The airship flew southeast as fast as it could, determined to reach the tip of the peninsula as soon as possible so that Teams COAL and IRON along with Tsukiko could destroy the Wormwood Cannon before it could fire. It was still dark below them, but they could see that the seemingly endless sand covering Vacuo had turned into grass and trees as they neared the sea.
The two teams were still horrified at the revelation that the White Fang had built a giant cannon to destroy Vacuo. They wondered what could have driven them to try to destroy an entire kingdom, especially since Vacuo had always been one of the more faunus-friendly kingdoms of Remnant. They figured that the Fang had resented the faunus of Vacuo for rejecting their anti-human message and saw them as traitors. Regardless of their motive, this "Salem" was behind it all. The leader of the Grimm just wanted to destroy humanity, regardless of what the Fang wanted. She was sure to betray them as well once they had served their purpose. But for now, the cannon needed to be destroyed. The teams remembered the horrors they had seen on the night that Beacon fell. All the dead bodies, all the blood, all the screams of the wounded and the dying, and the fires that destroyed the city that they had once called their home. They were determined never to let it happen again. As they approached the southeastern tip of the peninsula, they discussed their plan on how to infiltrate the base and destroy the cannon before it could be fired.
On the way there, Professor Theodore contacted them over the radio. "I left a few of my guys behind to secure the base and see if they could find any sources of information about the layout of the Wormwood Cannon and the compound in which it's located," he said.
"Did they find anything?" Colby asked.
"Yes," Theodore answered. "They recovered a scroll belonging to one of their high-ranking members, a polar bear faunus who went by Polaris."
"May he rest in peace…" Lily whispered sadly.
"The base is heavily defended, but the docks are relatively less guarded. You can drop in over there and then sneak up into the base and into the control room at the top of the tower. You can take an elevator up to a certain point, but you'll need to go up an extra flight of stairs to get to the room itself because it's such an important place. The entrance is likely to be guarded. The control room contains a self-destruct button that should blow the whole place up. Don't worry, you'll have some time to get out before the place goes boom."
"Understood, sir," Colby replied.
"You need to hurry. It takes a while to get the cannon ready to fire, but the Fang may have already gotten started. We don't know how long we have.
"You can count on us, sir!" Irving shouted. "We'll destroy that weapon and be home in time for breakfast!"
"Autumn and I still have our White Fang disguises," Lily said. "We could infiltrate the base and activate the self-destruct. The rest of you could provide a distraction"
"Let me go with you," Colby said. "I have unfinished business with the traitor, Deegan Garrick. And besides, you might need some extra backup in case your cover gets blown."
"Colby, you don't have a White Fang outfit."
"Dang it!" Colby shouted. "We should have picked some up before we left. But maybe you could give me your White Fang disguise and let me go instead? Everyone's going to have a lot of White Fang to deal with, and even with the Summer Maiden on their side, they're going to need all the help they can get."
"I guess that could work, but you don't have a visible faunus trait like me and Autumn do."
"Doesn't matter. Not all faunus have visible traits. Especially not with that White Fang mask on."
"Very well," said Lily. She knew it was probably a bad idea, but she could use the extra support and knew that Colby had more of a right than anyone to kill Deegan. She took off her White Fang disguise and gave it to Colby. Her normal clothes were underneath.
"Alright," said Caelius. "We're approaching the target now. I'll take us over near the docks, but you'll need to jump out into the water."
The base came into view shortly after that. It was another compound surrounded by huge walls except for the dock that Professor Theodore had described. But the most striking feature by far was what looked like the barrel of a massive gun pointing northward, toward Vacuo.
"That must be the Wormwood Cannon," Naseem said. "Your friend was right. That thing could easily destroy our city."
"We won't let that happen," Ouranos replied.
"Alright, everyone," Lily said as she addressed her fellow huntsmen and huntresses. "Colby will go on ahead. The rest of us will distract them until he can activate the cannon's self-destruct. After that, we'll need to high tail it back here before everything blows up."
"Alright," Colby said as they approached the drop point. The doors of the bullhead opened, and in that moment he remembered that he might not make it out of the base alive. This may be his last chance to tell her how he felt. He was terrified of doing so, but he knew that he might not get another chance.
"Lily?" he said nervously. "It's time for me to tell you that thing I wanted to say before."
"What is it, Colby?" the fox faunus asked.
Realizing he didn't have much time, he went straight to the point. "I-I love you, Lily," he said. "You've been the best friend anyone's ever been to me. Ever since you saved me during initiation, I knew there was something special about you. I developed feelings toward you that I'd never felt before."
Flashback…
Colby was fighting a group of beowolves in the Emerald Forest on initiation day. He had managed to take out several of them, but one of them leapt at him faster than he could react. Just before it could bite him, an arrow hit the thing in the abdomen and killed it. Colby looked over his shoulder to see an arctic fox faunus girl.
"I could have handled that thing myself!" Colby shouted defensively.
"I take it that's your way of saying thank you," the fox faunus replied. "Looks like we're partners now. My name's Lily." She extended her hand.
"Colby," the boy replied. "Also known as the Gray Lightning. And soon, the world will know me as the Savior of Remnant."
"You're full of it," Lily replied. "Let's get moving."
"She is so pretty," Colby thought as he followed her. "And she saved my life, even though I'll never admit that."
End of flashback.
"So, you finally admit that you couldn't handle those Grimm on your own," Lily giggled. "But Colby, I love you too. You're the bravest person I've ever known, and I've never met anyone else who will risk so much for those they care about."
"Come here, Lily…" Colby said as he leaned in to kiss her.
"Aww, how cute!" Autumn shouted just before their lips could meet. "But we're right over the target! You need to go, Colby!" She pushed Colby out of the airship. The human boy had enough time to put his White Fang mask on in midair before he landed in the ocean. Everyone else stayed on the airship and prepared to put up a distraction. They'd be heavily outnumbered by the White Fang, but their weapons and skills in combat were far superior. They also had a Maiden on their side to give them an extra advantage.
Colby landed in the water and immediately began swimming toward the docks. He was a little ways out, but made it thanks to his physical training and time swimming at Vale's beach. When he reached the docks, he climbed out of the water to see a couple of White Fang guards.
"What the heck were you doing in the water?" one of them asked.
"Oh, you know. I was just going out on a late night swim."
"Head back to base," the other one said. "It's dangerous to swim alone at night. And besides, you don't want to miss seeing the cannon fire."
"Indeed," Colby replied. "Not gonna happen," he thought to himself as he walked past them and toward the building. When he entered, he found a lobby-like area and then entered a series of hallways. As he headed toward the elevator, he heard a male voice over the base's loudspeaker.
"The Wormwood Cannon will fire in twenty minutes," the voice said.
"I'd better hurry," he thought as he continued toward the elevator.
Meanwhile, at the other side of the compound…
"You're cleared to land," a voice told the airship over the radio. The bullhead flew over toward what looked like a helipad, and everyone inside drew their weapons and prepared for combat.
As soon as the bullhead landed, Ray and Oakley opened fire with their guns. They managed to take a few White Fang grunts down by surprise, but the others soon returned fire and the huntsmen were forced to fall back behind a few nearby crates to avoid being shot. Caelius flew the airship away. If the students were going to escape before the cannon blew up, the airship would have to remain undamaged.
Once everyone was behind cover, Irving started throwing some golf balls in the air and attempting to blast away as many White Fang grunts as he could. He used fire, ice, and electric dust, which were able to kill or incapacitate many of the soldiers who attempted to attack their position. Ray and Oakley were on either side of him, continuing to fire their weapons at any grunts who managed to avoid Irving's golf balls. They tried to shoot the White Fang members in non-lethal areas, but there were inevitably a few fatalities. Lily was also shooting arrows at the White Fang grunts from behind another crate, using mostly regular arrows but occasionally explosive ones as well.
Tsukiko had her Maiden powers activated and did not hold back against the swarm of White Fang troops who were attacking her and her friends. She stood behind cover and shot fireballs, lightning bolts, and ice shards at the various White Fang grunts, all the while with yellow flames surrounding her eyes. She also used her powers to raise ice walls to block the incoming bullets. When these walls started to collapse, she would quickly melt them, which would produce a cloud of mist that would make it hard for the grunts to see. Then her friends would take the opportunity to shoot them.
Inside the base…
Colby entered the elevator and took it as high as it would go. He knew that he had to reach the top no matter what, and hoped that he would be able to maintain his cover for long enough to reach the self-destruct button. Otherwise, he would have a long, difficult fight ahead of him. He was far more skilled than the numerous White Fang grunts on this floor of the building, but might find himself outnumbered by them. When he exited the elevator, his thoughts drifted toward his friends below. They were putting their lives on the line for him, and he couldn't let them down. He was sure that they could hold out for quite a while, especially with a Maiden on their side, but he knew that it was only a matter of time before they would be overwhelmed. Therefore, he needed to hit the self-destruct as quickly as possible. Not just to prevent Vacuo from being destroyed, but to save his friends. He wasn't going to let any of them die because of him.
Moving forward, he saw what appeared to be a lounge-like area. It contained seats for its occupants and some tables on which to eat food and drinks, which could be bought from a nearby counter. Sitting on one of the seats was a White Fang grunt.
"Hey, are you new here?" he asked with a smile on his face. "I don't recognize you. You must be one of the new recruits. You're awfully lucky to come in on the night that we finally fire this thing. Looking forward to the fireworks?"
"Uh, yeah," Colby replied. He figured he would play along to avoid raising any suspicion.
"Aww, come on!" the faunus replied. "You could show a bit more enthusiasm than that!"
"I mean yeah!" Colby replied much more enthusiastically.
"That's the spirit!" the grunt replied. "I'm Guntur, by the way. And you are?"
Colby tried to think of a fake name. "Perun," he said.
"Well, Perun, I'm glad you're here to see our cannon destroy that wretched city," Guntur said.
"Well, there are a lot of faunus there," Colby replied. "Faunus who might join us if given the chance."
"They had their chance. They chose to help the humans rather than fight for what's right, and now they need to die. Vacuo welcomes anyone who's strong enough to survive, but what have the faunus of Vacuo done for those of their kind who are weaker than them? Nothing. They have no compassion."
Colby was angered by Guntur's words, but knew he had to keep his cool. Nonetheless, his breathing got a little heavier.
"They'll get what's coming to them, just like the ones in Vale who lived in some of the most comfortable conditions in Remnant but did nothing to help the rest of their species."
Colby became even angrier at this. He started to sweat.
"And those fools at Beacon," Guntur continued. "They died upholding Remnant's hierarchy of humans over faunus. They deserved their fate, and so do the students of Shade."
Colby got even sweatier, and his breathing got even heavier.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Guntur asked when he noticed Colby's anger.
"Oh, nothing," Colby replied nervously. "I'm just angry about all this injustice toward faunus," he lied. "Yes, they're all getting exactly what they deserve."
"Oh, I know…" he said with a grin. He paused for a second. "You know, killing these humans with a big cannon is fun and all, but it doesn't beat killing them in actual combat. There will still be enemies to destroy after we're done with Vacuo. Wanna practice fighting with me?"
"Uh, I really don't have the time…" Colby replied anxiously.
"Nonsense. There's always time to get ready to kill some humans and faunus traitors. What else do you have to do tonight but watch the cannon fire? We have plenty of time before then."
"Ugh, fine," Colby said. "I've got to take this guy down quickly," he thought to himself.
"Alright, let's do this!" Guntur threw a punch at Colby, who ducked under it and countered with his own punch. Guntur grabbed Colby's fist and then kicked him backward a few feet.
"This guy's tougher than I thought," Colby thought to himself. The faunus tried to follow up with another punch, but Colby stepped out of the way, grabbed Guntur's arm, and then punched the faunus in the stomach. The faunus fell to the floor, but rolled out of the way and got back up before kicking Colby to the ground again. This time, Colby's mask fell off. He had been exposed as a human.
"Intruder!" Guntur shouted out as he pulled out a pistol and fired it at Colby. Just as quickly, Colby pulled out his tomahawks and deflected the bullets back at Guntur before hitting his opponent over the head with the pommel of his right axe, knocking him unconscious. However, it was too late for Colby to preserve his cover. Several more White Fang poured into the hallway and opened fire on Colby. There were four grunts and a lieutenant.
The grunts opened fire on Colby, who jumped up to avoid their fire before throwing his tomahawks at them. This took about two of them out, and he turned to engage the others in close range. He kicked one to the ground before finishing him off with a knockout punch and then hitting the other one over the head with the pommel of his left axe.
He then turned toward the lieutenant, who was wielding a large, two-handed sword. The faunus swung the sword at Colby, who jumped over it and tried to bring his right tomahawk down on the lieutenant's head. The lieutenant stepped out of the way. Colby tried swinging his tomahawks at the faunus again, but the faunus blocked it with his sword. However, Colby took the opportunity to kick the lieutenant's legs out from under him before punching him in the face, knocking him out.
"Firing in ten minutes," said the voice over the loudspeaker. Colby started making his way to the stairwell.
The stairway leading to the control room was just around a corner to the left. Just as he turned around the corner, however, two White Fang grunts emerged and opened fire with their assault rifles. Colby ducked back behind the wall and waited for them to run out of ammo before putting his weapons back in gun mode and shooting them. After they collapsed to the floor, he went through the doors and entered a stairwell. He then started going up the stairs, but was greeted by a sniper upon rounding the first corner of the stairs. Then, he activated his semblance and struck the sniper down in his lightning bolt form. After reaching the top, he opened the door and entered the hallway leading to the control room.
Back on the other side of the compound…
While Colby was fighting his way to the top, his friends were fighting hard against the waves of White Fang soldiers who came after them. They were holding out fairly well, and White Fang bodies were starting to pile up. However, the young huntsmen and huntresses were starting to run low on ammunition. As such, they rushed forward and engaged their enemies in melee combat.
A White Fang grunt pulled out his sword and swung it at Lily, who ducked under it and shoved her knife into his chest. He fell to the ground, and two more came at her. The fox faunus then loaded her bow with two of her last few arrows and shot both of them in the chest. Another came up from behind Lily and swung at her, but Ouranos rushed in and blocked his attack. He kicked the soldier's legs out from under him, knocking him to the ground, and finishing him off with his battleaxe. A squad of White Fang soldiers approached and fired their rifles, but Autumn blasted the bullets back with a sonic shockwave from her guitar. Elsewhere, Naseem was swinging his sword around and managed to take down several White Fang grunts with his blade. Even Oakley and Ray managed to take a few down with their bare hands in order to conserve their remaining ammo.
Tsukiko took out several with her staff. Three grunts charged at her, but she unleashed a gust of wind to blast them several feet back and into a nearby wall, either knocking them out or killing them. A lieutenant attacked her from behind with a glaive, but she blocked it and froze his legs in place with her magic before punching him in the face, knocking him out.
Before long, this wave of White Fang was defeated. The young huntsmen and huntresses took a few short moments to relax, which were then cut short by what sounded like huge footsteps. Before long, a giant humanoid robot came around from behind a nearby building.
"What is that?!" Naseem asked.
"That's an Atlesian Advanced Paladin!" Lily shouted. "The White Fang must have hacked it. It's headed our way!"
The robot fired a barrage of rockets at the group of young huntsmen and huntresses, who scattered from cover to avoid being caught in the explosions. Then, the Paladin opened fire on them with the miniguns that it had mounted on its two arms.
"I've got this!" Ouranos shouted as he put his weapon into rocket launcher mode and fired a rocket at the robot, which then simply smacked the missile away and caused it to fly toward a nearby barracks, where it exploded.
Lily fired an explosive arrow at the robot, which then just jumped out of the way and retaliated with more gunfire. The fox faunus ducked behind a nearby crate for cover.
"This is going to be a tough battle," she said.
"No kidding!" Tsukiko shouted. "Alright, I'm going to try to use my powers on that thing! Cover me while I get close to it!"
But as Tsukiko went to do that, another squad of about five White Fang soldiers arrived. There were twelve of them, including three lieutenants. "Yep, that's the one with the weird elemental powers!" one of the lieutenants shouted. "Focus your fire on her!" They did so, and Tsukiko was forced to rush back behind cover to avoid being shot.
"We'll need to take out those guys first!" she shouted.
"You got it, partner!" Oakley shouted cheerfully.
Back in the tower…
Colby proceeded down a long, dark hallway toward the control room. Opening the door, however, he found the place pitch black. He drew his weapons, suspecting that this was the result of Deegan's darkness-producing semblance.
"Colby Castanho," said a familiar voice. "I didn't expect you and your friends to find this place, but no matter. In about eight minutes, the cannon will fire and Vacuo will be destroyed. But you will not live long enough to see that happen. I'll kill you myself."
"Not if I kill you first," Colby replied angrily. "You will pay for everything you've done to Vacuo, Vale, and everyone you betrayed."
"Hahahaha," the snake faunus laughed. "We'll see about that." Just then, Deegan lunged at Colby. Fortunately, the boy heard Deegan's footsteps and managed to jump out of the way. As the snake faunus turned around to attack Colby again, the effect of his semblance wore off and light was restored to the room. It was a small, dimly lit room with a large control console near one of the walls. The self-destruct button was somewhere on this console.
Colby put his right tomahawk into gun mode and fired a round at Deegan, who pulled out his knives and blocked them before lunging at Colby again. Colby put his right tomahawk back in axe mode in time to block the incoming attack.
"How do you sleep at night, knowing that you betrayed everyone you've ever known?" Colby asked while his blades were locked with Deegan's.
"Simple. I realize that I'm just following the natural order of things. The strong survive, the weak die!" He jumped back a few feet, and Colby did so as well. "I think a better question is why do you keep fighting for the losing side? Few huntsmen could have accomplished what you have. Salem could use an ally like you. She will reward you beyond your wildest dreams."
"I'll never join someone who would take the lives of so many innocents!" Colby shouted furiously as he lunged back at Deegan.
"Then you will die like the rest," Deegan said coldly as he blocked Colby's attack with his right knife, then struck Colby across the chest with his left. Colby's aura blocked the attack, but it still hurt.
"What makes you think she won't betray you after you've outlived your usefulness?" Colby asked as he got back up and fired a few shots at the snake faunus with his weapons' gun forms. He deflected most of Colby's bullets, but one of them got through his defenses and hit him in the chest. He was stunned for a few seconds, but quickly snapped out of it.
"Oh, I know she will," Deegan said. "I'll be ready for it."
"You fool! Salem destroyed Vale and its huntsman academy, and she even has the Grimm at her disposal! What makes you think you can survive her betrayal?"
"I'm a resourceful guy. I did manage to put together this plan to destroy Vacuo, after all. Which should be complete in about five minutes!"
"No, I'm going to put a stop to this plan of yours!" Colby shouted angrily.
"Go ahead and try. You can't beat me."
"AAARGH!" Colby shouted as he activated his semblance and charged at Deegan in his lightning bolt form. The snake faunus was caught off guard and hit the floor, but managed to push Colby off of him before the human boy could do any more damage to his aura. They got back up and then continued swinging at each other with their melee weapons, each one blocking or dodging the other's attacks. It was a fierce battle that would determine the fate of Vacuo and indeed all of Remnant. With this in mind, Colby knew that he couldn't allow himself to lose. For the sake of all who had sacrificed themselves up until that point and for the future of the world, he was going to win even if he had to sacrifice his life.
On the other side of the compound…
While Colby was fighting Deegan in the control room, his friends on the ground were battling the White Fang's Advanced Paladin and the troops who were supporting it. Oakley emerged from cover and used her semblance again, slowing down her perception of time enough to aim her pistols right at two of the grunts' heads and pulling the triggers. The bullets hit right on target, killing the two grunts. Ray emerged from cover and fired another blaster shot, bringing down a third grunt.
Ouranos and Naseem rushed forward with their weapons in hand, dodging or deflecting any bullets fired at them by the soldiers or the robot. Tsukiko followed in behind them, and they took down about four more of the grunts by swinging their weapons while moving quickly to dodge the robot's machine gun fire. Lily fired an arrow at another one from behind cover, and Tsukiko took out two of the remaining ones with a few quick swings of her staff. Then, the two lieutenants approached. Ouranos and Naseem split off to deal with them, Ouranos turning to the left and Naseem to the right.
The lieutenant to the left swung his chainsaw vertically toward Ouranos, who stepped out of the way to the right and countered with a swing from his axe, which the lieutenant then blocked. Ouranos activated his strength semblance and used it to push the faunus over, then finished him off by bringing his axe down on the lieutenant's chest.
Meanwhile, Naseem swung his blade at the one on the right diagonally, and the lieutenant blocked it with his chainsaw and then kicked Naseem back. He then tried to swing his chainsaw at Naseem horizontally, but Naseem jumped up and kicked the lieutenant in the face, knocking him to the ground before impaling him with his blade.
"All the troops are down!" Ouranos called out. "Now's your chance, Tsukiko!"
Tsukiko activated her Maiden powers once again and yellow flames appeared around her eyes. She raised her right hand, and several rocks rose from the ground. Tsukiko then used her powers to turn them molten hot, then flung them at the robot, which quickly jumped out of the way and opened up another barrage of missiles. Everyone scattered again.
"Those robots sure move fast!" shouted Tsukiko.
"Oakley and I will draw its fire away from you, Tsukiko!" Lily said as she ran over to the left and opened fire on the robot with her remaining bullets. She ducked behind cover, and Tsukiko aimed some ice magic at the thing's legs. The attacks hit the robot, creating a patch of ice on its legs. However, it wasn't enough to stop the robot.
"Aim all your ice attacks at the robot's legs!" shouted the Maiden.
Irving hit a blue golf ball toward the robot, freezing its legs further. Lily followed suit with ice arrows, and Tsukiko launched more ice attacks at it. Before long, the robot was completely immobilized.
"Time to turn up the heat!" Tsukiko shouted as she launched another barrage of hot rocks at the Paladin. Ouranos opened fire with his rocket launcher, and Lily fired an explosive arrow at the mech. The combined force of these explosive attacks caused a huge explosion, blowing metal debris everywhere. When the smoke cleared, the students would find that the robot had been completely destroyed.
"We did it!" Tsukiko shouted happily.
Just then, more White Fang showed up and opened fire on the huntsmen and huntresses, who had to jump out of the way quickly.
"These guys just don't know when to quit!" Ray shouted angrily.
"Hurry it up now, Colby!" Lily shouted as she prepared to fight off another wave of enemies.
Back in the tower…
Colby was still locked in a fierce duel with Deegan. The two of them slashed at each other, blocked, ducked, and jumped like never before and managed to whittle down each other's auras, but the battle dragged on for a while and both were growing tired. Deegan swung his right knife toward Colby, who blocked it and retaliated with his left. Deegan jumped out of the way, and Colby then jumped over him to attack from behind, however, the snake faunus was prepared and blocked Colby's attack.
"This is the end for you, Castanho," said Deegan. "You'll die just like your father."
"Funny thing," Colby said with a grin. "I know that you didn't really kill him. It was all a lie to try to demoralize me but it didn't work." He paused for a moment before realizing that his opponent might know who betrayed Beacon. "But who were Salem's agents in Beacon?!"
"I wouldn't tell you even if I knew. But it doesn't matter. Because in about three minutes, Vacuo's fate will be sealed."
"I will stop you!" Colby shouted.
"You're welcome to try, but you're no match for me. Now die!" Deegan kicked Colby several feet back. When the boy regained his footing, he threw his right tomahawk at the snake faunus. The axe went over his opponent's head.
"Haha, you missed me!" Deegan laughed as he closed in on Colby. Suddenly, the tomahawk flew back at the snake faunus and hit him in the back of the head. Deegan cried out in pain and fell forward.
"I've got you now!" Colby shouted triumphantly before Deegan rolled over, pulled out his pistol, and fired three shots at the human boy. Colby fell over on the floor.
"No, it is I who have you," Deegan chuckled.
"AAARGH!" Colby shouted as he attacked again. Deegan blocked both of his attacks.
"Your aura has to be running low by now," he said with an evil grin.
"You can't have much left either," replied Colby.
"This ends now!" Deegan jumped a few feet backward, then coated his blades in that dark green liquid from before. The knives were now covered in the snake faunus's venom. If Deegan so much as grazed him, it would only be a matter of time before he died. There was no way he could get back to Shade in time for medical treatment, and in any event Shade was going to be destroyed soon if Colby didn't win.
"Prepare to die!" the snake faunus shouted as he lunged in to attack Colby one more time. Colby blocked his attacks, countered with his own, but neither could penetrate the other's defenses. As Colby dueled with Deegan, he remembered the devastation that he saw at Beacon that horrible night. He couldn't let it happen again. He would die before it happened again.
They kept fighting a bit longer, each blocking, parrying, and dodging his opponent's attacks. Eventually, however, after Colby blocked one too many of Deegan's strikes, the snake faunus managed to kick him to the ground. He then charged in for the kill.
Colby laid there as Deegan came at him, knowing what the snake faunus was about to do. He couldn't let it end like this. Not when he had come this far, and not when so many people were counting on him. He put his tomahawks into gun mode and fired two last shots at his opponent, one from each gun.
The bullets struck right on target, hitting Deegan in the stomach. The snake faunus fell over, bleeding profusely out from his wounds. Colby stood back and walked over to his opponent, who was laughing despite his extreme pain.
"If I die tonight...you'll die with me!" he said as he crawled over to the control console, which was to his right and Colby's left, and pressed a large red button. Once that was done, an alarm sounded and the voice on the loudspeaker spoke again.
"Self-destruct sequence initiated. All personnel are ordered to evacuate immediately."
Deegan gave one more chuckle before collapsing on the floor, apparently dead.
"Don't die on me yet, gods damn it!" Colby shouted as he shook Deegan's body. "Tell me who Salem's agents in Beacon were!" But it was too late. The snake faunus was dead.
"I'd better get out of here…" he thought to himself as he pulled out his scroll and contacted everyone. "Guys, we need to get out of here!" he shouted. "Deegan's dead and the self-destruct sequence has been activated!"
At the other side of the compound…
"Roger that!" Lily replied.
"Caelius, can you get everyone out?" Colby asked over the scroll.
"Affirmative!" the pilot replied as he lowered the bullhead to pick up the students.
"Don't let them escape!" a lieutenant called out. "Focus all fire on that airship!" his troops opened fire on the bullhead, preventing it from landing.
"Oh no you don't!" Lily cried out as she opened fire on them with her remaining arrows. Oakley and Ray joined in, and Tsukiko threw a few fireballs at them. Before long, they were all taken out. Caelius landed the airship after that, and everyone climbed aboard.
"Let's get out of here before more of them show up!" Autumn shouted as the bullhead took off.
"We can't leave without Colby!" Lily said. "Take us to the tower!"
At the tower...
Colby ran out of the control room and fought his way past the grunts that tried to stop him. He went down the staircase and back to the lounge area where he encountered Guntur. The airship flew up to the window with its door open, and Colby knew he would have to jump. He shot open the glass, shattering it, and then used all his lower body strength to jump to the bullhead. He got close enough to grab onto it with his arms, then struggled to pull himself in.
"We've got you, Colby!" Lily shouted as she and Ouranos grabbed his hands and helped him aboard.
"Get us out of here!" Colby shouted. Caelius turned the airship away from the cannon and flew as fast as he could, intent on getting as far away from the base as he could before it exploded. He also closed the bullhead's doors.
Before long, the cannon exploded in an enormous fireball. Team COAL heard the explosion from aboard the ship.
"Burn in hell, Deegan!" Colby said with an evil grin. Then, Caelius contacted Theodore over the radio.
"Professor Theodore, the target is destroyed. I repeat, the Wormwood Cannon has been destroyed."
"Excellent!" Theodore replied. "I knew you all could do it! COAL, IRON, you have my eternal gratitude. You've saved our kingdom."
"And mine," Colby replied.
"You've saved the future of Remnant. Now come back to Shade and get some rest. You deserve it."
The airship flew back to Shade Academy across the bay. As it made its way back, the members of Team COAL savored their victory. They had saved Vacuo and the future of Vale, and now they were going to rebuild Beacon so that it could train Vale's future defenders once more.