Chapter 9: High Risk Workplace
White Fang Training Center, Mistral
7:59 pm
Caius and the White Fang Lieutenant had arrived at the training center, a massive compound hidden the mountains of Mistral. Hundreds of Faunus were training to be White fang soldiers, which had alarmed Caius and Blake, who was watching a camera hidden on Caius's jacket.
" Welcome to our training center." The lieutenant said.
" Why so many recruits?" Caius asked.
" That outbreak WHITECROSS was fighting did a number on us, we lost a lot of people. Adam ordered any infected individuals to be shot on sight." The Lieutenant said.
" Why didn't he just send them to WHITECROSS?" Caius asked.
" We are the most infamous organization in Remnant, do you think WHITECROSS is gonna give the cure to us?" The Lieutenant said.
" Adam ordered his people who were infected with the virus executed? That's showing how far he's fallen. " Blake said.
" Anyway, go get yourself a training uniform and meet with instructor Talvas." The Lieutenant ordered.
The Lieutenant walked away and Caius slipped towards the gate control booth, in which he was confronted by the watchman...
" Hey, what are you doing here?" The Watchman asked.
" I'm sorry, who are you?" Caius said.
" I'm the guy who's post you're trespassing on." The Watchman said angrily.
" Really? Because you look like a dead man." Caius said, before stabbing the watchman with a pale, white liquid metal arm blade.
Caius then dragged the man's dead body into the booth, and then approached the gate control and leaked a bit of liquid metal into the console, giving him access to the facility's entire systems network. He quickly powered down the artillery turrets that watched the area of the gate. He then immediately got on the line with Blake...
" Blake, I have powered down the gate's defenses." Caius said.
" Good, Hera and Katie are on standby with the pheromones, when Duncan fires the flare, open the gate." Blake said.
" Understood, ma'am." Caius said.
Duncan, who was sitting on a small cliff, fired his flare gun in the air, and Caius opened the gates. Katie and Hera threw canisters of Grimm pheromones which had drawn in vast of hordes of Grimm towards the White Fang, while the small resistance group escaped in their Nightprowler. While Blake's war was taking hold, Penny was recruiting the aid of some old friends to construct some helpful videos for Ruby so she would know how to use the newfound dangerous weapon she had created for her.
Aletian cruiser Constantine, workshop
9:00 am
Penny was in the workshop of the Aletian cruiser Constantine, Ironwood's personal flagship, repairing the damaged Crescent Rose Mk 1 as she referred to call it. But while doing so, she had also built for her friend a brand new weapon she called Crescent Rose Mk 2, which was made to be lightweight, allowing the wielder to swing with more speed and ferocity. In place of it being a heavy sniper rifle, she had it have the ability to transform into an SMG that could fire 50 caliber rounds.
" Computer, can you print a copy of the schematics for Crescent Rose Mk 2?" Penny asked.
" Understood, printing schematics for Crescent Rose Mk 2 now." The computer said.
" Now, who do I know that is good at the use of a scythe and who is good at the use of a gun?" Penny thought.
" I got it!" Penny said.
9:03 am
Two young men, one with pink hair and one with green hair, walked towards the workshop to talk with Penny about the certain matter she wanted to discuss with them...
" Well, what'd you think the Ginger wants with us?" The green-haired boy asked in a thick accent.
" Uh, her name is Penny dude, and she wants us to test a new weapon she made." The pink-haired boy asked.
" Still, I'm surprised Ol Ironwood let us in here, usually the only ones who are let in are convicts or soldiers." The green-haired boy said.
" Jack, save the funny commentary for the scroll-vids." The pink-haired boy, Mark, said.
The two boys entered the room, and they saw Penny making the finishing touches to Crescent Rose Mk 2, which was a scythe with an energy blade instead of a metal one that would be top heavy. Crescent Rose Mk 1 sat off to the side fixed.
" Hey guys." Penny said.
" Good to see you buddy." Jack said.
" Hello, Penny." Mark said.
" You're probably wondering why I asked for you two here." Penny said.
" You want us to test out some badass weapon you made. Oh, is this it?" Jack said, running up to Crescent Rose Mk 2.
" Yes, yes it is." Penny said.
" Man, have you worked on this all night? Because it does look badass." Mark said.
" Yes, but don't tell General Ironwood about it." Penny said.
" Of course, I wouldn't talk to that jarhead myself." Jack said.
" Well, Ironwood mainly talks to his soldiers or you." Mark said.
" What's this 50 caliber bullet doing here?" Jack asked, pointing to a lone bullet sitting on the table.
" Don't touch that, I've got plans for it." Penny said.
" Oh, okay." Jack said.
" Anyway, I would like you guys to make some instructional videos so my friend Ruby could use it." Penny said.
" Who's this Ruby?" Jack asked.
" She's my friend, she got hurt, so she can't use the original anymore." Penny explained.
" How bad was she hurt?" Mark asked.
" She got stabbed through the chest and it damaged her spine." Penny said, with Mark and Jack giving shocked looks on their face.
" Is she...Paralyzed?" Mark asked.
" No, she just can't lift anything super-heavy." Penny explained.
" Jesus Christ, she took a stab wound to the chest and lived?" Jack said.
" Yes." Penny said.
" Man, that girl must be tough." Jack said.
" Anyway, this is Crescent Rose Mk 2." Penny said, activating the energy blade.
" WHOA! THIS IS CRAZY!" Jack exclaimed.
" Man, did not see that one coming, oh, that's not a joke for you to enjoy Jack." Mark said.
" Is that an energy blade? Nice one!" Jack said.
" It's like that sci-fi movie we've seen, you know, those huntsmen with the energy swords." Mark said.
" Only she's got an energy scythe!" Jack said.
" Didn't that movie had a son fight his father?" Penny asked.
" Yeah, what was the title?" Mark asked Jack.
" I don't know, the storyline was all over the place." Jack responded.
" Can you guys test it?" Penny asked.
" Yes, but not in this High risk workplace, too much stuff that can hurt us." Jack tried to say.
" You just want to avoid pissing The General off don't you?" Mark asked.
" Hey, I already have trouble in video games, I don't need trouble with the military." Jack said.
Penny, Mark, and Jack went off the Constantine in order to film the instructional videos for Ruby so she would know how to use it once she was feeling well enough. While they were off directing, Blake and her allies were in the biggest battle of their lives in Vacuo, trying to take down a smuggling group with the help of two defectors from that group and a group of teenage girls that were going to be sold into prostitution to fund the White Fang's cause.
Arkham Desert, Vacuo
Midday
A large, make-shift armored rig was making it's way across the desert with a whole force of vehicles giving chase to it. The vehicles and rig were owned by the Desert Runners, the largest criminal smuggling organization in all of Vacuo. They were well known for smuggling contraband, drugs, weapons, slaves, prostitutes, and even criminals on the run from local law enforcement agencies. Katie, Blake, and Caius were on the back of the rig fighting smugglers that had jumped onboard, while Hera was providing fire support from the Nightprowler and Aiden and Duncan were protecting the rear of the rig. A pale young man was driving the rig while a blonde-haired woman in punk rocker clothes was shooting at dirt bike riders coming up the side.
" You having fun, Caius?" Katie asked.
" I am having a smashing time." Caius said as he smacked a smuggler off with a liquid metal hammer.
" Stay focused, we have to get these girls out of here." Blake said.
" Yes, ma'am." Caius said.
They continued the fight, and one smuggler slipped past and tried to grab one of the girls in the back seat of the trucks, only to be shot in the face by a shotgun. The punk rocker girl turned to the young one and checked to see if they're all right.
" You okay?" Katria asked.
" Yes." The young girl said in a scared tone.
" Vic, we need a way to lose them." Katria asked the driver.
Vic looked to the side, only to see a large sandstorm heading their way, and immediately noticed something else that was rather peculiar, a girl riding a motorcycle along them, with yellow shotgun gauntlets on her arms.
" Vic?" Christine asked.
" We can loose them in the sandstorm up ahead, you girls get under cover." Vic ordered.
" Duncan, tell your people to get ready, we're gonna try and lose them in the storm." Katria said into a radio.
" Got it, Eric, Hera, ascend to 40,000 feet." Duncan radioed to Eric.
" What, why?" Eric asked.
" We're heading towards a sandstorm, and you know how bad these Vacuo ones can be." Duncan explained.
" Understood, ascending to 40,000 feet, Hera, strap yourself in." Eric said.
Sandstorms in the Arkham desert were ten times more dangerous than that of normal sandstorms, as they would some times carry electrically-charged sand into the air with some dust mixed in, thus creating deadly thunderbolts that could kill a man in seconds by cooking them alive. The winds would go so fast that little cyclones would crop up, and sweep away anything in their path, with a few desert swarmers mixed in to cause more trouble as these Grimm would tear anything apart in their path. The motorcycle girl (Yang) diverted to a location where cover would be found, while the rig and smuggler vehicles disappeared into the storm.
" Keep your eyes peeled for swarmers, they always try to take those first." Katria radioed to the group.
" AHHH!AHHH!AHHH!" A smuggler crew screamed.
Katie looked to see a smuggler crew getting ripped apart by the swarmers, large black and white wasp Grimm that could tear a human apart in seconds. Duncan ordered his people into the containers, in which everyone took shelter in one. The rig drove out of the storm, but The Desert Runners were slaughtered by the swarmers, and the rig had stopped so they could clean out the sand from it's vents and wash themselves up. Duncan simply shook off the sand, and simply said to Blake...
" Man, talk about a high-risk workplace." Duncan said with a rimshot going off.
" I'm sorry, I've really got to change my ringtone." Katie said.
This chapter ends with a Mad Max style ending, as Blake and her allies fight in a desert sequence on the back of a big rig to protect a group of kids who were going to be sold into prostitution in order to fund the White Fang. It is revealed that the virus had crippled the White Fang's numbers, throwing the terrorist organization into disorder. Adam had ordered the soldiers infected executed, so the White Fang's main focus is recruiting. Blake has incapacitated their operations in Mistral, Atlas, and now Vacuo. There is a special celebrity cameo appearance by Jacksepticeye and Markiplier from YouTube as two friends of Penny who help Penny make a series of instructional videos for Ruby when she is ready to use Crescent Rose Mk 2, a weapon designed by Penny herself. The next chapter starts off with a conversation between Winter and Weiss about Weiss's new relationship with Ruby, and Yang learns that Winter is hunting them both in order to drag them back to Beacon.
WAIT AND SEE.