Chapter 19
Atlas
Day 4: Early evening
The past few hours had had them heading further and further out, towards the edges of the city, killing Grimm and escorting people to safety the whole while. Yang considered herself a rural girl at heart, having spent her formative years growing up in Patch, so at this point in the day she was sick to death of being stuck in canyons of metal and glass. Which is why the quaint farm they now found themselves on was a welcome change of pace. The farmer's land had been completely overrun by Grimm, trapping him and his family in their house.
She was clearing the way for the family to escape, eliminating all the grimm she could on the dirt road leading back towards the city. She disintegrated the last Creep with a blast of pellets coated in fire dust; she used the last round in her left gauntlet to launch herself into the air, feeling the brief joy of weightlessness before arcing down and slamming her fist through the skull of the final Beowolf. As it dissolved into ashes, she waved to the farmer and his family loaded into their car. The engine roared and they zoomed by her, the farmer yelling a quick "Thank you!" out the window. She waved again as they drove into the distance before taking a brief moment to catch her breath. She turned and began walking back to the farmhouse at a leisurely pace, reloading her gauntlet and mechanical arm with fresh shells as she did so. In the distance, she could hear the occasional sounds of Blake's pistol and Marrow's rifle as the two of them finished off the few remaining Grimm from the fields.
She had just made it back to the farmhouse's front porch when Blake emerged from the corn, brushing some leaves off of her coat. Her eyes met Yang's, and the small smile that spread across Blake's lips made Yang's heart soar. She joined her on the porch and they sat down together on a wooden bench, both letting out a sigh of exhaustion, each of them more sore than they ever thought they could be, muscles that they didn't even know they had were now burning with fatigue. They looked out at the rolling fields of crops, dyed a brilliant orange from the setting sun that was just above the horizon. They were both thankful that the house faced away from the city, away from the plumes of smoke billowing from some of the buildings. Just for a moment, they could pretend that things weren't going straight to hell.
"I'm going to take a quick nap." Blake said, shivering slightly in the breeze and scooting closer to Yang's always warm body, pressing their shoulders together, "Let my aura do its job for a minute."
"Go for it," Yang said, desperately hoping her partner wouldn't notice the blush on her cheeks as The Faunus laid her head on Yang's shoulder, "I'm not moving a damn muscle for at least the next ten minutes."
"You're the best…" Blake murmured, her eyes falling closed. It took all of Yang's self control not to place a soft kiss on her partner's forehead.
She took some time to just enjoy the quiet before they inevitably had to jump back into the fray again. She quietly listened as Blake's breathing slowed and became more quiet and regular. After a few minutes Marrow walked out of the field as well, approaching them and leaning against the railing in front of them. "I've called a Manta to come pick us up, you guys don't seem up to walking back to town." he joked with a wry grin.
Yang just glared at him, she hadn't yet forgiven him for trying to arrest them earlier. For her part, Blake either stayed asleep or did a damn good job at pretending.
His grin faded and he seemed to shrink; he looked away, unable to meet her gaze. "If it means anything…I'm sorry…" he said quietly, still avoiding eye contact, "I was just-"
"Following orders. Yeah, yeah yeah…" Yang interrupted, rolling her eyes, "Been hearing that a lot today. It's a coward's excuse."
"You're right…" he said, laughing humorlessly, Yang's eyebrows went up, she honestly hadn't expected him to agree with her, "You're right…I told them that it was a bad idea when Ironwood briefed us, that we should be working with you and not trying to capture you but he shouted me down…" He paused for a moment, his gaze becoming distant, "I tried to insist and he…" he shuddered, his tail drooping, "The way Ironwood looked at me…Like he was wondering if I was worth it…Like I was prey…"
"What do you mean?" Yang asked, tilting her head, "Like he was going to kill you?" She still hadn't moved from Yang's shoulder but Yang distinctly saw one of Blake's cat ears turn towards Marrow.
Marrow stared straight ahead, his gaze distant. "When Ironwood was a Captain, long before I had even enrolled in the academy, his unit had a very high mission success rate…but he also had the highest casualty count in all of the Atlas military…" he shook his head slowly, "There were rumors that…soldiers he didn't like, or got in his way…they got…" he couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence. "I never thought the rumors were real…"
Yang frowned deeply, "Do you think that's what happened to Ruby and Weiss? He saw them as a threat or something?"
"I don't know…" he said crossing his arms, "I'd love to say that he'd never do that but in the past forty-eight hours we've all seen-"
*I have an emergency situation.* They all jumped as Winter's voice came through their earpieces.
"Winter?" Yang asked, "You're awake?" Blake sat up, blinking slowly, a frown forming on her face.
*Yes.* came her terse reply, *Comms is the only duty they'd let me perform, but we don't have time to chat now. The entire fate of the island is at stake and you three are the only ones who are close enough to get there.*
"Oh, no pressure or anything…" Yang muttered before tapping her earpiece to respond, "What's going on? Where do you need us?"
*Salem's whale damaged one of the shield pylons where it beached itself. If we lose one more tower the shield goes down completely and everyone in the city dies from oxygen deprivation once we rise into the atmosphere. I have teams of huntsmen covering the other towers…but the one nearest to you three only has a small squad protecting it and we've detected a sizable force of Grimm headed there. Get there ASAP.*
"I've got a Manta about ten minutes out." Marrow said.
*That isn't fast enough,* came Winter's reply, *The Grimm will be there in half that time.*
Blake shot to her feet, "Farmer's got an old car in the barn." She vaulted over the porch railing and dashed to the barn door.
"We're on it, Winter." Marrow said. He turned to Yang, "Keys. We need keys; you check the house, I'll look in the garage."
Suddenly they heard the car roar to life. It quickly pulled around the barn and screeched to a stop in front of them. They both looked at Blake quizzically as she gestured at them to hurry from the driver's seat.
"What?" she asked, "You learn a lot in the White Fang…like how to hotwire a car…"
"You were in the White Fang?" Marrow asked, his eyebrows shooting up.
"No time!" Yang exclaimed, shoving Marrow into the back seat, "Save Atlas now, debate former lives-of-crime later!" Blake floored it, aiming the car straight for the pylon several miles distant.
A few minutes later, The car crashed through the last of the farmer's crops and onto a grassy field rapidly closing the last mile to the pylon. Yang felt a little bad for destroying the farmer's crops but if Atlas fell, there wouldn't be ANY crops. The car screeched to a halt a half-mile away, unable to navigate the more rocky terrain leading up to the massive tower. As they stepped out a loud hum sounded from everywhere around them and they suddenly felt heavier. Yang and Blake shared a pained look. Atlas was rising. They hadn't been able to help Mantle, Penny had been forced to give Ironwood the spear. Yang hoped that Clover had been able to get a few ships down there to continue the evacuation. A few moments later, the island lurched again, almost throwing them to the ground.
"Oh gods, what now?" Yang asked, as they began to run towards the Pylon, "What more could go wrong?" She fought back tears, knowing they were leaving Ruby, Weiss and all the people of Mantle behind to fend for themselves.
*The city is rising into the atmosphere,* Winter said, *and we managed to dislodge Salem's whale in the process.*
'Well, a single bit of good news is better than nothing…' Yang thought.
Climbing over the last rise, they spotted the massive group of Grimm closing in on the tower. A group of ten Atlas soldiers came out onto the tower's ramparts and began firing their rifles into the swarm approaching them.
*I've got an gunship heading your way, but it's five minutes out. You'll have to hold out until then.* Winter said, her voice tight with worry.
Yang shook her head, they wouldn't last five minutes against this many Grimm. The horde of Sabyrs, Beowolves, and the writhing forms of Centinels closed on the soldiers while two massive Manticores stood in the back growling threateningly.
One of the massive beasts sniffed the air as the three Huntsmen approached; it turned and quickly spotted them, growling a warning to the other Grimm. The pride of Sabyrs as well as the other Manticore turned and began stalking towards them, while the Beowolves and the Centinels continued to close in on the tower.
A quick mental tally told Yang there were too many Grimm for even the three of them together. She desperately glanced around, looking for anything that could possibly help them, but finding nothing. She deployed Ember Celica and heard the safety on Marrow's rifle click off.
She glanced over at Blake; the Faunus woman looked back, the determined look on her face matched exactly what Yang felt: the fate of the entire island, the fate of thousands of people were in their hands and they weren't about to give up without a fight. She just wished there was more time. She'd have liked to have told Blake how she felt before the end, but there was no time as more and more Grimm became aware of their presence. Honestly, if this was going to be their last stand, there was no one else she'd rather die beside. She studied Blake's face, committing it to memory. If she was going to die, she wanted one last nice thing to think about as she went. Suddenly, they were out of time, the Grimm began to snarl loudly. She reluctantly wrenched her gaze away from her partner as the Grimm began to advance on them; she prepared to throw herself into their midst.
One last fight. One last battle with her partner at her side. She drew her fist back, her muscles tensing, a war-cry building in her throat to answer the cries of the Grimm.
The howl of an Alpha Beowolf was suddenly cut off as every Grimm suddenly froze; their bodies stiffening, heads whipping around to look behind them. At first Yang thought that they were looking toward the Pylon, but no, they were looking past it, out towards the darkening tundra.
"NOW!" Yang screamed, hopefully loud enough for the group of soldiers to hear, not wasting time wondering why the Grimm had stopped, "HIT THEM WITH EVERYTHING!"
With a CHOOM from her gauntlets, she surged forward, feeling rather than seeing Blake and Marrow running alongside her. Her gauntlets barked again as she launched herself straight at the nearest manticore. The beast was just starting to recover from whatever had drawn the Grimm's attention when two loads of buckshot tore big chunks out of its side. It was just turning its head to look at her when Yang's fist slammed into its face, caving its skull in. She had a brief second as she extricated her fist from the Grimm's head to watch the soldiers hurl a volley of grenades into the mass of still recovering Centinels. As much as she wanted to watch them explode into tiny bits, she had her own foes to deal with.
Yang pushed off the Manticore's rapidly dissolving corpse, aiming straight for the other Manticore, hoping that it was equally unprepared for her attack. Unfortunately for her, that wasn't the case. Even as she flew towards it, she could see its beady eyes tracking her; its barbed tail snapped out, Yang could see its aim was perfect. A blast from her right arm diverted her body just enough that the pointy end just barely missed her, but the blunt part impacted her side and sent her flying through the air. She was fairly certain two or more of her ribs were broken. It hurt. A lot. But she was able to push through it, because for her, pain brought power, even now she could feel her aura rippling with the energy the Manticore had just given her.
Time seemed to slow as she flew through the air. The Manticore turned and swiped massive paw at Blake's turned back. Marrow leapt, taking the blow across his side, and bumping Blake out of the way, quickly bringing his rifle up, aiming right at the things face. Clover was right. He was one of the good ones. She vowed to be slightly nicer to him from now on. Slightly.
She watched as what was left of the pack of Beowolves closed in on Blake intent on tearing her to pieces. Blake disappeared just in the nick of time, leaving behind a fiery clone that detonated, incinerating then all. That left one group of Grimm left for her, and if memory served, she was on the perfect trajectory to deal with them. Gambol Shroud in its hook form appeared beneath her, thrown by Blake for her to grab onto. Yang smiled and knew exactly what her partner was thinking. She felt the energy from the manticore's massive blow ripping through her aura and saw the snarling faces of the group of Sabyrs below her.
She smirked, reaching out and grabbing Gambol's hilt. Time sped up again as she channeled her aura into the specialized pathways in her mechanical arm. Her aura flared in response, the bright flames illuminating the snarling Grimm below her, power and energy rippling through her body. She took all her rage and pain - Ruby and Weiss missing, Mantle abandoned, that asshole Ironwood not caring about either - into a single strike. They all fueled her in that moment. Her aura crackled wildly around her, burning hotter than she ever had before, the air itself feeling like it might ignite. The ribbon went taut and she was yanked towards the ground by her partner.
She slammed her fist through the Sabyr directly below her, her aura-fueled strike carving right through the beast like wet paper, vaporizing it instantly. Her fist struck the ground, and with a cry of unbridled rage she released the energy from her aura. The ground erupted.
The soldier aimed and fired a burst from his rifle into the last few Centinels rushing towards the pylon. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a massive explosion of earth consume the group of Sabyrs, tearing most of them to shreds instantly. In the distance the final Manticore cried out as the Hunteress with cat ears sliced a tendon in its leg, bringing it down to its knees. He saw Marrow finish off the remaining Beowolves before turning his weapon on the Manticore, emptying the magazine into its face. The soldier hurled his last grenade into the onrushing Centinels, shredding them. He turned to his squad, a shout of excitement on his lips.
But before he could say anything, the ground in front of the tower exploded upward, showering them with dirt and rocks. Looming over them, a minimum of thirty feet tall, was a giant Centinel. An ancient, staring at them with a frightening intelligence behind its beady eyes.
Acting entirely on instinct, the soldier brought his rifle up and opened fire, as did the rest of his squad. Their bullets just seemed to bounce off its thick, bony hide as they emptied their magazines into the Grimm. He knew they couldn't stop it but kept firing anyway, hoping for a miracle. It bellowed an ear-splitting cry as it reared back to strike at them and destroy their tower. He knew this was the end.
Suddenly a blinding light rose into the air from behind the Grimm's head, a brilliant, blazing star. What the soldier thought must be an angel resolved into a woman cloaked in white-hot fire, her mouth open in a guttural cry of rage. She came down and slammed a hook-like object deep into the back of the beast's head, a black ribbon trailing behind her.
The flaming woman flipped over the top of the Centinel's head, punching it in the face hard enough to make the ancient stagger. The Huntress with the cat ears hauled back on the ribbon as hard as she could and the Grimm lurched backwards, landing with a crash that shook the ground. It began thrashing wildly, desperately trying to right itself. The word "STAY!" rang out and the Grimm stopped thrashing, holding perfectly still.
The soldier watched in awe as the Huntsmen opened fire on the beast. The fiery woman quickly ran to the creature, unloading round after round from her gauntlets into the weak points in the things's bone-white armor. The other Huntress leapt into the air, a bright purple glow building in the sheath she carried. At the apex of her jump she swung her weapon, a purple arc of aura emerging and slicing the massive Centinel in two.
The soldier was silent as the Grimm died, his mouth hanging open in awe. He knew the rest of his comrades were in shock at what they had just watched. "Please tell me someone had their helmet-cam running." one soldier said, breaking the silence.
"Oh, you better believe it." another replied, "It's going straight up on scroll-tube the second we get back to the barracks."
"That was the coolest thing I've ever seen." the soldier said quietly, the rest of his squad murmuring their agreement. He knew that Huntsmen were supposed to be the best of the best, but these people were on a truly different level. They all owed them their lives, hell, the entire island did if he heard the transmissions from earlier correctly.
Yang's head snapped around, scanning for her next target but finding nothing and saw Blake and Marrow doing the same. She listened for snarls or growls but all she heard was the sound of an engine growing louder. Suddenly, a massive gunship rose up behind the tower, its six engines flaring as it braked. After a moment their earpieces came to life once again.
*Winter made it sound like the situation was desperate…* the captain said, a slight chuckle in his voice, *But it looks like you three had it well in hand.* He paused a moment, *Scanners aren't picking up any more Grimm in the immediate vicinity, looks like the pylon is safe for now. Good work Huntsmen." The airship's engines flared and it began moving back the way it had come, no doubt needed elsewhere.
Yang let out a breath, unclenching her muscles. A wave of exhaustion washed over her and she doubled over, her hands on her knees, suddenly out of breath. She looked to her right and watched as an equally exhausted looking Blake retrieved her weapon from the giant pile of ash, all that was left of the ancient Centinel; she brushed Gambol off and came to stand beside her, resting a hand on Yang's back as she still tried to catch her breath. Yang looked to her right, and saw Marrow come up, his face worried.
"I'm fine," she said quietly, "I just need a minute." He looked relieved. She sighed, he really wasn't such a bad guy. Easily the most likable of the Ace Ops anyway. "Thanks." She said giving him a nod, he tilted his head in confusion. "For keeping her safe." She clarified, nodding her head at Blake, "It means a lot to me." She felt Blake's hand gently squeeze her shoulder.
"No problem." He said with a small smile, "I have a lot to make up for and that's just a start. The things in this city that I've helped-"
Once again, the island shuddered violently beneath their feet and Yang shot upright, adrenaline surging once again through her in anticipation of wherever fresh hell the world had to throw at them next. Marrow looked around warily, exhaustion showing on his face.
A full five minutes passed before Winter's voice spoke through their earpieces, speaking to all of the atlas military, *Salem's whale just rammed Atlas from below, inflicting minor damage on the under-structure. The whale rapidly lost altitude and nearly crashed into the ground before recovering. As of right now it seems to be pacing us from below as we move west. We've repelled Salem's forces, we are safe for now. Repeat: we are safe.*
Cheers erupted from the soldiers at the tower, their joy and relief palpable. Yang felt a small smile tug at her lips, despite the nagging thought that they were leaving thousands of people behind, not to mention her sister and friend. She looked over at Blake, her smile instantly growing wider at just the sight of her. They'd survived. They had time now. She slipped her hand, her real one, into Blake's and looked deep into her golden eyes. She saw something there, something like anticipation or even permission. 'Fuck it.' Yang thought.
"Blake I-"
*I think congratulations are in order for the three of you.* Winter said in the earpieces, speaking to them through a private channel, *It seems you saved the entire island.*
Yang groaned loudly before putting her finger to her earpiece to respond. Yet another moment ruined. "Thanks." She said tightly, not trying very hard to hide the annoyance in her voice. Blake's ears flattened onto her head, her disappointment obvious. "Where do you need us next?" Yang asked.
*Nowhere.* Winter replied, *You three are being ordered back to the academy to rest. We can have anything happening to the three people that saved the city. There's a Manta with reinforcements for the tower headed your way, you three will come back on that. There's a lot of people that want to thank you.*
But Yang wasn't really listening, something had just occurred to her, a terrible thought that refused to be banished from her mind. She began to wander towards the edge of the island.
"Uh…that sounds amazing, Winter." Blake said, taking over for Yang as she worriedly glanced after her, "Thanks for everything." She began following just behind Yang.
*To be totally honest with you, I'm surprised that the three of you were able to handle that many Grimm…* Winter said, her voice sounding slightly guilty, *You three were the only option. I'm just glad no one got hurt or killed…*
She came up beside Yang who had stopped just short of the edge of the island. "Well…we had help…" Blake said softly. She clicked off her comms as tears began to run down Yang's cheeks.
Blake stood at her side, and worked her hand into Yang's clenched fist, trying to soothe her partner. Yang gazed out at the tundra, looking approximately where the Grimm had all been staring. It was completely dark now, a tiny glow on the western horizon the only evidence the sun had been up at all. Not even Blake, with her much better than average night vision, could see anything.
"Yang?" She asked softly after a few moments of silence.
Yang's jaw muscles worked for a second before she spoke, "Something happened out there…something horrible." she said, her voice quaking slightly, "Something horrible enough to draw the Grimm's attention away from all the misery here…" she slowly sank to the ground, Blake sitting down right next to her.
Blake had been thinking much the same thing, but up until now she hadn't allowed herself to follow that thought to the end. "Y-You're not thinking that it could have been…" she trailed off, tears beginning to gather in her eyes too.
"How can I not think that?" Yang's voice was almost a whisper. "They're out there, and if I remember correctly, that's the direction of the outpost from their mission." She slammed her fist down on a rock next to her. "I hate this! I hate being helpless! My sister is out there and not only are we moving AWAY from her and Weiss, but I can't even find out if she's ok or not!"
Blake wrapped her arms around Yang's middle in the tightest side hug she could muster. She could only hold her as the pillar of strength that was Yang Xiao Long crumbled in front of her eyes, finally succumbing to the weight of the thoughts she'd been doing her best to suppress for the last few days. Yang clutched at Blake's arm, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs. Blake knew there was nothing she could say to ease Yang's pain, not when she had the exact same worries, the exact same desire to break down and cry. But she couldn't, Yang needed her right now. She could cry later.
She held Yang until her sobs lessened to sniffles and then kept hugging her. Eventually, they heard the engines of a Manta in the distance. After a moment, Yang straightened up, and wiped a few tears from her eyes, her expression still grim.
"I don't know what happened out there," Blake said, entwining her fingers with Yang's, "But I do know that Ruby and Weiss would try their absolute best to get back to us. We have to trust them, and be there for them when they get back."
Yang squeezed her hand, "I know." She replied quietly, "It's just…not knowing is the worst part." She sighed heavily. "Well, we best not keep our ride waiting," she said, the corners of her mouth turning up slightly, "conquering heroes and all that."
They stood and walked over to where Marrow was flagging down the incoming Manta. Blake was grateful to him for hanging back and letting them have their space for a few moments. He looked over at her quizzically as if asking 'Everything good?' She could only give him a small, sad smile. Things were not ok, very far from it. He nodded, seeming to understand and climbed in the Manta after them, slamming the hatch behind him.
As the Manta took off again Blake caught Yang staring out the window, looking out at the tundra. She'd be lying to herself if she wasn't doing the exact same thing; staring out at the darkened snow, looking for signs of life. Sighing, they both settled in for the ride back, leaning on each other for comfort, and bracing themselves for the million questions they knew would come their way.
Hello again everyone! I'm so sorry for the lack of updates, a ton has happened since July. I got super busy with wedding planning, had a bachelor party for my friend and then myself. I got married at the beginning of September and then immediately got covid two weeks after. It's been super busy but boy am I glad to be back! I'd like to say that I'll be back on track with updates, but I have a second reception to plan in my wife's home state, so I'm not going to make you guys any promises that I can't keep, but I'll try to be better about updating.
I actually had a ton of fun writing this chapter, and the ending is definitely my favorite Grimm based fight that I've written. The next chapter will be returning to Weiss, so definitely brace yourselves for that. As always, thanks to my wonderful wife V for being my Beta and thanks to YOU for reading!
