Chapter 15 — Ambush

"Looks like we're gonna be doing this the hard way…"

— Adam Taurus,

RWBY, Black Trailer

Their trip to the military base was mostly silent, except for the two idiots who were bickering about that stupid rumor. Although it would be best to be silent, the two — Eric and Steve — continued to argue about the Grimm Tamer that was allegedly living in Forever Fall Forest — the forest they were currently traveling through. Adam didn't know how, but somehow the two morons still had enough energy and oxygen to waste for their arguments even though they were running through at top speed. When they finally crossed the line, he snapped at them.

"Shut up you two!"

Both Faunus went silent for a moment before involving him in their little discussion, asking his opinion on the subject of that stupid myth and so on.

"You too think it's a man, right? I mean, it has to be," Eric asked, running up to him.

"Why the hell does it have to be a man?! It could also be a woman, damn it!" Steve retorted, also running up to the two.

"Why would it be a woman? Men are far stronger, so of course a man would have such a rare power. A woman wouldn't even know what to do with it," Eric retorted, glaring at the other Faunus, both now engaged in a heated glaring contest.

"A woman would be far better. Imagine it; a cute girl with-"

"Would you just shut up?! We are almost there so shut your mouths and keep quiet. I don't need you two to blow our cover before we can even get started with the mission!" Adam cut the man off, finally silencing the two who thought it better to obey than lose their heads. They knew about his reputation as an excellent fighter and a merciless killer. They didn't know if he would also attack one of his own, but how did the proverb go: let sleeping dogs lie.
It was quiet from the on before they finally reached the hill behind which the military base was located. The group slowed down and, crouching, went up the hill and looked over it, scanning the base. It looked just like in the footage that they had seen the other day. They could use the hill to slide down and jump over the fence that encircled the compound.

"You know what to do, right?" Adam asked in a hushed tone, looking to his two companions as they each nodded.
He nodded back and, quickly standing up and jumping down, he slid over the ground, whirling up leaves and dust. Eric and Steve followed closely behind, also sliding down the hill without a sound. Pushing himself off, Adam twisted in the air before landing on his feet on the other side of the fence. He immediately took cover behind one of the many hangars, looking over to see the two others do the same. With a final nod, they split up, each making his way to the hangar that held their targets. It was easier moving alone than in a group and lessened the possibility of being spotted.

Silently taking out one of the soldiers stationed to guard the entrance to the hangar, the red head pushed the doors open and closed them again. Turning around, he had to admit that the military had been busy. The room was filled with Paladin-290s, Bullheads and Knight-200s, the latter being in shut down mode. Adam went to work, damaging the machines so that they could no longer be of use by cutting cables and whatnot. Eric and Steve were doing the same and within twenty minutes they were finished.

"Good. Now we can-"

"Intruders! Alarm the general! We have intruders in sector B!"

Within seconds the shrill sound of the alarm was blaring and soldiers were rushing to the hangar, pointing their weapons at the three men who did nothing but stand there.

"Lower your weapons and put your hands behind your head!" a soldier with his pistol trained on Eric said. But neither man did as told and after the soldier had repeated his demand, every soldier pulled back the safety on their weapons, showing the Faunus that they were going to shoot if they did not oblige to their commands.

"I will only repeat myself once; lower your weapons and put your hands behind your head!"

Again none of the three reacted and that's when the soldier gave the signal.

"Fire!"

Every man shot but when they were finished, the three Faunus were still standing, not a scratch on them.

"What the-"

The man never finished his sentence. A bullet shot right through his torso, spilling blood and killing the soldier. The other soldiers looked in horror at their fallen comrade before Adam was upon them. With unmatched speed he sliced through man after man. Eric and Steve joined in the massacre, using their respective weapons — knives and fists — to take out the enemy. Neither showed mercy, drenching the hall in blood and the smell of death.

Running out of the hangar, they took out any opposition. Using an attacking Paladin as support, they jumped into the watchtower, killing the guards before leaping over the fence. They were a mere blur as they ran through the forest, alarms growing faint in the distance. Eric suddenly halted, stumbling and hissing in pain. The rest of the team halted, and Adam was about to tell him to keep going until he saw the dark spot on Eric's pants.

"Damn it, the bastards got me," he hissed, clutching his thigh. Steve was quick to go over and support the man, but he too had been hit by a bullet, the wound only now showing through his white vest.

Adam growled in aggravation. Great. Now I've got two wounded men in the middle of the forest with the only help being the military on our tails.

He brooded about their possibilities when an eerie howl interrupted his train of thought. Instinctively, his muscles tensed and his hand gripped the hilt of his sword. It sounded again before numerous glowing red eyes closed in on them. He gritted his teeth; he did not need this right now. The Grimm closed in and when they were all visible, he could count at least two dozen of them, all Ursas with some Beowolves mixed in.

He looked over to his two men and saw that they, too, had noticed the Grimm. Each man had by now taken up a fighting stance, although Eric was supporting himself mostly on his left leg and Steve was clutching his side, blood dripping from both of their wounds. There was no way they could fight for long with those kind of injuries. Plus, Adam could not fight and protect them at the same time.

Then the Grimm lunged at them. They each tried to defend themselves as best as they could, using their weapons to the best of their ability. Eric was the first to cry out in pain — a Grimm had managed to come up from behind him and slashed across his back, blood dripping freely from the deep wound.

Steve was next. A Beowolf bit into his upper arm, tearing the flesh from the bone. The man cried out in agony, feeling the beast pull his arm to the point where it was almost ripped off.

Distracted by this, an Ursa took the chance and slashed Adam across the chest. He grunted as the flesh was being shred apart, creating a large gash that stretched from his left shoulder down to just above his right hip. Curiously enough, he was more annoyed by the fact that his shirt and beloved trench-coat were being ruined in the process. He staggered back from the sheer force of the attack, vision already blurring.

Another Ursa attacked him and although he managed to kill it, the sudden loss of blood finally took its toll on him. He staggered back a few more feet before his legs finally gave out underneath him and he sunk onto his knees, falling face first onto the ground. He briefly registered a dull pain in his head and figured that he'd probably hit it on something. Everything became a haze and his vision began closing in on the sides.

He could see the paws of an Ursa not far from him and watched as they approached him. But no matter how many times he told himself to get up, his body just wouldn't move.

The monster was now directly in front of him and he could imagine it raising its claws to deal the finishing blow. The last thing he heard was the caw of a Nevermore and a dull thud, as if something had fallen onto the ground. His eyes closed and he succumbed to darkness, but not before hearing a voice.

A female voice.

"Ajax, don't!"

Edited 13/01/2017

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or any of its characters. All I do own are my OC and the idea and plot of the non-canon parts of the story.