RWBY volume 3 has landed! I am absolutely psyched to see where they take this. But with the first episode I found my inspiration returning to me. As such I developed my verve for writing once again and am proud to present to you the very latest chapter in this tale. As always, I sincerely hope that you all enjoy it.
Darkness, as far as the eye could see, this was what greeted Blake and her team as they made their way through the sewer system below Vale. The Faunus led the way, her superior night vision coming in handy as she kept her team on the right path. Though just what that path was, Yang had no idea. In the confusing maze of tunnels, the brawler had become completely turned around. There was no sound within the tunnels beyond the rhythmic tapping and drumming of their feet on the cold concrete underfoot. To all of their surprise, Oobleck hadn't insisted on speed for their mission. Instead he had opted for a much calmer approach with repeated use of the idiom 'more haste, less speed'.
Yet that hadn't stopped Blake from leading her team at the quickest speed that they could safely move. The sheer gravity of their mission was not lost on her, it was a very simple concept; the faster that they shut down the signal from the CCT, then the less robotic monstrosities that their allies would have to face in the main battle for Beacon. Ultimately, every second may well have equated to a life and so Blake was not willing to waste time simply because of physical discomfort. Judging by the looks on her teammates' faces, they weren't about to slow down either.
Before long, Blake came to a halt by a ladder in the tunnel wall, out of breath and with sweat beading her brow. She quickly called her teammates over and read the number beside the ladder. Oobleck soon joined her and gave a quick nod, a movement barely visible to all others with them. With an equally quick nod to confirm that she had received the message, Blake grasped hold of the rungs on the ladder and began to climb. Behind her, her teammates followed with Oobleck behind them.
Reaching the top of the ladder, Blake lifted the manhole cover to the street above. She raised it ever so slightly so that only a crack of the outside world was visible. It took a few moments for her eyes to readjust to the light of day but once they had, she peered around suspiciously for any signs of the enemy or their objective. Thankfully, there were none of the general's technological terrors to be seen. Furthermore, the CCT tower loomed over the city only a short way away. With a sigh of relief Blake thanked Professor Goodwitch for her advice to use the tunnels to get close. Looking back down Blake passed on her assessment of their situation to the others.
"Okay, the coast looks clear and the tower isn't too far away. We should move quickly and quietly while we're out there. It wouldn't do to bring any… unwanted… attention onto ourselves. Yang, I'm looking at you." She whispered down to them, at the joke Yang rolled her eyes and sighed in mock disappointment. Before the blonde brawler could retaliate however, Blake had hefted the manhole cover off to one side and climbed up onto the surface. The moment she felt solid ground beneath her feet, she dashed away into a back passage beside one of the houses. Her golden eyes darted around, assessing the situation and actively seeking so much as the whisper of a threat. Her hand grasped the hilt of Gambol Shroud with a vice-like grip. She was taking no risks today.
One by one her teammates emerged from the bowels of the earth, dashing over to Blake's hiding spot and joining in the vigil of their surroundings. As Oobleck climber up after them and began to replace the manhole cover, every one of the teenagers was on edge. The loud scraping of the metal against the paved street caused their hearts to leap into their throats, surely someone or something would hear them. Surely they would be caught and what would happen after that didn't bear thinking about. Blake watched the Doctor with growing trepidation as finally, he managed to get the manhole cover back into place and dart over to join them. For a few very tense moments, they stood perfectly still and held their breath listening for the slightest of sounds which might have indicated the imminent arrival of Ironwood's military machine.
After a few long minutes, they relaxed once more, content in the knowledge that they were safe, if only for a few more minutes. Taking the lead, Oobleck began to lead them out and away from the small back passageway that they had concealed themselves in. Heading forward, they left the wider alley and arrived at the curb to a main street. Oobleck tentatively poked his head out and around the corner, peering from side to side. He took a long while surveying their surroundings, his head moving on a swivel for some time until, quite suddenly he stopped. The colour appeared to have drained from his face as he turned back to face them.
"Everyone, we need to try and find another way." He whispered to them, his voice shaky and lacking its usual inherent enthusiasm. The four teenagers looked at him with an expression of confusion and made to obey his instruction until Yang stepped forward.
"Why Doctor? What's stopping us from going that way? Are there soldiers?" She asked, taking a step towards the street intending to take a look for herself. Oobleck placed himself firmly in front of the brawler, barring all movement.
"Miss Xiao-Long, Yang, please. There are certain things that you simply are not ready to see. Please let's just find another way." He replied, imploring the blonde to reconsider. Yet Yang wouldn't be placated, the curiosity caused by the Doctor's unusual behaviour spurred her on. Pushing past him she made her way to the end of the alley, her lilac eyes turning to face the same direction that Oobleck had only moments before. Quite suddenly her body froze and her hands trembled in shock, for there, right before her very eyes was a sight that truly made her blood run cold and her heart skip a beat.
Every lamp post down the street had grisly decorations hung from them. Rope had been tied to the heads and hung down a couple of feet before coming to a looping end in the form of a noose. And there, suspended in those nooses were the lifeless forms of hunters and huntresses both. Around their necks were hung wooden plaques, marked up in chalk with their shared crime. They read; 'See here those who sought to destroy the peace.'
As her eyes scanned over the forms, she came to see one which struck at her very core. It was a familiar face indeed and one that she knew well though death had changed it somewhat. Her eyes flared up and switched from lilac to a blood red, fire flickered in the depths of her irises as she dropped to her knees. Tears formed and began to streak their way down her cheeks, the rolling droplets falling to the concrete floor below. Looking at the body she saw the sign around its neck was different from all the others, it was personalised and read; 'This dusty old crow fell off of his perch.'
"U-Uncle Qrow…" Yang whimpered softly, unable to take her eyes off of the corpse of her beloved uncle. It felt as though her whole world were crashing down around her ears as every memory that she had of the older hunter played out in full in her mind's eye; every birthday and Christmas, every comforting hug and teary eyed reunion. All of them ran through her head, inescapable and only adding to the depths of her sorrow and loss. Balling her hands into fists she slammed her bare knuckles into the pavement below, splitting the skin and leaving droplets of her blood behind. Over and over again she punched at the ground, seeking to block out the raw pain of her heartache. It was inescapable and struck at her again and again like waves seeking to undermine a cliff. She vaguely became aware of hands grasping at her shoulders and a familiar voice in her ear though she couldn't place through the haze of her grief.
"Yang. I know it hurts I do, but if we don't get out of this street we might end up just like your uncle." Blake said sympathetically.
"I-I don't care anymore…" Yang began to reply, yet before she could finish she was cut short by her partner slapping her.
"Don't you ever say that. What about Ruby? How dare you. She will need you to be there for her when she finds out about this. I know it hurts but right now we need to keep moving so we can stop Ironwood doing this to anyone else."
"Stop him?" Yang asked with an expression of confusion "No… I'm going to kill him. Slowly. So slowly that he will beg for the end before I'm done. I will teach him the pain and suffering that he has forced on me. He will know." It was at that moment, hearing her partner speak those words with such venom and hatred, that Blake felt a measure of pity well up within her. It was pity for a man she had thought herself incapable of pitying, it was pity for Ironwood. After all, he had no idea of the hell that he had just unleashed upon himself.
Sweat poured from Jaune as he ran, droplets shaking themselves free of his face and falling to the floor. It had been the same ever since his team had set off that morning. His bright blonde hair hung over his eyes, plastered to his forehead by sweat alone. Around him, each of his teammates had a similar appearance. Up ahead, Goodwitch led them unerringly and at a break-neck pace. They were not allowed to stop nor slow down as the professor led them on like a woman possessed. Jaune had thought that his training sessions with Pyrrha had improved his fitness exponentially, yet still he had trouble keeping up with the professor. It proved amazing to him that she could hold such a ferocious pace while wearing heels. It only served to reinforce his view that Goodwitch was not someone to be trifled with.
After some time and just as Jaune felt that he couldn't go on any longer and his legs would give out, the professor slackened her pace and came to a halt. Turning to face the four students, she waited impatiently as they gathered around her. As Jaune looked up at Goodwitch, fighting for air after the run that he had just endured, he noticed the weariness apparent on her face. It looked as though the disciplinarian professor had not been immune to the pains of their run after all. Sweat beaded her face, and although she did an excellent job of trying to hide it, she was breathing far more heavily than usual. The Professor had been fighting against the limitations of her own body, just as team JSPR had been alongside her. Such a realisation brought a feeling of guilt up from deep within the blonde as he tried to reign in the signs of fatigue from his own body so as to follow Goodwitch's example and attempt to inspire his team. These attempts were not lost on the professor who offered up a tired yet subtle smile.
"Alright…" The professor began. Although she spoke softly, her voice still reverberated off of the tunnel walls around them. "This is where our mission truly begins. From here on out, we are to face the unknown. Beyond this point, we have very little notion as to what it is that you shall be facing so keep your wits about you and remember your training. Keep close to me and your partners because once the fighting starts and it will, we will only have each other. Mr Arc, please remember to keep an eye on your aura. Now, draw your weapons and let's take back Remnant."
A second smile crossed the professor's lips as around her, four weapons were drawn. The sounds of rasping steel rang out, cold metal gleaming in the gloom. Four sets of eyes, burning with determination locked onto the professor. All thoughts of their prior fatigue had all but disappeared; the four of them were ready for battle.
The harsh shrieks and squealing of tearing metal filled the air as team BRNY continued to fight their way towards the looming CCT tower ahead. It had not taken long for their enemy to find them. Wave upon wave of the automated soldiers advanced on them, and wave upon wave were cut down and hacked to pieces by the hunters. Much to Blake's surprise, Yang managed to keep her temper under wraps. Aside from small flames flickering within her hair, it remained nigh on impossible to detect any signs of the extreme rage which the brawler was holding in. Of course Blake knew why that was; she knew all too well that Yang was holding everything back until she finally managed to get hold of the General.
One by one, the metallic monstrosities fell. Step by step their group drew closer to their goal until at long last they arrived at the main plaza surrounding the CCT. The once tasteful flower beds were razed and the trees converted into little more than withered and blackened sticks. Yet the destruction of the peace-time décor was the least of their worries. There, arrayed before them and blocking their path to the tower was a shining sea of the metal soldiers. An entire battalion arrayed against them. Blake's eyes widened in shock as she stared at the unflinching army before them and her heart sank. There was simply no way that they would be able to fight off that many soldiers… They were going to die.
Yet from beside her, Yang strode out to stand a few paces ahead of her team. Fire flickered dangerously amidst her golden locks. Blake made to step forward and pull her partner back but was stopped dead by the brawler's voice.
"Blake… it's alright. I've got this." She said in a low tone. As Yang briefly turned to face her team, Blake could see the tears welling up in her eyes.
"Yang… What do you mean? You can't take on that many on your own." The faunus leader replied, "We need to fight together to have any chance of survival here. There are too many."
"These… things… killed my uncle Blake." She replied in an icy tone as her semblance flared up. Her hands trembled at her side, balled tightly into fists. The smouldering regions of her hair burst into fully fledged flames again as her eyes flickered to a blood red. In all of the time leading up to that moment, and certainly in all of the time since, never had Blake ever seen the brawler's eyes shift to such a dark and fearsome shade of red. Yang had ceased to seem fully human, instead taking on a semblance of the Grimm. Her eyes ceased to contain the elements which made her Yang, no longer did they hold the care and compassion which made the brawler who she truly was, now they contained nothing but hatred and anger for those who had dared to harm her kin.
At her sides, Ember Celica unfolded into their full form with shotgun barrels bared menacingly. Even as her team watched on her aura flared out around her, forming a mist which flickered angrily in shimmering gold. Blake watched on in awe, her mind struggling to process what it was that she was seeing. It was unlike anything that Yang had ever exhibited before… this was her final form.
In front of her Ironwood's steel soldiers stared on completely impassive to the blonde's change in appearance and the power which it granted her. They felt no fear as she began to step forward leaving flaming footprints of molten stone behind her. One of the automatons stepped forth out of the ranks and demanded her surrender and that of her team, but the computerised words fell on deaf ears as she broke into a sprint and slammed her fist straight through its torso. Beneath their feat the whole world seemed to shudder from the ferocity of the attack. Electricity crackled around her fist for a few moments before the machine exploded violently, concealing Yang from her team in a vast plume of smoke and dust.
Though they couldn't see her, they could certainly hear the brawler. From behind the smoke came the sounds of frenzied battle. As the smoke cleared, the full extent of the carnage came into view. Pieces of robot lay scattered around in vast piles of twisted steel and broken circuitry. In so short a time, Yang had already racked up an incredible body count and seemed to be showing no signs of stopping any time soon. Beside her, Ren, Oobleck and even Nora seemed just as stunned to see the extent of the damage caused by their teammate's rage. With brief nods between them, the four teenagers leapt into the fray with their professional hunter following close behind. Ahead of them Yang continued to lay waste to the robotic forces of evil, ripping them limb from mechanical limb. The harsh sounds of tearing steel became a symphony under her conduction.
Around them flew a hail of bullets as the robotic warriors fought back, forcing the four young fighters to contort their bodies in all manner of directions to avoid the deadly barrage. In her mind, Blake's thoughts flew to the other teams and their dependence on the CCT being brought down, and the unthinkable cost should they fail. It was these thoughts that the faunus drew her strength and will to fight from. Silently she hoped that Jaune and his team hadn't met with the same form of difficulty, yet before she could fully consider the likelihood, she was drawn out of her thoughts by a round whistling dangerously close to her ears. She didn't have time to worry; right now all she had time to do was fight.
Yet met with it they had. Across the city, Jaune and his team clung to the walls of the tunnel to avoid a hail of hot metal flying from their foes. It was only due to Professor Goodwitch's diligence that they had avoided being peppered by small arms fire. The professor herself was leading them along the tunnel wall, shimmying ever closer to their foes who continued to send round after round down the long sewer tunnels. Each muzzle flash from their weapons temporarily blinded JSPR in the gloom of the sewer.
Shuffling on, one small step at a time, they crept along the wall. To Jaune it seemed a miracle that these highly sophisticated military war machines hadn't detected them along the walls and adjusted their fire patterns accordingly. If they had of done then there would have been nowhere for the hunters to hide. They would have been mown down without any real issues whatsoever. Shuffling along, Jaune tried to make himself as thin as possible against the tunnel wall. He could feel the thick coating of slime that the bricks had accrued over the years. It was a truly disgusting sensation as he slid effortlessly through it all without a moment's thought.
Beside him, Pyrrha seemed a lot less comfortable as the grim situation played itself out. With a wry smile, Jaune understood. Whereas he had his hoodie and armour between him and the wall slime, his partner was less fortunate. Due to the nature of Pyrrha's armour, she had no choice but to place her back against the slime coating. The look on her face was plenty to express her displeasure at the situation. It took everything that Jaune had to not laugh at the situation.
Yet before he had the chance, Goodwitch darted out towards the centre of the tunnel even as the bullets flew and whizzed past her head. With an angry look on her face that Jaune knew all too well, she raised her riding crop. Bullets stopped dead in the air, surrounded by a purple aura, even as the robotic soldiers were lifted slowly in the air. With a grimace of disgust, Goodwitch raised an open hand and balled it up into a fist in front of her. Ahead, the machinations crumpled into a tight ball of scrap metal almost instantaneously, their circuits still sparking. With an aggressive gesture, the professor cast them aside into the flowing river of detritus that moved past them. It was at that moment that Jaune got a true taste of just what Goodwitch was capable of. It scared him that she could do so much with a simple thought.
After taking brief pause to ensure that none of his team were harmed (and spending a full fifteen minutes inspecting a graze at Pyrrha's behest) their party moved on once more, albeit a lot more slowly before. As they walked, Jaune contemplated on their previous engagement and just how close that the four of them had been to death. It was certainly a sobering thought when one paused to consider it. Even more sobering was the thought of what they yet had to come, after all, they were the task force sent to capture the general. If they failed then the whole plan would fall apart and collapse, sentencing all those involved to death. Setting his jaw, Jaune was determined to stop that from happening. The only problem that he foresaw was Penny, yet with luck on their side, he knew that team BRNY would be able to knock the CCT out of commission and leave the path clear. With a final thought for their friends, Jaune followed Goodwitch once again and followed along the sewage duct, his blue eyes inspecting every inch of their surroundings for a potential trap.
Smoke hung heavy in the air as Blake and her team took a long pause, breathing heavily as though every breath might have proven to be their last. At an agonising pace, the dust began to settle and the vast clouds of smoke began to clear. Looking around, Blake soon made out the silhouettes of Ren, Nora and Oobleck. Yet, worryingly, try as she might she struggled to identify the one whom she was most scared for, Yang. She frantically turned about, her intense golden eyes searching for any signs of the brawler.
The fight had been harsh and unrelenting, unlike anything that their team had faced before. Growing up outside the kingdom, Blake had heard about the mechanical soldiers whom the kingdoms used, yet she had never truly believed just how fierce they could be in battle. The fight with the battalion had removed any shadows of doubts that she might have had. The fight itself had exhausted her physically, and drained her aura until it was a tiny sliver. Yet somehow, against the odds, they had survived. The square around them was utterly destroyed, marred by blaster burns and craters from field explosives. Even Blake and her team hadn't remained completely unharmed by the whole situation.
Blake was breathing heavily, her clothes torn and tattered where she had narrowly avoided gunfire from their enemies. Even with the help of her semblance and the shadow clones which it created, she hadn't been able to escape entirely unscathed. Rather she had taken more than a few hits per enemy that she had downed. As both Nora and Ren approached to join her with Oobleck following behind, the faunus leader saw than none of them were any better for wear than she was.
Ren walked with a pronounced limp in his left leg, blood staining his trouser leg around the mid-thigh. He walked with one arm slung around Nora's neck. Even the Valkyrie, a girl whom perpetually put on the brave face and smiled regardless of what the world threw at them, was looking down trodden. Her smile had faded into obscurity, only to be replaced with concern for her partner. As they reached their leader, the orange haired Valkyrie set Ren down and began to intently examine him for any signs of injury. Besides the two of them, Oobleck tore a strip from the bottom of his shirt and began to bandage his upper left arm where a bullet had struck home. Seeing just how much the doctor was struggling to tie it, she stepped forward to help him, her eyes darting around for any signs of her partner.
Worry and then panic began to well up within the stomach of the faunus until at last the smoke and dust cleared away entirely. It took only a matter of moments for Blake's superior eyesight to lock onto the form of her partner. Yang was lying on the very top of a heap of scrapped robots, blood dripping across her thighs. In an instant, Blake set off running, climbing the mount of robotic foes whom her partner had felled. Before long, the faunus was at Yang's side, cradling the bruised and bleeding blonde in her arms.
"Yang! Talk to me! Tell me you're okay!" The leader pleaded, looking over the blonde for any signs of life. With a great deal of relief, she saw the brawler's chest rising and falling in shallow breaths. Opening her lilac eyes slowly, as though it were requiring the greatest effort of all, Yang looked up at her partner. Her face was caked in blood on one side from a long gash along one eyebrow which had seemingly been bleeding profusely at one point.
"H-hey kitty-cat." The brawler coughed with a wide grin, using a name which she knew Blake hated. "We did it, see? What did I tell you? No sweat."
"You're the one covered in blood." Blake laughed, choking back tears of relief. Every fibre of her being wanted to get furious at the blonde for having been so reckless, yet she just couldn't. Relief washed over her like cold water, clearing her head and cooling her temper.
"Eh, I've had worse when I stubbed my toe." Yang replied once again, trying to dismiss her wounds.
"Perhaps, but if so I want to know what you stubbed your toe on. Was it a nevermore or an angry Ursa?" Blake laughed again, tears rolling freely down her cheeks. "Can you walk? We still have a mission and I am not leaving you behind. If I did, who knows what trouble you'd get yourself into."
Yang lay there for a moment with a thoughtful expression, assessing her condition and the likelihood of her being able to stand, let alone walk. After a few long and tense moments, the brawler nodded and with Blake's help, stood up. Together, the two partners made their way over to rejoin Nora, Ren and Oobleck, both of their teammates seemed overjoyed to see the blonde still breathing and in one piece. In fact, aside from the blood caking her face and the numerous bruises across her body, the blonde looked to be in perfectly good health.
With a nod of approval from Oobleck, their party stepped forward and into the CCT. The ground floor remained utterly deserted and dead. Leading the way, Blake went first, heading for the stairs. Carrying their wounded as they were, the team made good time up the flights of stairs. They ignored the burning sensation in their legs and merely focussed on the path ahead and the number of stairs they had left to climb to their goal. In her mind, Blake couldn't help but worry for their friends. Numerous concerns passed through her mind. What if they hadn't made it fast enough? What if JSPR had encountered Penny? What if they had been overwhelmed by the enemy?
Across the city, in the sewage tunnels and passages below Beacon, those very worst fears were becoming true. Team JSPR ran onwards, closing in on their objectives bit by bit unerringly. As the team rounded the final gradual bend in the tunnel. There was a lone figure stood alone. All that they could make out was a single set of glowing red eyes. Immediately Jaune slammed on the brakes, his feet sliding against the slick floor underfoot.
There, in front of them was the one person that they were praying not to see. With ten swords levitating with an ominous hum around her. Was Penny.
Yep, here we are. I left the majority of the combat out of this one I know and for some of you that may well prove to be frustrating. If that is the case I do apologise. So yeah, Ironwood is a total asshole and has killed Qrow. The final stages of the tale are here. It won't be long now until I bring this one to its definitive ending. I'll try and crank out the next chapter soon-ish depending on my schedule with lectures etc.
Anyway, as always, if you enjoyed this please do favourite and follow. Be sure to let me know what you think of the story so far in the reviews.
A great many thanks for reading once again and as always I shall see you all in the next chapter.
