Hunters and life
Chapter 10 – The war is on
Canon
Genre: action, drama, angst
Time: after the fall of Vale city (chapters 43 – 45 of 'To be a Huntsman')
Rating: T
Week seventh since the fall of Vale...
Not a lot changed since that fateful night, and if so, it was always a matter of debate whether for better or worse. Long range communications were still out, no matter how much material and effort was put into getting them up and running again. While most of the Grimm retreated Oum-knows-where, the White Fang was still out there, doing everyting in their power to sabotage reconstruction works downtown. With the terrorists still on the loose, the Hunters of Beacon Academy had their hands full, having only little time to rest. Most students from other academies who came to Vale for the Tournament were long gone, leaving only a dozen or two volunteers. Even after those injured during the Grimm invasion had mostly recovered, Beacon was still understaffed.
Worst of all, whatever remained of Vale City was largely left on its own and had to make do with the little help from the outside. When the leaders of other Kingdoms learned of the disaster that took place in Vale, they made the decision to keep it from public, to prevent a surge of panic. Any substantial aid to the ruined city would attract the wrong kind of attention and with that came the risk of information leak. And the Kingdom of Vale itself was in turmoil after its capital city fell to Grimm and it took enormous effort just to restore and maintain some semblance of order.
The overall situation could only be described as FUBAR... there just wasn't any other way to put it.
Despite all the difficulties and hindrances, the colleagues and partners of the late Headmaster Ozpin still continued their investigation into the White Fang, their associate/boss 'Cinder' and the mysterious entity called 'Queen', whoever it was. However, since their enemy's actions left them in such vulnerable and overall unenviable state, Ozpin's alliance was forced to do the unthinkable: To turn to their students for assistance.
The Hunters in training were thought too young to confront the horrors of the 'real world' and Goodwitch hated having to put the young warriors in danger again. Yet when the situation demanded it they fought, bled, even died without hesitation; their help and sacrifices saved many during the fall of Vale.
Those children made the difference back then... and maybe they could do so again.
Outfitted for a field mission for probably the first time in weeks, Roland Peregrine, the sharpshooter of team TNDR, walked down the empty hallway, wearing the new light armor he had 'acquired' in Vale City a month ago. Until now, he and his friends were doing mostly various support tasks while combat missions were left for Atlesian troops and experienced Huntsmen. He couldn't help it but wonder what changed when he got a message on their Scrolls, ordering him to come to Goodwitch's office as soon as possible. Plus the message explicitly said to present himself in combat gear, which could only mean she had a mission for him, though he got no details. Besides that, Roland wondered if anyone else received the message... but he'd learn once he arrived.
A few minutes later he entered Goodwitch's office. However, much to his surprise, the blonde professor was nowhere in sight. Instead, it was Qrow Branwen waiting for him, along with Nick and Emery and a girl he found vaguely familiar... though he just couldn't quite place her.
"What took you so long?" Nick asked in an almost bored tone.
"I was in a gym when I got the message." The sharpshooter replied. "I needed some time to make myself presentable."
Qrow Branwen chose that moment to interject. "Alright kids, you can chit-chat later. Right now, let's get down to business."
After all the shit he was put through lately, Roland loathed being called a 'kid'. But no one in their right mind talks back to Qrow Branwen, right?
"So, what did you call us here for?" Nick was the one to ask.
Qrow took a swig from his flask that he seemed to carry everywhere he went. "As you might know, Fang's been causing trouble again... and the recent intelligence suggests they're getting more serious than ever."
Roland frowned. "What does that mean?"
"I've been doing some scouting recently near Vale's southeastern borders. White Fang is heavily present in the area... and they're gearing up for a full-scale war."
"How do you know that?"
Qrow scoffed at Nick's question. "I've seen enough to know what they're up to, kid. They occupy some territory in the southern mountains but lately they started taking over nearby settlements, those not razed to the ground by Grimm, that is. I also heard rumors of people disappearing in the area."
"Think the Fang might've had a hand in that?" Roland questioned. The more he learned the less he liked it all.
"Dunno but if so, I wouldn't be surprised." Branwen grunted. "Don't forget, we're dealing with lunatics that had no qualms about helping to destroy an entire city." It was a fair point. The Fang had completely shed any restraints; now, anything was a fair game.
"But I digress," The Hunter continued. "Everything suggest White Fang has a big base of operations in the area, though nobody knows where exactly. Naturally, the Vale's government is too busy to do anything about 'em so it falls to us to take care of it."
Roland exhaled sharply, quelling the anger rising within him. It wasn't like he was looking forward to fighting the Faunus terrorist again, but after so many atrocities he witnessed them commit during the Vale disaster... Old wisdom says "to each his due," and he was ready to give them exactly what they deserved. Not only for himself but for everyone who suffered due of their actions.
"So what's the mission?" The girl spoke up, silent until this moment. Roland didn't miss her flat, almost apathetic tone.
Qrow regarded her with a strange look in his eyes. "We're checking out Stone Creek, the last village to fall under Fang control, to see what they want with the place. If things go well, we'll try and find out where their base of operations is. What we're doing is mainly a recon mission, though it's possible we might have to fight the Fangers so I suggest you be ready for everything."
So we're basically being thrown into the thick of things barely knowing which way is up, Roland thought grimly. Though he suspected at this rate they just might have to start getting used to it. "When do we leave?"
"In a half an hour." Branwen chuckled at the students' surprised faces... except the violet-haired girl whose expression remained impassive. "We're going right into the Fang territory. Trust me, we don't want to stay any longer than we have to. Don't bother with supplies; everything we need is already loaded onto a VTOL. I'll see you at the landing pad, now go."
About an hour later, Qrow Branwen and the team NNPL, pronounced as 'napalm' (Ruby's uncle had a weird sense of humor), flew the aircraft heading for Vale's southeastern frontier. Since they were to leave Beacon within less than an hour, the students barely had a time to let their friends know about the upcoming mission. But when they arrived to Beacon's landing pad, a whole crowd was there to see them off... including both Branwen's nieces. Despite Qrow's presence, Yang didn't let Roland board the Bullhead without planting a 'good luck kiss' on his lips. She didn't even try to be stealthy about it. Much to the gunman's relief, Branwen showed no outward reaction; explaining himself to a drunk with an oversized sword-scythe and a bad attitude wasn't something he'd ever look forward to.
Predictably, Tanya didn't cope well with her team going off on a mission while she was being left behind. There was little she could do about it, other than wish 'her boys' luck; doctors hadn't allowed her back in combat yet and wouldn't do so for another few weeks. It thus fell to a student of Shade Academy, named Nebula Violette to lead her team for this mission.
The girl that lost her entire team to White Fang the night Vale City fell to Grimm... and barely survived the ordeal herself.
Roland had the feeling he had seen her before but if Nick didn't tell him he'd have trouble recognizing her. She may have recovered fairly quickly from her near-lethal injuries, but the tragedy changed her much, both mentally and physically. Compared to when he first saw her during the Tournament, she looked thin, feeble almost. Her cheeks were sunken, her face marred by four long scars running diagonally from her forehead right down to her chin, and her eyes which used to be full of life, had become dull. The girl barely even spoke to anyone now.
Oum only knows who had the idea to have her lead Tan's team. Would it even work out, given how... damaged she was? Her personal problems aside, physically she just couldn't be one-hundred-percent fine, no matter what the doctors said... Roland knew it wasn't his place to question the professors' decision but still he had his doubts.
For now, he was simply content with observing the land below running past him, the silence disturbed only by humming of Bullhead's engines.
The flight took over five hours and during that time there was nothing to do but some small talk, taking a nap, or watching the land below. The tall jagged mountains with slopes covered in conifer forests rose gradually as the VTOL approached Vale's southeastern border. Beyond that, there was nothing but Grimmlands, teeming with monsters of all kinds and sizes. Stone Creek was situated on the 'right' side fo the mountains, but even though this natural barrier shielded the village from most Grimm, nothing in the world could prepare it for the assault from within the Kingdom, as they found out the hard way.
Shortly after arrival, finding a place to land without alerting the Fang troopers nearby of their presence, in the ragged terrain filled with rocks, boulders and trees, turned out pretty challenging. When the pilot finally found a decent spot to land, it was two miles away from Stone Creek so Branwen and team NNPL were in for quite a trek. At least nobody complained, especially not Violette who barely said a word during the entire flight. Personally, Roland found it rather unnerving.
After exiting the Bullhead, Qrow set the course right for Stone Creek at a swift pace. There wasn't much open space in a land covered in thick forests so they were less likely to be spotted by the enemy, provided they kept quiet. Even then, Branwen wasn't about to take any chances. He decided to go ahead and look out for enemy scouts while the students followed a short distance after him.
White Fang had apparently become rather comfortable in this area because Qrow didn't run into any scouts, aside from that one 'greenhorn' that didn't even know what hit him before Qrow knocked him out and dumped him into the shrubs. The entire group managed to get to their destination without any incidents, only stopping right where the forest met the houses and fences.
By that time, the night was approaching, playing right into the Fang's hand; the night vision and all that. They had to hurry up.
Qrow decided to scout around. Moving around unseen was a walk in the park for him; nobody would notice him if he didn't want them to. Scouting proved his suspicion; White Fang was present in the village, even if the place wasn't exactly fortified against an assault. Strangely enough, civilians were nowhere to be seen; either they were dead or the Fang moved them somewhere else. Neither of these possibilities boded well.
"Listen up, kids." He ordered when he rejoined the student team. "There's a few grunts patrolling around the village. Luckily for us, they look tired so they won't pay much attention. Should be easy to slip past 'em."
"I sense a 'but' in there..." Nick muttered.
For some reason Branwen smirked briefly before slipping back to his serious demeanor. "Yeah, getting to the square might get tricky. They have an automated Paladin stationed there."
"Shit..." Roland cursed quietly. This might complicate things...
"How is that possible?" Nebula questioned, her voice slightly hoarse from disuse.
"Beats me how they got their paws on that thing." Branwen shrugged. "My point is, we'll avoid the thing if we can, but if it does come down to fighting, leave that pile of metal to me, alright?" The Hunters in training nodded wordlessly. "One more thing; we're only supposed to check this place out, what the Fang wants with it. But once the fighting starts, expect those guys to go all out; they'll kill you or die trying so give 'em no quarter. Be ready to kill if need be." He was dead serious, that much was certain.
Roland couldn't speak for others but he was ready to use lethal force against Fangers... and for a few moments he wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not.
"Then let's go." Branwen ordered. "I prefer to get this done before nightfall."
Everything went well enough at the beginning. The Fang troopers didn't even notice they had intruders on their turf.
Qrow went in solo, as usual. Nick and Emery (though they still called him Desmond when Branwen or Nebula were nearby) were partners so they continued together, covering each other's backs. That meant Roland was left with Nebula.
The rifleman found himself sorely missing his partner and team leader. Tanya just was the kind of person that could remain level-headed in the middle of an inferno and lift people's spirits with a few well picked jokes or comments when the tension was becoming too much. Not that he had anything against Nebula. She seemed to know what she was doing but her almost perpetual silence and borderline apathetic behavior was really starting to bug him. The girl was still coping with the loss of her team, he could understand that, but still...
Focus on the mission, he had to remind himself. You can always bitch later.
He and Nebula slipped through a hole in the fence and skirted around a decaying shed, heading deeper into the guarded village. No one noticed them so far; of course they always checked their surroundings before moving but there was always the chance of missing something, or someone.
So far so good...
Roland glanced around the abandoned village as he followed his temporary team leader. The place sure had seen better days. He wondered whether it had always been that way (to be fair, most self-sufficient settlements out there barely had money to spend on repairs) or if the Fang made such a mess around here. Well, given what he saw them do back in Arcwind, he wouldn't put it past them. What unnerved him more than the run-down state of the village was the conspicuous absence of its inhabitants. He saw Fang grunts moving around the place, but no civilians. What happened to them?
Then suddenly Nebula halted him in his tracks.
The two of them were in a narrow alley between two houses. Roland was about to ask what was going on when he too saw it.
A possible target.
The mission was going smoothly so far.
At first, Emery thought he'd have trouble sneaking around, given his size, but Nick always managed to find a route that let them stay out of sight. Of course, his Semblance gave him a huge advantage there. After all, it helped all of them catch Cinder's little spy, Emerald, when things were still normal.
Nick stopped at a corner of a dilapidated shack and glanced around. "All clear, let's go!" He said moments later and crossed the street, pressing himself to a brick wall on the other hand. Emery followed him, fully trusting his lead.
The goliath found himself wandering how the others were doing. No need to worry about Qrow; he was one of the best Huntsmen in Remnant. A few White Fang mongrels were no match for someone of his caliber. Roland, on the other hand... The guy was stuck with the blue-haired girl, the only survivor from team NDGO. Emery knew nothing about her and that was enough to have him worried. Why did they even send her on this mission? Six or so weeks wasn't enough to recover from losing three friends in one night. She could just shut down when confronted with Fangers and Roland would have to fight for both of them.. Or maybe she volunteered, which begged the question: why?
If she was after revenge... then she was more than likely to do something reckless which could put all of them in danger.
"Wait!"
Given the urgency in Nick's voice, Emery guessed there was trouble ahead.
The fox Faunus pointed out a dark figure several paces before them. A White Fang trooper. He didn't notice them, thanks to a conveniently placed pile of rubble. Unfortunately, he was in their way and finding an alternative route would take too long.
Fortunately, the grunt turned around and walked away, oblivious to a couple of intruders hiding nearby.
Emery barely suppressed a relieved sigh. That was close...
Nick took the chance and darted forward, Emery following a pace or two behind him. The Faunus crossed the street silently. When it was his partner's turn, there was a sudden loud metal clank that stopped him dead in his tracks... and prompted the Fang trooper to turn around. Emery saw the look Nick gave him and mouthed 'Wasn't me!'
The guard walked back to look for the source of the noise, not knowing there were intruders nearby. And Nick made sure it stayed that way when he flew at him from behind and knocked him out.
Alas he completely missed another guard nearby... and he witnessed Nick's daring action.
As soon as the trooper began screaming for help, Emery knew they were in huge trouble.
Hidden from the enemy's view behind a couple of rusted containers, Roland observed the guards patrolling around a large storehouse.
He and Nebula managed to avoid detection so far but at the same time they failed to find out why the White Fang was so interested in this area. That is until they happened upon this heavily guarded storehouse.
"What do you make of this?" He asked his partner.
"It's gotta be something important if those mutts waste so many troops guarding it." There was umistakable hint of malice in the girl's voice. "It might be worth checking out."
"Are you serious?" Roland hissed in bewilderment. "Branwen told us to stay out of sight. They'll totally spot us if we try sneaking inside!"
"There's gotta be a back entrance. We just have to find it." Damn that stubborn girl!
"Even if we do find it, you think the Fang will leave it unguarded?"
"Those bastards have no reason to think anyone would attack them here, not when Vale is in chaos." Nebula snarled. "They feel safe in here and they're bound to get sloppy... which works for us."
Yes, the argument did make sense but that didn't mean Roland agreed with her mad plan. She might be wrong and he wasn't willing to gamble his life away over an assumption. One single mistake and the whole Fang garrison would be on them.
"Besides, Branwen might already be there."
The gunman scowled. "I'm not gonna talk you out of this, am I?"
Before she could reply gunfire resounded from the far end of the village.
His hand instantly inched towards the stock of his trusty rifle, Thunderbolt. Either there was someone else nearby or, more likely, the other half of his team got spotted. This could go very ugly very fast.
The Fang goons started running around frantically. It was mass confusion and no one seemed to know what was going on. Then once they got past the initial shock they began heading off in the direction of gunfire in small groups.
Roland gritted his teeth. Looks like stealth is out of the question now. "We need to find our team! They need..." He turned to shout at Nebula only to trail off as she was gone. Letting out a frustrated growl, he began looking around frantically. When he found her again, she was halfway towards the storehouse which was left unguarded, as he only now noticed.
Damn that girl!
Just like that, Nebula left him with a difficult choice. Either stay with Nebula and possibly put Nick and Emery in danger... or go help them and let her to fend for herself. He hated this kind of situation; always a wrong choice, no matter how he decided. So little time to make a choice... And the thought that someone might die because of it... Nick and Emery were a formidable duo in a fight, he knew that much. Nebula on the other hand... Aside from the brief show back during the Tournament, he had little knowledge on her combat prowess. True, she screwed up by running off on her own but still, he couldn't leave her to get herself killed.
Letting out a long but quiet stream of curses, he bolted after Nebula. Qrow, you better be around to help our guys, you old drunk!
Even as he weaved through the incoming grunts, parrying and evading incoming blows as well as striking out on his own, Nick cursed his- no, their rotten luck. It was solely by chance that the Fang guard saw them.
Even worse, as he left his ears and tail, the proof of his Faunus heritage, on full display, the enemies seemed to converge on him. He had to suppress a bitter laugh; if they knew he used to be one of them just mere few years ago... They'd probably try to take him alive just to make him an example.
Well, let them try, he thought as he slammed his mace into another grunt's face, knocking him out.
Then his sensitive Faunus ears caught a soft whirring of machinery in the distance. He knew instantly what it was.
"Emery!" He shouted at his partner who was fighting off several attackers at once. "The Paladin's closing in on us! We need to get out of here!"
"I'm trying!" Emery executed a roundhouse swing that sent several Fang troopers flying. But they just wouldn't stay down, unless he'd straight up knock them out. The goons seemed determined to keep them from escaping until their Paladin arrived to take them out for good.
The fearsome machine was still nowhere in sight, though. Maybe it broke down along the way... but the Beacon students just didn't have that kind of luck.
Emery had just had it with the Fangers that kept harassing him like the annoying bugs they were. For the very first time, he revved up the chainsaw built into his greatsword. The Fang goons flinched away as its harsh sound cut through the air.
Then an explosion suddenly rang out in the distance... and half of the thugs turned towards the sound.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Nick and Emery smashed through the ranks of Fang troopers, beating down anyone that dared stand in their way. Only a handful of troopers decided to pursue them while the rest took off to the source of the explosion.
"What are we going to do about those guys?" Emery questioned, gesturing towards the pursuers as he ran.
"Don't worry," Nick shot back. "Got a plan!"
Whatever happened out there left the Fangers really startled because all of them ran off towards the source of danger, leaving the storehouse unguarded. That allowed Nebula and Roland to slip inside unnoticed.
Of course, the half a dozen guards inside the storehouse presented a nasty surprise. The battle that ensued was short but fierce and brutal. The Fang really didn't want them in there, it seemed.
The moment his rifle-axe clashed with the blade of the first goon to attack him, Roland was reminded of the warning Qrow gave them before this mission.
Once the fighting starts, expect those guys to go all out; they'll kill you or die trying so give 'em no quarter.
It wasn't his first time fighting Fang troopers and he was more than confident in his combat skills. If anything had him worried, it was Nebula.
It was impossible to drown out the little voice in the back of his mind telling him to just end them all. It would be well deserved after everything they did... The horrors of the fall of Vale couldn't be forgotten so easily. Nevertheless Roland resisted the temptation and aimed to incapacitate, not kill, even if he wasn't above inflicting serious bodily harm.
The former leader of NDGO didn't stop there, though.
Nebula fought in an especially vicious, violent manner; he knew he shouldn't be surprised after what she was put through but he couldn't help it. One of her foes got nailed to a wall by a shot from her crossbow-sword. The moment when she beat bloody another trooper and then actually slit his throat from ear to ear actually made him shudder a bit.
The fight in the storehouse resulted in four Fang troopers dead. Three fell victim to Nebula's rage; Roland was forced to kill the last one to stop him from escaping and warning his friends. His end was quick and painless, with a single bullet through his skull.
The rifleman picked a piece of cable from the floor and went to restrain the two unconscious grunts that survived the fight. He didn't even look at Nebula who remained as impassive as ever.
"Let's see what's so damn important that the Fangers keep around here."
Emery stood alone against four Fang troopers that refused to give up on pursuing him. They had him cornered in a narrow alley and were closing on him, even as the sounds of gunfire and explosions echoed in the distance.
But he was not afraid.
Not because he was some kind of hero, willing to fight even in the most hopeless situation. Not even the confidence in his abilities had anything to do with it.
The reason was far simpler. Emery had the goons right in the position that suited him.
Just as the Fang soldiers attacked, a shadow landed right among them and attacked without hesitation. Two of them went down before they could realize they had been played. Emery then joined the fight and made short work of the remaining ones.
"Didn't think they'd actually fall for it." Nick remarked at the sight of unconscious soldiers. It was easy for him to slip into the shadows and tail the enemies even as they were busy chasing after his partner. Then when they followed him into that alley, he sprung the trap... and it worked spectacularly.
"We should find the others," Emery pressed. "Fangers might be after them, too!"
Nick was inclined to agree. True, Branwen was more than capable of handling himself but Roland and the Violette girl could be facing some serious trouble. The two of them never worked together before, hence a lot of space for errors.
So began their search throughout the village, occasionally interrupted by a couple of Fang grunts` nothing they couldn't handle. Eventually they made it to the village square... where they were welcomed by the sight of Qrow Branwen sitting atop the smoking wreckage of a Paladin.
"Took you long enough," The eternally intoxicated Hunter drawled, taking a swig from his flask.
Nick could only stare at the remains of what used to be a deadly robot, shocked beyond words. Emery wasn't doing much better. How in the...
Branwen rolled his eyes and hopped off the pile of scrap metal. "Let's get going, you two. We're far from done around here."
At first, Roland couldn't help it but be pissed at Nebula.
She ran off on her own without any warning; it was an incredible stroke of luck that no one noticed her running to the storehouse. He had to run after her to make sure she'd make it inside safely, putting himself in danger as well. And then there was that clusterfuck of a fight... Roland thought there better be something important hidden away in there, something worth all the hassle. After searching the place up and down and finding nothing but junk, he started thinking Nebula charged in simply to off a few Fang thugs.
Until they found the locked door leading to the basement.
It looked rather flimsy, made of rusty sheet steel, but it was secured by two solid locks. There was no time to look for keys. Roland resorted to a simple but efficient method; using the superior strength of his cybernetic arm to break the door down.
The first blow alone was enough to weaken the door but that concerned him far less than the alarmed cries that came out from behind it.
Could it be that the Fang held prisoners down there?
Three more blows and the door simply fell apart under the continuous assault.
The hunters in training walked down the stairs and through another door which was left unlocked. Then they were faced with a sight of a dimly lit room filled with dozens of people drawing fearfully away from the intruders. Most of them were humans, of course, but Roland did notice a few Faunus among them.
At first, he was surprised to see captives; White Fang didn't seem to take prisoners before so this made him wonder why they'd start now. One closer look and it became all too clear, though. Those people were in terrible condition; dirty, tired, emaciated, some of them covered in blood from untreated wounds... the obvious signs of mistreatment. There were a few that had trouble standing.
His first thought on all this was: forced labor,or worse, playthings, to be used and abused at the Fang's leisure.
In his shock, Roland didn't notice his partner run towards the crowd. Only her cry of "GWEN!" broke him out of the stupor.
Taking in the crowd that seemed to cower before him, he announced loudly. "We're with Beacon Academy. You're safe for now but other half of our team is still out there fighting, and we still have a few loose ends to tie up before we can get you out of here."
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Nebula with a girl with curly black hair, wearing filthy rags. Much to his amazement, Roland recognized the prisoner to be one of lost members of team NDGO; she was holding onto Nebula like if afraid she might slip out of her grasp and vanish.
Just how long was she stuck in here? What were the Fangers doing with those people?
Footsteps coming from above interrupted his chain of thought.
Answers can wait, he decided. We gotta deal with our 'gracious hosts,' first.
It wasn't particularly hard to find the other half of team NNPL; all Qrow had to do was follow the sounds of the battle, which brought him to what appeared to be a large warehouse. He found it rather impressive that the two students, Lenius and Flamme, managed to keep up with him.
For a moment, he waited before the front entrance, listening to the sounds coming from inside, his sword-scythe out and ready to slice and dice. Metal clanks, dull thuds, gunshots and pained cries every few seconds. Must be a helluva fight, he thought.
The students stood at his side, weapons out. "Are we going in or not?" Nick snapped.
There was no sense in waiting around. Qrow swung his blade at the door and smashed it down.
At the same moment, an unconscious Fang trooper went flying out of the storehouse, nearly crashing into him. This is gonna be interesting, Qrow chuckled to himself. The smirk froze on his lips as he took in the scene that awaited them.
A dozen or so goons sporting White Fang uniforms lay strewn around the place... and Qrow saw enough wounds to know that some of those poor bastards were quite dead. It made him wonder just who could've caused such carnage.
He got his answer when a voice thick with fury cut through the air. "I'll ask again: what are you bastards doing here?!" He instantly recognized the shooter from team TNDR.
They saw him looming over a Fang soldier whose uniform looked different from what common grunts donned. He was beaten black and blue all over. On the contrary, Roland appeared alright, aside from a few cuts and bruises here and there. He was holding the thug by the throat with his right hand while pressing a gun to his forehed with his left. It was clear at a first glance that the gunman was absolutely livid, his face contorted in a snarl.
He didn't even look away when Qrow, Nick and Emery approached him. "Good thing you're here, Qrow. You any good at interrogation?"
"I'm not telling you shit, human!" The goon cried defiantly. "Do your worst! I'm not afraid to die!"
Roland tightened his grip on the goon's throat. "Oh yeah? That's good cuz I'm not afraid to kill you!"
Qrow had an impression that the sharpshooter wasn't bluffing and the students at his side seemed to think the same. "Right, let's not get hasty, here." Qrow drawled. "I gotta ask; is this your work?" He gestured to the dead bodies lying around.
"Not all of 'em." Roland said tersely. "Nebula offed a few, too."
Nick and Emery exchanged worried glances.
"Didn't think you kids had it in ya." Qrow sounded almost... impressed? "To kill, I mean."
"If you're pushed, it gets as easy as breathing." Roland huffed, not taking his eyes off the thug. "Listen, Nebula and I discovered something rather... sick, in here."
Nick frowned. "What do you mean?"
"We found a crowd of civvies in here, locked in the basement. Nebula's with them." He continued, trembling with barely contained fury. "Humans, Faunus, men, women, kids, you name it; forced labor, if I were to guess... or worse. They collect them from every settlement they conquered; don't know exactly what they do with them but this piece of shit calls the shots around here so he must know something."
"You're getting nothing from me!" The captive roared again, earning himself a pistol-whip in the head.
"We won't need to." Qrow finally said, his expression grave. "We'll just ask the people you guys kidnapped."
It turned out the now free prisoners had a lot to say about their time in White Fang captivity. That is, those who were able to talk; many of them were too traumatized, which was saying a lot about the treatment they received from their captors. They could only give them bits and pieces.
It was three of the prisoners, a Faunus woman named Anise, Wren, a forester from the village of Avalon, and Nebula's teammate, Gwen Darcy, who preserved enough of their sanity to answer all the questions about their imprisonment and whatever plans their captors had with them.
Wren described the attack at Avalon, about three weeks ago. How the Fang killed anyone that stood in their way; how they rounded up the survivors and shot anyone who tried to run without a second thought; how they forced them to dig graves for their dead.
Qrow listened intently, scowling heavily. "What then? How did ya end up here?"
"They kept some people in Avalon. As for us, the next thing I know we're in some kind of underground base or somethin'. Then some bashaw starts yellin' at us, sayin' that we're to serve the future masters of Remnant and that we should feel lucky. Yeah right..." The man scoffed. "They have us toil from dawn to dusk, just for the privilege of being left alive..."
"What did they have you do?" Emery asked.
"Everything they couldn't be bothered to do themselves! Diggin' up trenches, layin' down barb wire, carryin' stuff around, you name it! Some of them were sent to a Dust mine, horrible place to be... And we had to obey their orders to the letter; do what they said, go where they wanted us to. One step out of line, we'd get a beatin'."
"There was so much to get done and at the end of the day they'd make sure we met our quota."Anise added. "That was the only time we'd get food, too. And if they decided we hadn't done enough, we wouldn't get any. I saw a few people collapse from sheer exhaustion. Every time a trooper came in to finish him off... We were of no use to them if we couldn't work."
"So that's the only reason they kept you around? Slave labor?" Roland questioned.
"I wish!" The Faunus woman, Anise, exclaimed. "The Fang forced my son to join them! Who knows what those scum do to him every day to mold him into an obedient killer!"
"Really?" Nick said, his voice dangerously low.
"She's telling the trugh." Gwen said quietly. "I should know; I was stuck in Fang's captivity longer than the others, and I saw many things. Too many..."
Nebula squeezed her hand softly.
"So slave labor and forced conscriptions," Qrow muttered. "What else is there?"
"Every now and then, they'd take some of the captives and sell them on slave market. Strong and healthy males... and good-looking females." Gwen explained. Roland made a disgusted grimace. "The officers... kept some of the women for themselves."
"What about Dew and Octavia?" Nebula pressed. "What happened to them?"
Gwen remained silent for a moment. When she spoke again, her voice trembled. "I- I didn't want to wait around and see what they'd do to Hunters in training like us. None of us did; we wanted to get away. I had a plan; all we needed was a good opportunity. Then one day, when guards were escorting us to another cell, we made our move. Knocked out the guards, cut our bonds and headed for the exit... but things didn't go as planned. The underground base they kept us in was a pretty big place and... my plan didn't account for that. We got lost trying to find the way out... and then they caught us."
Nick knelt down beside her. "What did they do to you?"
"It wasn't just us..."
"What do you mean?"
"Officers were pissed that we knocked out their men and nearly escaped. They beat the living shit out of us, then dumped us back in our cells." She whispered. "Only it wasn't good enough for them. Next day, they took every tenth prisoner they had and gathered them in front of the base's entrance. Dragged us out, too, even when we could barely stand." Nick sure as hell didn't like the sound of it but he kept listening. "Then the commander showed up and told those people what we did. Then the bastard ordered his men to gun down the captives... and he made us watch them die, one by one!" Gwen broke down in tears. "They died because of us!" Nebula quickly pulled her into a hug.
Nick found himself thoroughly disgusted. Just when he thought White Fang couldn't get any worse after what they did in Vale city... There might not be such thing as pure evil, but his old organization was rapidly getting closer to that bar. Did Frey know Fang did things like that? If so, was he alright with it? Or even actually involved in it?
While Nebula tried to console her weeping teammate, Qrow looked at the other three students. "Kids, I'm afraid things got a bit complicated. Those people can't stay here and our one Bullhead can't carry all of them. I gotta signal our pilot to get help; flying back and forth several times to pick up all these people would take too much time."
"Maybe we should check if the Fangers have trucks around here, or something." Emery suggested.
"Trucks are too slow." The Huntsman rejected the idea. "Besides, who would drive 'em? I ain't got a license."
"I can fly a VTOL." Nick butted in. "Maybe we should check if the Fang left another Bullhead around here."
Qrow shrugged. "You're welcome to try... but I don't think we're that lucky."
"So we'll be stuck here until all prisoners get away safely?" Roland scowled. "We'll be sitting ducks, perfect targets for those Fang bastards."
"It's about an hour of flight to the nearest Vale-controlled settlement. We won't have to stay that long. Besides, nightfall's coming; kinda hard getting out of here in pitch dark if you're not a Faunus." Then he added. "Even if the Fang knows that we took out their garrison in here, it's gonna take 'em a while before they come here in force."
"In that case, we can't waste time. I'm gonna look for another VTOL." Nick said resolutely and walked away. Maybe he'd get lucky and find a Bullhead tucked away somewhere... and then all of them could get out of this hellhole.
In the meantime, Gwen calmed down a bit in the presence of her teammate. "I'm so sorry, Gwen," Nebula whispered, squeezing her hands. "That must've been-"
"It gets even better," Gwen spat out. "After slaughtering the prisoners, the commander ordered the three of us stripped naked and flogged, in plain view of every Fang soldier present! His goons didn't hold back... Only after our backs were red with blood they finally stopped. They had to carry us into our cells 'cause we literally couldn't walk. The next few days, all I could do was lie on my cot, and Via and Dew weren't doing much better."
"Sick bastards..." Roland shook his head.
"A medic would come check on us every few hours, on commander's orders. Not because he'd care about our well-being, of course; we'd be useless to him if we died. Then one day the boss himself and a few goons dragged Dew out of her cell and led her away. A while later another band came in and took Via. I never saw either of them since... but I could hear screams coming from somewhere inside the base for hours before it stopped." Gwen wiped angry tears from her eyes. "The next day, they took me away to another camp for work... and since then I was nothing but a slave. The commander made sure that everyone gave me special treatment; if the Fang treated prisoners like shit, what I got was way worse..." She hung her head, refusing to look at anyone. "I'm surprised I haven't slit my own throat yet but something kept me going through all that time."
"Well, I can say your suffering is over now." Qrow said, his features hardening. Moment later, he began barking out orders. "Lenius, Fangers must have supplies stashed somewhere in the village; food, drink, medication, that kinda thing. Take Peregrine with you and do some 'pantry raiding'; take everything you can carry. And make it quick!"
The students nodded wordlessly and walked away. Qrow's eyes lingered on Roland, taking in the firmly set jaw, stormy look in his eyes, and clenched fists. A clear sign of someone being on the verge of a breaking point, he saw it hundred times before. One more push and the lad would do something drastic.
I'll cross that bridge when I get there, the Huntsman thought. There's stuff to be done, better get to it.
The sun set a good hour ago. Darkness descended quickly on the land and in the village where there was no public lighting it might be a problem. It made no difference to Nick since as a Faunus he could see fairly well in the dark. Better than humans, anyway.
He walked through the dark street, looking for anything even remotely resembling a hangar. The eerie silence was disturbed only by distant howls. It reminded him that White Fang wasn't their only problem. Sooner or later, monsters would come here, too. Better get out of here sooner than later; those people deserved that much after weeks of slaving away for the Fang.
Just thinking about what was going on made him sick to his stomach. This was the righteous cause he fought for once, years ago? But he knew too well this wasn't about equality anymore. Fang wanted revenge at any cost... and some people, like Dracul, wanted to take it even further. Nick very much dobted his former mentor took his lunacy to his grave. No doubt there were others out there who'd want to finish what he started...
Nick stopped, squinting at an enormous bush sitting in the middle of a field. They just don't grow that big, he thought. Driven by curiosity, he approached it... and realized it was no bush but a huge pile of tree branches stacked up on one another. What was the purpose of that? Saving that for a huge-ass bonfire? Something seemed off about the pile, thought he couldn't point his finger on what...
Not until he noticed the wire mesh and bits of cloth. A camouflage net?
It finally hit him. Something was hidden under all the wood and foliage.
Like a frenzied animal, he started grabbing the branches and tossing them aside, determined to get to the bottom of the pile as quickly as possible.
He didn't stop until his fingers touched cold metal.
His eyes lit up. JACKPOT!
"Wow, look at that." Emery whistled as he took in what could only be the officer's quarters. "Fangers sure were living like lords."
"Somehow I doubt this privilege extends for the common grunts." Roland snorted. "Still, they have it way better than their prisoners." His voice was dripping with anger and disgust.
Emery didn't blame him. He heard everything about how the Fang treated their prisoners, and what they did to Gwen and her friends. War tended to bring out the worst in people, he knew that saying. But this... Goodness, this was just sick. To treat other people like dirt just because they thought themselves to be the 'master race?' It reminded him of his own experiences in the Ajax Project.
"Okay, remember what Qrow said. Food, drink and a medicine; whole lot of it." The gunman said. "Unless Nick somehow finds another ride, we'll be stuck here for a while."
"Smack in the middle of White Fang territory. What a great time to be alive."
Wow... Emery didn't even know he had it in himself to be sarcastic.
The local garrison was well supplied indeed, no doubt from whatever they stole in the territory they took or got in the black market. Emery found many things they could use; preserved meat, several cases of bottled water, canned food, snacks, pretty much anything the prisoners would never lay their eyes on. He could barely carry it all and that was saying something.
Roland entered the room a while later, carrying a wooden box filled with bottles of disinfectant, rolls of gauze, bandages and many other kinds of medical supplies.
"Not bad... Guess our new friends are gonna get a decent meal for a change." He remarked with a weak half-smile. "I hope what I found is gonna be enough for all of them."
"Well, I hope someone's better at giving first aid than the two of us."
Emery and Roland headed back to the storehouse, barely seeing their own feet in the dark. There was a long night ahead of them.
They didn't see Nick running towards them until he was literally at their faces.
"Nick? Where's the fire?" Roland chuckled as he saw his friend gasping for breath. He was probably running all the way.
"Guys, I found us another ride!"
The rifleman shared a look for Emery. There was no way they could be that lucky.
But it turned out they were.
Qrow almost didn't believe it either, but when Nick flew the Bullhead he found back to the storehouse, the skepticism promptly evaporated. And the captives' mood improved once they heard they'd be away from Stone Creek and the Fang in just a few hours. Being given a real food in weeks probably helped, too.
"How many people we've got here?" The Huntsman questioned. "Two VTOLs are great and all but it still might not be enough."
"It makes 48 people, including the five of us." Nebula stated. Gwen didn't leave her side ever since their unexpected reunion.
"That makes 24 for each VTOL," Qrow mused, rubbing his stubbly chin. "That might do... It'll have to. Just do something to cover the Fang emblem. We don't want to get shot down by our own guys, do we?"
"So what do we do, now?" Nick asked.
"I've already called our pilot back. He should arrive soon."
Within the next two minutes, another Bullhead touched down nearby. The howls coming from the wilderness grew closer.
They lingered around too long; it was high time to leave.
Qrow and the Beacon students quickly ushered the now free captives onto the two aircraft. They didn't seem to need much convincing. The veteran Hunter noticed Roland stealing subtle glances at the storehouse, or more precisely, the space beneath it.
For some reason he didn't like it, but there were other things to worry about. Like letting a greenhorn fly a Bullhead full of people... But Nick assured repeatedly him he knew what he was doing so he was willing to trust his judgement. Not that he had much choice...
He looked around and suddenly frowned. Where the hell is Peregrine?
With determined steps, Roland walked to the basement, his fingers toying with the pistols.
He knew he should've already boarded his Bullhead, that others would waste precious time waiting for him. But this was a matter that just had to be done. There were some loose ends to tie up... and since no one gave it any thought, the task fell to him.
It wasn't exactly easy to make this decision but hearing of all the horrors that happened here, or anywhere in Fang's territory erased any doubts he had before.
They started this and just like the saying goes, what goes around comes around...
He arrived to the basement just in time to see captive Fang troopers creeping out, free of their bonds. Their commander was in front.
"Goin' somewhere, boys?" Roland asked with a lopsided smile as he blocked their way.
The boss scowled furiously when he recognized him. "It's the murderer of our brothers! Get him!" The grunts weren't armed but that didn't mean they weren't dangerous. "Then we'll get the rest of them!"
His smirk widened. Thanks for making this easier for me.
Within a moment, the pistols were out of their holsters.
The others might not notice but the series of muffled gunshots didn't escape Qrow's attention. He sighed; everyone had their breaking point... and someone had just reached theirs.
A while later, Roland walked out of the storehouse, his face impassive. "Where have you been?" Qrow demanded.
"I caught the Fangers sneaking out, probably to try and take us by surprise." The gunman said flatly. "I stopped them. Permanently."
Of course he did... "Yeah, yeah. Get on board; we're waiting just for you." The Hunter said pointing at the second Bullhead, piloted by Nick. As Roland walked past him, Qrow laid a hand on his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. "I know what you did." He hissed quietly. "You're heading down a dangerous path, kid. Sure, they might've been bad guys, but where is it gonna end, huh?"
"Thanks for your concern but I'm perfectly capable of training my guns on those who really deserve it." Roland shot back, shaking his arm off. Qrow frowned disapprovingly but let him go.
He made sure no one remained behind and then climbed onto his VTOL. "Alright, take us out of here."
"Sure thing, boss." The pilot drawled and spoke into the radio. "Alright, time to take off."
"Got it!" Nick's voice crackled through the static.
The aircraft took into the night sky, leaving the ruined village behind them... just moments before a pack of Beowolves emerged from the woods.
Qrow watched the beasts crawl about and sniff at the air. Their work was done for now; they uncovered the Fang's involvement in slave trading and saved near four dozens captives to boot. Unfortunately, they didn't discover the exact location of the Fang's main base, which meant that sooner or later they'd have to return.
Or maybe he should leave the kids out of this. There was a good reason why he worked alone.
Author's note: Finally it's done... I planned to make this one a lot shorter but as little ideas piled up this grew into the near 9000 words long monster. And to think I revised it to make it a bit shorter. The direction this short took might be a bit surprising but in a world where everything seems to be going to shit, it's something to be expected, I guess. I realize the ending might seem a bit rushed but that's because I really wanted to get this done already. It was taking way too long.
As always, thanks for reading, review, favorite or follow; compliments and/or critique always welcome :-)