Ruby and Touma finally met and seemed to hit it off nicely. Well, they would have if it wasn't for Roman Torchwick and the White Fang. For the last few chapters, Accelerator was taking the spotlight between the visitors to Remnant. Now Touma gets some screen time. Naturally, RWBY cast gets a lot because there are more of them, but Touma is sure to leave a lasting impression over the next 2-3 chapters. For those who remember the show, there will be some very familiar scenes, even with different people involved. I want certain things to happen in order to make bigger changes down the line. I'll try to keep things interesting the entire time though. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorited, or followed. The number of people who seem to like this crossover blew my mind. Speaking of reviewers, let's move to them.
Dread Grim Reaper: Thanks.
iZuikaku: I laugh at that pairing. It does seem like something Touma would do, but it's Salem. Someone who only wants to destroy.
silversean24: Well, yeah. That's why Accelerator was weakened in canon. It was easier to prevent him from destroying everyone that way. I did the same thing, otherwise he would be unstoppable in Remnant. The old Touma was used to it since he was a kid, the one who lost his memories should have snapped, but he didn't because he had Index to watch over.
shiroryuu012: Hmm, he will do that at some point for sure.
popcornPAR: Hamazura was someone I considered at the beginning, but decided on Last Order for plot purposes. I would need a valid reason why the others showed up.
Guest: Accelerator in this one is passed Russia in the Index world. He theoretically has the power of his White Wings, but there hasn't been a reason to use them yet. Healing might have changed things.
IlluminatiAnimeLover789: Not going to do the omake until Raven has had some more screen time. Accelerator would like Neo because she doesn't talk much. I find that harem route prevents people from having to make tough choices on who the character ends up with. You can have several people like one person and have them duke it out, it adds drama and hilarity. There are three people who are going to be trying to get Touma's attention for sure after this chapter. Accelerator being grouchy is part of the charm.
Timber: Heh, this story got my reviewer Hubb to watch RWBY so he knew what was going on. Blake is a strong contender for a romance option if it occurs, but remember. Touma tends to be Jaune level oblivious to those kinds of things.
Guest: She's so innocent.
LL: Neo definitely is not happy, that much is obvious. However, it's not like she can kill people in front of him without alienating their bond. No one in Remnant has built up a resistance to Kami Disease. I'll have Neo kill someone to vent her frustration at least. Still debating if or when I want to bring Othinus, but we will see when I reach that point.
The Rupture: Bathtub scene with girls from RWBY universe? Seems like a good thing, a very good thing. One of the requirements for Huntresses is to be a supermodel. Accelerator x Raven would only happen to piss off Yang. Weiss seems like a better contender. As for Ruby, yeah, Touma grabbed that flag.
Duskrider: I thought about who they should meet and just decided to take what happened in RWBY and changed the outcome slightly.
Poitato: Pretty much actually. Stiyl could do the things Cinder had been able to do without too much issue. Touma's hidden dragon is obviously pure Aura, hahaha.
Adv: Takes time to spread the word and most of the people in combat class knew how powerful Accelerator is. When they return, there will be some comments. They left pretty much the following day.
Prof. Pancakes: Naturally. It wouldn't be Touma without it.
MR: Logic says yes, but with Touma's luck, I wouldn't be surprised if they just exponentially increase each other if they do not touch. Or Touma just absorbs all of Qrow's bad luck.
WiliamZ0: Assuming Hunters can move similar to Kanzaki and are trained in combat, Touma would have it rough. The reason he beats a lot of stronger people is they rely on some amazing power his hand negates. Touma being pelted with bullets from a distance is a real weakness of his. Once Yang hears the entire story, Touma might still get castrated. Touma is one year older than her, totally a sister. Blake on the other hand, she has cat ears. Touma is Japanese. Love at first sight? I believe that is a good fallback saying if you don't want to admit you're a lolicon. I debated a naked scene, but figured he wouldn't do that in that position.
Wiliamsusanto: Cookies would work.
Guest: Is Accelerator ever truly single? He has a very passionate little girl following him around.
G119: That was the idea.
Guest: I have not read NT 19 yet. It is downloaded and ready to be read, but time keeps slipping away from me. I could stop writing and read it, but once you get out of the grove for writing, it's hard to go back. 2) Don't think it makes much difference.
cloud666: My reviewer said this chapter was very entertaining.
Formboy1: Meeting Touma was Ruby's best course of action to get out of this alive. Touma would protect her while Roman and Neo have to pretend to be good. I am going to leave out that line, just because. You seemed to have repeated yourself there, haha. The name's not terrible for a first try. I would say Bros Before Hoes but we know Qrow likes his flings.
Croniklerx: Eh, you made it clear you like Touma over Accelerator. Other people feel the opposite. It happens. You will be happy for this one because of more Touma involvement. Trying to keep everyone is character is really hard, especially not making them static and boring. Jumping to different views tend to make the writing easier and allow more details. Some scenes you need a more global view. Hmm, Zwei biting Touma would make Beacon feel more at home. Yang would reference that to Ruby all the time if she found out. Wait till Fox sees Touma. I wonder if any of the RWBY cast would actually follow Touma home? Explanations do tend to be slightly boring, but sometimes they are needed.
"You're just saying that so you can lead me into a false sense of security and post something that's true, you sadist."
People on the discord I'm part of would agree with you Cronik. The OC is more to give Salem additional weapons against Touma and Accelerator, balance things a little bit. For why Touma doesn't get a girlfriend, I agree with a lot of what you said. Went into it in more details in my pure Index fic. I might have him tell someone about it in this one too. That is one power of the OC I considered. Also, stronger Grimm, manipulating negative emotions over an area, and many others. I haven't decided on time here relates to Index time in terms of speed. While it may feel the same, universes may be running at different rates. Drunk antics will happen when I need a little filler and some plot mixed together. Well, we believe it's going to go through the British Halloween and IT comes out after that. So doesn't look like it, but it is possible. Heh, you're one of the few people still working on the pairings. Nectar of the Gods was genius thought.
Tecpatl: I try to write every day, but sometimes you just don't want to.
Gamator: I try to keep updating at reasonable times.
Onishin Tsukitenshi: Heh, third person in a row who is asking that.
Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or RWBY.
"EH?!" Ruby and Touma could only splutter red faced at what Roman insinuated.
"You know." Roman turned and addressed Touma. "I try not to get involved in the personal lives of my coworkers, but when your relationship involves a Huntress who only wants to destroy us, well…. Then I'm forced to." Ruby wanted to pull her hood over her bright red face, but that would be suicidal in front of Roman, Neo, and the White Fang. Instead, her eyes flickered around the room, looking for an escape route.
"She fell through the roof," Touma protested and his eyes flickered to Neo, who seemed to be glaring at him. "I never met her before that."
"You won't get away with tricking him, Torchwick!" Ruby yelled and pointed to the mastermind. "We heard all about how you are only using him for his power and lied to him about us."
"Heard about us?" Roman mused mockingly. "Ah, the female cat Faunus must have mentioned us. Did she tell you how she threatened this young man's life and he still saved her from a pack of Grimm?" Ruby glared at him. "What? That's what happened. Did she try to weave stories about bravery and heroism?"
"You tried to kill her!" Ruby accused.
"Red," Roman stated firmly, but there was a shadow of a grin on his face. "I never gave the order to kill her once this young man expressed his displeasure at such an action. We merely tied her up to keep her out of trouble." Touma shifted slightly at his words. "Of course, we are going to have to restrain you now. Can't have you running off and blabbing to your companions about our location."
"You'll have to catch me first!" Ruby declared. Neo began to raise her umbrella when Ruby disappeared into a flash of rose petals. The glass of a nearby window shattered and Ruby began to plummet to the ground below. Neo disappeared after her and Roman started shouting out commands.
"Do not let her escape!" he roared at the White Fang. They started rushing out of the room and down the stairs. "The last thing we need is for a band of Hunters to discover this place."
"Are you sure she's with others?" Touma asked. He started moving after Roman before he even realized it. "She only mentioned the girl I saved outside of Vale."
"Kid," Roman sighed as they started bounding down the stairs two at a time. "Let me tell you something about Hunters and Huntresses. They are never alone for long. Sure, you may encounter one on an espionage mission, but if they are found and dealt with, the kingdoms send more, sometimes backed up with their military. It becomes a sea of blood. So unless we want to abandon this base and everything we have put into it, then we can't let her leave."
"At least until we are ready to leave," Touma wanted to clarify. Roman sighed and the pit of Touma's stomach fell.
"In order to keep prisoners," Roman explained. Seriously, kid? There is a limit to how nice we can act in front of you. Just learn how things work and stop asking questions. "We have to ration food supplies, guards, and water. We are spread thin as it is. The more people we have, the bigger risk our operation becomes. That's not even considering the fact there will no doubt be scouting parties looking for her and we would have to lay low. The Grimm act as a barrier, but once they pass the main group, people will be suspicious at the lack of them around us."
"What if I volunteer to guard her?" Touma asked, when Roman threw open the door to the building. "Not like I'm doing all that much."
"I like your enthusiasm," Roman laughed. If only your sense of justice would get washed away, you would be the perfect tool. "But she's friends with that cat Faunus who infiltrated our group. They will try to convert you to discover our plans. Do you think you can listen to her fabrications and keep your guard up? Will you be able to do what it takes to make sure she doesn't escape? Are you ready to face a Huntress, even one in training?"
"They are supposed to be stronger than normal people," Touma recited. But it's not like that's anything new to me. Magicians, ability users, gods, everything I encountered before was supposed to be leagues above me. That doesn't mean you just give up. "But the Grimm are attracted to negativity," Touma continued, as he racked his brain for a viable reason. "And killing people creates negativity in the area, right? A couple people told me that."
"True," Roman conceded. Hmm, his analytical mind continues to impress me. He's a lot better than these grunts I'm forced to work with. If he could be trusted with the truth, his rank would be right under Neo. "Issue is, this area is already seeped with more negativity than you could imagine. A little more won't affect it at all. When this city was overrun, the survivors who couldn't escape were trapped underground. Once the Grimm broke in… the rest is history."
"Damn," Touma muttered angrily. "This world is really just like you described."
"The Grimm do not take sides in our pathetic squabbles," Roman pointed out. "They slaughter everyone in their path." He pretended to think about the situation. "If we can take her alive, I'll see what I can do." Touma looked at him hopefully.
"Really?"
"Depends if we can take her alive," Roman repeated. "I won't risk all my men on a fruitless endeavor."
I suppose that's the best I could hope for, Touma agreed silently. There's no point in killing an unarmed girl.
Ruby did not like the looks of her position.
Sure, she was faster than any of the White Fang members, but she was in unfamiliar territory and unarmed. Ruby was a great fighter, as long as she had her beloved Crescent Rose in her hand. When she lost it, there wasn't much she could do. Her physical strength, even with Aura, was pretty low and her hand to hand combat was terrible. Things kept getting worse when she accidently ran into a White Fang Patrol when trying to escape the main underground city area. Bullets chipped away the stone around her as she immediately about faced and bolted off against. An alarm range and White Fang were emerging from all around her. She would have been caught if it wasn't for her speed. A grey blur appeared by her head as Neo appeared out of nowhere with her sword. Ruby was forced to duck and disappear in a blur of rose petals. She was being forced to head back where she came from, which meant seeing Torchwick again.
Gah! Ruby thought desperately and skid to a stop.
"Welcome back, Red," Roman laughed. "If I knew you were coming, I would have prepared some coffee." Touma stood next to him and behind them were three White Fang members with dust rifles. "How about you surrender quietly and no one has to get hurt."
"I won't surrender to someone like you!" Ruby declared.
"Trust me," Roman said and stepped forward. "You much rather surrender to me than Neo or these guys." He gestured with his cane to the White Fang. "They are a lot rougher than I am."
"No deal!" Ruby cried and charged at him. Roman laughed smacked her with his cane, sending her backwards.
"You are much more manageable without that oversized garden tool of yours," Roman commented and leaned forward on his cane. "A lot of my men were hospitalized the last time you faced us." Ruby growled at the insult to her weapon and charged forward blindly. Roman chuckled, sidestepped, and tapped her on the back only hard enough so she fell down. Hah, this is great. I needed this. Touma gritted his teeth and prepared to jump in if things went overboard.
So far, Roman isn't trying to kill her. He is mainly just tiring her out, and from what I understand about Aura, it's protecting her from most of the attacks. Still, he didn't let his guard down. It only took one twitchy finger.
"Why don't you make this easy on all of us?" Roman asked and placed the tip of his cane under Ruby's chin. "And tell me how you found this place, Red." Ruby glared at him and then her eyes darted to Touma.
"Whatever you do," she shouted. "Don't listen to him! He's only using you. I promise my friends and I will get you out of here!"
"Why must we always do things the uncivilized way," Roman sighed. He saw Neo standing in the shadows, waiting for his order. Before Touma could respond, Ruby disappeared in a flash of petals. "Huh?!" He turned around looking for her. "Where did she… ah there." Ruby was off in the distance and sprinting toward another tunnel. Roman raised his cane but, instead of pointing the bottom at Ruby to use his first dust, he flipped it over so the hook end was pointing towards her. The hook launched off the end of the cane with a cable still attached. In testament to Roman's skill, the hook snagged the back of Ruby's cloak and started to retract. After a brief moment of struggling, she resigned herself to her fate. "Tie her up," Roman ordered to the grunts.
"You won't get away with-…!" Ruby tried to yell at him, but one of the others shoved a cloth into her mouth. They bound her arms and legs and carried her off to one of the buildings. Neo then popped up next to Roman and Touma.
"Neo," Roman said. "Keep an eye out for Red's friends. Increase the patrols and make sure they do not sneak up on us. The last thing we need is a bunch of Hunters knocking down the train." Neo raised an eyebrow at him and glanced at Touma. "He will still be here when you return. It's not like Red is stealing him from you."
"W-what?!" Touma spluttered. Neo and Roman laughed at him. A moment before Neo disappeared, she slapped Touma on the ass, which made him jump. "Why does she keep doing that?!"
"Really?" Roman asked in disbelief. "Are you seriously asking that?" Touma stared at him blankly and Roman face palmed. "As soon as you make me think you know about women, you do this. Can't tell if you are secretly a genius or just plain lucky."
"I can assure you," Touma replied dryly. "I am not a genius and don't even get me started on my bad luck." Roman laughed and slapped him on the back.
"Due to the recent events," Roman told him. "I have to make sure our defenses are on full alert. If a group of Hunters sneak into our base, it's going to be a bloodbath. You know what you can do to help. Just stay out of trouble." Roman waved goodbye and swaggered away.
Why did you say that? Touma moaned to himself. Now you jinxed us all. That's how my luck works. His duties normally consisted of staying out of the way and occasionally going on patrols. As his hand kept the Grimm away, he needed to spend as much time in the center of the base camp, or Grimm would approach from the side opposite of him. However, there was one thing he wanted to do and turned to check up on the prisoner.
Yang wanted to call out for her sister, but that would be suicidal. Grimm and White Fang were sure to converge if she did. Instead, with her hands balled so tight her knuckles were turning white, she turned to Bartholomew. "How should we look for her?"
"Groups of two," Bartholomew ordered. "With Grimm and White Fang in the area, no one is allowed to be by themselves. This has become a search and possibly rescue. I shall go with Miss Schnee to even out the numbers. As soon as you discover any information on Ruby, alert the others. Do not take risks! The last thing we need is for someone else to go missing." Everyone nodded and split up: Jaune with Pyrrha, Nora with Yang, Blake with Ren, and Weiss with Bartholomew. The reasons the partners were different is that because Yang and Nora switched teams for this mission, they were considered part of the other team for all intents and purposes. The four teams split up and began to search the area.
"Are you okay?" Nora asked, concerned.
"I'm fine," Yang growled back. "I'm only worried about Ruby." She fell silent.
"I know how you are feeling," Nora said. "There was a time when Ren disappeared for two days and I was worried sick. I had been prepared to tear up the entire forest to find him. When a search party finally located him, I didn't let him go for the rest of the day."
"What's the point of that story?" Yang snapped.
"Don't give up hope," Nora explained. "Keep moving forward and things will work out. Maybe not always in the way you expect, but they do. A lot of things happened to Ren and me when we were kids, but if they didn't, we wouldn't have come to Beacon to meet all of you."
"What if she stumbled into the White Fang and got captured?" Yang asked. "Ruby could easily escape from Grimm if she was too badly outnumbered."
"Then we break their legs and rescue her," Nora said with a shrug. "Easy." Yang gave an involuntary laugh.
"Thanks for cheering me up, Nora."
"Anytime." The two of them moved along the abandoned buildings, periodically check them for any signs of a struggle or at least of being disturbed recently. Their efforts seemed to be fruitless. The lack of Grimm was disturbing, as it felt like they were about to be ambushed in the dead of night, but it made their progress faster. Eventually, Their scrolls beeped and Yang instantly grabbed hers.
"Blake and Ren found something," Yang told Nora. "I have their coordinates. Let's go!" Nora nodded and the two rushed off. A short time later, the eight of them gathered around a large hole in the ground. They could only see darkness down in. Blake was holding Ruby's Crescent Rose in her hands.
"Do you think she fell?" Jaune asked.
"If it's a sinkhole," Pyrrha said with a frown. "There is no telling how deep it goes."
"Any idea how she fell down it?" Yang asked. "Ruby may be a bit of a klutz sometimes, but even she wouldn't fall down a hole this size."
"From the fact there were no signs of fighting," Ren answered. "Blake and I assume the ground opened up beneath her."
"The question is why she was so far away from her post," Blake added. "She shouldn't have left the area around our camp."
"Could she have followed something?" Jaune asked and everyone stared at him. "What? Ruby probably got bored and decided to walk around the stretch her legs and saw something. She followed it out here and then fell down here."
"I'm suspicious you know that much about my sister," Yang told him through narrowed yes. "but I'll let it go because of the situation."
"It sounds plausible," Pyrrha agreed. "What do you think Doctor Oobleck?"
"How could I have been so stupid?!" Bartholomew exclaimed.
"What's wrong?" Yang asked with a trace of apprehension. A split-second later, Bartholomew's face was inches from hers.
"Mt. Glenn was an expansion of Vale destroyed by the Grimm," he explained. "Previously home to thousands of people. People who had to commute to the city for work, the main city. An intricate subway system was designed for transport safely away from the surface." He bolted over to Blake. "Grimm attacks increased on the surface and the people were forced to flee. The city population evacuated into the tunnels. What did they find?" He appeared in front of Jaune.
"Umm, shelter?" he guessed weakly.
"Exactly," Bartholomew declared. "You shall get a point of extra credit." He coughed. "The South-East quadrant of Vale is known for wild forests and deep caves."
"What's that have to do with anything?" Nora asked.
"Everything, my dear!" Bartholomew answered. "We have been looking only at the surface. We aren't just looking for an underground crime network, we are looking for an UNDERGROUND CRIME NETWORK!"
"They have been working in the caves?" Blake asked slightly skeptical.
"There wouldn't be a lot of room though," Pyrrha pointed out. "Not counting the subterranean Grimm that would be assaulting them constantly."
"Two things would disprove that assumption," Bartholomew said and appeared in front of her. "First, the caves are larger than they appeared. When the city evacuated the surface, they took up shelter beneath the city. The caves had been expanded to make room for the subways and had accidently become a new area for the citizens."
"An underground city," Ren stated. "That explains why there were no clues on the surface."
"Precisely." Ren found Bartholomew in his face now. "It was a safe haven, until…."
"Grimm broke in?" Weiss asked softly.
"An explosion broke the mouth of another cavern," Bartholomew said softly and hung his head. "Filled with subterranean Grimm. After that… Vale permanently sealed the tunnels. Which created the world's largest tomb." Everyone hung their heads for a moment.
"Then how would the White Fang be able to operate there?" Jaune asked.
"If they found the main openings and closed them," Bartholomew answered. "It would only require enough manpower and automated defenses to keep the smaller Grimm at bay but, now, they have another way to keep Grimm back." He held out his hands to indicate the surrounding the area. "There are no Grimm in this area, even though the negativity here should be endless. It's almost like they avoid this place. Why is that?"
"Touma," Blake said in an instant.
"If his power is indeed what you have told us," Bartholomew continued. "There is now no doubt he is here. The White Fang would no longer have to worry about Grimm while working here."
"And if Ruby is down there…" Weiss said.
"…We will find her," Yang finished. Her gauntlets cocked.
"Naturally," Bartholomew agreed. "We thinned out the Grimm herds and now it is time for part two of your mission." He held out his thermos and it began to expand into a large torch like object.
"Argggh!" Ruby cried as she pulled at her restraints.
She was trapped in a jail cell with thick iron bars preventing her escape. There were no other exits in her room, not even a window. A thick iron chain was attached to her leg and bolted into the wall. There was nothing to use to pick it and she wasn't nearly strong enough to break it. Giving up, she slumped against the wall and cross her arms.
This sucks, she fumed silently. I finally found the White Fang's hideout and Touma, but I have no way to contact the others. Before she was locked in her cell, they took everything out of her pockets, including her scroll. Yang's going to kill me when she finds out what I did. Jaune probably alerted the others I disappeared. Ruby tugged at the chain again and groaned. "Weiss is going to yell at me too," she muttered. Just the thought of her partner's rant sent a shiver down her spine. The door to the holding area opened and she jumped to her feet. Instead of Roman, or even Neo, a single male White Fang member walked in, shutting the door behind him. Ruby couldn't see his expression behind the mask, but she was sure it wasn't a good one. The man stared at her and she glared back, preferring to remain silent until he revealed what he wanted.
"So," the man said. "This is the famous Huntress that broke into our base? Can't say I'm impressed. You're a bit on the short side. When you going to grow up?"
"Hey!" Ruby protested. "I am grown up. I drink milk." The White Fang member laughed darkly.
"You know how many of my friends have been hurt because of humans," the man spat out. "Your kind thinks they can do whatever you want to us Faunus and we would just lower our heads and accept it?"
"I have never treated a single person, human or Faunus differently," Ruby retorted. "Some of my close friends are Faunus."
"Trying to justify yourself," the man spat out. "Yet you and your friends keep attacking us when all we want to do is fight for the rights we keep getting denied."
"You are stealing from and assaulting innocent people!" Ruby yelled. "People who have not done a single thing to Faunus."
"Are you defending the SDC?" the man growled and pulled out a dust rifle. Ruby's eyes narrowed, but she gulped. She was defenseless and that guy knew it. "The ones who enslave Faunus in their mines? I lose my older brother to a dust explosion because they decided safety precautions weren't needed with Faunus laborers." Ruby opened her mouth and then shut it. There wasn't a lot that you could reply to that. Saying it was just an accident wouldn't make him feel any better.
"Then when we start getting closer to achieving equality," the man continued. "You damn Hunters and Huntresses start hunting us down. My brothers and sisters get arrested, injured, or even killed."
"You guys started it with the violence," Ruby replied. "We just defend ourselves and the civilians we have sworn to protect."
"Protect the humans," the man spat and raised the gun. "While only keeping us around to do the jobs you don't want to do. One less human in the world will do us all a favor." Ruby gritted her teeth and glared at him. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of hearing her beg. "Say your prayers," he said and aimed the rifle.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
Ruby and the man jumped as the door burst open. Touma Kamijou was standing there, looking furious.
"Just getting rid of one of the killers," the man said nonchalantly, like he wasn't doing anything wrong.
"Are you nuts?!" Touma demanded. "She's a prisoner. This isn't even self-defense. It's cold blooded murder!"
"Shut up!" The man snapped at him. "You may be Roman and Adam's pet, but I'm not going to let a slimy human like her waltz in here and ruin everything we have worked towards."
"Don't do it," Touma warned and stepped forward. Ruby's eyes widened as the White Fang member lowered his gun ever so slightly.
Does he have that much sway with them? Ruby thought in shock. She knew he was keeping the Grimm back, but they could keep him as a prisoner and achieve the same result. All the things that Touma had done, most of which was set up by Roman after the incident with Blake, was not known to her. Right now, it looked like Touma might have been a high up in the organization. The gun suddenly rose up and the man began to reach for the trigger.
"No!" Touma yelled and began to rush forward. His reaction turned out to be completely pointless, as the man suddenly slumped to the ground. Standing behind him was Neo. She winked at Touma and held up her phone with a message.
'Roman figured one or two of the White Fang might decide to take out past frustration on her.'
"Thanks for coming," Touma said to her. "What's going to happen to him?"
'He defied an order from the higher up, so he will be punished. Up to Roman.' Neo shrugged and started to drag him out the door. There was a lot of strength in that small body of hers. She blew a kiss to Touma and, when he looked away, she flicked off Ruby. The door slammed behind her. That White Fang member was never seen again. His body was eventually discovered torn to pieces by several Grimm.
"Are you okay?" Touma asked Ruby.
"I'm fine," Ruby said with a nod. "Thanks for helping."
"Really should be thanking Neo," Touma said and jabbed his thumb at the door. "I probably wouldn't have been able to reach him in time."
"So why are you here?" Ruby asked.
"To talk," Touma answered and pulled out a small bag. "Plus to give you something to eat. Figured you might be hungry after all that running around. I managed to swipe some cookies from the cafeteria, do you like them?"
"YES!" Ruby practically shouted. Her eyes widened, she coughed, and then looked away to hide her reddening cheeks. "I mean, I do enjoy cookies occasionally."
"Here." Touma slipped the bag through the bars and Ruby grabbed it. She opened it and popped one into her mouth.
"Whaf hu wot to hak ahout?" Ruby asked, her mouth full.
"It's about what you said before," Touma pointed out. "About Roman and the White Fang being bad. Blake said the same thing and I wanted to ask you a few questions on why you say that."
"A lot of reasons," Ruby explained. "They rob business, attacked my friends, and don't care about hurting innocent people to achieve their goals." She made a fist. "Torchwick… I met him when he was robbing a dust shop. I was only reading a magazine when they arrived. I fought them off and I was invited to Beacon because of it." She looked up at Touma. "You're from another world, right?" Her sudden change in topic caused Touma to blink in surprise.
"How did you find that out?" Touma asked. "Only Roman and Neo know that."
"Your friends told us," Ruby said with a grin. "Last Order says hi and hopes you return."
"They are with you?" Touma asked in shock. "Roman had one of his contacts looking for them."
"We found Accelerator in the nearby forest," Ruby explained. "Well, Team JNPR did, they are close friends of my team. We found Last Order in Vale and took her back to Beacon." She decided to skip the details about Yang plotting to keep her because of her love for puns. "Wait, do you know about Beacon? How much did Torchwick tell you about our world?"
"Beacon's the place for Hunter's, right?" Touma asked and she nodded. "As for your world, there are four kingdoms and Grimm are the monsters that constantly try to wipe out humans and Faunus." Ruby gave another nod. "Instead of joining together to fight the Grimm," Touma continued. "There have been a lot of tensions between the two groups, even a war. Faunus are being discriminated against in the kingdoms, but Vale is slightly better than the others. The White Fang was created to protest the unequal treatment and…" He paused for a moment. "Have begun to resort to some desperate tactics." His face darkened slightly and Ruby didn't look much happier.
"Some places treat them equally," Ruby argued lamely. "As for what the White Fang has become, your description is putting it mildly."
"Can you explain then?" Touma asked. "I heard a lot of stories about Faunus suffering under humans, but they are all from this side. I can't say I have to full story."
"I can't say I know it all either," Ruby admitted. "I don't know much about the White Fang before arriving at Beacon. Weiss, my partner at Beacon, talks a bad about them because they have attacked her family and business for years. Blake, who you met, used to be part of them, but left when they became more radical. From what I understand, they used to be peaceful, and then there was a change of leadership. The new leader encouraged violence to cause the governments to grant Faunus rights out of fear. They robbed and bombed stores that didn't sell to Faunus, kidnapped people, and work with criminals to achieve their goals."
"But that never works!" Touma protested. "Not in the long run. All it does is breed contempt."
"I've seen people on both sides of the argument," Ruby said and stared at the ground. "It nearly ruined a friendship and split my team apart. When we actually got them sat down and talking, we managed to work things out."
"Since you know I'm from another world," Touma said and leaned up against a wall. "And you met Accelerator and Last Order, I take it you know about levels?"
"Accelerator is a level 5 and Last Order is a level 3, right?" Ruby asked.
"Yes," Touma confirmed. "I'm considered a level 0."
"But you have this awesome power that can even keep Grimm away!" Ruby exclaimed in shock.
"The thing is," Touma continued. "My power is not considered an ability because it couldn't be measured." He sighed. "There are higher levels that tend to treat lower levels with disdain and caused many lower levels to believe everything is rigged against them. They made a group called Skill-Out to protect themselves from being mistreated. When it didn't work out as well as they wanted, they started getting more aggressive. They attacked higher levels in groups, vandalism, and so forth. All that did was cause a lot of people to look down at them and give people a reason to hate low levels. Even though most of us only try to live life as best we can."
"You and Blake would definitely get along if you talked," Ruby said. "She said similar things." Her eyes widened as she realized something. Hey, maybe I can get more information about their operations from here. Yang and Weiss won't yell at me as much if I do, hopefully. "How did you end up working with a criminal like Torchwick?" Ruby asked, changing topics. "He tried to kill me the first time we met!" Touma's face darkened again.
"When I was first transported to Remnant," he explained. "I found myself in a forest being chased by Grimm. I had no idea what they were and just saw monsters trying to kill me. Once my hand pushed the Grimm away, still not sure why this is the case, I ran into Neo. She was the first person I met who had an Aura like yours. Blake probably told you, but my power allows me to negate the supernatural."
"She told us that," Ruby said. "But none of us really could imagine that feeling."
"Neo was pretty shocked at that too," Touma laughed. "She thought I was trying to kill her. Once we got past the misunderstanding, she took me to see Roman. He gave me clothes, room and board, and asked one of his contacts to find my friends, who seemed to have met up with you." Touma shook his head exasperatedly. "They sound okay if Last Order was telling you about them."
"She's really popular," Ruby confirmed. "And I think Weiss is interested in Accelerator."
"Really?" Ruby nodded with a grin. "Wow. Did not see that coming. He can be a little…"
"Rude?"
"Sure." Touma coughed for a moment. "Back to Roman. After all the help he gave me, I asked if there was anything I could do to repay him. It's not like I had this world's money. Based on what Neo explained, he figured my hand could be used to keep Grimm away and asked if I would accompany the White Fang in a drop off outside Vale's walls."
"But why would you help a terrorist group?!" Ruby asked.
"From what I have seen," Touma said. "They are trying to bring equality to Faunus. I don't like the fact they are stealing dust from businesses, but it's not like I know how this world works. When you are being besieged by a virtually endless enemy, I assume people would resort to more drastic measures to survive? Am I wrong?"
"No," Ruby admitted. "But the White Fang does a lot more than just stealing dust."
"I heard of a few things," Touma also admitted. One Faunus told him about a time a Hunter got involved and a dust supply accidently went off. The explosion took out the store and two other buildings. When the news got ahold of the story, they immediately blamed the White Fang resorting to a terrorist attack. The Hunter backed up the story because he didn't want to admit it was his fault. Ruby doesn't seem like a bad person though. Is it because she's still training at Beacon? I knew not all Hunters and Huntresses could be bad. "Do you want to know what I heard the dust being stolen is being used for?"
"Yes!" Ruby responded quickly. To eager, dial it back! Weiss won't kill me if I find out.
"They are planning to deliver it to areas heavily populated by Faunus," Touma explained. "The railroad tracks under here will allow them to reach different towns quickly and out of the reach of Grimm. A lot of Faunus areas are lacking dust because I guess some groups are keeping the dust in short supply. I hear a lot of stories about Faunus being kicked out of stores because the owner doesn't like them purely based on the fact they are Faunus." Touma scowled angrily. "I can't believe they would do that."
"Some people are stupid," Ruby agreed. "But surely you notice Torchwick isn't a good person."
"I… have noticed a few things," Touma slowly replied. "A couple times he called some of the Faunus 'mutts' or 'animals' when he was aggravated." Ruby eyed him hopefully. "But back in Vale he insulted human people too. Roman… seems like a person who tends to respect people around his level. Everyone else, I think he looks down upon. This doesn't necessary make him a bad person, but I don't have to like it. There are a lot of people like that in my world. I would prefer they didn't treat people differently…" He sighed. "Roman doesn't really discriminate though and I can appreciate that. He is also making sure the Grimm don't kill everyone here, so there is that too."
"Why share this with me?" Ruby asked. "Didn't he tell you Hunters are evil? We aren't of course, but I thought you would treat us like enemies."
"I refuse to see people as enemies," Touma responded immediately and Ruby's eyes widened. "Sure, I may see someone who is doing something I disagree with and even a couple people I may not like. But enemies? No hunters have done anything to me to warrant me hating them. If I see one of them doing something bad, I'll stand up to them and try to set them on the right track. No one is beyond redemption and they should be given a second chance. I have seen people being tricked into causing others pain and simply needed someone to save them. If I have the power to help, I will, regardless of who needs it. People get too focused on a single path and we should show them there is always another way."
Wow, Ruby stared with stars in her eyes. Ever since she was little, she had idolized heroes. Being too young to remember much about her mother, Yang and her dad wove stories about how she had been slayer of monsters and master of cookies. Her bookshelf back home was filled with mostly stories about heroes and heroines who fought against the odds to bring peace to their era. Ruby wanted to become a hero and always looked up to Hunters and Huntresses because they fought the dark forces of Grimm to save the innocent. Yang had humored her constantly, but Ruby rarely found someone like her. Jaune was close, but he also wanted to uphold his family's legacy. The boy in front of her seemed to hit directly at her heart with his words, even if they were kind of cheesy.
"Are you okay?" Touma asked and leaned forward. "Your face is kind of red."
"I'm fine," Ruby squeaked and pulled her hood over her head. "It's just, what you said. I feel the same way. I became a Huntress to help people and stop the Grimm. My… mother died when I was little fighting them and I idolized her."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Touma said softly.
"Don't be," Ruby reassured him. "It happened so long ago and I barely remember her." She took a deep breath and lowered her hood. "I'm hoping to become a Hunter like her. Someone who was willing to put their own life at risk to save anyone who needed it."
"I think you will be," Touma said and their eyes met.
"Thanks for talking to me," Ruby said meekly. "When I was captured, I figured they were going to keep me locked up or kill me on the spot."
"I talked with Roman," Touma reassured her. "It's not going to be a pleasant stay at a hotel, but they are just going to keep you prisoner here."
"Really?" Ruby asked surprised and then smiled. "Heh, I should have expected you would do that for me. Thanks. I can last until my friends find me." Touma frowned.
"Umm," Touma said and scratched the back of his head. "Are your friends going to try to break in by force if they find this place?"
"Yes," Ruby answered. "Yang, my older sister, is really overprotective. She wouldn't leave until they find me."
"That's not good," Touma muttered. "The White Fang is going to shoot on sight if they see her."
"You shouldn't be worried about Yang," Ruby explained quickly. "She's really strong."
"Now I'm torn," Touma moaned and grabbed his head. "I should tell Roman your friends are in the area, but that's only going to escalate the fighting. If I remain silent, they might sneak up on us a lot of people will be hurt anyways."
"What are you doing to do?" Ruby asked quietly. It wasn't like she was in a position to stop whatever Touma decided, but she might be able to persuade him. They were alike and Ruby didn't want anything bad to happen to him.
"I don't know," Touma muttered. "If they don't find this place, nothing will happen, but then you will be stuck here for who knows how long. I wouldn't want you to go through that."
"Really?" Ruby's stomach felt weird, like somethings was squirming around in it.
"To be honest," Touma muttered and looked away. "Since I arrived, everyone seemed to have secrets. Their eyes kept betraying the fact something happened to them in the past and they haven't been able to let it go. Even your friend Blake seemed to be struggling with baggage. Roman covered it the best, but you can't keep it hidden forever. I've seen too many people with that kind of chip on their shoulders. You… were the first person I saw with clear eyes, like you weren't being held back. I didn't want to be the one to ruin that. It might be because you are younger than the others…"
"Thanks?" Stupid! Ruby berated herself. What kind of response was that? "I don't suppose you can let me go?" she asked.
"Roman would kill me," Touma replied dryly. "He barely agreed to let you stay as a prisoner." Touma scratched his chin. "Once the heat dies down, it might be possible. Couple days, maybe?"
"I suppose that's all I can ask for," Ruby sighed and slumped back down on the floor. "You seem like a nice person, just like Blake described, so please," she looked him straight in the eyes. "Be careful. Torchwick is dangerous and the second you are no longer of use to him, he's going to get rid of you. It's how guys like him are."
"I can promise to try to keep an open mind," Touma replied. "And my eyes and ears open."
"Thanks," Ruby whispered honestly. "I don't want anything to happen to you eith-…" A shrill alarm echoed through the underground ruins and Ruby jumped up in shock. "What's that?!" she cried.
"An alarm!" Touma yelled. He had flinched at the sudden sound too. "The base is under attack. It's only been Grimm so far, but…" He trailed off.
"Oh, no," Ruby gasped.
"What's happening!?" Roman yelled at a couple of the White Fang on the radios. "I was kind of in the middle of something!?" The ground beneath him shook slightly.
"Seems like our perimeter sensors picked up some movement," one of the male Faunus replied. "Not Grimm, humans detected." Some more shouting came through the radio and then it went dead. "More than one group coming from different directions. Outer defenses have already been disabled."
"Damn it," Roman growled and kicked a rock. "Red's friends found us already." He sighed and gathered his composure. "Well, no use crying over spilled milk. We aren't equipped to handle a sieged by Hunters and no doubt the military will be on the way shortly. Attach the last car and get this train ready to roll. We are leaving early!"
"But we were supposed to wai-…"
"Do it or you're dead!" Roman roared and stuck the end of his cane into the guy's throat to prove his point. He and his companions nodded and rushed off. "Neo?" The pink, brown, and white girl was already next to him. "Has he been corrupted by Red's words?" Neo held out her hand and wiggled it up and down a bit. "So-so? Explain." Neo started gesturing.
'Turns out he knew you were an ass already, but put up with it.'
"Huh, his perception continues to surprise me."
'Not as innocent either. Turns out there is a group back in his world similar to the White Fang. He must have tangled with them before.'
"So he worked with us out of necessity? Thought it was mainly ignorance and my wonderful performance in spinning tales."
'Combination of all of the above. Thanks to me saving him from the forest, he trusts me and he trusts you because you helped him in a time of need. Even though you planned to use him, we tricked him into believing helping us was his idea.'
"That was a pretty good job on our part. He's not likely to abandon us in the near future, is he?"
'No, but he's keeping an open mind and watching us to see if there is truth to her words. She's innocent enough to make all of us looked like villains.
"The nerve!" Roman gasped in mock horror. Neo couldn't resist giggling herself. "Heroic people like us could never be the bad guys." He sighed and rubbed his head. "Girl's been drinking too much lately."
'Probably milk.' They both laughed again. 'Anyway, turns out she told him something we already knew. His friends are at Beacon.'
"That is good to know," Roman confirmed with a nod. "I'll tell the boy about them when we board. It will make our information network and by extent us, look good in his eyes. Fulfills my end of the deal too. No one can say Roman Torchwick doesn't keep his promises. Hopefully, we can escape with him at the end of the tracks and, if we do, he will have no reason to doubt us. If not, well, it was fun while it lasted." Neo frowned and Roman raised an eyebrow. "Second thoughts?"
Neo shook her head.
"Come on. We have been partners long enough for me to know that look."
'Feel bad for him. He's one of the few who knows how great I am AND doesn't fear me.'
"Hahaha!" Roman burst out laughing. "I had an inkling you were falling for him, but didn't think you liked his kind. Thought you were into blondes?" Neo stuck her tongue out at him. Her preference was someone she could mess with and enjoy a variety of expressions. Someone who treated her right and not just for her body was only a plus. "Whatever floats your boat. I told you I wouldn't get involved in your social life." His expression grew more amused and he turned his head. "Speak of the devil… Glad you heard the alarm kid!"
"What's going on!?" Touma asked, skidding to a stop next to them. "Grimm?" His head was pounding slightly from the alarms, but he was getting used to them.
"Not this time," Roman answered. "We are under attack by a couple groups of Hunters. We are not equipped to take down trained assassins. We are loading as many people into the train as possible and heading out. You go with Neo."
"But what about everyone else?" Touma demanded. "There are still people in the caves."
"They are doing whatever they can to slow down the intruders," Roman explained, as Neo started prodding Touma, slightly harder than needed, toward the train. "We have some automated defenses, but they are really only effective against Grimm." Touma looked around and saw a large number of White Fang members flooding out of buildings and tunnels to board the train.
"Can't we stop them?" Touma asked Roman and Neo. "We probably outnumber them and we can't give up this place if it's going to help you guys long term in supplying villages."
"Out of everyone here," Roman sighed. "Neo, Lieutenant, and I are the only ones with Aura capable of fighting Hunters and Huntresses, even in training." He hopped into one of the cars. Touma opened his mouth to argue and Neo held up her phone.
'If they take these supplies, more lives will be loss. We are used to moving from one place to another. This time is just earlier than we would like.'
"I understand," Touma finally relented and followed her in. "Doesn't mean I have to like it." We lose people to Grimm and now Hunters. Wait…Ruby! "What about the prisoner? What's going to happen to her?"
"We are being attacked by her friends," Roman pointed out. "They will rescue her and most likely question her about out plans. Luckily, we didn't tell her anything. If Vale knew we were supplying dust to villages, they would try to intercept our shipment." It was kind of a low blow on Roman's part, but Neo understood why he did it. He was making Touma realize his talking behind their back could be costly.
"Right," Touma muttered dryly, feeling quite guilty.
"Where is she?!" Yang demanded, her hand clamped firmly on the shirt of a White Fang member she was holding up in the air.
"W-who?" spluttered the poor soul.
"Girl in red," Yang growled. "I know she fell down here."
"Someone was captured and should be in the holding cells," the man answered. "If it was her, she would be there." He pointed off into the distance.
"Thanks." Yang punched him in the face and he fell unconscious. "I know where to go!" she yelled to the others.
"That's all well and good!" Jaune called back, as he bashed one of the White Fang grunts with his shield and slashed at another, who managed to jump back. "But how about a hand with these guys!?" He charged forward and cut a rifle in half before it could be used to shoot at Pyrrha.
"We definitely found their base," Ren said, as he dodged a round of bullets and continued to strike the guys in front of him with the dull side of his blades guns. Once he got close, the White Fang couldn't fire as often without the risk of hitting each other. He used his fluid motions to move from one to another to keep them off balance. Now that Yang had finished interrogating, she charged forward and sent a group their enemies flying. The only reason Ren was here instead of Nora was they decided they needed a powerhouse on both teams to break through the defenses. This was no longer an extermination and information gathering mission, it was a search and rescue. Yang had run off in haste before Jaune could suggest she move back with her team.
"They are trying to fall back," Pyrrha noticed and sidestepped a White Fang trying to hit her with a sword. A quick tap in the back of the head with the blunt of her blade knocked him unconscious. "They were planning to use those turrets to keep us at bay." Her movements were nothing short of masterful. The White Fang stood no chance against her variety of tactics. Her shield would bounce of something or someone and always hit their mark. Her agility allowed her to dodge all the close quarter attacks and, just in case there was a surprise, her semblance could take control of pretty much any metal weapon they had on them. When she stepped forward into the White Fang, they quickly learned why she was called the Goddess of Victory.
"We managed to clear ours pretty easily," Jaune agreed. "Weiss mentioned they were having a little trouble, but are close to meeting up with us." The sound of a train whistle echoed around the cave. "A train?"
"Seems like they have been busy," Ren commented, as the last enemy fell.
"Let's get Ruby first," Pyrrha suggested. "She might have information on them."
"Dang right, we will," Yang agreed, yet her hands never uncurled from being fists. "This way, come on!" The four of them took off in the direction Yang was told until they reached a building with bars on the windows. "This must be it." She stepped forward and, instead of even trying to open the door, she punched it off its handles.
Just like Nora would, Jaune, Ren, and Pyrrha all thought.
"Who…? YANG!" came a very excited voice once she saw who it was.
"RUBY!" Yang cried. "Step back, I'm getting you out of here." She stepped forward and grabbed the old rusty bars, Her muscles tensed as she started to bend them.
"Umm," Pyrrha interrupted. "I think these are the keys." Yang and Ruby turned to look at her as she pulled a keychain off the wall.
"Right," Yang said sheepishly. "My way would have worked too."
"Here's her scroll too," Jaune added, after checking the desk. A second later, Ruby was free and embracing her sister.
"Are you okay?" Yang asked.
"I'm fine," Ruby assured her quickly. "But listen. Torchwick is down here and all the dust he has stolen seems to be here too. Plus, I saw weapons and robots when I was trying to escape."
"Do you know what they are for?" Jaune asked.
"I asked Touma," Ruby stated and her eyes brightened. "Oh, I met him and he's exactly like Blake described…"
"Focus," Yang interrupted. "You can talk about how cool he is later."
"Right." Ruby blushed slightly. "Anyways, he told me the dust was being transported to Faunus villages. I don't think he is lying…"
"But it seems unlikely," Ren finished. "I didn't think the tracks out here went anywhere else besides Vale proper."
"Torchwick most likely fed him wrong information to hide his scheme," Pyrrha added.
"Right," Ruby agreed. "But he definitely isn't working with them because he agrees with what they are doing. Torchwick brainwashed him or something."
"Let's meet up with the others," Jaune said. "Oh, Ruby? Blake has Crescent Rose. We weren't sure which group would meet up with you."
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Ruby explained and quickly hugged him. "I was so worried about my baby."
"You can hug him later, too," Yang sighed and pulled her off by her hood. "Good to see you safe," she whispered again. Ruby nodded and smiled at her. The four of them left the building and saw an explosion in the distance. They thought they recognized the blue glow of Weiss's glyphs, but then they heard a voice which removed all doubt.
"Capturing my friend is a crime worthy of breaking your legs!"
"Nora," Ren sighed, but there was a shadow of a smile. They took off and were shortly reunited with their comrades.
"Weiss, Blake!" Ruby cried happily and charged forward. If she was expecting a hug like with Yang, she was sorely mistaken.
"You dolt!" Weiss snapped and karate chopped her on the head.
"Ow," Ruby moaned and covered her head with her arms. "Why would you do that?!"
"For going off on your own in the middle of dangerous territory," Weiss ranted. "Along with not telling anyone where you were going! If it wasn't for Arc, none of us might have noticed until this morning!"
"Sorry," Ruby muttered.
"It's still good to see you are okay," Weiss muttered.
"Bestie!" Ruby cheered and threw her arms around Weiss.
"Get off!" Weiss grunted.
"Yay!" Nora cried and crushed them both in one of her rib breaking hugs. "We are all back together again."
"I'm glad we found you," Blake added with a small smile.
"As much as I hate to break up this happy reunion," Bartholomew said and everyone looked toward him. "Might have you have any insight into the White Fang's plan?"
"Ah, yes," Ruby answered instantly. "I was told by Touma," Blake's bow twitched, "that they were using this base as a staging ground to transport dust to Faunus villages."
"We believe that may be the cover story Torchwick told him," Ren added.
"It is a ridiculous proposition," Bartholomew agreed. "All of these tunnels are sealed. The tracks only lead to a dead end, much less an actual town."
"Get in your places! We are leaving now!" It was like Roman decided to wait until one of them said something he could contradict. The train on the tracks began to slowly move and the whistle blew again.
"Looks like they are going somewhere," Yang argued.
"Where do the tracks actually go?" Pyrrha asked.
"They are only placed between here and Vale," Bartholomew explained. "Think about it. The tracks have to be underground to avoid Grimm attacking passing trains."
"We should notify Beacon," Jaune suggested and pulled out his phone. A second later he cursed. "No signal here. Ozpin needs to know what's happening."
"I believe we have only one option left," Bartholomew stated solemnly.
"Break their legs?" Nora asked hopefully.
"Two options," Yang whispered to Nora, who grinned.
"We're stopping that train," Ruby declared and Blake handed her Crescent Rose.
The ground began to rumble as the train picked up speed.
The eight Hunters and Huntresses in training, along with their chaperone, ran towards it. They just managed to board one of the last few cars by the skin of their teeth. Even a few seconds delay would have prevented them from getting on and left them stuck in the abandoned underground city. Bartholomew took out two of the guards by hitting them in the back of the head with his torch and they climbed up on the roof.
"Umm," Weiss said and looked in one of the boxes. "Professor…?"
"Doctor!" Bartholomew snapped.
"…Doctor," Weiss amended. "What is that?" A device about the size of a suitcase with red and blue wires and vials was sitting in one of the crates.
"That, my dear…," Bartholomew said, as he knelt down next to it. "Appears to be a bomb." Everyone gasped and jumped away from it.
"Is it going to go off?" Jaune asked fearfully.
"It does not appear to be active," Ren said from down next to Bartholomew.
"Phew," Ruby sighed and wiped her forehand with her hand.
"We got company!" Nora shouted excitedly and pointed. Everyone turned to see a huge number of White Fang members emerging from the sides and from the rooftop access of the cars far ahead of them.
"I didn't really expect them to ignore us," Bartholomew said.
"Guys," Weiss interrupted and pointed a single finger down into the crate. "It's beeping." Everyone looked at the red beeping light on the side of the bomb.
"Get off the car!" Jaune yelled and everyone began to move towards the oncoming army. At least this was they had a chance and could fight off the threat, rather than trying to survive an explosion. Everyone started to move to the next car, when Bartholomew placed a hand on Blake's shoulder.
"Detached the caboose," he ordered. "Or the bomb will kill us all." Blake nodded. Instead of immediately leaping to the next car, she jumped down in the space between them. She had just started to raise her blade when the car began to get further and further away from her. She blinked in surprise.
"It decoupled itself!" Blake called out to Bartholomew, before jumping back up.
"Guess Torchwick really doesn't want us on his train," Yang laughed.
"Guys?" This time it was Pyrrha who spoke up. "We have another one."
"There's a bomb on this one too?" Weiss asked exasperated.
"Apparently." Ren's voice was calm, but there was a trace of urgency. "Ideas?"
"Noooo," Bartholomew moaned, as he watched the decoupled train car explode in the distance. "This is not good." He ran across the roof toward the next car and checked inside it too. "They all seem to have bombs!" he yelled out.
"That doesn't make any sense!" Yang yelled back. She might have complained more, but the car they were on began to detach.
"Yang, move!" Ruby ordered and everyone jumped onto the car Bartholomew was on.
"Incoming!" Jaune warned. The White Fang members were almost upon them.
"On it!" Yang and Nora said simultaneously. The two of them charged forward, leaping from car to car, until they barrel straight into the enemies. Nora swung her hammer and sent half a dozen of them flying. Their cries could be heard as they fell off the train. Yang delivered a low kick on one, which caused him to spin around in a hundred and eighty degrees, before she punched him in the gut, sending him flying into three others.
"Let's help them," Jaune said to Pyrrha, who nodded and the two of them charged forward. Weiss, Blake, Ren, and Ruby started to charge forward to join them, but were stopped by a single word.
"Wait!" Bartholomew told them, he hopped to the next cart to join them for when his car detached.
"What is it?" Ruby asked in a slight panic. "We should be helping them."
"Is it important?" Blake added. "Our friends are severely outnumbered."
"Very, look." Bartholomew pointed to where the last train car that just broke off trailed into the distance and then exploded. The explosion from that small bomb was powerful enough to not only blow up the walls, but caused the roof to cave in. From this distance, it was hard to make out, but several black shapes began to emerge from the rubble and from the ceiling.
"Grimm," Ren whispered. As if to answer him, howls echoed down the tunnel. The five of them were forced to keep moving away from the end of the train or they would get caught in the detachments.
"Oh… dear…" Bartholomew muttered. The explosion attracted all the Grimm in the area and they began to follow the train, their numbers growing larger with each explosion. Soon, a black and white tide was rushing toward them. He turned to Ruby, Weiss, Ren, and Blake. "He is leading them toward the city!"
"What?!" Weiss cried.
"The cars!" Bartholomew explained loudly. "They detach with the bombs to create holes for the Grimm to access the underground tunnel."
"That's insane!" Blake cried.
"We have to hurry!" Bartholomew yelled. The five of them were forced to jump onto the next train car. Luckily, Nora, Yang, Pyrrha, and Jaune were pushing the White Fang back several cars in front of them. Suddenly, a large robot climbed up the side of the train and settled itself on the roof in front of them.
"They have a Paladin too?!" Weiss asked in shocked disbelief. The Atlesian Paladin was enormous, able to take up an entire lane on a highway, its armaments notwithstanding. Inside there was a cockpit that housed and secured one pilot, with several holographic displays available to monitor the status of the Paladin and survey the surrounding environment. The Paladin was equipped with at least two arm-mounted energy guns, rear-mounted rocket launchers, and double-barreled guns attached to the aforementioned energy guns. This was Atlas's newest creation and the White Fang had already stolen one.
"Seems like they have more than one," Ren commented, as another three joined the first.
"Here is the plan," Bartholomew told them. "You four go below deck and try to stop the bombs."
"What about you?" Ruby asked.
"I'm going to explain what's happening to the others and help deal with those Paladins. Do you understand your task?" Ruby, Blake, Weiss, and Ren nodded. "Good luck to you."
"This way," Blake said and pried open one of the roof top access. The four of them began to descend.
"Looks like it's time to stop this train," Bartholomew declared.
"We know!" Ruby called out to him as she jumped. "I said it already!"
Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.
The ending is very similar to the series, minus a few tweaks. I wanted this scene to happen for reasons moving forward, but I purposely changed a few things to play on earlier events. Remember, Team RWBY and JNPR are taking this mission early, so when all the other teams are doing theirs, they have some R&R time to get into trouble.
Current Ship Names:
Touma and Yang: Fistbump / Punchline/ Imagine Dragon/ Love at First Punch
Touma and Weiss: Cool to the Touch / Princess and the Pauper / Shattered Mirror
Touma and Ruby: Blossoming / Thorny Rose / Speedy Rescue / Innocently Indecent/ Nectar of the Gods.
Touma and Blake: Nine Lives / Bad Luck / Kami-Nyaan
Touma and Velvet: Bunny Couple / Rabbit's Foot
Touma and Penny: Android's Dream / Faulty Electronics
Touma and Ren: Lotus Fist
Touma and Jaune: Better Luck Next Time
Touma and Nora: Glutton for Punishment / Divine Sparks
Touma and Pyrrha: Babe Magnet
Touma and Coco: Black Coffee
Touma and Glynda: Teacher's Pet / Promise Lands
Touma and Adam: Chronic Crusaders
Touma and Emerald: Shattered Illusions / Illusion Breaker / Portmanteau Poverty
Touma and Twins: Triple Threat / Cerberus
Touma and Cinder: Through the Fire and Flame / Fire Demons / Sinner and Savior/ A Match Made In Hellfire
Touma and Neo: Uncertain Flavor / Breaking Reality/ Stockholm Slasher Romance
Touma and Salem: Burning Witch / Light and Shadow / Shattering Darkness
Accelerator and Weiss: Cold and Calculating / Ice Vector / A Frosty Reception
Accelerator and Yang: Road Rage / Short Fuse / Way of the Dragon
Accelerator and Ruby: One-Way Rose / No Brakes / Rose Manipulation
Accelerator and Blake: Twilight Arrow / Chain and Sickly / Chasing Shadows
Accelerator and Nora: Shattered Bones / Broken Dreams / Nerve Impulse
Accelerator and Velvet: White Flash / Hopping Mad
Accelerator and Glynda: Fix and Destroy
Accelerator and Penny: String Theory/ Broken Toys
Accelerator and Sun: Sunny and Sullen
Accelerator and Adam: Charging Bull
Accelerator and Mercury: Killer Moves
Accelerator and Coco: Fashionable Disaster
Accelerator and Pyrrha: Opposites Attract
Accelerator and Raven: Yang's Nightmare/ Fallen Feathers
