Flashback – The Frontlines
In-between Chapters 7 and 8
Russian Border, Sector 16
"Is Maybelline Arc here?"
A soldier stood at the entrance of the tent. Yesterday, they arrived at the frontlines, it was much like The Platform, but on land and even more hectic. No matter where you were, you will always hear the gunfire, explosions, and the roars of fleshpounds, quarter pounds, scrakes, all coming from the battlefield.
When they first set foot on sector 16, the smoke and dust were slightly clouding their vision, all of it had been kicked up from the combat area and the operation of maintaining the defensive line. The sight of dozens, if not hundreds of soldiers, vehicles and equipment all moving around in near perfect tandem. The smell of sulfur, smoke, blood, sweat and burnt flesh hit them as if they were standing in front of an active fan. The sound of helicopters flying above them, the motors of moving cars, trucks and operating machinery. As they moved deeper in the base, the sound slowly switched to that of distant yet constant gunfire and ordinances impacting their targets. If one were to listen even more closely, they can hear the wounded soldiers, all pleading for the pain to stop. It was a sensory overload for the team, or at least for those who were still standing.
Rye was immediately rolled into the ER, while Yang was being examined by doctors to see if she was suffering from mental shock. They called it an acute stress reaction, and thanks to the help of some specialized doctors, who were ordered by Howler directly, they were able to find the source of her stress. The rest of the team were then given and placed in a tent, large enough to fit an entire squad. But as they entered, they realized they weren't the first to occupy this tent. It was then explained by the officer who led them to their tent that a recent squad wipe was the reason why they now had the tent. Sadly the personal possessions of each soldier were still present inside. Blake found a family picture near her bunk, the husband and wife, garbed in camos, along with two children, possibly a son and daughter? The next picture showed the same couple with six more other soldiers… inside this very tent. This caused her to immediately put the photos down and shiver, her worries increasing tenfold.
After an uneasy sleep and a silent breakfast, this soldier approached them in their tent. Pyrrha looked at the man, and instantly recognized him as a member of some sort of Special Forces. She could tell by the Ops-Core helmet, Rye had one too, he rarely wore his and to her knowledge, most if not all special forces wore these sort of helmets.
"That's me, is there a problem?" If it was a major problem, she had to do it, the inner Huntresses in her told her to help whenever she can. But if not, these reports for squad leaders to fill out had to be done quick. Especially for someone who's temporarily a squad leader. Listing details, causes, actions, and explanations, she slightly cursed Rye for handing her this paperwork.
"Yes there is, frontlines needs reinforcements, it's voluntary for your squad, but it's recommended." That was odd to Pyrrha, it wasn't an order. She was about to ask when he beat her to it. "They just ordered me to ask you girls, it's up to you if you want to go. But honestly…" He looked at Ruby, Weiss and Blake, he shook his head when he finally looked back at her. "… I can see why it's voluntary for you girls." He grimly said before running off.
Pyrrha sighed, remembering her last and only trip here to the frontlines. She vowed Rye and herself to never return to the here, it was too much to handle back then. Now here she is, and worse of all, with most of team RWBY, and a military specialist who was never seen or have been a part of a massive military engagement. There's a difference between skill and experience, Winter and the team only had one, and it wasn't experience. Now, they were just given a chance to experience what hell on earth looks like, and Pyrrha feared they won't be ready for what was in store for them. Her main reasoning behind her frustration was because of the battle. This battle… this fight, should be a fight they should say no to, but knowing her friends, and seeing how Winter is, they're most likely to head into it with no hesitance.
She closed the toughbook she was using, and stood up, looking over to her team. They all looked at her expectantly.
They were important, not just to her, as her friends, but to the show, to Remnant. This is the frontlines, at worse a sector can have a thousand casualties in just a couple days. It's a tough call to make, and she knew they wouldn't take no for an answer. Hell, she knew she wouldn't take no for an answer. When there's a call for help, Huntsmen and Huntresses are always there to take up the call. They are the first and last line of defense against the Grimm and now evil, that's what they were trained for, why change now?
"Are you sure you girls want to head to the frontlines?" Was all she could mutter out, she was scared for them, but she couldn't show that fear, she was their squad leader, even temporarily.
"They need our help, we can't say no!" Blake proudly claimed, her time preaching for equality was partially showing. She hated seeing people suffer, she stands up against those who hurt others, it's part of her character, she will always fight, no matter how bad it looked.
"Me too! If I can do something that helps, then I need to do it! It what Yang would like me to do, it what Rye would too." Ruby backed her teammate, standing up as she proclaimed her support.
"Plus, we can't just sit around, moping about Rye and Yang. They're in good hands, and last I heard, they're going to be okay. Its what Rye would want us to do, help out, even if this isn't our war." Weiss stood next to both Ruby and a now standing Blake. Winter simply nodded her support to Pyrrha.
But the champion wasn't easily persuaded, she heard those same mantras before, then seeing what resulted of their bravery.
"You all need to understand! When you're in the frontlines, you are not fighting! Fighting is when you're in the arena, besting your opponent in a fair spar, in a fair fight. Fighting is when we're with Rye in a DEZ, singing with the music on full blast and kicking butt while doing so." Her mood and tone went dark. "But when you're in the frontlines, you're not fighting. You're hoping, and surviving." The girls faces turned serious and frightful, eyes slightly bulging, even Weiss placed a hand on her mouth. "Surviving long enough to hopefully get to your next meal. Surviving long enough to hopefully drag your down friend from an exposed area, hoping you won't die while trying to save an already dead man! Sur-"
"Pyrrha!" Ruby walked towards to the almost panicking champion. She placed both her hands on Pyrrha's shoulders, then looked directly into her eyes. "I know it's scary, I'm pretty sure we all got that feeling the moment we got here. But we're not kids, at least not really" Ruby let out a nervous laugh. "But we can handle ourselves. I know our last mission didn't go well, and it doesn't look good for us without Yang or Rye. But people need our help, and we can provide it, all of us, together." A small smile formed on the little reaper, a smile that conveyed some reassurance and hopefulness. One Pyrrha severely needed. She couldn't help but smile back at the shorter girl, or in this case, shorter young woman.
"Ms. Nikos." Pyrrha turned to see Winter approach her. "You need to have a little more faith in us. You have survived this long under Rye's guidance, surely we'll make it through this with only a few bumps and scratches." She gave Pyrrha a smile and a nod, indicating her continued support.
Looking back at the other girls, Pyrrha saw Weiss and Blake are nodding and smiling to her as well.
"We promise to look out for ourselves and each other, a Schnee never goes back against her word." Weiss elegantly summarized.
With at least some renewed vigor and courage, Pyrrha smiled back at the team.
"Okay."
Four T129 ATAK helicopters zoomed passed a convoy of troop transport trucks heading to the frontlines. Not too soon after, the roar of heavy machine gun fire was heard coming from above. The remaining combat ready members of Team Remnant were on the middle transport truck, heading towards the frontlines.
Unlike being deployed in a DEZ, Pyrrha had to get her team to wear different clothes and some additional gear to compensate for missing storage space. If they were to stay in their original wear, it's guaranteed to get more dirty, extensively damaged, and the fact that the new gear and clothes were meant for frontline duty. They were all matching when it came to their clothes, light grey tactical shirts and pants, black combat boots, gloves, combat vest, basically combat everything. They were also given helmets, the same helmet Pyrrha has, an ACH mid-cut helmet with goggles. She also strictly told Blake to always wear the helmet at all times unless she wants to explain to everyone why she has cat ears, and that course of action requires confidential information to be spilled. To Weiss, and by some extension Ruby and Blake, did have a few complaints about the outfit.
To Weiss, it wasn't as stylish as she would've wanted it to be. As one who wore very stylish 'combat skirts,' it was always her duty and part of her upbringing to be civilized, whether that was in social situations or in combat.
Ruby wasn't that bummed out about her current attire as Weiss, her only complaint was that it was more complicated to put on than any other 'girly clothes' she wore. Her dress during the dance being a close second place, third went to her Anima clothes, aka her current Huntress attire. At least she didn't have girl pockets, they were the worse.
Blake didn't mind the new wardrobe, sure it was a bit bulky and heavy to wear, but due to her light weapons, she didn't need much on her. So on top of being flexible and quick, the dark and drab colours perfectly camouflage her to the surroundings. The helmet was the only thing she hated, it made her ears uncomfortable, but she understood the more confidential reason why she wore the helmet. Although she still wasn't a fan of hiding her true self.
Winter wasn't against wearing combat gear, she has worn combat gear before during her time in the military. But now as a specialist and Huntress, her attire was entirely her own choice, it just had to be appropriate and up to Atlas code. Her current clothes could be more comfortable, but her nostalgic and militaristic side of her was satisfied with it. She truly felt ready for whatever will hit her, just without her aura.
They weren't alone on their truck, they sat alongside some Belarusian soldiers, as this sector was the last sector with a frontline to Belarus, and the first sector to have a frontline to the Ukraine. These soldiers were of average age, the youngest looking to be in their late twenties. Well, that was if they could see them in the first place, some of them had ski masks and their combat goggles on, looking ready to fight. The ones they could see, their eyes and mannerism showed one of experience, some showed fear, some had a solid and unwavering expression, one that could match or outmatch Ren's stoic face. But one stood out from all the rest, one that caught the attention of team Remnant, besides Pyrrha. The man had his eyes closed, and he was mumbling something under his breath. On his left hand was a sort of rope with knots on it, his thumb moving from knot to knot. Every time he got to a knot, he'd mumble something, before moving to the next.
Weiss was about to ask Pyrrha, but the champion knew it was coming. "From what I remember Rye telling me, I think that man is praying, Weiss."
"Praying?" The former heiress repeated.
Pyrrha nodded. "Yes, personally I don't see it very often, but when I do, it's usually before a battle starting. If you remembered, it was what Reverend Alberts did before we dropped in Paris. At least that's what Rye told me, I think I was sleeping…"
The members of RWBY found this interesting, as it drew out 'ahhs,' from the titular leader. But before they can delve deeper into religion in this world, they rather abruptly interrupted. The piercing sounds of a thunderous screeching was quickly fading in and making its way towards them. Getting louder and louder, as if the sky itself was screaming at them. Not a moment too soon, three jets came roaring past them from above, firing a barrage of missiles, all aimed towards the fighting of the frontlines.
But once they passed, silence did not descend upon them, the sound of explosions and gunfire only increased. As a matter of fact, it sounded as if it intensified. Blake looked over the truck, and saw smoke columns, flashes of burning fires, the quick zips of tracer rounds going in and out. Even with the helmet on she could still properly hear, still better than any human or Faunus without an extra set of ears. To her, she heard everything, the screaming, the roars of the endless tide of zeds, the gunfire, she could already hear the hell before they arrived.
"Dziarmo! JA viartajusia da hetaj dzirki! JA zbirajusia pamierci, i ja nie ŭbaču maju siamju. Usio za što!?" One of the soldiers with them shouted out. To team Remnant, he sounded angry and frustrated.
"Vier, my vyjšli ci nie tak?" The soldier who was prayer said to the other, putting his prayer rope away.
"Tak, toĺki dziesiać z nas! Z usiaho ŭzvoda!"
"Winter."
The Specialist's attention shifted from the soldier's heated discussion towards the temporary squad leader. Pyrrha looked at her with a completely serious expression, enough to cause her to be worried.
"Something the matter Ms. Nikos?"
"Quite actually." They were sitting across from one another, and Pyrrha shifted herself to be slightly closer to Winter, leaning in. Winter did the same. "Listen, I told you and the team that I've been here once, and that was under the constant supervision of Rye. So I know very little about how to actually fight here under these conditions."
Winter didn't understand. "Wait a minute, what are getting at?"
Pyrrha hesitated a bit before continuing. "An extermination mission and frontline combat are two vastly different situations. I'm almost out of my comfort zone right now, even more so without Rye. So…"
"So…?"
Pyrrha paused, she slightly stood up to look ahead, they were getting close. The shouting and screaming were now barely audible. The champion shook her head to refocus.
"Like Rye, you both have some military experience. I need your help getting all of us out of here alive. Whenever Rye is out of the picture, and I'm temporary squad leader, I'm entrusting you to have my back and help me get the team out alive. Okay?" Pyrrha's breath was shaky, almost pleading to Winter for some help and wisdom. Winter understood why she was like this, Pyrrha was terrified.
The sounds, the soldiers, and vehicles, the landscape, hell even the colour palette, they were going into battle. But not just any battle, not like the ones they were used to. They were not fighting like they were back in Remnant, and they certainly were not fighting like they were in a DEZ, the missions Rye has been training them for. This was a battle in a scale none of them had experience in, none that Remnant had experience in about eighty years. A battle in a scale that was only portrayed in movies that Winter watched, like in action movies, or worse, war movies. She has seen movies depicting the great war that occurred eighty years ago, showing the massive battles and bloodshed on each battlefield. Although she had military training, and should technically be capable in operating in such grandeur battles, she has yet to have any actual experience under such conditions.
Letting out a shaky breath, she tried to give Pyrrha the best reassuring smile she could muster. "Don't worry Pyrrha, the team and I will be behind you all the w-"
"Sysci hruzaviki! Sysci hruzaviki! Sysci hruzaviki!" One of the soldier's radios blared to life, for all the occupants to hear. The soldiers' eyes went wide, as they frantically snatched their weapons and made the move to hop off the sides of the truck.
"isci! isci! isci!" One of the soldiers yelled out.
"What's happening? What's happening!?" Ruby frantically said, picking up her weapon in a panic.
"GET OFF THE TRUCKS! GET OFF THE TRUCKS!" Pyrrha's radio now blared to life. Causing the whole team to panic.
"Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!" Once Pyrrha commanded the team, they all heard the whistle of incoming mortar fire.
*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BWOOOM*
They hit the ground, and the truck behind them exploded in a blazing fireball. Ruby hit the ground the hardest, almost at the same time as the explosion, and being closer to it she was a bit disorientated.
She shook her head, it was pounding, aching badly. She didn't know if she hit the ground too hard, was dazed from the explosion, or both, but she knew that she needed to get up. But then the screaming started. She heard the bloodcurdling screams coming from behind her. She had to look back, someone needed her help. But turning back, she was met with a horrific sight, a man, who's entire right side of his body was… for the lack of a better word, open. She could see the muscles in his face, and some bone protruding out from his right arm, he was crawling towards her with his good left arm. What made it worse was the man himself, he was crying, screaming, at some point she heard him say 'mama' and 'papa.' Ruby was just wide-eyed, not knowing how to react, even though literal explosions were happening all around them. Eventually, he just stopped, and his body dropped. Someone just died right in front of her… like Pyrrha... on top of the tower.
"RUBY!" A familiar voice call out to her. She felt a grip on her shoulder, she turned to see her partner. Weiss smiled, relief to find her partner and best friend, but she turned to the sight in front of her. "Oh gods…"
*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM*
"WEISS! RUBY!" They both heard Pyrrha's frantic calls. Pyrrha slid towards them, stopping when she was just behind them. "We need to move, NOW." She saw the corpse in front of them. "There was no way you could've saved him, now save yourselves so you can save more."
"WEISS! PYRRHA! WHERE ARE YOU!? I HAVE BLAKE!" Winter yelled out.
"I HAVE WEISS AND RUBY, WE NEED TO GO!"
*BOOM BOOM*
"WHERE THE HELL DO WE GO!?"
*BOOM*
"FOLLOW THE TRUCKS! FOLLOW THE TRUCKS! FOLLOW THE TRUCKS!"
Explosions all around them, soldiers who survived the bombardment were all rushing to the relative safety of the makeshift bunkers in the frontlines. They all followed the direction that the halted convoy faced, towards the intensive fighting. They passed bodies and pieces of soldiers, an arm here, a leg there, what's left of a torso leaning on an abandoned truck, the burnt corpses around a destroyed truck. They passed wounded soldiers all yelling and screaming, some pleading to them. It was a hellish run to safety, they even saw a running soldier beside them being flung across their vision from an explosion, an arm and a leg tearing away from his body as he hit the truck. Then there was one sight that left Weiss and Ruby speechless, a solider over a body, she was crying, trying to perform CPR on a clearly dead female soldier. What's worse was that the dead soldier look exactly like the crying woman.
'A sister?' Both Ruby and Weiss thought, not wanting to know the pain of losing a close family member.
They approached the back of the lines, an area which appeared to be a former cornfield, now turned into a motor pool filled with military vehicles. The area was surrounded by a circular mound of dirt to cover the area in all sides. Towards the actual fighting was where the trenches started, there was also a massive ramp down towards that direction as well, where armoured vehicles can enter dug-in positions to provide fire support. The vehicles in the motor pool didn't fare as well as the convoy, as some vehicles in here were too damage beyond repair. Clearly they were supposed to park up and get dropped off to the frontlines here, but that didn't happen.
Team Remnant followed the surviving troops into the trenches, where they arrived at what appeared to be some sort of underground bunker. The bunker looked damaged yet completely secured, it was also rather spacious, just not at the moment, too many soldiers were entering and exiting at the same time. There were intelligence officers with their toughbooks, looking at images of the horde and radar, cots all around for the wounded, with all sorts of bandages on them, and of course, the dead, whose bodies were on the ground and covered by black tarps. There were working lights at some areas, the areas with no lights were lit up with green glow sticks. But when an explosion rocked the bunker, the lights will momentarily flicker off. The lights weren't the only ones affected by nearby explosions, sparks would fly from the ceiling and circuit boxes around the bunker almost every time it happened. Like mentioned earlier, damaged but secured. But this just baffled Winter.
"This bunker looks too good to just be in the middle of a rural area." She said out loud.
"You're right about that." The team jumped at the new voice, finding that it belonged to a familiar soldier. The same soldier who went to them, asking for their support. "The owner of the nearby farm lived through the Cold War and built this nuclear bunker just in case, it's rather large but hey, it benefits us, so we're not complaining." He looked at the team, especially at Pyrrha. "I'm glad you can join us Team Remnant, we greatly appreciate it. So since you're all here, I need you girls to follow me." At that, he started to walk, with Team Remnant hot on his heels.
"How bad is the situation?" Pyrrha asked.
"You're talking about the frontlines ma'am, it's always bad here. We found out there was a nearby Merc team, we decided we could use your help. Hell, if your squad leader wasn't hospitalized alongside one of your squad mates, defense HQ would've order your asses out here on dirt with us. Instead they made it voluntary for you to join." He took a moment to look over the team, to see how young they were. He could already see the distant expression on Ruby's face.
"We're you given any other special orders?" Pyrrha continued.
"Yes, if you were to actually come, my team would be responsible for looking after you, your guardian team. We don't know why, but you're all classified, surprisingly even for my squad." He said.
"What does that mean?" Winter inquired. They were close to the exit, the exit leading towards the fighting.
"Later on that, right now, you girls need to get ready." The entire time, he was holding his helmet, only now did he actually put it on. The six of them, along with dozens of other soldier were clambering out of the exit, and into the trenches. The six stood on the side, while the other soldiers were rushing out, guns up and ready to fight. Their guide took a look at the team. "You girls ready?" They hesitantly nodded. "Okay, just keep you head down, hold on to the person in front of you and keep you eyes on them as well. We don't need you getting lost in the maze of trenches okay?" They nod once more. He looked at Pyrrha. "Stay close Arc, your following me and leading your team, okay?"
"I know, my team and I can keep up."
He smiled. "Good to know."
With that said, he rushed out, with team Remnant following. Into the ensuring hell they go.
10 Hours later
Silence.
Darkness.
Crickets.
Night.
It's was quiet, all quiet here in the front. It was just a hour earlier when the last Zed fell. The LAST Zed fell, the horde didn't retreat, they didn't lose interest and attack elsewhere, the horde fought till the very end, till each Zed was dead. It was this lack of a self-preservation instinct that disturbed Blake the most. They were relentless, it was scary to think how monstrous they behaved, yet how human they looked. She heard the stories from around, and from Rye, of how zeds can speak at times. How they spoke in coherent sentences, often describing how they'll enjoy feasting on their victims corpses. It's a disturbing yet effective taunt, one that got under Blake's skin real quick. They certainly were not zombies, yet sometimes Blake wished they were. Most of the times, she just wished to go home.
She was leaning on an M2 Browning in front of her, for the entire nine hours of non-stop fighting, she manned this .50 caliber weapon. She was supported by one other soldier, who helped her reload the weapon and call out her targets. She remembered how she first got here.
Death and destruction, it was everywhere. Each breath she took, she could smell and taste the dirt, blood, vomit, medicine, and a hint of feces in the air. Her sensitive hearing was still ringing, not from the chaos around them, but from being too close to that tank when it fired.
They arrived at their supposed position, the area they'll man for the entire duration of this assault. There was man on a heavy machine gun, firing rounds that sounded like they definitely can kill anything and everything.
*Click, click*
Empty, he started reloading.
*Cling, clang, clang*
In a blink of an eye, a fireball hit him, a husk got a lucky shot. His body was launched from his position in his nest, and onto the parados. They check for vitals, he was gone.
Their guardian squad leader yelled for someone to man the gun, everyone was too preoccupied to follow the order. She took the initiative, a soldier from their guardian squad later volunteered to help her. He quickly taught her where the trigger was, and how to operate it, and for nine hours, they fought.
She was looking out onto no-zed land, and it was true, no one could see the ground anymore, it was just littered with dead zeds. A rather unsavory sight, yet her stomach grumbled for food.
"You girls okay? Hungry?" They were approached by the team leader of their guardian team. Blake looked to her bottom left, to find her team leaning onto the parapet.
"I don't know if I even have an appetite right now." Blake answered.
"Ey, don't be like that missy. After fighting for that long, body needs fuel, energy." He gestured them to follow him. "Come on girls, there'll be music, one of my squad mates just barrowed a guitar, been playing it non-stop. Just for you girls, we can put on a show." He chuckled.
They all looked at Pyrrha, who stood up and stretched her sore muscles. "He's right, we may not feel hungry, but our bodies do need to make up for all that we lost during the fight. Like he said, we do need the fuel." She reassuringly smiled at her team. "Come on, let's at least enjoy the music."
With that, the team got up on their own paces. Then they started moving back to where they came from. Blake was walking near the squad leader, next to Pyrrha, and she had to ask him.
"Can I ask you something, sir?"
"Shoot away missy."
"Umm… okay. Um, I thought I saw something weird, something in the terrain beyond the frontlines."
"What did you see?"
"I noticed some strange looking hills, all in different shapes and sizes. They don't look natural to the landscape, what are those hills?"
The man snorted, and looked back at Blake. "Those aren't hills missy."
She raised an eyebrow. "Aren't hills?"
He nodded. "Think of it this way." They stopped, he climbed the firestep and looked upon no-zed land. "We kill millions of zeds every single month, and life here isn't a video game, so sadly those bodies don't conveniently vanish. So what do we do with 'em?" He asked Blake.
Well, considering what the soldiers are doing now. "You just leave them out there to rot?"
He titled his head from side-to-side. "Kind of, yes." Confused, Blake joined him and looked ahead, far beyond no-zed land to the distant hills. She didn't red binoculars to get a good look on those strange looking hills, her enhanced sight allowed her to notice them in the first place. Then he reminded her. "Just remember, those are no hills, we call them mounds."
Then it clicked. Before, she couldn't get a good look, her attention focused entirely in the battle at hand. But now, concentrating at the sight far ahead of her, far enough that she couldn't distinguish details, but what he said was enough to place the final puzzle piece. Not hills, but massive piles of Zed corpses, so much so that from a distance, they look like oddly shaped hills, too steep and everywhere. Her imagination ran rampant, all those bodies, the blood, the smell, the image, it singed into her brain, it was disturbing, disgusting, terrifying. She couldn't help it, her stomach disagreed with her.
*Auufff*
*Cough, cough, cough*
She vomited onto the ground, coughing and wheezing out whatever was in her stomach. She felt a hand running circles on her back, looking up she saw the comforting face of Weiss.
"Its alright, just calm down, we'll get something for you to eat." Weiss said in a caring tone.
"Eh, you'll be alright missy, feel free to vomit anywhere. This place… its already a shit hole." He snorted. "Your vomit will just blend in." He started walking again, and the group continued their stride to wherever the food was.
Weiss was supporting Blake, helping her move, they were walking next to Pyrrha.
"Did you know about this?" Weiss asked the champion.
Pyrrha shook her head. "I'm sorry but I didn't. I only came here once, and I never pried for more information about this place. Most likely that'll change when we get back to The Platform."
Ahead of them Ruby and Winter were next to the man, continuing their walk. "Did the Zeds just piled them up like that?" The little rose asked the man.
He shook his head. "Well, the trend started with us actually."
"Trend?" Winter repeated.
"Yeah, in the early months of the war, we couldn't just leave the numerous dead bodies like that. The best we could do was pile 'em up, but of course it took a lot of man power, and even some heavy equipment, bulldozers. But thing is, it's the frontlines, there weren't really any time to do the organizing." They entered the bunker, and found less people occupying it. Of course all the cots were all occupied for the wounded, but there weren't as many soldiers as there were hours ago. The soldiers milling around here were either still working, or relaxing with others, eating their MREs. "But zeds ended up doing the organizing for us, cause it helped them navigate, making the path clear for them. That's why there're so many mounds, the zeds themselves have more than enough manpower to do it, making the path clear and easier for them to get to us." The man snorted. "Fucking hell, that's the only thing we benefit from them, organizing their dead."
They exited the bunker, and entered the motor pool. Reaching the large open area, they found out they used the area as a makeshift encampment. There were campfires with soldiers relax around them, barrel fires to warm their hands, wounded being loaded up onto mostly intact vehicles, and transported back to the hospital in the base. The soldiers milling around were sitting on the ground, on top of wrecked vehicles, using logs as seats, and just enjoying the peace, the quiet, the comradery.
The guardian squad leader led them to a campfire beside an intact armoured car, with the rest of the squad sitting around the fire, or somewhere on the car itself. They all had their helmets off, and enjoying their meals. One of them even had a guitar out, playing and singing a song for all of them to enjoy.
"-we carry on, through the storm, tired soldiers in this war, remember what you're fighting fo-oh, captain." The man who was playing the guitar stopped and gave a two finger salute, acknowledging the presence of his team leader.
"Don't let me ruin your fun there boys, keep doing what you were doin', just bringing Remnant in from their watch." The team leader said.
"Oh hey there gunner girl!" One of the soldiers called out, and Blake immediately recognized him. He was the man helping her on the heavy machine gun. She just waved at him. "You don't look so good there. Here, have some." He tossed her an MRE packet. She caught it, looked at it, and her eyes instantly widen, glittering. "Tuna always makes me happy, hopefully you fe-"
He didn't even get to complete his sentence before Blake immediately sat down on the log near the campfire, and ripped the packet open. She immediately set out on preparing her meal, all within five seconds she was already biting into her sandwich. The soldiers around the campfire all watched in disbelief. The soldier who gave Blake the MRE looked questionably at her team. Ruby cleared it up.
"Blake really likes her tuna." Ruby sheepishly shrugged.
The soldier waved it off. "No need to be embarrassed, I told you, tuna makes people happy."
"Anyways…" The team leader spoke up. "You girls must be hungry, here, take some." He offered them the MREs. Not wanting to be rude, and slightly starving from the constant fighting, they each took an MRE, and sat next to Blake on the log.
Eating in relative silence, except for the crackling of the fire, the sounds of other soldiers relaxing and talking to one another, but the overall atmosphere was simply awkward, or contemplative. The fighting that ended not two hours ago was still fresh in everyone's mind, even if it was just like any other time fighting in this godforsaken wasteland. Every fight, every horde rush, every battle felt like the first, that same adrenaline rush, that same fear, the same chances of dying, you never got used to it. Some do, mainly because they accepted the reality of dying, but for those waiting to get back to their loved ones, the feeling, the experience, it never changes.
"Thank you for looking out for us, and for the food, Captain…?"
"Oh, pardon my manners, we haven't had a proper introduction since the attack started. McDillion, Captain McDillion of the SAS, at your service." The team leader introduced himself to Pyrrha and the team. He pointed to his team. "That new lad over there is Troy, he's the one who picked you up-"
"You girls kicked ass."
"-tuna lover over there is Champers."
"Tuna's good, don't deny it!"
"Our rock star over here is Clyne."
Clyne strung his guitar. "Salutations!"
"Then the guys just sittin' around is Perez, Mitchell, Gates, Blooms, and Connelly."
"Its nice to meet you, and thank you all for helping us out. This is kind of our first time here in the Frontlines." Pyrrha smiled, and she gestured to her team. "I'm Maybelline, Maybelline Arc, and yes I know I'm named after the makeup brand. Next to me are Ruby, Weiss, her sister Winter, and Blake."
"I received the debrief, two of your members are in the hospital correct?" McDillion asked.
Pyrrha grimly nodded. "Yes, our squad leader was incapacitated during our last extermination mission, along with one of our other squad mates. Our team leader is Rye Carpner, our squad mate is Yang."
"Rye Carpner? The Rye Carpner?" Troy asked.
"The? What do you mean 'The'?" Winter asked.
"You don't know?" Champers asked. "Some of the mercenaries of The Platform are considered celebrities for the soldiers in Tripwire, because of their… um… how do I phrase this? Eccentricness?"
"That's not a word Champers."
"How else can I describe them? Isn't there one with a chicken costume? What was his name? Edward? Edmund?"
"Yes, his name is Edmund. I've met him, and yes, he does have a unique… taste." Pyrrha clarified as she scratched the back of her head.
"Bingo! That's the guy, yeah… so yup, Rye's no exception."
"Wait, what makes Rye so known to the grunts?" Winter questioned.
"Well, we just know that he's Howler right hand man, the muscle, and he goes to the more specialized missions along side various special forces groups, including some from our group, us SAS." McDillion answered. He's heard the stories from his other comrades, stories of their high risk missions they take with Rye. Personality and mannerism-wise, he's heard Rye was mostly serious, at times couldn't help but lighten up during certain situations. He's not as discipline as they were, but more than makes up for it with his combat skills against the zeds. With that in mind, McDillion knew that was one of the reasons why Rye was one of the first members of ZedEx.
"Just curious, but what does the SAS stand for, and why are you here?" Winter asked. Being a specialist herself, she was considered one of Atlas' best when it came to special and covert operations. Her skills as a Schnee, Huntress and more, she was the perfect soldier out there in Remnant. So of course when it came to special forces, it certainly peaked her interest.
"Ah, the SAS, also known as the Special Air Service, cool name huh?" Clyne spoke up, placing his guitar down and relaxing on the hood of the armoured car.
"Sounds like a mailing or delivery company." Ruby couldn't help but saying. It really does, doesn't it?
"Really? To me it first sounded like a cargo airliner company." Champers gave his own opinion.
"It really does, doesn't it?" Weiss agreed.
"Anyways, like you girls, we came back from a mission, some reconnaissance needed to be done, and were then ordered to provide support to this sector. Apparently the sector desperately needed reinforcements. Couple days later, and still in great need of able bodied men and women, we heard about a classified merc team nearby, thought you could help out." McDillion provided the specifics, it wasn't too classified, the only bit of information hiding behind the sanitizing black marker was the actual reconnaissance mission itself, investigating reports of new enemy variants.
"I see." Winter only said, not knowing how to proceed with the conversation, she knew they wouldn't spill the details of their mission. That and Winter wasn't very social, due to lacking a decent social life. Much of her life was filled with work and expectations she had to meet. Always striving to be the best. She had very little to no genuine friends, as many were just interested in her name or at worse, her body. However later on in life, many were just too intimidated by her in general; strict, cold hearted at times, a general ice queen. That's why she and Weiss were so close, in reality, they only had each other, and at times their mother.
An awkward silence followed, as many were just focusing on eating. Especially Blake, who was relishing on the high that her tuna lemon pepper sandwich was giving her. It was then Weiss remembered something, something she heard when arriving here.
"Clyne?" She shivered at the name, it sounded just like Klein.
"Yes ma'am?" He looked up.
"When we arrived, did we interrupt something?" She motioned the guitar next to him.
He looked over and remembered. "Oh yeah, you wanna hear some music?"
"Oh um, I wouldn't mind, how about you Ruby?"
"Sure thing, anything to keep me distracted." Ruby happily agreed, she wanted to get her mind away from the events of the last nine to ten or so hours.
"Hey Clyne! Just don't play anything that's the too depressing or too real. It's like listening to sad love songs when your girlfriend recently dumps you or something." One of the other soldiers spoke up.
"Hey! That song was fitting though!"
"What was that song called? 'Meet Me On The Battlefield?' While yeah, fitting, but we want to feel good, right? Play something more upbeat so we can all enjoy, instead of wallowing around." Troy said, sitting up on the ground.
"Yeah! What the hell were you thinking about? What'd you think a song call 'Meet Me On The Battlefield' would be about? That should've been a hint!" Another soldier scolded Clyne.
"Alright, alright, alright! I get it, I fucked up okay! Give me a damn break, what do you guys want me to play?"
There was a moment a contemplative silence, with team Remnant not knowing any songs around here, and the SAS guys thinking. Before Connelly suggested a nice song.
"I see fire?"
"BOOM, perfect!" Champers clapped.
"I see fire? That doesn't sound very upbeat, as a matter of fact, it sounds just as 'fitting' as the other song." Blake used air quotations to emphasize 'fitting.'
"Hey fellow tuna lover!" Champers called out. "Don't knock it 'til you hear it."
Ruby and Pyrrha giggled at the phrase, with the rest rolling their eyes.
Clyne got his guitar ready, adjusted it before he cleared his voice.
"Oh misty eye of the mountain, below." Clyne sung out loud, Remnant cringed at how loud it was, hoping it would not disturb the other soldiers around them. His voice in the other hand, while not the best, it certainly wasn't the worst.
"Keep careful watch of my brothers' souls!
And should the sky be filled with, fire and smokeee!"
Clyne continued to sing out loud, drawing the attention of some of the soldiers and people around them. Most of them recognizing the song.
"Keep watching over Durin's son."
Team Remnant, including Pyrrha didn't know who Durin was. They reasoned this song must've been some sort of folk song on earth.
It was then they heard Clyne play the guitar. A nice soft theme, that worked extremely well with the acoustic guitar. His skills with the instrument were good as well, catching Ruby's attention as soon as she heard it. She instantly remembered all those times with her father, Tai playing his guitar for both his daughters. Sometimes when they reminisce about her mother, and she gets emotional, Tai would always play the guitar. The soft tunes he would play, the lullabies, songs with a hopeful and courageous melody. From songs about the tales of other Huntsmen and Huntresses, to the cookie theme from her favorite Saturday morning tv show. She smiled at the memory of her father, making miss him and home all that much more. All she could do now was rest and enjoy Clyne's song.
"If this is to end in fire, then we should all burn together."
The change in his voice was apparent for all to hear. Before his voice was loud, proclaiming to anyone who could hear him that he was singing this song. Now it was soft, quiet, and almost personal, thick with emotion.
"Watch the flames climb high, into the night.
Calling out father oh, stand by and we will…
Watch the flames burn auburn on the mountain side, hey.."
Weiss knew how to sing, before her interest in Beacon and becoming a Huntress, she did partake in singing lessons, while also participating in her fair share of concerts and venues. But after Beacon, she was rather forced to take those lessons up again for her father's sake. So as someone who can excel in singing if she really wanted to, Weiss could tell that Clyne's voice, could be better. But that's not to say his voice was bad. There was something about his voice that made the song all the more better. His decent enough voice rather enhanced the effect of the song, they mixed well. If she had to analogize it, it was like comparing something homemade versus gourmet. There was something deeper, personal, about hearing it raw than having it refined through voice control and years of practice. At least she was enjoying the song.
"And if we should die tonight, then we should all die together
Raise a glass of wine, for the last time
Calling out father oh, prepare as we will,
Watch the flames burn auburn on, the mountain side
Desolation comes upon the skyyy."
Blake's the one who usually read or listen to the words, or in this case, the lyrics. She did find the song rather enjoyable to hear, catchy at least and epic at best. But the lyrics pictured a grim image. A sort of last confrontation, a last hurrah, a song about an upcoming final fight during the 'desolation.' A song with heavy references to fire, smoke, death, brothers and sons. Unfortunately, Blake couldn't help but compare this song to their current situation. This campfire song, the food, the friendly soldiers, this could very well be their 'raise a glass of wine, for the last time,' before the death and destruction to start again. That, or maybe she should just enjoy the music and not delve deeper into some lyrics, the song could just be referencing something else entirely. With that thought in mind, Blake rest easy.
"Now I see fire, inside the mountain
I see fire, burning the trees
And I see firrrreeee, howling souls
And I see firrrreeee, blood in the breeze
And I hope that you remember me."
Change that, Blake rested as easy as she could.
"Oh should my people fall, then surely I'll do the same.
Confined in mountain halls, we got too close to the flames."
Pyrrha, along with her team, were too engrossed into the song to notice that other soldiers from around the motor pool were gathering to their campfire, obviously attracted to the song being played. It wasn't until they heard another voice join Clyne's, that they realized the growing crowd. Pyrrha turned to the source, a woman, she recognized her as one of the intelligence officers in the bunker they passed. Although she looked fairly average, her voice was rather beautiful. She had a unique accent that Pyrrha couldn't place, but her voice blended well with Clyne's. The champion turned back to see his reaction, only for him to smile at the additional voice, and continue singing.
It was until then, that Pyrrha did a full 360, finding other soldiers from other nations looking in. Some of them started singing along as well, all adding their own voices and unique accents to the song. Some soldiers had their phones and tablets out, recording the musical sing-along moment. Soldiers... people, from around the world, uniting not just as comrades, brothers and sisters in arms, but as people, people who love music as well.
Pyrrha had to admit, music does unite people. Literally seeing it happen in person was a rather special moment for her, sending chills down her spine. She couldn't help but remember something Rye said to her, at a moment when she was at her lowest. Rye said that, 'like stars, people can shine their brightest in the dark, and it's those moments that help us brave the storm.' Or something along those lines, she forgot, but the meaning is there. Pyrrha couldn't help but smile at the thought, as she continued to listen to the music.
"Calling out father, hold fast and we will.
Watch the flames burn auburn on, the mountain side
Desolation comes upon the skyyyyy."
Winter watched her younger sister clearly enjoying herself, even started clapping along with some of the other folk. Later on, Weiss was even attempting to follow the beat of a soldier who clearly knew what they were doing. A series of foot stomps, finger snaps and slapping ones lap and chest, it was impressive how the beats followed the song, and funny how Weiss and Ruby tried to follow along. The former eventually succeeding and the latter… still attempting. She couldn't help but smile, besides her visit to Beacon, and meeting her sister when she was returning from Beacon, there hasn't been much time to spend with her. Winter was not just a professional Huntress, but a military officer, Specialist and advisor for Ironwood, yet she long yearn for the times before.
The times where it was just her and Weiss, singing together while on the balcony, looking over the capital. The times they played hide and seek in the halls of their estate, playing board games, mimicry with Klein, playing with the training swords that eventually grew their love for bladed weapons and being a Huntress. But there were also the times where it was just them, where they only had each other, because they truly only had each other. They had little to no genuine friends, with Klein being one of the only exceptions, their family wasn't better, especially when their mother wasn't always there for them. They had to withstand the wrath of their father, their mother powerless to stop it. It got worse when Whitely came into their life, he was like an exact replica of their father. Winter remembered joking with Wiess about how her father underwent mitosis to create Whitely. Oh how they laughed for a good week, until they were reminded of their reality.
But she pushed those thoughts aside. For now, until their return to Remnant, the Schnee sisters could hopefully have all the time they need for some much needed bonding. But as of this moment, all Winter wanted to do was to listen to the music, and exploit the much needed time for relaxation.
"Now I see fire, inside the mountain
I see fire, burning the trees
And I see firrrreeee, hollowing souls
And I see firrrreeee, blood in the breeze
And I hope that you remember me"
"And if the night is burning, I will cover my eyes
For if the dark returns, then my brothers will die
And as the sky is falling down, it crashed into this lonely town
And with that shadow upon the ground, I hear my people screaming outtt!"
"I see fire!"
Clyne stood up, still playing his guitar. The volume in his voice increasing significantly, and the crowd followed as well, all who knew the lyrics were now singing out as well. Weiss started to sing along as well, at the least knowing the chorus of the song. Ruby, Blake and Pyrrha all clapping along and Winter just humming the song.
"Inside the mountain
And I see fire, burning the trees
And I see firrrreeee, hollowing souls
And I see firrrreeee, blood in the breeze."
"I see fire." Everyone sung out, minus Clyne.
"Oh you know I saw a city burning out!" Clyne sung by himself, and out loud for all to hear.
"Firrrreee!" Everyone followed, minus Weiss, who didn't know this part of the lyrics. "I see fire!"
"Feel the heat upon my skin, yeah, yeah."
"Firrrreeee!" Everyone sung. "And I see fire!"
"Ooooooo!"
"Firrrreeee!"
"And I see fire burning auburn on the mountain side!"
Clyne finished the song, receiving applause and cheer from everyone around. Team Remnant were clapping their hands as well, as this was a rather enjoyable experience, enough so for the team to forget the earlier battle.
"Hey! Who's guitar is this? It ain't mine!" Clyne's voice was unfortunately drowned out by the sounds of cheering and applause.
Being caught up on the excitement, Pyrrha was startled when she felt a tap on the shoulder. Looking over, she saw McDillion with a radio.
"Ms. Arc, your team is needed back at the hospital, one of your friends just woke up!" He raised his voice to be heard.
Pyrrha nodded quickly. "Okay, thank you captain, hopefully we see each other again anytime soon!"
"Don't count on it kid, anyone of us could be long dead before that happens. Good luck out there!"
Pyrrha paused, registering what he had said. But before she could think about it further, she gestured her team. "We're heading back! Come on!"
"Is Yang awake?" Ruby quickly asked.
"I don't know, let's head back and find out, okay?"
With that, they boarded the next truck back to the hospital.
The Platform
Present Day
"You girls had a Disney music moment on your first trip to the frontlines?" Rye gasped.
"Well… yeah… you saw the video didn't you?" Pyrrha couldn't lie, it wasn't in her nature to. Even if she did, it was fairly obvious that she was lying. Only the densest or most gullible people couldn't distinguish her from lying.
"Yeah, and in the words of Ruby Rose, I'm jelly. My first trip there, I was awake for three days straight! They were relentless, you girls got it slightly easy."
"Slightly easy?" Blake questioned.
"Blake, to be fair, that wasn't my only trip there. My first trip, I-I hated it. Even with our recent trip there, I still don't want to go back anytime soon. I didn't have music to comfort me post battle, and it was just me and Rye. Much like our guardian team, Rye had my back every single second." Pyrrha eased the Faunus.
"By the looks of it, besides the sing-along moment you girls had, everything else was rather crap, right?" Rye asked around, with Winter and RWB_ all nodding. "Okay, then that doesn't change anything. I'll continue to try and make sure we don't get deployed into the frontlines again. Cause if we go back there, chances are we're not going to be very lucky. Along with that, I'm sure that we won't get a comfort song as a follow-up to the battle, okay?"
"We understand." Weiss said spoke in behalf of those who were there.
Rye sighed, he was a bit irritated by their experience in the frontlines. Not that jealous of not being there, but because they ended off on a positive note. It wasn't an accurate portrayal of the frontlines, things like these rarely happen, and he didn't want them to set these types of expectations up. The frontlines is the barrier between our world, and bloody chaos, the destruction. It almost never ends in a happy song and dance routine.
But at the same time, he was relieved to hear that his team didn't see the worse that comes out of that area. At the same time, he felt bad for being rather blunt maybe a bit rude to his team.
"Okay, anyways, are you girls alright? It sounded like an intense battle."
"Are engagements always like that? Chaos, hectic, l-loud?" Winter had to ask, stuttering at the last point. The deafening explosions and gunfire were one thing. But the screaming wounded, and the roaring zeds were another.
"I understand that it's your first large-scale engagement that you all have ever participated in, I think you girls handled yourselves well. You're all alive, thank God for that, and physically came out with minor injuries." Rye turned to Winter. "But yes, while this war is a rather unconventional one in contrast to past wars, engagements in the frontlines are always like that. If not… worse, I know it's a cliché thing to say, but it's true."
Rye stood up from the couch, and reached for a couple of folders labeled 'confidential.' "You girls want to know a sad reality when you're posted there?" He asked. Rye looked at them. "You always see new faces, and you rarely see old ones" His tone, sad yet accepting. It was rather emotional to see, and emotional for him to say. His team could easily see that he had lost people he knew to that front.
After a couple of sniffs, he shook his head to refocus. "Come on people, we need to get you get you girls home as soon as possible. Right now, we need to do a tad bit more learning. We need to know how to take those E-DARs down."
Note: Merry belated Christmas, and happy new year people! I hope you had a better time than I did during the month of December. I really have to apologize for my lack of uploading a new chapter last month, like I said, I had a terrible Christmas. Between my grandmother being extremely sick, with little hope of her getting by, my mother in a really depressed mood because of it, and then my dog getting sick and having to go to the hospital too many times, luckily he's still well. So overall, my Christmas wasn't the best, but enough about me, I'm fine now, and hopefully I'll get the next chapter up soon. As long as it doesn't delete itself AGAIN, then I'll be fine! Anyways, I hoped you enjoyed this flashback, a chapter will be coming next, this time it's their next DEZ trip, to finally prove themselves as certified Zed killing badasses, stay tuned, if that makes sense, and peace out!
Fun fact: That bunker in the trenches, I'd imagine something along the lines of the bunker you first spawn in during the Modern Warfare 2 mission called 'Of Their Own Accord.' Epic mission, and my personal favourite call of duty mission of all time.