Disclaimer: Due to the violence of this particular Chapter I'm putting a Disclaimer. Which is why it says Disclaimer. I wish I was funny. That doesn't mean that the rating is going to change however. Just with this Chapter.
A/N: Yeah that's right, we're going to completely skip Trolley Combat and replace it with something else. Why, some of you might ask. It's because I have a very deep hatred for that Mission. But worry not, you'll still get to see our friends fighting against the Nazis in a glorious battle to the death. Because in the end that's what our purpose is. Why is this Chapter called Vanilla Combat?
Because it's just Ordinary Combat. But that doesn't mean it won't be epic. Also I'm sorry for my absence. And even sorrier with how short this Chapter is. Hopefully I'm meeting the standards of Quality over Quantity. Ave, true to Caesar!
Chapter 18: Vanilla Combat:
Entry: Despite being slowed down for the second time in just an hour, we're continuing to move towards our destination. My head is still hurting like Hell, I might be suffering from a concussion. I really hope that's not the case though. We'll need all our strength if we're to make it even close to-
''Hey, guy with funny voice. Sorry I forget your name.'' Ruby, who was searching around for a weapon to substitute for her Crescent Rose, shouted over to Artyom. ''How much longer will it be until we get to this Miller guy? It feels like we've been walking for hours now.''
Ironically they had been walking for less than five minutes. Artyom sighed and placed his diary aside. ''I don't have an accurate answer for you, Ruby.'' Artyom told her. ''We might be a few days away. Or maybe they're right around the corner. To me it doesn't make that much of a difference. I made a promise to Hunter and I intend on keeping that promise. Now give me a second, I have to finish writing.''
Artyom reached over to his side to grab his notebook, but discovered that it had vanished. Not far from his position was Velvet, who was now reading the diary. The Faunus girl chuckled, reading a few of the older pages Artyom had written when he was much younger.
''I never picked you as the romantic type, Artyom.'' She said, tossing his book back to him. ''I can't believe you wrote a five page poem for that girl. That is so sweet. But I also can't believe that after that she turned you down.''
The young Russian frowned and pocketed his journal. ''I think I'll just have to finish this entry another time. And please don't go through my personal belongings again. It's why they are called personal belongings in the first place.''
Velvet laughed. ''It won't happen again, I promise.'' She said. ''So, how do you think we should proceed. Maybe one of us moves forward and scouts ahead for danger? Or perhaps we should all stay together? I think it would be much safer that way.''
Not wanting to get another surprise hit to the back of his head, Artyom opted for the first option. ''No, I think I should go see what's waiting for us down there. The last thing we want is to be captured by the Nazis. That and shot to death. Which now that I thing about it, that would probably happen anyway.''
A reminder of the Reich's brutality put Velvet on the cautious side again. She tried to put the thoughts of what Artyom and the Blacksmith had told her of them. ''Are you sure? Remember, you wasted all your ammo back there. If you get attacked you'll be defenseless. Maybe you should take one of us with you?''
The male Stalker pulled out his knife and shook his head. ''There's no point in putting us all in harm's way.'' Artyom looked over to Ruby, who was still desperately trying to find a good Melee based weapon. He whispered into Velvet's ear, which now had a small scar on it. ''And between you and me, I don't think the Red one has the brightest of minds.''
Trying to conceal any laughter, Velvet covered her mouth. But after seeing Artyom doing the same thing, they both broke out into laughter. ''Hey, what's so funny?'' A nearby Ruby Rose asked the two.
After both of them stopped laughing, Artyom began to move out. But not before giving the young girl an answer. ''Just talking about plans for the future. I'm going to make sure the coast is clear. Hopefully I'll be back soon.
Checking his equipment one last time before he left, Artyom found that his arsenal was less than pathetic. He had a few throwing knives left, three good Med-kits, and his Combat knife. He knew that once again he would have to utilize stealth.
He received an encouraging nod from Velvet. Afterwords he vanished into the darkness. ''I'm sure that he can handled himself.'' Ruby said. She decided that nothing could ever replace her Crescent Rose. ''In fact I'd go as far as to call him a badass. But don't tell Yang I used that word.''
Sitting down Velvet assured Ruby that she was no snitch. ''Don't worry, I understand the rules of snitches and stitches by now. Speaking of stitches, when we get back to Beacon I'll probably need a few.''
Of course Velvet was referring to her injuries. Mainly the one on her leg that had almost gotten her and Artyom killed many hours prior. Ruby let out a gasp when she saw her friend's injuries. ''Oh my God, did someone shoot you?''
''No, it wasn't anything like that.'' She had to think back to when they were on the surface with Bourbon to remember what really happened. ''In fact it was my own fault that it happened. I think it was some type of bomb made out of nails and wire. A guy we were traveling with named Bourbon noticed I could barely walk and threatened to leave me behind. So Artyom just picked me up and carried me through a Bandit camp. If it wasn't for him I'd be dead for sure. It's the other way around too.''
Ruby giggled. ''Aw, it sounds like you two really like each other.'' Would you look at that, Velvet is blushing again. ''What, no! It's nothing like that.'' She said in a very defensive way. ''I just wanted to help him after I saw the state his home is in. There's nothing romantic going on between us.''
''Oh don't worry Velvet. I totally believe you. 100%. Wink.'' For some odd reason Ruby winked after that. Which wasn't a very necessary action. That annoyed Velvet, who both sighed and frowned.
Next it was her turn to ask a few questions. ''You said that you've only been here for a few short hours, right? Could you tell me the last thing you remember before you ended up here? It might help us figure out a way back.''
Despite feeling like she had suffered from a serious concussion, Ruby was able to remember the last time she was on Remnant. ''It was my Team and JNPR. I think we were watching Coco duel with... I forget her name. Pretty sure it's another word for Mailman though. After that everything is just one big blur. I ended up in some dark tunnel and stumbled across those Nazi guys. You already know how that ended. Sorry, I know that's not much help.''
Velvet patted her on the shoulder. ''No, it's okay. It does make me wonder something. If the two of us ended up here, doesn't that mean that all of our friends might be here too? Maybe we could find some of them on the way to Miller.''
In excitement Ruby jumped up from the ground. ''Do you really think so? That would be great, with all of us together we'd be more than unstoppable. As soon as your Boyfriend gets back we're moving as fast as possible.''
Frowning and sighing once again, Velvet made an attempt to reassure Ruby of her relationship status. ''I'll say it again. There's nothing going on between me and...'' Before his name could be spoken, Artyom appeared out of the shadows. For some reason he looked like he was running for his life.
''Well speak of the Devil.'' Ruby said to Velvet, smirking as she did. ''How about we just ask him? Artyom, are you and Velvet...'' The question would have to be saved for later. Because the shadows soon revealed other inhabitants. Ones that looked less than friendly. ''Great, he brought some new friends back.''
Knowing what was about to come next, Velvet threw herself and Ruby behind a destroyed cart for cover. To the left of that was a small pile of debris. The amount of cover it provided was small. But in a situation where you're being showered with bullets, you can't be too picky.
As previously stated, all of the Team's ammo was exhausted more than an hour ago. So like their ancestors before them, they had to improvise. Artyom was the first to make an attack against the Nazis. He pulled what few throwing knives he had left out and threw them at the enemy. They all ended up going into the exact same Soldier. Entering his left eye, heart, and deep into his head. The man fell to the ground dead.
Artyom then set his eyes on the Soldier right next to the fallen. He was distracted with having to wipe his friend's blood out of his eyes. Having the perfect opportunity, Artyom lunged forward and jabbed the blade into the man's chest. Blood began to pour out of his mouth. Realizing that he was going to die, he spat some of his blood on his killer's face. He became another corpse on the ground.
Before Artyom could select another target, Velvet and Ruby rushed ahead. It was quite the sight for the Russian Stalker to see fully grown armed men getting their asses kicked by young girls. Unlike him however they didn't use any weapons.
That was until one of the Nazis pushed Ruby to the ground and began to swing a Machete at her. She looked around for a weapon and settled on one of the dead men's Machine guns. She put three rounds into each of the man's legs. When he fell to his knees she smacked him across the face with the butt of her weapon. Now there was only two Soldiers left to deal with.
Velvet would be the one to deal with them. She grabbed Artyom's knife and began to beat the men with the handle. She was able to quickly knock two of them unconscious, but the third was clearly skilled in hand to hand combat.
He dodged all of her attacks and made one of his own. He took tight hold of Velvet and brought her in close. Then with all his might he headbutted her right in the nose. This time she was the one to fall to the ground. As blood pouted out of her nose, the Nazi pulled out his knife and intended on finishing the job.
But he was quickly interrupted. ''Ublyudok!'' Artyom shouted before tackling the man to the ground. Taking the Soldier's knife, Artyom now had two of them. And he meant to use both of them. He plunged one into each of the man's eyes. Only unlike the first kill, he didn't die instantly. Hearing the terrifying screams of the man Velvet covered her ears. Ruby tried to stop Artyom. ''What the heck are you doing? You need to stop that you're scaring Velvet!''
With the last member of the Reich dealt with, the knives were pulled out of the corpse's eyes. Artyom let out a heavy sigh and turned to look at his Faunus companion. She had a horrified expression on her.