Chapter 7: Retaliation
I do not own RWBY, RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum (R.I.P.) nor do I own any media that may appear in the story. I only own the OCs, Enjoy! Remember to leave a Review.
Thunder boomed in the dark sky, lightning illuminating the darkness around Beacon and Carmine's dorm room. Rain crashed into the window, the droplets falling down to the ground. Carmine laid in bed asleep, Blake's arm draped over his chest.
The room was startled awake by a loud knock at the door, Carmine climbed out of bed with his FiveSeven in his hand. He pressed the barrel to the door and opened it slowly, he was surprised to see Ozpin standing there.
"Ozpin? Is everything OK? What are you doing here?" Carmine asked Ozpin, confused. Ozpin took a sip from his mug "Sorry to wake you and Ms. Belladonna but I need to speak with you and your team, the matter is urgent. Meet me in my office when you're ready." Ozpin told Carmine, taking another sip and walking away.
"What was that all about?" Celadon asked, rubbing his face tiredly. "Ozpin wants to speak to us about an urgent matter, he didn't say what though but it probably has something to do with Torchwick or the White Fang, oh well let's not keep him waiting." Carmine said, answering him, popping his joints and getting dressed. Slipping on his shoes, Carmine stood in the mirror admiring himself "Damn, I look good." He said fixing his hat and shirt. Blake walked up behind him "Yes you do, you're the man I love." She said hugging him from behind, pressing her body into his back and getting his attention.
He spun himself around so he was facing her, she looked up into his crimson red eyes "Your eyes are so beautiful." She said, stroking his rugged face. He chuckled, putting his hand on hers "Your eyes are like two Topazes, just captivating and astonishing." He said, causing her to blush and smile "You know just what to say to make a girl smile, don't you." She said, kissing him on the lips. He pulled her into his embrace, returning her kiss with passion.
He broke the kiss and pulled away, she slowly opened her eyes to look at him. Her pupils were dilated, Carmine chuckled at this "Someone's excited, maybe later." He said winking and booping her nose with his finger, she blushed and hugged him tightly, burying her face in his chest. When she pulled her face from his chest, she had tears in her eyes "If you go after Torchwick, please come back to me. I can't imagine living without you." Blake said with sadness and fear in her voice. Carmine sat her on the bed "Babe, I'm not going anywhere. I almost died because they caught me off guard but now we have the upper hand. Torchwick will either be arrested or he'll die by my hand, I'll see to it personally." Carmine told her, wiping away her tears. She smiled and hugged him again.
The rest of Team CRCL stood by the door "We're ready whenever you two lovebirds are ready." Laurel said, teasing the couple. Regalia slugged him the shoulder "Can't you see they're having a moment, Fucktard." She said to him, Carmine stood up with Blake holding his hand "Yep, we're ready to go." Carmine said, they left the dorm and headed for Ozpin's office. As they neared Ozpin's tower, the rain let up reducing itself to a sprinkle. They entered the tower and boarded the elevator, ascending to Ozpin's office quickly. The door opened with a ding, Team CRCL walked into his office. Gears and cogs overhead clicked as they turned.
"Alright, we're here. What's up?" Carmine asked walking up to Ozpin's desk. "It seems Roman Torchwick is prepping to move again. He was spotted at the docks in Vale, he was seen talking to this woman." Ozpin said placing a photo on the desk, pointing to a woman with black hair and a red dress.
Carmine examined the photo closer "I feel like I've her before, those heels look very familiar. My team and I will collect Torchwick and extract the information from him. If he resists, I'll use my methods and I oh so hope he resists." Carmine said cracking his knuckles but Ozpin stopped him "Do not kill him, Carmine. We need him alive and unharmed" He said, this caused Carmine to slam his fist onto the desk "Are you fucking serious!? This man is responsible for my team's death. Fine, I won't kill him but I will put him through the worst pain he'll ever experience." Carmine said, collecting his team and heading toward the door, Ozpin tried to stop him but Carmine had already made it to the elevator.
As they left the tower, Carmine pulled out his scroll and dialed a number. A voice came through the other end "Clearance code?" Carmine began to speak "1-Alpha-Niner-Omega-4-Gamma." His team looked at him confused until he began speaking again "Requisition order Delta-Foxtrot: Four DShK's, Three T-90's, Four Bullhead VTOLs with .50 BMG mounting, Six 9K35 Strela-10's, Three Centurion C-Rams, and Five M2 Bradley's. Destination: Beacon." Carmine said, Celadon was about to say something but stopped when Carmine continued speaking "Requisition order Alpha-Romeo-Bravo: Two C-137 Hercules, Four Daisy Cutters, Seven Thermobaric High Impact Bombs, Thirty TLAM Cruise Missiles, and One Minuteman III ICBM. Destination: Standby for confirmation." Carmine finished the call, hanging up and putting the scroll back into his pocket.
"Uh, so what was that about?" Laurel asked confused, Carmine turned to face them "I'm 99% sure the White Fang are planning an attack, I ordered munitions to protect Beacon from an attack: Tanks, SAMs, and mounted machine guns. They'll be delivered by Atlas, the other stuff is for a counter attack, once I get the location from Torchwick, once I have the coordinates of the stockpiles and White Fang outposts, I'll raze them to the ground. There won't be anything left of them, then we can work on bringing the White Fang back from beyond the edge of madness." He said turning to Blake "When we get to that point, I will kill Adam Taurus and any of his followers. You cannot show mercy or weakness." He told Blake before stepping back and beginning to shout into the darkness.
"Know I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to poison and destroy my brothers and sisters. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee." Carmine said, raising his hands up. Team CRCL cheered behind him as he preached a gospel of war. Blake looked worried, Regalia noticed and placed a hand on her shoulder "Don't worry, he's doing this to protect you and everyone at Beacon, you have to understand that he has seen what the White Fang are capable of doing and wants to prevent that from happening again, even if it means killing members of the White Fang." Regalia reassured her, Blake nodded understanding her boyfriend's motives.
"Now, before we make any moves, I want to show y'all something. Follow me." Carmine said leading them to an airship that took them to Vale. Landing, Carmine led them toward the forest but took a right, leading them to door at the end of the street. Carmine put a key into the lock and unlocked the door, letting the group inside and closing the door. Standing in complete darkness, Carmine flipped a switch and brought the room back to life, the lights flickered on and illuminated the room and a wall with a flag hanging on it. The flag had a Beowolf head with a sword through it. "Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to Wolf Pack HQ," Carmine said with his arms raised outwards.
"Holy Shit, dude! I can't believe I'm standing in Wolf Pack HQ!" Laurel and Celadon said in unison, excited. Carmine led them into the armory where there was a large table, eight boxes along the wall, and nine lockers. "Welcome to the Wolves Den, the boxes are filled with munitions and explosives, the lockers have assorted weapons: Shotguns, Assault Rifles, LMGs, Sniper Rifles, Handguns, and SMGs. Arm yourselves how you want." Carmine told his team during the tour, finally sitting down at the table.
Laurel walked up to the lockers, opening them and observing his weapon choices. He grabbed a strange looking gun with a drum "Hey Carmine, what's this?" Laurel shouted to Carmine who walked over to see what he was talking about. "Oh, that is the Armsel Striker, it holds twelve rounds of 12 gauge buckshot, flechette, frag, or slug rounds. It's a hell of a shotgun." Carmine said causing Laurel to grin as he loaded the reel with buckshot. Carmine reached into the locker and pulled out an Ithaca 37 and loaded seven rounds into it, cocking the pump slide and placing it on his lower back. He grabbed three boxes of 12 gauge ammo, placing them in a backpack along with 5.56, 7.62, .308, 9mm, and .45.
Carmine went to check on Regalia who was staring at the SMGs, he stepped up next to her "Tough Decision?" He asked her, she nodded "What do you suggest, I want something fast and reliable." Regalia said Carmine thought for a moment before reaching into the locker "I suggest these two, the UMP-45 and the Honey Badger because Honey Badger don't give a fuck. This takes .45 ACP and this takes 7.62 x 35mm. Attachments are below, make sure to grab extra boxes of ammo and magazines." Carmine told her, grabbing a Scorpion EVO 3, four mags, and a reflex sight. He loaded a mag and slapped it into the receiver, cocking the slide. He folded the stock and slipped it into his backpack.
Celadon was inspecting the sniper rifles, looking at the selection in awe. He picked a DSR-1, pulling back the slide before putting it back on the rack. Carmine spoke up "What are you looking for, speed or power?" He asked him, Celadon thought for a moment before speaking "Power. Definitely power." Carmine nodded before stepping in front of the rack "If you're looking for power, you want a .50 cal or a .338 Lapua magnum like the Beretta M99, AS50, or FN Ballista. But if you want speed then you want the M110 SASS, H&K PSG1, or RSASS they all run 7.62 x 51mm. I do have one that encompasses speed and power, follow me." Carmine told Celadon who followed him into a side room, he handed him a key.
They inserted them at the same time and turned it right, the door cracked open and Carmine opened the door to reveal a shelf and a single rifle. It was illuminated by lights on the roof, they approached the rifle "May I present to you, the Barrett M107 .50 BMG Sniper Rifle. An insanely strong rifle, if you choose this just know it kicks like a mule and if you're not careful, it will dislocate your shoulder so choose wisely." Carmine told him with a warning. Celadon grabbed the heavy rifle and lugged it onto his shoulder and removed the clip, loading the heavy rounds into the mag and placing it back into the receiver, pulling back the slide and chambering a round. "Take care of it please, it was Keppel's rifle." Carmine said, pointing to the engraving on the side the rifle that read "K-4". Celadon nodded, taking on the mantle of responsibility.
Carmine walked out of the room and went to the table, opening his bag and checking the contents. He noticed his bedroom door was open, he went to inspect and found Blake admiring the medals and doctrines on the wall. He walked in and crept up on her, placing his hands on her shoulders, startling her. She jumped at the sudden contact, she turned around and playfully smacked in the arm "You're such an ass sometimes." She said giggling, he wrapped his arms around her "So what were you reading? All my heroics." Carmine said with a shit eating grin. "I was reading all the missions you completed, I found a box marked trophies in the corner but it's locked. What's in it?" She asked curiously but Carmine looked away. "It's from my past, every time I took out someone of High Command, I would take something as a trophy. I'll show you if you want." He told her, his face getting serious. She nodded slowly, he picked it up and sat it on the bed, unlocking it. He lifted the lid, revealing a tattered White Fang flag, he moved the flag and let Blake go through it.
He sat down on the bed, laying back on his bed as she dug through the box. She pulled out a bayonet and held it out over Carmine "Who'd you get this from?" She asked, Carmine studied the blade for a moment "My first job, White Fang Captain had slaughtered four families just for being human, women and children included. Got paid damn near a million lien to bring him in, which I did. After I got paid, I took his blade and decapitated him. The guards turned their weapons on me but the leader told them to stand down." He said recalling that day.
She put it back in the box and pulled out an A2000, presenting it to Carmine. "That is actually an interesting one. I was hunting down a squad of executioners who were killing entire villages, I got to them just as they started to engage the next village. We took most of them down but I couldn't get to her in time. By the time I reached her, she had killed a boy who was protecting his little sister. I hit her in the face and forced her to swallow a hand grenade. I took said SMG, the clip is still the same." He told her in detail. She shuddered at the description, replacing the SMG back in the box and closed the lid.
"I think I've dug enough into your past for one day." She said crawling on top of Carmine, straddling his waist and placing her hands on his chest. "Damn Blake, just going right for it. At least let me lock the door first." Carmine said, teasing her and making her blush. "Wooo, get it, Carmine!" Laurel shouted from the doorway, Regalia grabbed him by his shirt and threw him across the room "Do you not know anything about privacy?!" She yelled. Blake was as red as a stop sign but relaxed when Carmine placed his hand on her chin "Hey, it's OK, couples do this all the time." He said, pulling her into his embrace and kissing her. She placed her hands under his shirt, feeling his chest.
"Well, someone's getting handsy. I'm serious about the door like it has three deadbolts." He said, causing her to giggle "Not yet, oh Slayer of Women and Grimm." She said, quoting him from their previous fight. He placed his hands on her waist, pulling her close to him. He slid a hand up underneath her shirt, surprising her as they kissed. She didn't fight him, his hand inching closer to her bra but he stopped and removed his hand. She looked at him confused but he placed a finger over her lips "Shhh" He shushed her as he placed her on the bed, climbing out of bed and creeping toward the window. He drew his pistol as he placed his back against the wall, he motioned to Blake to ready her pistol. She nodded drew her P226, racking the slide and inserting a clip, chambering a round.
Carmine neared the window and watched a shadow dart away, he pushed open the window and leaped out, pursuing the spy. He gave chase, sprinting down the alley. The figure turned the corner, knocking over some trash cans. Carmine turned the corner and jumped over them, catching up to the figure. They were wearing a black robe with a hood, Carmine leaped and tackled the person, turning them over and pointing his pistol at them. It was a girl, she had tan skin, green hair, and red eyes.
"Why were you spying on me?!" He demanded, "Who do you work for?!" He shouted again "Get off me! I don't know who you are, please don't kill me." She pleaded. He holstered his pistol and placed his hand over her mouth and nose, she tried to fight but found the lack of oxygen making it difficult "Shhh, it's OK you're just going to take a little nap. It's just a bad dream." Carmine said as she faded into unconsciousness. With her finally knocked out, he brought her back to the HQ.
"What the hell, Carmine!" Laurel shouted at Carmine who carried in an unconscious woman. "She was spying on Blake and me. We need to interrogate her." He said taking her into yet another room, this one had a chair in the middle with armrests on either side. Celadon helped him place her into the chair, he strapped her legs in place as Carmine strapped her arms in place. As they finished they bumped fists, Carmine wheeled over a cart that had multiple drawers on it along with something covering the top. He wheeled over a smaller cart, he attached jumper cables to the chair and wheeled the cart away from the chair.
Carmine patted her pocket, pulling out her wallet. He removed her guns from her back and placed them on the cart. He called everyone into the room, they entered the interrogation room and Celadon closed the door behind him. "Well, you guys get to learn how to extract information from someone. First step: Intimidation. Always make sure there is blood on the floor, so it will appear you have done this before." Carmine said, pointing to the blood covered floor. "Regalia, while we do this your name will be Omega, Celadon is Theta, Laurel is Gamma, and Blake is Charlie, and I am Alpha. Got it? Good. Omega, slap her awake, but first put this on" He said to Regalia, handing her a face cover, she put it on and walked over to the girl and slapped her across the face.
Carmine gave everyone a face cover as the girl regained consciousness "What? Where am I? Mercury? This isn't funny." She cried out but there was no answer, Carmine stepped out "I'm afraid Mercury won't be doing much of anything anymore. He's indisposed. So tell me, who are you and who do you work for?" Carmine asked her getting close to her face but she just spat at him, he dodged her saliva. Carmine sighed "Did you know it takes 10 amps of electricity to send someone into Cardiac Arrest. Let's experiment, shall we?" Carmine asked her sadistically, wheeling over a cart with wires. He turned a knob and the girl started to grunt in pain. "You tell me your name and who you work for, and it will be over." He told her, "Fuck you," she said through her grunts of agony. "Gamma, increase by twenty volts," Carmine said, Laurel nodded turning the dial.
"You see Emerald I already know your name, I was just hoping you would cooperate with me. So, Ms. Sustrai. Who do you work for? You best answer before I start removing body parts" Carmine told her, getting close to her face with a Weaver knife, lowering it to her hand. "No! Stop! Roman! Roman Torchwick!" Emerald yelled, fearing to lose her hand. Carmine backed up and turned the generator off. "You work for Roman Torchwick? Who else?" He demanded, putting the blade to her neck. She hesitated, not answering Carmine. He withdrew his knife and turned the voltage back on, sending the electricity coursing through her body.
Her muscles contracted causing her to scream in agony, her face contorted in pain "Alpha, stop this!" Blake shouted at Carmine but he waved her off "This is how you get information, Charlie." He said approaching Emerald "Who else do you work for?!" Carmine shouted at her, turning off the voltage. She dropped her head in relief "Cinder. Fall." She said, panting. "Gamma, get info on one Cinder Fall and who her allies are." Carmine ordered, pulling out a bottle and a rag. "This is chloroform, you're gonna take a nice long nap. If I were you, I'd leave while I still can. If you go back to them, you will be annihilated." Carmine warned her, putting the rag to her face. She slipped into unconsciousness again, Carmine and Celadon undid the restraints. "Drop her off near a hospital and come back undetected." He told Regalia who lugged Emerald's body over her shoulder.
"Everyone else load up, we move at 1900 hours. I will have Roman on his knees tonight." Carmine ordered, punching his fists together. Everyone stepped out into the back and called their lockers to them, the dug into the ground, cracking the earth. Carmine moved his gear into Wolf Pack HQ, laying them on his bed. Blake sat on his bed, shocked at what she had just watched, Carmine sat next to her and put his arm around her "I'm sorry you had to see that, I was honestly hoping she would cooperate but she didn't. I gave her options." He said she nodded "Yeah, I just never seen anything like that before." Blake said placing her head on his shoulder.
"Now when I get the coordinates, I'll order a TLAM to our location. We'll have five minutes to escape before it impacts. So you will have to run fast." He told her, she nodded her head understanding the circumstances of what is to come. Celadon knocked on the wall "Hey, we're ready to head back when you're ready." He said. Regalia and Laurel stood near the table, holding their weapons.
Carmine stood with Blake and they exited his room, he locked the door behind him and walked toward the table. "Alright, the game plan is we mobilize at around 1600 hours, by then I'll have set up the Beacon defenses that Atlas is delivering. After that, we come back here and load up to strike the docks where we apprehend Roman for Ozpin. I'll need to access the dock's PA system to send out a message, maybe turn some of the White Fang against them." Carmine announced, Blake perked up at the last part "Y…You mean it?" She asked unsurely, Carmine just smiled "Yeah, why not try. My beef is with Roman, not the Fang." He said clarifying his statement, Blake smiled happily.
"Alright, let's go set up Beacon" Carmine said grabbing the backpack and leading them out of the HQ, locking the door behind him. Carmine led the group to the docks to board an airship back to Beacon. As they stepped off the ship into Beacon, CH-47 Chinooks flew over carrying tanks and APCs. Four Bullhead Ospreys flew over, landing on the side of the school.
"Alright set the Strela-10s around the campus, one for every sector and there are six sectors. Move the C-Rams to cover the three main faces of attack, they should have plenty of room to fire freely. Set the Bradley's up in the courtyard, three stationary and three patrolling. Mount the DShKs up so there is one facing each direction: North, South, East, and West. T-90s are also on patrol, and have the Osprey's ready for evacuation or aerial assault." Carmine directed the Atlas soldiers, they moved the weaponry into place and readied them for an attack. Team CRCL stood there in amazement "Wow that is a lot of firepower. I think we'll be ready for a White Fang attack." Laurel said inspecting the munitions.
Carmine chuckled "This is nothing, until I get a solid answer on their striking force this will have to suffice." He said, General Ironwood approached Carmine, startling him "Oh General, it is good to see you, sir." Carmine said, saluting the general. "At ease, I hope this meets your request. At first, I didn't understand your request but then I saw a report from Ozpin about an impending attack. Is there anything else you need?" Ironwood asked Carmine.
"Actually yes, eight TOS-1s, four BM-30 SMERCHs, and four 9k720 ISKANDERs. We'll need them in case Grimm attack. It's a lot of firepower." Carmine said, writing a list. "A lot of firepower? You are practically set up for Armageddon." Ironwood said with sarcasm in his voice but submitted the requisition order. "I ordered a few Humvees with mounted .50 BMGs for quick assault. Oh, here comes my forces." Ironwood said as huge gunships flew into the Beacon airspace, Carmine picked up a nearby comma handset "This is Titan, prepare testing of Strela-10 AA locking systems. Lock target now." Carmine said through the handset, he watched as the SAM sites locked onto their targets. "Sir, all SAMs are good to go." A voice said through the handset. The SAM sites disengaged their targeting systems.
As Carmine and Ironwood observed the current operation unfolding before them, a Bradley patrolled the grounds of Beacon behind them. Carmine turned to Ironwood "We'll need troops on the ground, like maybe six hundred soldiers." He said, Ironwood nodded "I already had that planned out, but I only ordered two hundred" Ironwood said, pointing to the north as six Ospreys and a UH-60 Blackhawk flew in, landing in the courtyard. The backs opened and soldiers ran out, getting into formation. They all saluted Carmine and Ironwood, who saluted back to them.
"Alright gentlemen, split up into twenty squads of ten and begin to patrol Beacon. If you see anything suspicious remember to radio in. There are Humvees on the way to use for patrol. Dismissed." Carmine said, giving his orders. The two hundred split up and started to patrol the grounds. Carmine turned to Ironwood "I trust the other munitions are on standby for my order." Ironwood nodded his head "Yes sir, just radio in and it'll be done." He said to Carmine who just shook his head. Carmine looked at the horizon, seeing the sun going down. He waved to his team "It's time to move, Ironwood I need those TOS-1s set up ASAP." Carmine said joining his team, Ironwood nodded in understanding.
Team CRCL and Blake landed in Vale, immediately going back to Wolf Pack HQ. Carmine unlocked the door and ran to his room, unlocking it and throwing on his gear. Fixing his Heavy IBA, he slipped his KA-Bar into its sheath and put some grenades into the pouch on his side. He walked to a drawer underneath a flag on the wall, he opened it and revealed five dogtags and five KA-Bars. He pulled out all five and placed them in his backpack, he equipped the dogtags to himself. "I will avenge you all tonight, or I will die trying." Carmine said clenching his fists.
He pulled on the backpack and put his rifle on his back, his MP7 in its side holster. Carmine secured the Ithaca 37 to his lower back. He walked out of his room, everyone stared at him. "Holy Hell, you look like the tactical Grim Reaper." Laurel said, looking excited to see his leader decked out in tactical gear. "Everyone got their weapons and gear?" Carmine asked walking over to the table, placing his rifle on the table and loading a clip, slapping it into the receiver and pulling back the slide. Everyone readied their weapons: Laurel's Striker, Regalia's UMP-45 and Honey Badger, and Celadon's M107. Carmine picked up a crate from the wall and placed it on the table, removing the lid.
Inside the crate was bricks of C-4 and detonators "Everyone take a few bricks and a detonator, we'll have to destroy their supplies. I would order a surgical strike but the impact might hit Vale." Everyone grabbed five bricks and placed them in their pack, they walked outside and Carmine locked the door behind him, when he turned around there was a Humvee waiting for them. The driver shouted to them "Ironwood sent this for you, climb on in." The driver called to them. Laurel, Celadon, Regalia, and Blake climbed into the cab while Carmine manned the mounted .50 BMG, pulling back the slide and chambering a large round.
He hit the roof telling the driver to go, the Humvee took off down the road, hooking a left and barreling down another street. As they neared the docks, the Humvee slowed to a stop and the driver asked what the game plan was, Carmine pulled a small device with rotors and blades "This is my mini UAV, I'll use it to scout ahead." He said, releasing the drone and flying it toward the docks. As it flew over the warehouse, Carmine could see White Fang soldiers patrolling the shipping crates and around the warehouse. There were guard towers with snipers and multiple turret emplacements. Just then two bullheads flew in and landed on the docks, soldiers left and went into the warehouse. Carmine brought the drone back and shut it off.
"There is quite a lot of soldiers, they got snipers and MG Nests, not to mention two VTOLs just landed. If we're gonna do this, we strike now." Carmine said, slapping the roof. The tires squealed as the Humvee took off, smashing through the locked gate. Carmine fired the heavy mg, tearing through the soldiers and snipers. The bullets tore through their bodies, spraying blood and flesh on to the ground. He focused fire into the MG Nests, destroying the turret operators. The Humvee flew through the dock, hitting a WF Soldier, sending him flying through the air. The foot soldier hit the ground, his body mangled and oozing blood. He tried to pull himself to safety but was ripped apart by Carmine's 50 BMG.
Carmine focused fire on the VTOLs, the bullets ripped through the fuselage and engine. The VTOLs started bleeding fuel and caught fire, exploding into a ball of fire and shrapnel. As the Humvee drove, Carmine noticed a flash on the ridge but before he could say anything, a sniper round cracked and killed the driver. The Humvee whipped left into a wall, the team crawled out as Carmine dumped fire at the ridge from where the shot originated from. The bullets tore into the side of the hill, eventually ripping apart the sniper and painting the hill in blood and chunks of flesh.
The mounted MG clicked dry, the ammo having been depleted. Carmine leaped out and readied his rifle. They ran toward the warehouse, Celadon took up a position to cover their advance. He popped off a round and took out one of the guards, the round ripping him apart.
Another round tore through another guards head, spraying blood and brain matter all over the wall. The team posted up against the wall, Carmine placed a charge on the door and took cover, blowing the charge. The explosion ripped through the metal door, blowing it apart and killing a guard on the inside. The team stormed the building, eliminating guard after guard; Carmine unloaded into four soldiers, the .308 tearing through their bodies like butter, they fell to the floor lifeless in a pool of blood.
Laurel took a right and opened fire on three soldiers, the buckshot opening up their chest cavities and disemboweling one of them. The spent shells clanged against the blood splattered floor, Laurel regrouped with Carmine. Regalia stormed left and encountered four soldiers, she dropped two of them with her UMP-45. She aimed at the other two and demanded they drop their weapons, they complied terrified. She knocked them to their knees and zip tied their arms behind their back.
Blake sprinted through, jumping from container to container. She leaped down and caught two soldiers by surprise, knocking them unconscious and handcuffing them. She ran through the stacks of containers, weaving in and out taking more soldiers by surprise, subduing them without taking their life. She drew her P226 and crept through a stack of boxes, finding an office. She snuck into the dark room, locking the door behind her and searching the office.
Meanwhile Carmine was setting charges on the crates in the corner, he radioed into his team "Five charges set in the left sector." He said, running across the room. "Right sector armed" Laurel said through the headset. Carmine ran toward towers of shipping containers, he crept through with his SCAR drawn. He neared an office and tried to open the door but it was locked. He tried to force the door open with his shoulder, he rammed it but bounced off. He stepped back and got a running start, jumping and throwing both feet into the door, ripping it off the hinges.
Blake pointed her gun at the figure who just kicked down the door, Carmine pointed his shotgun at the figure in the corner. He flipped a switch and saw he had his sights on Blakes' head, his heart dropped at the thought of what had almost happened. He holstered his gun and stood up, Blake holstered her pistol and ran to him, wrapping herself around him. He held her tight, enjoying the embrace that they had for the moment, until the sound of gunshots brought them back to reality "Right, we need to find any info we can." He said, letting her go.
Carmine walked up to a desk, observing the maps on the wall. He opened a drawer and pulled out a file, he placed it on the desk and started going through it. It had dust delivery schedules, train routes, Atlas cargo manifests, and what he was looking for, White Fang camp locations. He collected the files and placed them into his pack, he grabbed the rest of the files and put them into the pack as well. Carmine the rest of the desk and office, finding flash drives and hard drives. He collected everything he found and put it all away into his backpack, he pulled out a brick of C-4 and stuck it under the desk, arming it.
He took Blake by the hand and led her out of the office, running back toward the middle of the warehouse but Carmine skidded to a stop. "ROMAN!" Carmine yelled out, his voice loud and dark sounding with a booming echo. Carmine sprinted toward Roman, tackling him to the ground and beating the shit out of him. Laurel pulled Carmine off of him, Regalia put Roman in handcuffs, knocking him to his knees. Carmine fought to break free but it was no use, "Sir, we were given specific orders to bring him into custody. I've radioed for Atlas troops to come take him from us." She said, trying to calm down her leader.
Carmine stopped fighting and hung his head defeated, two Atlas soldiers walked into the warehouse and took hold of Torchwick who just grinned ear to ear at Carmine. Carmine glared back at him, but then got the attention of one of the soldiers.
"When you deliver him to Ozpin and Ozpin is finished with him, radio me and we'll come pick him up, he has to deal with me personally. Until then, we'll search for Neo." Carmine told the soldiers who nodded in agreement and continued to walk out with Torchwick. Carmine noticed that one of the soldiers had shaggy silver hair "Strange, I didn't know Ironwood got rid of the hair length policy. But I know for a fact that he didn't so who the hell are you?!" Carmine asked yelling, raising his gun. The soldiers dropped Torchwick and ran at Carmine, one kicked a silver substance at him but he dodged it.
"Regalia, collect Torchwick and get him back to HQ, put him in the room and wait for me. I just need to wipe the floor with this little bitch." Carmine yelled to Regalia who took off toward Torchwick but the other soldier stepped in front of her. There was a loud pop in the distance as the soldiers head got ripped off, spraying blood and flesh everywhere. Celadon's scope flashed in the distance, Regalia gave him a two finger salute, collecting Torchwick and running out of the Warehouse. She got into a nearby truck and took off back to Vale.
Back inside the Warehouse, Carmine was fighting the rogue Atlas soldier, matching him hit for hit. Carmine through a right hook and knocked off his helmet, revealing a man with long silver hair and a sharp complexion. "So, you mind telling me who the hell you are?" Carmine asked, bowing up. "Mercury, the man who is gonna kill you." He said, kicking more shots at Carmine but he dodged them, landing a roundhouse and sending Mercury into the ground. "Mercury huh, your girlfriend was calling for you. She was screaming for you as I electrocuted her. Poor Emerald, if only she was on our side." Carmine said, antagonizing Mercury.
"You son of a bitch!" Mercury screamed, charging at Carmine. Carmine drew his leg up and brought it down on to the back of Mercury's head, knocking him down to the ground. Carmine put his boot on Mercury's back, pushing down causing him grunt in pain. Carmine stepped back and let him get up "Hey, I like a nice fight." Carmine said to Mercury who wiped blood away from his mouth. Mercury fired a shot at Carmine who dodged it "Wow you suck at aiming." Carmine said laughing but Mercury grinned "I wasn't aiming for you." He said pointing.
Carmine turned around to see Blake on the ground, holding her stomach. Carmine's eyes ignited hellfire red as he charged a supernova charge in his fist. He turned around to punch Mercury but he was gone, in a fit of rage Carmine slammed his fist into the ground, blowing a huge hole in the concrete. "God Damnit!" He yelled running to Blake to check on her, he slid on his knees to a stop "Blake! Blake, talk to me!" Carmine shouted, Blake slowly opened her eyes. "Hey you." She said weakly, reaching her hand up to his covered face. Laurel was on the radio calling for evac "Sir, exfil eta Five Minutes." Laurel said, raising his gun to cover them.
"Blake, keep pressure on the wound. Come on, I can't lose you too!" Carmine yelled, reaching into his bag and pulling out a large cloth, he applied it to the wound to try and stop the bleeding. The white cloth quickly became blood red, tears formed in Carmine's eyes as he worked to save his girlfriend. Just then real Atlas soldiers ran in, they had a stretcher and lifted Blake on to it, running her out to an awaiting Osprey. They boarded and flew toward Beacon, leaving Team CRCL standing amongst the bodies and destruction.
"Whelp, now I got someone else to kill. Maybe I can get Nora to break his legs." Carmine said with nervous laughter. Laurel put his hand on Carmine's shoulder "She'll be alright, sir. She's a strong girl I know that for sure. If it helps, she's madly in love with you and falls deeper in love every day she's with you. She thinks you're the best thing to ever happen in her life." Laurel told Carmine, Carmine looked down and took off his mask, tears rolling down his face. Celadon walked up holding his M107, pulling back the slide and ejecting a spent shell.
"I got a tracker onto his Osprey, he's headed toward Vacuo." Celadon said looking at his scroll, Carmine shook his head in acknowledgment. Carmine, Celadon, and Laurel searched for a vehicle to leave in, eventually finding a box truck. As they were driving away, Carmine stopped and backed into the warehouse. "Sir, what are we doing?" Laurel asked confused, Carmine pointed to the stacks of crates "Fill the truck up, we'll level the rest." Carmine said picking up a crate of Dust, Laurel laughed completely on board with that plan.
Crate after crate was loaded into the back of the truck, Carmine went to check the shipping containers. As he neared them, he noticed the Atlas symbol on the side. He opened the door to reveal crates of weapons: RPGs, 40mm Grenade Launchers, Javelins, Stingers, and other explosive weaponry. "Good God! This is enough explosives to wipe out Vale and then some." Carmine exclaimed, Laurel came to check it out. "We got about twenty crates of Dust and still have plenty of room, I'll back the truck up." Laurel said running to the truck, backing it up to the container. They loaded the entire container's contents into the truck, closing the back.
"Get this to the HQ, I'll radio Atlas with my find. It'd be best for them to take control of this dock rather than leveling the whole thing." Laurel nodded, driving the truck out of the warehouse and leaving the dock. Fifteen minutes later, multiple Blackhawks flew in and landed. Ironwood himself approached Carmine "Mr. Sable, great job on the find. We'll be sure to get this back to Atlas and some of the weapons to Beacon and other academies. We'll also disarm the C-4 charges so don't worry." Ironwood said commending Carmine and Celadon. "Can we get a truck so we can get back to the HQ?" Celadon asked to which Ironwood nodded, leading them to a transport vehicle.
Carmine and Celadon departed for Wolf Pack HQ, he pulled out his scroll and called the infirmary. "What is the status of Blake Belladonna?" Carmine asked the nurse on the other end. "She is stable, she has a little bit of mercury poisoning but it should go away with zero last effects. I assume this is Carmine, it's a good thing you attempted to stop the bleeding, had you not she would have bled out before we could do anything." The nurse told Carmine who was smiling. "One thing doesn't make sense, why didn't her aura protect her? It's as if that shot negated her aura." Carmine said, there was a pause on the other end. "We found a glass arrow in her side, we can only assume that she was hit with the arrow at the same time as the mercury shot." The nurse explained, Carmine thanked them and hung up his scroll. "Apparently there was a sniper with a bow, they found a glass arrow in her side." Carmine told Celadon as they drove back to the HQ.
"I didn't see anybody sneaking around, I was scanning everywhere. Did we ever get the known associates of Torchwick?" Celadon asked, thinking that this was one of his associates. "Not yet, I haven't had a chance to read the dossier that Laurel got for me. Look alive, we're here." Carmine said pulling up in front of the building. They got out of the truck and went around back where Laurel had pulled the truck up to the loading bay. "You have a loading bay!?" Celadon asked surprised, Laurel and Carmine laughed. "Oh course there's a loading bay, this used to be a small warehouse." Laurel said pointing to a faded sign on the wall, it was barely readable but the word warehouse could be made out.
"I'm almost done unloading everything, twenty crates of dust and twenty crates of weapons and explosives." Laurel said closing the back of the truck. "What should we do with this truck?" Celadon asked, Carmine thought for a moment. "Why not just keep it, I mean the docks are under Atlas control now so I doubt anyone will be looking for this. We just need to put a new name on it, like Sable Enterprise or The Wolves Den." Carmine said, illustrating his idea with his hands.
Carmine walked into the HQ with Celadon and Laurel in tow, they went to the interrogation room where Roman was strapped into the chair. Regalia stood there with her arms crossed looking down, Roman looked up "Well, if it isn't the thorn in my side. What other operation have you come to dismantle?" He asked sarcastically but Carmine didn't acknowledge him at all, instead he back handed him across the face. "You are going to name every one of your known associates or I will turn your life into a living nightmare." Carmine said wheeling over a cart, uncovering the top of it revealing multiple knives, needles, blades, forceps, and other instruments of pain. Carmine wheeled over another cart, this one had a box with a screen on it.
"Get his shirt off." Carmine said turning the screen on, Laurel and Celadon ripped his shirt off. "Thanks guys, can you be gentle with that shirt, it's my favorite." Roman said grinning. Celadon looked at the shirt for a moment before setting it on fire. Carmine attached sensors to Romans' chest and a heart monitor to his finger. "This is so you don't go into cardiac arrest, we'd hate to lose you while having fun" Carmine said patting him on the face. Carmine rolled up yet another cart, taking the cover off revealing a stereo and speakers. "Gotta listen to something to drown out your screams and pleas for mercy" Carmine said with a twisted smile on his face. He plugged in his scroll and pressed play.
(Let's Go – Busta Rhymes) Also, this is gonna get dark so WARNING
Before I Take another minute just to give everybody a movie They never seen Imma hit 'em with another elbow. Let me get up everybody, on your mark, so ya ready? Let's go! WOW! OK, here we go again you see the way I'm blowing and I'm like a mangala the way I be mangalin the beat. They call me DRACULA then you see the FANGS going in, WOW! Carmine mouthed the words as he walked to the cart of tools, picking up a long needle. He wiped the needle on a microfiber cloth and replaced them back onto the tray. I already spit it to the rhythm of the piano so now I gotta give the drummer some. Put the T up on the track will be phenomenal cause when it comes to having a hit Imma have another one. Carmine walked toward Roman who looked visibly shaken. Even if you ain't ready yet, all I gotta say is ready set, (let's go) Mouthing the words, Carmine pushed the needle into his finger, the metal riding the bone, Roman screamed in agony but Laurel put a gag over his mouth, muffling his screams.
Drive by, hit you with the two piece combo while I'm hanging out the window of your Daddy's Lambo. Scrambled eggs, I got scrambled ammo, leave you on top of the water like a banana boat. Yea I'm an animal, everybody's edible and Yelawolf is headed for your arm and hand and your head, I'm a cannibal. Good heavens the man's hopping over the fence like a fucking antelope. Carmine mouthed the words again, matching it word for word as he inserted another needle into another finger, blood dripping on to the floor.
So, send him to me in a minute when you finished and I'll put him in a vice grip. I'll put an end to the image and I'll send it in the, via independent fucking with the mic grill. I might split pull the trigger back in a submarine with sub machine loaded, in an ocean, High deep, deep enough to leave a submarine imploded. Promenade motherfucker vámanos, it's me and I'm sick of the prognosis, Got more bars than Barney Fife and I put you behind them and I'm like "Howdy Opie." Carmine watched his vitals on the monitor, his heart rate was elevated but not life threatening. "You can end this right now, just name your associates." Carmine told Roman who just tried to laugh but his laugh was muffled. Carmine shrugged as he walked to his scroll to change the song.
(Murmaider – Dethklok)
The next song started to play, heavy guitar riffs came through the speakers, echoing off the walls. If you seek vengeance all you need are instruments of pain. You need your: Knives? Check. Rope? Check. Dagger? Check. Chains? Check. Rocks? Check. Laser beams? Check. Acid? Check. Body bag? Check. As the song went on, Carmine pulled out syringes, bottles, and knives. Carmine walked back over to Roman and pulled the needles out, placing them in a bowl of alcohol, the blood streamed off the steel needles as they sank to the bottom of the metal bowl. He grabbed one of his fingers and dislocated it, Roman muffled screamed in pain. A tear ran down his cheek, Carmine noticed "Aww, is someone crying? Little bitch." He said, slapping him. "You can end this, just name your associates." Laurel said with his hands on Romans shoulder, Roman looked away in disgust. Carmine dislocated another finger.
Hold your breath, swim and strain, smell the death, can't escape Blood will cloud, drift away Attract the murders of Murmaids It's so cold, they all know What you've done, you can't run Vengeance is the law for thee, A thousand leagues below the sea. You've been tracked, you've been seen, murdering the next of kin. Ate their hearts, drank their blood. Washed your fins in blackened mud, Now you swim, try to hide Heart beats faster from inside. Thought it was a big charade, your life was ended by Murmaids.
Carmine sang along while dislocating and relocating fingers. He stopped and relocated all of his fingers, he grabbed a syringe and a bottle, drawing strange liquid from the bottle. He injected it into Torchwicks arm, getting at eye level. "Have fun!" Carmine said waving at Roman as if saying bye. Celadon walked up "What did you inject into him?" He asked. Carmine handed him the bottle which he read out loud "Lysergic acid diethylamide. Fucking LSD!?" Celadon asked in disbelief, Carmine just nodded. "Now, here is where we have fun with it. Audio can change what LSD will show him." Carmine said grabbing his scroll and switching the song.
(Nightmare – Avenged Sevenfold)
Dragged ya down below Down to the devil's show To be his guest forever (Peace of mind is less than never) Hate to twist your mind But God ain't on your side And old acquaintance severed (Burn the world your last endeavor) Flesh is burning You can smell it in the air Cause men like you have Such an easy soul to steal So stand in line while they ink numbers in your head. You're now a slave Until the end of time here. Nothing stops the madness, Turning, haunting, yearning Pull the trigger!
*Roman's experience*
Laurel ungagged Roman, his pupils dilated as the LSD took effect. The room melted away and he was sent into an endless pit of darkness, the smell of burning bodies filled his nose. He hit the ground and was standing in front of the devil, who ripped his skin from his body. Roman started screaming in agony as demons started stabbing him and ripping the meat from his body. He closed his eyes to escape the hell he was in.
Can't wake up in sweat 'Cause it ain't over yet, Still dancing with your demons (Victim of your own creation), Beyond the will to fight Where all that's wrong is right Where hate don't need a reason (Loathing self-assassination). You've been lied to just to rape you of your sight, and now they have the nerve to tell you how to feel. So sedated as they medicate your brain and while you slowly go insane they tell ya "Given with the best intentions, help you with your complications.
He opened his eyes to find himself lying in a hospital, there were bodies hanging from the roof, their faces rotted away. He tried to run but felt himself being pulled into an eternal abyss, the faces of the people he has killed ripping the skin from his body. Suddenly he was drowning in a lake of fire, the fire filling his lungs and burning him from the inside out but he wouldn't die.
Team CRCL watched as Roman was put through psychological hell, he was screaming out in agony and begging for mercy, apologizing for killing them. "Now, we increase the hell through touch sensation. Observe." Carmine said taking a bunch of small needles and inserting them all over Roman's body.
*Roman's experience*
He was face down on a cold floor but was lifted up by meat hooks that were dug into his arms and chest. He looked around but only saw half torsos on other hooks, some missing their heads and arms, the hooks started to pull his arms in different directions. Suddenly he felt a thousand swords enter his body, the excruciating pain causing him to scream in agony, the feeling of the blades twisting in his body. He screamed out "I'll talk! I'll talk!" He screamed out.
Carmine watched as he screamed, grabbing another syringe and bottle. He injected the liquid, ending Roman's nightmare, Carmine pulled up a chair and a table with a notepad and pen. He sat down in front of Roman and watched as he came back to reality.
"Ready to name those associates?" Carmine asked him, Roman shook his head "Yes, anything you want just please don't make me go through that again, please." Roman begged, Carmine clicked his pen ready to write.
"Alright there's Adam Taurus, Cinder Fall, Emerald Sustrai, Mercury Black, Neopolitan, Sienna Khan, and someone named Salem. She seems to be the one in charge of this whole operation, I've never met her in person and from what I overheard Cinder say, you can include Arthur Watts, Tyrian Callows, and Hazel Rainart, I've never met them before either but apparently they're high ranking or something. I remember hearing Cinder saying something about infiltrating Beacon, so you might want to start there." Roman explained, listing all known associates.
"Anything else I should know?" Carmine asked, Roman shook his head "That is everything I know, except for some unknown leaders like some big guy with a chainsaw." Roman said. Carmine wrote that down, putting a question mark next to it. "Alright, now we're going to turn you over to Ozpin. Regalia, heal him up, please." Carmine asked her, she nodded and projected her aura, sealing the wounds on his body. Laurel unshackled him, handcuffing him and putting a bag over his head. They led him out of the room and outside to the awaiting Humvee, putting him in the back of it.
Carmine got in the driver's seat, Laurel and Regalia got in the back on either side of Roman, Celadon sat in the front. They drove to the docks, as they drove a thought occurred to Celadon "Roman, why were you and the fang stealing all that dust?" Celadon asked, Roman chuckled "Well, you know Dust is extremely volatile? Well, imagine a canister filled with unstable dust crystals being dropped in an area of Vale, the destruction would be massive. Also, they wanted it to use against the humans and stuff. Carmine, I know we're enemies but if you intend on going after them, be extremely careful. Adam Taurus and Cinder Fall are ruthless." He warned Carmine who nodded as he drove down the road.
They pulled up to the docks, Laurel pulled Roman out and led him to an airship, everyone boarded behind them. When they landed, the grounds of Beacon looked like a military occupied zone with IFVs driving around, SAM sites, and MLRSs.
They led Roman through Beacon, Carmine got next to him "I had a feeling the WF will try and pull something so I made some calls, now we have enough munitions for three world wars." Carmine said laughing, Roman chuckled. They reached Ozpin's tower and entered the elevator, going all the way up. The door opened and they stepped out, walking Roman to Ozpin's desk. Laurel sat Roman down in front Ozpin "Hand delivered, like you asked, Sir. Here's a list of known associates he gave me." Carmine said, handing him a copy of the list he made. "Very good, Carmine. I'll take it from here, you're dismissed." Ozpin said, Carmine nodded then looked at Roman "Hey, if you decide to change teams and work with the good guys, I'll catch you later." Carmine said, optimistically. Team CRCL headed for the elevator and took it down to the ground floor.
Exiting the tower, they made their way to the Infirmary to see Blake. Minutes later they reached their destination, they entered and made their way to the front desk. "I'm here to see Blake Belladonna." Carmine said to the nurse but the nurse just shook her head. "I'm sorry sir but she's no longer with us."
Carmine's heart dropped and he fell to his knees, he cradled his face "Oh god it's all my fault!" Carmine pounded his onto the tile floor, the nurse spoke up shouting "Oh God No! She's alive! I meant she already checked out! I am so sorry!" The nurse said apologizing, Regalia helped Carmine up off the ground. "Man, if someone checked out, just say they checked out!" Laurel said, throwing his hands up.
They turned around and left, heading to their dorm. Carmine stopped at RWBY's door, knocking on the door and telling his team to go on. Weiss answered with wide eyes "Carmine, we've been wondering where you've been. Blake's in her bed resting." She said, opening the door. Carmine walked in and snuck into her bed slowly, laying down between Blake and the wall. He placed his arm around her and lightly pulled her in close, she smiled in her sleep at Carmine's sudden scent being around her. He whispered into her ear "Blake, it's time to wake up." He said lightly causing the hairs on the back of her neck to stand up as her eyes shot open. She turned over and faced Carmine, hugging him as she started to cry "I was afraid I would never see you again!" She said through tears as she cried into his chest, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his embrace, pressing his lips into hers.
He released her from his kiss, she slowly opened her amber eyes to stare into his crimson eyes. He laid his head on her pillow, exhaling "Man, I am exhausted. I might just sleep in your bed tonight." He said, she rested her head on his chest as he closed his eyes, hoping to get good sleep. "Night guys, I'm gonna crash here tonight." He said tiredly, yawning. As he drifted off to sleep, something Roman said kept replaying in his head "Cinder said something about infiltrating Beacon." He replayed the statement over and over again as he fell asleep.
(A/N: Super long chapter, I hope y'all like it. Remember to Favorite, Follow, and Review, let me know what I could have done better and what it could do without. I hope you enjoy. This is Nightmare 6-4, signing off.)
