Reviews:
Guest: Pugnus could do that, but he does not known where Salem is and he does not know that she even exists. But if Salem is say, underground then orbital bombardment would be pointless.
Jane Rolfe Jalandoni: Do not worry, for Pugnus will spare Ironwood so he can watch Atlas burn. All praises to the metal messiah!
Speech Syntaxes:
-Speech- Lingua-Technis
"Speech" Low Gothic/English
"Speech" Demon/Possessed
Chapter's Pre-readers: JVMMM and Xenolis 2
Notes: Discord code is 8CkRfd. This chapter is going to feature the people who are hired by the White Fang to replace Torchwick. They are fun to write, so hopefully you like them as well. Ad mech transport just got announced! YES! YES! YES!
Chapter Twenty-One: Back on Tracks
Skitarii Ranger Alpha-9342 watched the feudal squad, designated as RWBY, silently. The chronometer inbuilt in him slowly counted down, his squad was also connected to the device to maximize efficiency. Instead of preparing, the teens were informing each other of what had happened. How primitive and undisciplined. The chronometer hit zero, matching the fuse on the bomb with a millisecond of variation. Without hesitation the squad of Skitarii jumped into the fray. While most members of the Legiones Skitarii are silent in battle to hear orders, forge world Metalica doctrine does something else. Deafening Assault. With voxs turned to eleven, the Benediction of the Omnissiah echoed through the empty streets of the undercity. The few Faunus unlikely enough to be under the breach point were stomped on by their metal legs, necks snapping skulls breaking at the sheer force of the attacks. Any terrorist surrounding the breach were swiftly silenced by galvanic rifles.
Dominus Ferrum watched as the hidden Faunus had covered her ears while the squad breached the outpost. "Going down?" asked Ira as she followed her fellow adepts. The huntsman and huntresses-in-training, without another option they jumped into the hole. Ruby covered her nose from the stench of death already present, ignoring the bodies Blake glared at the soldiers white robes already stained crimson. The tech-priest started giving out orders, "Alpha team will clear left, while Beta team will cover right. Start the Protector Doctrina Imperative, only spare those who surrender. Set the chronometer to 5.24 seconds, at 0.00 seconds breach the next door. Doctor Oobleck, I assume you can direct team RWBY to fill in the gaps in our attack?"
The professor knelt before team RWBY. "You do not have to kill anyone tonight, but do whatever it takes to save your teammates. Remem-" His pep talk was put on hold by the Alpha kicking the door in. Without remorse the Skitarii killed any terrorists in their sights. Oobleck continued, "Come on girls, duty calls!" He lightly jogged after Dominus Ferrum who was staying in the center of the metal formation. The students rushed past the firing lines and engaged the Faunus in melee, forcing the galvanic rifles to be silent.
Ira snapped her head to Alpha team, -WHY ARE YOU NOT FIRING YOUR WEAPONS!-
-Tech-priest Dominus, the juvenile hunters are in our line of fire. If we fire, we risk hitting them.- responded Daniel. As he watched her faceplate, the skin that was left was twitching rapidly.
With venom coursing through her voice, the tech-priest ordered. -Let us teach them the why you do not move into your ally's firing line.-
The Alpha muttered a pray to the Omnissiah under his breath before responded. -I hear and obey.-
Yang punched the first Faunus she came in contact with into the nearby building. Continuing the momentum, a hook knocked out the second. Flowing with her speed, she spun around a third and backhanded the fourth. That was when bullets started to fly past her, not from the White Fang but the cyborgs. A single stray round slammed into her aura protected back. Her eyes turned red as she spun around on her heels. "WATCH WHERE YOU'RE POINTING THOSE PIECES OF SCRAP!"
Oobleck marched up to the tech-priest, he was pissed. "Why are your soldiers firing upon my students!?" He demanded over the gunfire.
She calmly turned around. "Was it not your students who ran into my soldiers' line of fire? I thought they taught team coordination at Beacon, or is Professor Goodwitch not up to standard with what she teaches?" A static screech stopped the argument, without hesitation Ira ran towards the Skitarii. The professor turned around to see the soldier lying on the ground putting pressure on his stomach, blood and oil were slipping thru his metal fingers.
-Dominus Ferrum while my flesh will decay, take my blessed augments so another can answer the Omnissiah's call to war.- stated Skitarii Ranger-4880 while Ira cradled his head in her arms.
Her reply was blunt. -You were hit in your lower chest region. You will die within the next 5 minutes, but that does not mean you can't serve the Omnissiah. While you breathe you will keep firing.- She let go of him and silently walked back to the professor.
His eyebrows were knit together. Oobleck was concerned, "Is he going to make it?"
"No, but his equipment will be put back into the stockpile for the next recruit who will take his place," explained the female tech-priest.
The doctor suggested, "I could unlock his aura an-"
Ira cut him off, "No." Oobleck looked back to the wounded Skitarii, the stain on his robes was growing bigger by the second. Yet he was still in formation firing his rifle, no screams of pain, no tears, and no remorse was shown in any of the soldiers. He was sure they knew their comrade was going to die, but they did not react.
The first skirmish was mopped up quickly, Skitarii Ranger-4880 collapsed during one of the volleys. The soldiers in his squad only reformed ranks, none looking at their comrade. Team RWBY rejoin the group as they started pushing toward the main street, none of them looked happy.
"You tin cans need to watch where you are shooting! You almost killed us!" berated Weiss. The Skitarii ignored her, their voxs continued with the constant output of static. The Schnee demanded, "What the hell are they saying, there is no reason all of them should be talking for no reason!"
"They are praying Miss Schnee," answered Ira. Upon receiving confused looks from the feudals she translated, "Immortal Omnissiah hear our prayers. We are your servants, the executors of your Grand Design. We march into the crucible of war, and we beseech you to walk by our side. Bestow upon us the blessings of your omniscient sight and direct us where you will. By our action may your Grand Design be wrought upon the stars. Omnissiah bless us all, may we bring glory unto thee."
Ruby was the only member of team RWBY not staring at the tech-priest, instead she was inspecting the rifles held by the Skitarii. This was the first time she saw them fire in person, and it appeared they fired lighting, the charred and frizzled corpses helped her figure that out. But then she realized something. "Where did the tenth soldier go?" she asked.
Dominus Ferrum causally gestured to the apprehended wheelbarrow behind her. Inside it was the contorted form of a man, his robes were no longer pure instead stained with a crimson insult. His equipment was missing from their pouches, his rifle no longer in his hands. For it was never his to own, the rifle will move onto the next host to continue the Omnissiah's will. Ira informed them, "Come on, our mission is not over yet. We need to keep the momentum of our attack."
A high pitch screech could be hear throughout the undercity, somebody was using the intercom. A slurred voice spoke through the machines, "We are leaving this dump. We also ran out of MEAD! Bird-man! Go and get me some kind of alcohol."
In the background a faint voice could be heard, "But only fire-man has mead."
"To hell with him then! Just get me some fucking mead!" yelled the original voice who still had the intercom on, for some reason. The signature sound of a train horn could be heard echoing through the empty abyss of the undercity.
Dominus Ferrum did not even need to order her Skitarii, for their Alpha was smart enough to know what was required of them. The forces of the Adeptus Mechanicus started sprinted down the streets, while their feudal allies stayed where they were. Oobleck asked her, "What are you doing?"
"We are derailing their plans," jested Ira as her mechadendrites carried the wheelbarrow behind her. Team RWBY and their teacher were quick to follow. Getting onto the train was a simple task, since the caboose had their rear door open and no guards were there to stop them. Although they had to abandon the wheelbarrow, nothing of value was lost.
"Sir Bar! They made it on the train!" reported a Faunus grunt as he entered the control room of the train. Brenn Bar slowly turned around to face the White Fang member. His form was easily intimidating. He was covered from his shoulders to his feet was a flame retardant suit that was designed and colored to appear as a crimson tuxedo. A gas mask was strapped to his head, but it was positioned to leave his mouth uncovered. The skin around his mouth was partly peeling off, and his teeth were crooked and falling out.
His raspy voice softly, similar to a mother speaking to a child, "Then I would highly suggest you get them off this train. Because we are now over the regulation passenger capacity, and I would hate to remove you instead." The terrorist frantically nodded before leaving the control room.
"How uncivilized," muttered Brenn. The White Fang member next to him glared at the pyromaniac. Sir Bar threatened him, "Why are you not helping your comrades? Are you a deserter? Your superior officers told me I could civilize any cur who abandons their brothers in arms."
Team RWBY sat on the top of the train with the squad of Skitarii, they were currently planning the assault to clear out the train. Dominus Ferrum calculated, "The squad of Skitarii will stay on the roof of the train, the rest of you can go through the train cars. Since the White Fang hate us, we will draw them away from you leaving the path to the control room clear."
Weiss opened the hatch to enter the train itself, but a strange device was sitting there. A metal cylinder with multiple wires connecting different parts of it. "What is that?" she questioned.
Doctor Oobleck cleaned his glasses with his shirt before inspecting the device. He informed the group, "That my dear…appears to be a bomb."
The Alpha reported, "Multiple unarmed terrorist approaching from the middle cars." Ira could see more climbing from the cattle cars, a few of them were armed.
-Eliminate them, - ordered Ira as a beeping noise could be heard at their feet. Turns out that the bomb has armed itself, and the machine spirit in the device was an amalgamation of multiple young machines. How ungrateful. Thankfully the students did not need to be told to get away from the explosive. Doctor Oobleck did say something to the Faunus, but the tech-priest was focusing on calculating if her nine Skitarii can hold off the hoard of abhumans.
A concerned voice halted her train of thought, "There is another bomb here!" The professor muttered to himself as he checked the next car.
"They all have bombs!" warned Oobleck. Without hesitation, all of them jumped to the next car. By now they hoard of White Fang had reached them.
Their officer yelled, "Death to the humans!" The Rangers formed a two rank deep firing line.
"Death to the hereteks," countered Dominus Ferrum as her soldiers opened fired. Needless to say it was an execution, the first to fall caused some of their comrades to trip on them. A few unlucky fell off the train unto the rails below. Their skulls crushed by the wheels of the locomotive. Team RWBY jumped into the melee to protect the Skitarii, their skill easily outmatched the poorly equipped and barely trained terrorists. The tech-priest ordered to her squad, -Follow behind team RWBY. Remember, no survivors.-
Doctor Oobleck watched as the next car exploded behind them, creating a hole in the tunnel. The bright sunlight was pouring into the dimly lit cavern, but shadows descended from the light. Grimm of a multitude of types were chasing after the train, this was not good at all. He proposed his theory, "He's leading Grimm to the city with the cars! They detach and explode, creating openings for the Grimm!"
Dominus Ferrum turned to face the professor. She informed him, "Since this concerns the protection of your people, you can give the orders doctor."
He was quick on his feet, Oobleck took the reins of the mission. "Team RWBY will go into the train and stop it at the control room. Zwei, the adepts of the Adeptus Mechanicus, and I will stay up here as a distraction," ordered the professor. The plan did take ideas from the original one, but his kept all of the strongest members as a distraction. Logic dictates that this will only work if the strongest enemies fall for the feint.
Team RWBY jumped into the first car without a bomb, inside the grey interior was a few stacks of boxes scattered around the room. But a figure was hunched over one of the boxes, its contents were scattered across the floor. He was looking for something, Blake could hear him muttering 'Klept' over and over again. The man had a chainmail shirt on, and two black appendages protruded out of his back. The silence of the room was broken when he sneezed. "Bird-man allergic to cat." The now named birdman stood up from the boxes, his appendages unfolded into two giant raven black wings. He pulled out his weapons, a shield and flail, and readied himself.
"You three go on ahead. This one's mine," stated Yang as she raised her fists into a guard. Ruby, Weiss, and Blake headed her words and moved to the next room.
Birdman said in a perfect duplication of Yang's voice, "This one's mine." A shotgun round slammed into his shield. The Faunus lifted himself off the ground with his wings, his midnight black aura covered his body. With his shield raised he charged the blonde. She countered his charge with a fierce left hook. With ease, birdman used the chain of his flail to wrap around her arm. He used her momentum and his grip on her arm to fling her across the room into the door she teammates.
Ruby heard someone hit the door behind her. "Yang, you okay in there?" she asked.
She heard her sister's voice, "You three go ahead." Thankfully she was still awake, hopefully Yang could defeat the bird Faunus. Down the car from them was an extremely tall and bulky White Fang member wielding a chainsaw that scrapped against the metal floor as he approached them.
"You two go ahead!" ordered Weiss as drew nearer to the terrorist. The lieutenant chuckled as he prepared for a strike, but Blake's blade deflected it giving the heiress time to dodge out of the way.
Weiss delivered multiple slashes and stabs with her rapier at her opponent. Since he wielded a bulky weapon it was difficult for him to block the onslaught, but not impossible. Finishing her attack with an upward strike, the White Fang member hit the ground. The heiress smiled to her team leader and Faunus friend as they went into the next room. The lieutenant slowly stood up chuckling, "Finally, I get to kill a Schnee."
Blake and Ruby entered the final train car before the control room. Their last obstacle in the way to completing the mission was a guy laying his back against the door with a bottle of whiskey in his hand which he was currently chugging. His clothes were a mess, and his blonde hair was unkempt. The man slurred, "You aren't bird-man. Do any of you have more mead by any chance?"
Blake questioned him, "Isn't racist to call him bird-man?"
"No, because I don't give a shit. Bird-man is bird-man, and that is final!" he yelled as he swung his bottle thru the air.
Blake attempted to use his alcoholism against him, "I think there might be some more beer in the room behind you. Let us pass and we can get you some."
The drunkard went silent as he stared into his bottle, "I am running low, and there is more back there. Fire-man is a bitch ya know. He wants company but turns out that does not include me. He calls me an inebriate! I can't even spell it, nor do I know what it means." He finally stood up from the ground and dusted off his pants. Out of his pockets he pulled out a syringe with an orange tip. In a swift and practiced motion he injected it into his left arm, after finishing he charged at Ruby.
"Blake, go ahead. I got him," ordered the crimson reaper. The drunk man attempted to throw a highly projected haymaker. Ruby used the shaft of her scythe to block the attack, activating her semblance she went to the door they came from.
The man told the Faunus, "Cat person, make sure to bring me some mead from the next room when you are done." Blake glared at him before entering the control room.
The control room itself was pitch black and it had a weird smell, but her Faunus heritage allowed her to see silhouettes in the room. Nobody was at the control panels, but she would not know what buttons to press unless she could read the instruction manual. The lightbulbs in the room were shattered, something was wrong. That was when she realized that the smell was alcohol, and it was poured across the entire floor. A soft and raspy voice spoke, "Have you ever heard the phrase, 'Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.'? I can assure you that there will be no satisfaction to find here. Allow me to bright light unto this statement." A small match was lit in the corner of the room, which allowed her to see the man's face. He was wearing a tie, and a gasmask that left his mouth exposed. His crooked grin was unsettling.
The match fell onto the ground, fire covered the entire room. Using the dust that Weiss gave her, she created an ice shadow of herself. The flames quickly melted it, the water resulting quickly put out the fire. The man introduced himself, "How uncivilized of me, to strike human before introducing myself. I am Sir Brenn Bar. I am not astonished you got past my colleagues Mr. Geier, Mr. Wein, and that Faunus Lieutenant. There are all too uncultured to even put up a lasting conversation."
Brenn Bar (Fire-man)
Looks like a mix of Pyro from TF2 (Soot Suit, Air Raider, Whiskered Gentleman) and a Snork from STALKER.
Honig Wein (Mead-man)
The drunk man with his hair going in every direction.
Stumm Geier (Bird-man)
Raven Faunus with wings.