scroll flickers to life displaying a message. "Ruin – All Green. I am in position and ready to lay down cover fire." Axel can't help but feel like it would be so much easier for him to just tell him that over the radio but. He understands Ruin's reasons and don't press the matter.
He then glances back at Penny who is following close behind him. He then speaks to her directly while speaking over the radio. "Alright everyone, we are dealing with Grimm here so you know the drill. Weapons are hot and exterminate with extreme prejudice."
Penny almost seems to almost burst with excitement. "Live combat, oh this is Sensational! I have not gotten the chance to perform a field test since that incident at the docks!"
"Penny, this is not a game. Lives are at stake so I am going to need you to focus! Now can you tell me where your head is at?" He asked.
"My head? It is between my shoulders is it not?" Penny says with a confused look.
Axel sighs as he starts to clarify. "What I am saying is I don't know if you're in the right state of mind to be out there."
"I am combat ready!" Penny declares giving a determined salute.
"I hope your right. Because one way or other we will be fining out very soon." Axel said right before they reached the clearing where their comrades were currently locked in combat with a horde of Grimm. Axel was slightly relieved to not spot too many large Grimm mixed in with the group. Once they made it out into the open it didn't take long for the Grimm to notice the fresh meat as they approach and move in for an attack. "Here they come Penny."
Glanced over the approaching enemies and her eyes narrowed as the Grimm enter her sites. "Target's located, target's locked, combat mode engage!" She declared as her back panel opened to reveal a set of bladed guns that soon split into about ten identical bladed weapons. They all shot out in different directions before seeming to stop and begin floating in mid air but. To the trained eye it becomes apparent that they seem to be attached to a set of raiser thin wires.
Penny began to walk towards the Grimm for a few steps before breaking into a run and leaping forward into the air spinning several times before landing in the center of the horde crushing the ground below her feet as she landed. Wasting no time her weapons began their onslaught, they all began to take aim and charge up green energy before firing laser blasts at the ground around her landing zone killing nearly half a dozen Grimm instantly. Without missing a beat several of her weapons extended and switched into a blade mode before flying off to cut down the nearby survivors. Penny then glanced up to see that the Nevermores have taken notice of her. Her blades then begin to spin around her body in a defensive pattern as Nevermore feathers rain down from the sky above her. After the dust of the attack subsided, Penny emerged from a pile of shredded black feathers completely unscratched and began to fire laser blasts towards the sky slicing several Nevermores apart.
Axel can't help but take a moment to marvel at her destructive power. He had seen some of her early blue prints, at least what he had clearance for. So he had some idea of what she was capable of. But seeing her in action was a completely different story. He now felt reassured in the importance of his mission. He couldn't let such a powerful weapon fall into the hands of those who would miss use it. It didn't matter what it would take he would see to that. Moments later Axel was broken out of his thoughts as a massive Ursa approached him. An Ursa Major is what they were called. Much larger and stronger then a normal Ursa and it was ready to charge. Sure enough the Ursa got down on all four and let out a savage roar before practically throwing itself at Axel Axel went into a defensive stance and waited for the beast to close the distance. Once in strike range the Grimm pulled its arm back for what was sure to be a powerful swipe with its claws. Axel remained unmoving as the Ursa's deadly razors came down on top of him. Right before the claws made contact with Axel's body his aura began to flare brightly. As the claws made contact with Axel's chest, they shattered into pieces. This caused the beast to reel back in pain and confusion. Axel still stud motionless seeming completely un-phased by the attack. Only now Axel's whole body now looked as if it had taken a dip in a vat of molten steel. From head to toe his skin was covered in a metallic shell.
"Are you in pain monster? Don't worry I will make this quick." Axel said as he began to move towards the Grimm. As he drew closer he pulled a large heavily steel plated shield out from behind his back. The shield was nearly two inches thick and large enough to cover his whole backside. He placed the shield in his right hand and it seemed to lock in place with a click.
The Ursa had now recovered and began to roar in anger before once again charging towards Axel. Axel matches the beasts charge with his shield held out in front of him like a battering ram. The two soon slammed into each and began to clash. Axel slammed his shield into the Grimm knocking it onto its back before he jumped into the air directly above the downed beast. Once he was above the Grimm he reached behind his shield and flicked a switch causing a set of twin stainless steel blades to extend from the bottom of the shield. He then lands on top of the Ursa with a heavy thud and impales it through the chest with both blades. Axel then flicks another switch and pulls a trigger under the shields grip extending and firing a mini-cannon mounted between the blades on the bottom of his shield directly into the Ursa's chest. The space between the Ursa and Axel's shield soon erupted in bright fiery blast that completely blow the Grimm apart. The force of the blast was so intense that ground beneath the Grimm crumbled and black limps were sent flying in every direction. When the blast cleared it only left Axel standing in its wake. Axel's aura flickered but his steel shell remained in place and he simply dusted himself off before looking for new targets. Sure enough a group of Beowolves and lesser Ursa had already surrounded him. Axel stud silently glancing over the new enemies before him. He then let out a long sigh and ejects a large shell casing from his shield. He then reaches into a small pouch attached to his belt and pulls out another to replace it. "Alright monsters let's do this." he says as he rushes towards the horde of Grimm.
Seeing this Ember begins to chuckle to herself. "Well it seems those two are in top form today. Hmm well I guess I can't say for sure since this is the first time I have seen Penny in action." She says to herself while hovering over the battlefield. She then glances over to George who was currently locked in a melee with a lesser Ursa. "Hey George need a hand down there?"
"Oh hey what's up Ember, no need for you to over exert yourself on my count!" George says with a clear touch of sarcasm in his voice.
"Oh sorry, I just thought you looked like you were having so much fun. I didn't want to get in your way." Ember states with a smirk.
"Whatever could you just help us out already?!" George pleads.
"Oh fine! By the way before I forget you may want these." Ember says while she reaches behind her pulling a bag off of her shoulder and throwing it down to George.
Noticing this George quickly breaks away from the Ursa and grabs the bag out of the air. He then reaches inside and pulls out twin short swords with brass knuckle like grips and a strip of throwing knifes which he quickly dawns. He looks up to thank Ember but notices a flock of Nevermores have begun to swarm in from behind her.
"Ember, look out behind you!" George shouts as he pulls several throwing knifes from his strap and his aura begins to glow. He then snaps his wrist flinging them into the air.
Ember quickly fires her thrusters to launch herself forward just in time to evade a snapping beak. Then Georges knifes fly past her and not just plant themselves but push all the way through one of the two of the Grimm's throats. She then turns to face what's left of her would be attackers. She raised her arms to bring them level with her enemy and let loose a barrage of gun fire from her twin arm mounted Gatling-guns. She began to pick the Grimm off one after another until one of them dodged away from the gun fire and began flapping its wings violently, launching a barrage of massive razor sharp feathers in her direction. Before she could react, the crack of an incredibly loud rifle echoed through the clearing over and over again as the feathers were blown apart.
George knew this sound all too well and using his new and improved senses he quickly scanned the area for its source. He soon zeros in on the sound and spots Ruin all the way back on campus perched on top of one of the buildings with his favorite sniper rifle known as the Screaming Banshee. Ruin then proceeds to let loose a storm of echoing near ear rending cracks from his rifle. Each one followed by the pained or angry howl of a Grimm as one fell to the ground with a new hole in its head.
"Your team is really something aren't they? Velvet asked in amusement.
"Yep they really are but, just for the record they are not as good as me!' George said with a wide smile as he leaped back into the fray with his blades at the ready. With his competitive spirit going into full drive he began to cut through Grimm after Grimm without any sign of slowing down. George was soon joined by Axel and Penny and the group was soon perfectly in sync with each other, blasting and slashing the Grimm with ruthless precision. Though despite this there still seemed to be no end in sight as more and more Grimm came out from behind the tree line. "So fearless leader what's the plan for getting us out of here?" George inquired.
"I am still working on that one I am afraid." He said jokingly.
George looked like he wanted to complain but before he could get the chance Velvet's spoke up. "Guys I don't think that will be a problem!" She said while her ears twitched in excitement. A look of confusion came over the group until George realized what she was talking about. A moment later a Bullhead transport ship appeared over the clearing above them. The doors of the ship swung open revealing three Beacon students that Velvet recognized to be her teammates and she shot them a spirited wave. They seemed to notice Velvet as one of them to step forward with a small bag. The girl Then pressed a switch on the bag causing it to unfolds into a massive mini-gun that didn't look like it could possibly fit into the small carry on. The gun then sprang to life and opened fire on the Grimm below. The unknown girl completely ripping apart everything that got within her line of fire. Each round ripping through flesh and bone like it was nothing but wet tissue paper and leaving nothing but dust in its wake.
Once most of the Grimm had been wiped out the ship pulled in close to the ground and the girl stepped forward saying only one thing to the lot of them. "Everyone get on this ship, right now!" Which as it turned out was a rather easy order to follow at least given the alternatives. With everyone but Ember and Ruin on deck the ship pulled away from the ground and back towards the academy.
"Hey wait up!" Ember shouted as she gave chase with impressive speed. She soon managed to catch up with the small aircraft and dove inside. Once she was inside the ship she turned to the still open door facing the academy and gives a few quick hand signals. Seeing this Ruin quickly dismantled his rife and vanished form sight. As she began to stand herself up the doors of the ship slid shut and they were on their way.
