There was a long silence in the underground complex as the Blues, Reds and the spec-ops stared down at each other.
"So, hum… Are they… going to do something?" Ruby asked the others as the Blues didn't move to attack.
"What the fuck are you doing Arc!? I gave you a damn order! We need to fight the enemy!" Cardin growled at the Blue captain.
"Geez, I don't know, Major ASSHOLE. You kinda implied I'm here by mistake and that I should've be discharged from duty after training instead of deployed. Then, there is another interesting question." Jaune started.
"I think he might have heard us, Cardin." Russell whispered.
"Do you think?!" Cardin whisper shouted at his subordinate.
"What are they talking about?" Weiss questioned.
"Oh, I'll tell you about it, snow angel." Jaune said received growls from Weiss, Pyrrha and Nora. "Apparently we're here because we aren't supposed to go to a real war. But that isn't the most pressing question now. I wonder is how you, Cardin, knows so much about the Reds, almost like you had access to the enemy's files. I mean, so Weiss is an heiress, Ruby is a prodigy and Blake is from some secret program. How do you know that?"
"You know, now I'm curious too." Weiss asked staring at Blake.
"That's obvious." Ruby said suddenly.
"Wait, it is?" Cardin questioned the Red leader.
"Of course! You're all double agents playing for both teams for your nefarious ends!"
"That makes so much sense!" Nora shouted in agreement.
"So, what we do now?" Blake asked.
"I'll tell what we will do…" Cardin said as he and dove pulled grappling guns and used to reel Penny and Jaune. "You'll stay quiet while we finish our job!"
"Jaune!"
"Penny!"
The spec-ops grabbed both and put guns in their heads and pulled them back inside the door they opened, following then threw a flash grenade to cover their escape.
"Jaune-Jaune! I want him back!" Nora pleaded.
"Penny! We need to get her back!" Ruby turned to her friends.
"Why? She's a robot. We can always build another one." Weiss suggested.
"No! I want my Penny back!" Ruby claimed with a sad voice.
"Besides, they might find the alien relics and deliver them to someone else!" Yang prompted them.
"Hey, Reds. How about a truce until we recover our friends?" Pyrrha suggested.
…
"Damn them all! Damn you Jauney boy! Couldn't you play just a little longer?"
"It was you who shot us the first time, weren't you?" Jaune asked and Cardin laughed out loud.
"Took you long enough to figure it out. A shame you lot weren't dumber or else we wouldn't be in this situation. A shame because after we get what we want we'll have to kill you all. Can't let you guys leave this forsaken place and tell the galaxy what we've being doing."
"Hey, another door!" Dove commented.
"Sky, open it! Let's see if behind door number two we have alien artifacts." Cardin ordered.
"Or a car! Convertible! I bet the Green one loves convertibles!" Sky said as he moved to open the door while the spec-ops spent a few moments to stare at him before turning back to Jaune and Penny.
"Don't try anything funny you two. Russel, keep them under guard. Dove and I will protect the entrance." Cardin said as he moved on with Dove, but stopped to kick Jaune while he was down. "This is for calling me Major Asshole."
"I never being a hostage before… It's so exciting!" Penny cheered on.
"I'm sorry you got caught in the middle of this, Penny." Jaune offered to the robot.
"Don't worry. I'm sure right now our friends are planning our rescue."
…
"I'm just saying we have no real reason to risk our lives. One is a robot and the other is an enemy." Weiss affirmed.
"We are NOT leaving Penny behind! She's like our daughter, Weiss!"
"Do you really have to phrase it like this?"
"Besides, we don't know what kind of alien technology is buried here, they might endanger everyone, Red or Blue!" Ruby concluded. "We'll help, but no dirty tricks!"
"You have my word." Pyrrha agreed. "Does anyone have a plan?"
"I suggest we go there and kick asses and take names!" Yang suggested as she pumped her shotgun.
"Do she knows she waste a perfect good round every time she does that?" Ren asked the Reds.
"Yes." Weiss lamented. "And don't be ridiculous, this plan…"
"Is exactly what we will do!" Ruby said proudly.
"WHAT?" Weiss turned in shock to their leader.
"I can do that." Pyrrha said in determination.
…
"And almost open. Hey, Russel, that last girl, the one in red and bronze, do you know why they sent her here?" Sky asked his teammate.
"I don't know, didn't check the file yet. But I bet she's a loser like everyone else in this place. Let me see." Russel pressed a button on his armor. "Pyrrha Nikos… first place in academy, four times winner of the Mistral Tournament… Pre-selected to the Freelancer Project?! Man, that girl can kick all kinds of ass! I bet they sent here for mistake like this guy."
"Wait… if she's good enough for Freelancer status, isn't that all kinds of bad news for us?" Sky asked and as one cue Cardin and Dove came flying from the corridor as a pissed off Pyrrha started kicking everyone's ass.
"Get her!" Cardin demanded and every spec-ops jumped on her, but she kept keeping them in check. And by that I mean she epically delivered their asses back to them.
"Shit! What we do?!" Russel asked as he crawled away but Pyrrha grabbed him and used him as a club to hit Dove.
"I had enough!" Cardin said as he rushed and grabbed Jaune as a human shield. "Hey, if you don't want me to kill your boyfriend, you'll surrender now!"
"If I was you, I'd let him go before you get your legs broken." Pyrrha threatened.
"Oh yeah, I really doubt you can AAAH MY LEG!" Cardin yelled after Nora snuck behind him and hit his leg with the gravity hammer, making him let go of Jaune.
"You're surrounded, surrender now or prepare to fight!" Ruby and the others appeared from the different pathways that led to that door. That's when the door opened.
"Not a chance!" Russel and the other started shooting and dragged Cardin with them while the rest took cover as best as they could.
"Jaune, are you alright?" Pyrrha rushed to check his captain.
"Yeah, I'm fine, but we can't let them get what they're looking for!" Jaune said as he got up.
"So, I think our truce will go on for a little longer." Weiss said as she reloaded her gun.
"Hey, why you can do this and I can't?" Yang questioned as Weiss pulled the hammer of her gun.
"Because I'm actually reloading, not imitating the movies!" The heiress retorted.
"Penny! Are you alright?" Ruby asked the android.
"I'm combat ready! It was so exciting! So many first experiences I'm experiencing for the first time!"
"I don't think you can experience a first experience a second time." Blake deadpanned.
"Oh, that make it so much more special!" Penny added without hesitation.
"Less talking more fighting! They're inside this place!" Nora claimed and the two groups entered the new door.
They were inside a huge cave with a single pathway over the bottomless pitch, with six statues on each side of alien creature of different kinds, all leading to a circular platform. They cautiously walked till the platform, where several alien weapons waited in stands and a bright white and golden orb rested in a column in the middle. As the group dispersed in the circle Russell appeared and grabbed Penny, pointing an alien gun at her head. The rest of the spec-ops also appeared with alien guns.
"Well, well, well, it appears we have the edge once again. Drop your weapons, losers!" he demanded.
"Or we'll shout your little robotic friend here!"
"Penny!" Ruby yelled.
"Nobody shoots!" Jaune said. "You can't escape now Cardin! Surrender and tell us what is your objective!"
"You idiots have no idea about what is really happening, do you?" Cardin shouted at them and they traded stares. "It doesn't matter. We're getting away with this. Kill them all!"
The spec-ops pressed the triggers… and nothing.
"What the…" Russell said as he checked the gun.
"How unfortunate. Sadly, since you're not a very good person, I'm forced to do this." Penny told him as he still held on her.
"Do what?!" He questioned and them her upper body started spinning really fast before throwing him into the abyss below. "AAAAAAAaaaaahhhh…"
"Shit, shit, shit…" Dove said as he tried to grab his usual gun, only for Yang fire her shotgun at him several times until he also fell off the platform.
"I'm out of here!" Sky tried to make a run for it but he was hit by Ruby and also fell down the abyss.
"Damn it! I won't go away empty handed!" Cardin said as he moved to grab the orb in the middle, only to find Jaune holding it.
"Err… hi?"
"Give me that!" Cardin tried to jump on Jaune but his broken leg allowed the boy to move out of the way.
"Come on, you already lost. You better surrender now so we can call Command to pick you up."
"Pick me up… Pick me up?! I won't be defeated by the likes of you!" Cardin surprised Jaune by using his good leg to swipe the Blue leader feet and them jumped on him, grabbing the orb and fighting for it, but as both rolled on the floor, they fell from the platform.
"Jaune!" Everyone yelled as they rushed to the edge to find Jaune holding on it while the spec-ops leader held on his leg.
"Guys! Pull me up!" Jaune yelled.
"If I'm going down…" Cardin grabbed a grenade. "You're coming with me! Listen losers, you bet pull me up too or both of us die!"
"You know, Cardin, you wanted the orb! You can have it!" Jaune shouted as he tossed it on Cardin's face, making him let go of his leg. The grenade on his hand exploded though, and Jaune lost his grip on the edge.