[Chapter 4]

Beta: Engineer1869

Uh… Surprise?

AN at the bottom.

Sun's PoV

Six Hours Post Drop

I don't remember much. Last I remember anything was seeing the AID woman's pod get struck, her display going out, and shortly thereafter seeing Qrow's pod get taken down by a frankly immense Nevermore. An Alpha Nevermore, maybe? It was possible, I'd just never seen one or even heard of one.

That, though, was the past.

The present?

The present was painful. It felt like I'd been put through a woodchipper the previous day. Everything hurt, my chest especially. My eyes slowly drifted open, only to discover I was still in my pod, dangling precariously over the ground below, seemingly caught in the telephone wiring that ran through the whole of Vale.

With a groan I started to shift around as best I could. Everything still felt like it was intact and not broken, so that was a good thing. Slowly coming too more, I shifted in the pod, grabbing hold of my weapons, still strapped into their compartments. It was slow going, getting them situated and in hand while still being strapped into the pod, but I had a feeling that once I got out of this thing, getting back in and getting what I had left behind? It would be a pain in the ass, if not outright impossible.

"Alright, Sun. You've got this. Easy. Just wrench open the door and pray to whatever deities might exist that there isn't a pack of bloodthirsty Grimm just waiting to take your head on a pike…" I muttered, more or less to myself as I did just that.

The door creaked and groaned, slowly falling open, leaving me dangling just by my harness, looking straight down at the street below. With one last steadying breath, I released the clasps that held my harness to the seat.

Gravity took effect immediately after, ensuring my face made friends with the concrete below. I didn't stay there, despite the aches in my… Everywhere, honestly. I popped up on my feet in an instant, shouldering my rifle as I took the time to examine the area around me. No sign of Grimm.

The battered streets of Vale had seen better days. Certainly days with less blood and corpses littering them. It made me sick to my stomach, honestly. But I shook my head. A deep, steadying breath later, and I was calm once again. Double checking my gear, making sure nothing was busted and all, I started off into the city.

It was pitch black, not that it bothered me in the slightest. Humans might have had some issues, but hey, being a Faunus comes in handy from time to time. The thunderstorm still raged above, lightning cracking through the cloud and smoke filled sky.

"Wonder if Jaune and Cardin made it down alright…" I muttered to myself. Though my reverie was broken as I heard the shattering of glass nearby, and something crunching under foot.

Without missing a beat, I made a break for the first building I could find - it looked like it might have once been a cafe. The windows were busted in, and the place had been ransacked and ravaged. Either by looters or Grimm.

I ducked inside, my steps light and cautious, even in my haste to get out of sight. I vaulted over a low countertop, dropping low as soon as my feet hit the ground. Not but a moment later I peeked my eyes just over the edge of the counter.

I saw a pack of Grimm. About five in total. One was an Ursa, not a Major though. It didn't have enough armor for that. Behind it were four Beowolves. I didn't fancy my chances with them this close and personal. I sucked in a deep breath, ducked down, and waited. Just keep walking… Don't stop and look this way…

It felt like forever I was there, battered, bruised, and alone in the middle of what was ostensibly enemy territory. In reality, it was maybe a minute. If that.

The low growls and crunches of heavy feet started to drift away, and I let that breath go, carefully peeking my head up over top of the counter. No Grimm in sight.

"Too close…" I muttered to myself. Though I didn't fancy my chances of going on the streets - not when there was a pack so near still. Maybe the rooftops? It would give me a better view of the area, and would hopefully have less Grimm patrolling it.

Not seeing any better ideas, I picked my way through the back of the cafe, finding a fire exit in the kitchen. There was a back door on the far end of the kitchen, one that led into the alleyway behind the store, and the others in this little strip mall. It hung open, hanging from the bottom hinge only just barely. Grimm had battered the door down at some point, if I had to wager a guess.

I slipped out the back and found out why - several corpses littered the alley, their blood long since washed away by the storm hanging over our heads. I shook my head and turned my attention to the wall. It was only a one story building, so that made the whole idea of getting up there easier, in lieu of a fire escape or a ladder.

Nodding to myself, I took a few steps back and made a running leap at the wall, channeling some of my Aura into my legs. I leapt up, getting a handhold on the edge of the roof, powering myself the rest of the way up with my arms.

I grunted as I settled in on the rooftop, surveying the street below. I could still see that pack of Grimm, slowly meandering down the road. They stopped every so often to sniff and nod towards buildings before continuing on.

I took another deep breath and started slowly working my way across the roof, away from the Grimm pack. Wherever they were going, I wanted to be headed in the exact opposite direction. At least until I had friends to back me up.

It didn't take me much walking until I ran into more Grimm. I swore under my breath, hitting the deck. This was more than just one pack of them. This was several. It was hard to get a headcount, but it had to easily be more than twenty. Why were they all here, gathered in front of a short office building just across the street?

My answer came a minute later, with one of the windows busting out. A blinking red light came a moment later. The Grimm, to their credit, started to scramble, trying to get a move on.

They weren't nearly fast enough. The explosive that just got hurled out of the window went off right before hitting the ground, covering the small parking lot in smoke. Gunshots followed almost immediately after.

Swearing under my breath I crawled forward, up to the edge of the roof I was on, bringing my rifle up with me as I took aim down the scope. Streaming out the other end of the building seemed to be a crew of people, maybe seven in total. There had to be more in the building as the gunfire still rattled into the smoke.

A howl pierced through the gunfire, and I cursed yet again, swerving my sights back to the now clearing smoke. The Grimm were in fact under fire, but a scant few had been killed. I didn't miss a beat as I drew my lips back in a slight smirk, sucking in a deep breath. I zeroed in on the head of one of the Grimm - a Beowolf - and pulled the trigger. Its head exploded, and its body dissolved shortly thereafter.

My own gun joined the fray, rifle shots cracking off with only scant moments between each as I lined up my next shot.

I was good - a damn fine shot and quick one when I needed to be, too. But as more Grimm seemed to flood the area, there was only so much I could do. The Grimm made a charge at the office building, busting through the doors. The shouting and gunfire told me what was happening there, and it wasn't pretty.

With a low growl I vaulted over the edge of the roof, ducking into a roll as I hit the ground. I bounded up onto my feet, slinging my rifle over my shoulder as I pulled my SMG off my hip. I took a deep breath. "Feet first into hell, eh Sun?"

I charged into the building, ambushing the Grimm from behind.

The scene I was presented with wasn't pretty. Bodies were strewn across the floor, still warm as the Grimm tore through them, leaving only red in their wake. Gunshots still tore through the night, and mine joined them shortly thereafter.

I was reminded pretty quickly why I was a marksman and not a shock trooper - I'm frankly shit at anything resembling close quarters combat.

The Grimm finally took notice of me, some turning back to put their attention on me. I growled, bringing my gun to bear on them, not even remotely hesitating to bring a storm of bullets down on them. The first to fall was a Beowolf, getting pelted in the chest by about seven rounds, it eventually collapsed. Another fell shortly after it, and another after that. I grinned victoriously as I chewed through the Grimm.

That was until I heard a click, and my weapon stopped belching lead. "Ah, fuck." See, this would normally be fine. I'd reload and all would be well. What wasn't fine? The fact that there was an angry Ursa barreling down on me.

"Oh no you don't." A quiet voice came as three loud shots echoed out in the room. The Ursa collapsed a moment later, growling in pain. A young woman - a Faunus if the cat ears were anything to go by - stepped up, pointing a revolver down at the Ursa's head, squeezing off one final shot, finishing the dying creature.

I scanned the area, only to find that the Grimm were gone, all killed or having retreated. That said, it was a bloodbath. Only two of us were left standing at all, it seemed. I drew my gaze back to her.

"A Helljumper. Perfect timing." She said, her voice clipped, betraying just how she felt about my 'perfect timing'. It was hard to blame her, considering, well. All the carnage around us.

"Better now than later, yeah?" I offered her a grin as I started to reload my SMG. "Later would've left you a bloodstain on the ground here, too."

She narrowed her eyes at me. "Better much earlier than now, before this all went to shit." An explosive sigh came from her. "But, no use bitching about it now. Blake Belladonna. Thanks for the save…?"

"Sun, Sun Wukong. And hey, its no issue. Kinda my job to be a badass soldier, coming in to do the jobs nobody else wants to." I grinned wide at her, earning an eye roll and a huff in response. "Okay, okay. Point taken. Not the time."

"Right. We'd best get moving - you know just as well as I do that more Grimm are on their way." Blake said, reloading her revolver. "And seeing as I intend to get out of this alive, sticking together sounds like a good idea." She glanced back at me. "Unless you disagree?"

I shook my head. "No, I don't. Though be warned, I'm headed for the city center - that's where I was supposed to drop, but well. As you can see, I'm a little off course."

"More than a little." She stated simply. "But if that's where you're headed, then off we go."

I hummed at that. "You sure? I mean, I saw the civilians get out the back - I figured y'all were trying to escape the city. And I don't blame you - you sure you don't want to try and catch up with them?"

Blake frowned. "I'm sure. Tuckson will get them out." She smirked slightly. "And even then, you need someone to show you where you're going, hm?"

"Ah… That obvious I'm lost?"

"Considering you're headed towards the city outskirts, not in? Yep."

I shrugged. "Alright, alright. Point taken. A guide would be helpful… As well as a second pair of eyes."

"That's what I thought."

Well, uh, howdy folks. Its been a while, let's say. Three years and some change, to be exact. Sorry for the sudden vanishing act - life happened. A lot of life, and things went to shit real quick for me.

But! That's not the important part. The important part is that I am BACK, and the show must go on! I return, Helljumper returns, Engineer1869 returns as our beta? Tis a good day.

I've missed writing and publishing fanfic for you all, truly I have. But I needed a kick in the rear to actually get it going again. That kick came from me browsing the site and stumbling onto Criminally Good and Helljumper. I'm not done with the world of CG, and Helljumper was only just starting. And so, here we are. Its good to be back in the saddle, friends. See y'all soon.

Next Chapter: Monday, November 14th (2022, I swear it won't be a three year wait this time)

Till next time, this is Valres signing off.