Book 2, Chapter 2
Ambush!
"Rox, we cant just sit by and watch while this happens... we need to do something about-"
"About the 'mistreatment' of their kind? Don't tell me you're actually getting sympathetic for those animals!" Her redheaded adoptive sister snickered, wiping a few tears away as she finished her bellowing laughter.
"They're not animals! They're human beings just like us! We swore an oath to protect the people of the kingdoms, so why? Why oppress them? Are we not breaking our own oath?" Yang argued, her semblance slightly flaring up.
"Never thought I'd hear you of all people say something so ridiculous, Yang. We aren't breaking our oaths because Pariahs aren't people." She sneered, rolling the shoulder that Ruby had shot painfully. "They can't manifest an aura, so what better does that make them than the Grimm? None, that's what."
"And what of people who can't for medical reasons, huh? What about people who just don't have any talent for it?"
"That's different. They can manifest one, it's just that there's certain barriers that bar their path. Pariahs outright can't. Just. Like. The. Grimm." Yang growled angrily at her sister's proclamation, balling her hands up into fists but holding herself back from hitting her sister. "If you ask me, I think Ozpin was right to harvest their organs. Least they're being put to good use that way."
"They were taken from their homes, tied down, and had their organs harvested while they were still alive! While they were still awake! They didn't even get any painkillers!" Yang roared, enraged by her sister's callousness. "They're all dead! They all died in the most agonizing way possible and that's all you see?!."
"It's not my problem. And because that's the case, those valuable resources weren't wasted on them, and could be used on their natural betters. We get organ transplants for those of us who need them, we get the painkillers and stuff for those of us who need them, and they're useful for once. I really don't see what the problem-" her smug expression was wiped off her face by a fist striking it and sending her crumpling to the floor. Rubbing her cheek and wincing at the slight burn that accompanied it, she looked back up at her sister...
"Oh? Did that hurt?"
"Yes! It did hurt! A lot! Why would you do that?!"
"Was it okay for me to hit you?"
"No! It wasn't! It was totally uncalled for! Why would-"
"So then why is it okay when we do it to them, huh? They feel pain too, so what's the difference?"
Her sister spat into the floor and sneered as she pushed herself up to her feet. "The difference is the same as how it's okay to shoot an animal when hunting but it's not to shoot a human! She always called you the dumber between the two of us, and y'know what? Maybe she was onto something in that! Doesn't make her any less of an uncivilized animal, though!"
Yang looked to the two other girls in the room who'd been quiet thus far. The first one, her own teammate, Blake, just looked uncomfortable while Weiss, her sister's partner, just sat on her bed and quietly filed her nails.
"Blake, Weiss... don't tell me you don't see the issue either..."
"Well..." Blake started, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. "I really don't know how to feel about it... on one hand, they're pariahs... on the other hand, what they've been through has been absolutely appalling... but our lives are better for it... their case is just a necessary evil, I suppose."
"Blake... why..." Yang took a step back in disbelief, before turning to Weiss.
"I try not to worry about things I can't do anything about. Besides, it's not my problem if a bunch of Pariahs die. Besides, better a short, miserable life with a quick death than a prolonged miserable life with an equally miserable, slow death. If anything, it might well have been considered mercy to use them as they were." She answered coldly, unknowingly deepening the wedge in her blonde teammate's allegiances.
"Grr... fine! You all can stand around and just let this evil continue! Join in on it for all I care, but I'M going to do whatever I can to DO something about it! She roared at them all, before snatching up her little sister's busted up helmet and storming out the door...
A rough bump on the shoulder brought her out of her little daydreaming, bringing a light, frustrated groan out of the busty blonde as she stood upright and stretched out her muscles. The memories of her argument with her team the night before she left still lingered in her brain, haunting her with their indifference and support in Roxanne's case of the Pariahs' plight.
She scoffed at them, warriors who pranced about, claiming themselves huntresses while violating their oath... not just them, though. Nearly every hunter on the planet was guilty of violating their oath in the same way. They were liars, all of them. Hypocrites praised as heroes. She couldn't live with herself being such, she refused to.
"Let them live their lies... I'm going to set things right." Yang whispered to herself, before standing looking left and watching the gunship set down on the landing pad. Much to her surprise, there were dozens, maybe even a hundred mercenaries gathered before the door, all weapons held at the ready.
She wasn't blind to what was going to happen, wasn't naive enough to believe they'd let her just roam around. They were going to escort her to whoever was in charge, they'd interrogate her, and then they'd place her on house arrest. It's what she would've done in their case, after all.
The Mercenaries disembarked first, and were all given free passage. It was a rather dark, gloomy and stormy day, with puffy dark clouds looming low and a constant, roaring downpour to accompany it while the skies lit up every few seconds with the flash of lightning, giving the island a somewhat ominous aura. Medical staff were already awaiting the wounded's arrival, as well as the dead's, much to her relief. These warriors had fought to bring her here, and some had even paid the ultimate price. They may not have done this for her sake, but the fact that they were actually willing to lay down their lives all for the welfare of their people... she supposed that these men and women were far truer to their oaths in that regard than the members of the IHA were.
"On your feet, Xiao Long." Ruby ordered, having stepped around her so she could point her blaster at her sister's back while she walked. Quietly complying, Yang rose to her feet and walked off the transport, surrendering all her gear save her clothing to the Mercenaries that also had their weapons trained on her. She could blame them for their suspicion, considering all she'd learned was pretty much common knowledge over here. She imagined to the people of New Saunders, the Hunters must've looked just as evil as the Grimm did.
"Move it, Bimbo!" She felt Ruby lush the barrel of her blaster into her back and took the hint, moving forward and being boxed in by the handful of mercenaries. She had no idea where they were guiding her, partially on account of almost all of them being markedly taller than her, but she was at least sure that wherever they were taking her, she'd at least be able to say what she needed to say...
"So this is our rogue, huh? I wasn't expecting a student..." The student council president mused idly while sliding the laptop over to Alison. "Ruby, we watched the operation unfold through body cameras on each mercenary's gear. You did well for your first time duking it out alongside Veterans."
"They certainly didn't make it easy to keep pace, Ma'am... I'm sorry I couldn't bring them all back alive."
"There's fairly little you could've done in that regard, not that it was your responsibility, anyways. Unfortunately, casualties are almost guaranteed in operations like that one, especially when battling hunters in head to head combat like that." Kamina interjected, before looking up from his gun and down at Yang. "So... the report mentioned sensitive, classified information in it. More specifically, it mentioned the information was copied onto the laptop in our possession now..."
"That's right. It contains a detailed copy of Beacon's current layout, including secret passageways, entrances and exits in the event of an invasion, and a few gigabytes of encrypted data I pulled off Ozpin's personal computer in a folder I labeled as porn..." Yang admit the ending with a flustered face, but was surprised when nobody raised an eyebrow.
"I'm guessing you did that to reduce the chances of him taking a peek in the event that he somehow had remote access, right?" Alison questioned, receiving a quick nod from the girl in question. "An older tactic, but a solid one... the encryption on this folder is some serious stuff, though..."
"Time crunch, Alison, what are we looking at?" Alicia questioned, getting an uncertain shrug from the girl.
"Uh... I'm really not sure. From the looks of it, could take me weeks, maybe even months. Whatever is on these files, he really doesn't want anyone knowing about. He probably has a security key, but there's no way in hell we'd manage to get our hands on that."
"I suppose that explains the unusually stiff resistance... get to work on cracking that encryption, Alison, enlist whatever help you need... as for you..." Alicia turned her attention down to Yang, her eyes seemingly glowing in the gloom of the currently shadowy room. "You're Yang Xiao Long, formerly a huntress in training, presently a rogue. You're still suffering from a chest wound, and your mind is still reeling from recent events."
"Wha... how did you-"
"Let's just say these eyes never deceive me." She smirked, before standing upright and raising a hand. Immediately, as though some invisible force had gripped Yang, she fell to a kneeling position, the grunts of exertion escaping her showing that it was far from voluntary. "Forgive my rough treatment, but hunters are something of a force we simply cannot trust here."
"What... did... you... do... to... me..." Yang strained to speak, unable to rise from her submissive position.
"A very light usage of my semblance. Don't worry, we're not going to hurt you... but I cannot quite trust that you won't try to do the same to our people. After all, our minds that specialize in interrogation aren't exactly fighters, and someone like you could very easily hurt or even kill them." She explained, before releasing her hold on Yang. "The more you try to resist it, the more difficult this will all be. Surrender control when I take it, and you'll be in and out of house arrest within the week."
"I... I understand... I will willingly relinquish control when you take it." Yang replied, an almost glassy, trance-like look in her eyes. Though only a moment later, she shook her head back and forth forcefully and rubbed her temple gingerly. "Woah... that felt weird..."
"Guards, take her to the living arrangements we've established for her immediately. Her interrogator will be along shortly." She ordered, with two Mercenary Honor Guards with energy blades stepping forward as ordered, and taking her away. Ruby was about to follow as well, but was halted by the Student Council President. "Ruby, stay awhile longer, would you?"
"As you wish, Ma'am." She obeyed without question, removing her helmet and looking up at the council without as much concern as before. They waited until they were sure Yang was out of eavesdropping range, before smirking smugly and slowly clapping.
"Now that she's out of our hair..." She began, standing up and setting both hands on the table. "Your natural affinity for combat is unquestionable, even more so than we'd initially thought. Your results in the melee earlier today blew our expectations out of the water, as a matter of fact."
"I was just trying to survive, to be perfectly honest. Besides, I wasn't even among the top five killers today." Ruby said while meeting her gaze, raising her brow slightly at the content look that settled on her face.
"Having humility is a good thing, but please." She complimented, before continuing. "Your results speak for themselves. Though you're still comparatively new here, you've made your name known. You're something of a celebrity now, with how often your name comes up and the positive public opinion... and with your ability to secure a timeline for the incoming invasion, we've decided to shift priorities."
"Intelligence has reached out to Salem, went over your employer's head to learn her timeline." Alison stated, confusing Ruby with the drop of an unfamiliar name.
"Salem? Who is that?"
"A conversation for another day, Ruby." Kamina swiftly cut in, garnering her attention. "Suffice it to say she's a very powerful player in the game... though she is no threat to us, she is to the kingdoms."
"However, that topic is irrelevant to our current conversation." Alison stopped him, before nodding to the President.
"Yes, do not worry about that for the time being. For now, we need to bring in an expert on something. You're going to help with this."
"Alright... how do I fit in, and who is this expert?"
The holotable lit up, forming the figure in hologram of one of her first employers. Alongside him, there were many other details, namely the statistics of his company on full display for all to see...
"Jacques Schnee, the CEO of the Schnee Dust Company. We're not as interested in his dust as we are his mining operations and equipment." She started explaining, piquing Ruby's interest. "You see, New Saunders has more going for it than just the field that repels Grimm. Resource-wise, it's the most naturally rich deposit of both dust and precious metals in the world according to geographical scanning."
"Really, is that so?" Ruby stepped forward a few steps, getting a better look at the hologram. "If that is the case, then you must be looking to bring his operations here so that we can exploit it, right?"
"Yes... accessing the resources is challenging, as they are located under the waves. With his operations, harvesting these resources would become far less expensive, far less risky, and far more profitable..."
"However," Alison added in, "Jacques Schnee is ultimately more interested in turning a profit than he is helping us. There is the risk that he may sell resources back to the kingdoms under our noses, and that is unacceptable if they go anywhere but Atlas or Menagerie."
"And we need those resources to fill our pockets, not solely his. We need majority control over the assets if we're going to do it right... which is where Whitley comes into play." She explained more clearly, nodding to the guards behind her to open the door. On cue, the two veteran mercenaries parted way, allowing Whitley, clad in a black tuxedo to step through.
"Whitley? How does he play into this if the middle child of the family is the heiress?" Ruby inquired, noting the smug grin on Whitley's lips.
"Why, it plays into it all too easily. After all, you're going to convince my father that she is unsuitable for the role." He chuckled, confusing her to no end before the President could elaborate.
"You don't need to know the finer details of the business side. You're a Mercenary, not a businesswoman. All you need to do is scar Weiss. Give her a traumatic memory that'll stick, that'll make her paranoid, at least as long as it'll take Jacques to name Whitley the new heir." She explained, sitting back down and folding her fingers between each other. "In all honesty, this should not be difficult for you. Just follow your employer's plan, and you should naturally be in a position to accomplish this goal."
"Leaving her six feet under is also an option. With the heiress dead, he would only be the natural successor... Whitley has already expressed that he will have qualms over such though." Kamina added, receiving a frown from the well-dressed boy in the room.
"I'd however rather my sister not die in all this. She and I are by no means close, but she is still my sister." Whitley made himself clear, before turning to Ruby. "As heir, part of the company falls under my control anyways, and how that part operates is at my discretion. I've already worked out the fine details on an agreement that would be mutually beneficial, I simply need the position to make anything of it."
"Say no more, I get the gist of it." Ruby affirmed, nodding in confirmation before listing off the objectives. "Bring down Beacon and Vale to halt the Invasion, scar Weiss Schnee to the point where she's unsuitable as heiress. Anything else?"
"No, that'll be it for now... do be careful, however. Reports suggest that Ozpin knows you were there today, and he's aware you've killed hunters. Watch your back, it wouldn't be the first time he's sent an operative with the objective of assassination in mind." The Student Council President warned, before relaxing back in her chair and spinning around a few times. "Go now, you're dismissed."
She was surprised by the hospitality she'd been shown, the armed guards not withstanding. She'd already been given back her electronic devices, all the sensitive information she'd brought with her already transferred to whatever other devices they used for themselves. Rather nice of them, she had to note, since she was using a top of the line gaming laptop that had a lot of her favorite games on it. They even allowed her to email stores on the island and put in requests with her card info so she could make the transaction, so it's not like there wasn't anything for her to do.
Looking to the helmet on the desk she'd been given, she smiled quaintly before establishing her little gaming setup. A mouse and a better keyboard, her headset, her laptop plugged into the wall and the mini fridge right beside the desk. It was about the same as her setup back at Beacon, except this one lacked the posters and gained a mini fridge, which she'd already put an order in to have stocked with energy drinks and soda, so it wasn't like she'd be lacking refreshments.
The interrogator was also very well-mannered and kind, despite the fact that he was interrogating her. She supposed it probably had to do with the fact that she was trying to be as cooperative as humanly possible, and the fact that every now and then she'd feel the Student Council President invade her mind...
"Ugh... still sends shivers down my spine thinking about it." She said to herself, sitting down in the rolling office chair for her setup. She'd heard that the Student Council for New Saunders was dangerous, but those eyes... she couldn't put her finger on it, but there was power behind them. It wasn't any natural semblance she had, and if that was truly "light" usage of it, then her power was truly terrifying.
"No matter." Yang thought, starting up her laptop. "It doesn't matter if she's terrifying, she doesn't oppress anyone on her island, nor does the President from what I've heard. I'd follow that over Ozpin in a heartbeat... now, if I'm not mistaken, Ruby plays my favorite MMORPG pretty often... maybe I could link up with her there?"
*BOW! BOW! BOW! BOW! BOW!*
"Uhhhhh... alright, good grouping, but up two, left three." Magma pat her on the shoulder, watching Ruby as she made the adjustments to the scope on her rifle. The girl had far exceeded all expectations, but she was still the rookie, so it was still his job to show her the ropes and help her out, even if Nagisa was her mentor. She was currently zeroing at two and a half kilometers, the middle range for effective shooting with her blaster rifle.
Being a collapsible blaster rifle and retaining such killing power was truly astonishing, and while it started losing punch at five kilometers, it still had a total killing range of twice that. Theoretically, if she compensated for the drop (yes, blaster bolts are effected by gravity too) and lead enough for two seconds travel, she could kill someone from ten kilometers away with this rifle. She just needed to be a good enough shot from there, he supposed.
"Alright, adjustments finished, ready to fire." Ruby called, receiving a slap across the ass in confirmation. She ignored it and instead opted to aim down range and reacquire her target...
*BOW! BOW! BOW! BOW! BOW!*"Uh..." Magma murmured, looking down his binoculars at the target. "Uhhhh... yeah, looking good. Hitting bullseye and and your grouping is tight. Reload and fire when ready to confirm zero."
*BOW! BOW! BOW! BOW! BOW!*"Okay, let's see... yeah... yeah that looks good. Could fit all those shots within an inch diameter, so you're good on your grouping and you're hitting exactly what you're aiming at, so you should be good." He pat her shoulder, before rising to a knee, then to his feet and helping her to her own in kind.
"Alrighty then, think there's any other weapons I should focus a little more attention on?" Ruby asked while brushing the dirt from the deck off her breastplate. They weren't using an indoor range, and the day was pretty stormy, so naturally a little dirt that was already present from constant usage and boots that were previously stepping in dirt and mud treading on it.
"That combat knife you got, it got a USV Cell?"
"What?"
"Ultrasonic Vibration Cell. Makes the blade a helluva lot more dangerous when activated." He explained, with the girl shaking her head to deny she had one. "Look into getting one, they're pretty useful... your Plasmatechs, how are they holding up?"
"Just cleaned them yesterday after that extraction mission. Clean as a whistle." She explained, before looking back at her jetpack. "Cleaned out the missile port too. That thing gets real dirty without constant cleaning, let me tell ya."
"Duh. You're literally firing a missile from it, of course it's gonna get dirty!" He laughed, slinging an arm around her. Despite the storm, it really was fairly nice out, and a perfect day for a hunt in his eyes, or just shooting blasters in general. He wasn't particularly picky in that regard.
Though, seemingly out of nowhere, the ground before them erupted into a large explosion, throwing both warriors back and reeling across the mud. They were quick to recover however, utilizing their momentum to pull themselves upright and drive their feet back, digging into the mud while digging a hand below their chests into the dirt.
Finally halting themselves, the two cast their gaze upwards, with Ruby just barely evading the slash from a scythe aimed to take her head off by rolling right and launching herself back with a burst of her jetpack. With some distance between the two of them, their sudden assailant switched to attack Magma, shifting his scythe to a long, broad sword and slashing for his throat.
He raised a gauntlet and met the blade directly, deflecting it back before throwing himself back and rolling to his feet, creating enough distance to analyze his foe...
Only to see nobody there, as if the aggressor had never even been there. The battle damage on the range was present, confirming that they were indeed attacked. He didn't dare let his guard down, knowing well that if they were still present somewhere, letting his guard down would be a fatal mistake.
"I'm going up, maybe I can find them from above." Ruby declared, her armor covered in mud. True to her word, she flew upwards maybe fifty or so meters, dropping down her rangefinder to better analyze their surroundings. Strangely enough, she couldn't pick out anything out of the ordinary, no indicator of where their opponent had gone-
"DEVIL ABOVE YOU!" She heard Magma call, looking up to see a blurry figure swinging down on her with a massive blade.
In an act of pure desperation, she fired off her missile, directly striking the edge of the sword and prematurely detonating the warhead, consuming both herself and her attacker in a massive explosion. A duo of sharp screams were drowned out by the roar, alongside two figures flying out from the explosion at extreme velocity.
The first shot straight down, smashing into the mud with a loud crash and blasting away the dirt around it with the force. The second was launched back into the air, falling back into the forested area of the island. Not wasting a moment with thought, Magma rushes to the scene of the first impact, barely holding back a gasp of shock as he looked down on Devil's mangled form.
She was bleeding horribly form several points, her armor shattered and blackened from the flames of the explosion. Her limbs were snapped in multiple ways they shouldn't bend, though thankfully her armor seemed to keep her within proper shape of a human being. Kneeling down beside her, he placed two fingers on the side of her neck..
"By the Brothers, you're still alive... don't worry, Kid, you're not gonna die on my watch!" He yelled, pulling a healing dust accelerant from a pouch and jabbing it into the side of her neck before signaling for an emergency medical evac. The only reason she wasn't dead was because of the inertial dampeners in her armor, otherwise her insides would've been turned into jelly from the sudden stop.
Magma had no idea what had just happened, only that Rose was in critical condition, and their would-be assassin was still out there, and likely not done yet. Pulling his own blaster rifle out, he crouched down and allowed his aura sense to reach out, feeling the area around himself. Whoever their attacker was, they wouldn't catch him off guard twice...
He grumbled lowly as he came to, roughly applying healing dust to the burns and shrapnel wounds he'd suffered from the explosion. He'd be the first to admit he wasn't expecting such a rash reaction, though given the face that if she hadn't reacted in such a way she would've been split in half from the crown of her head to her groin, he supposed her action wasn't quite as rash in perspective. Nevertheless, Ruby Rose had proven to him that she wouldn't be such an easy target.
"Huh... guess you were right about one thing, Oz..." he muttered to himself, before picking himself up and limping in the opposite direction of his target. "She got me good this time... I could take a single Veteran Mercenary under any other occasion, but with these wounds, best not chance it..."
The three arriving Ospreys on the scene told him everything he needed to know, being that now would be the time to get the hell out of there. Even in this state, he knew he could deal with a single mercenary, but three whole fireteams and their Ospreys? He wouldn't take that on directly at 100%, fat chance he'd try his luck in this state.
So, after bandaging his wounds, he sprinted off into the forest, content to wait for the next best time to strike again...