Chapter 9: A Vytal Moment part 1
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.
Sunlight crept through the windows of Carmine's dorm, filling the room with natural light. Blake's ears twitched as she snuggled deeper into the chest of the man she loved, Carmine pulled her close to him and wrapped his arms around her. The entire dorm was shaken awake by the sound of a squadron of VTOLs flying by, the fly by caused everything to shake violently. Carmine shot awake, holding Blake close to him to protect her.
Blake's eyes were wide in anticipation, her arms were wrapped around his waist. The rest of the team had their weapons drawn but lowered them when Carmine addressed them "Stand down, it was just a squadron flyby. I'll speak to Ironwood about their flight altitude." Carmine said, pulling himself out of bed and stretching. Blake got into his spot and pulled the covers over herself, snuggling into his pillow and taking a deep breath in, letting out a 'mmmm' of satisfaction. Carmine looked back at his sleeping girlfriend and couldn't help but smile at her happiness.
He looked out the window at the courtyard and watched as the T-90 patrols moved through the courtyard, the Strela-10's turrets moved left to right, scanning the skies for threats. Seven Atlas soldiers moved through the courtyard with their weapon's pointed toward the ground. Carmine backed away from the window and made his way to the bathroom to get ready for the day. He turned on the shower and let it heat up, he got undressed and stepped into the shower. The hot water hit his body and ran down to the floor, as he showered there was a knock at the door.
Celadon got out of bed and answered the door half awake "Hello?" He said groggily, an Atlas soldier stood outside the door "Uh yes, Ironwood needs to speak with Officer Sable, it is very important." The soldier said to Celadon. "Yeah, he just stepped into the shower he'll b… did you say Officer?" Celadon asked surprised "Yes sir, Officer Sable would never accept Ironwood's invitation to join Atlas so instead he is just listed as Commanding Officer Carmine Sable in the Atlas Commanding Officer Database." The soldier explained.
"Yo Celadon, who's at the door?!" Carmine shouted from the bathroom. "It's an Atlas soldier, he says that Ironwood wants to speak with you, Officer Sable." Celadon said with a shit-eating grin. Carmine just sighed "Oh, what now. I swear if they got something else stolen, I'm throwing him off the cliff," Carmine said, annoyed. Celadon spoke to the soldier and closed the door, walking back to his bed and laying back down. Carmine stepped out of the bathroom in a pair of black jeans, a white shirt with a black leather jacket over it, and his black High Top shoes. He grabbed his stuff off the desk and kissed Blake goodbye before exiting the dorm room. He made his way to Ozpin's tower, taking the elevator up to the top.
The doors opened and Carmine stepped into the office, Ironwood turned and faced Carmine "Ah, Officer Sable, I see you got my messenger?" He asked with a grin but Carmine wasn't having it. "Cut the bullshit, James. What is this about me being a commanding officer even after I declined your offer?" Carmine asked furiously. "Carmine, I had to do it so I could approve your request. You have to understand that." Ironwood pleaded with an angry Carmine. He thought for a moment "That makes sense except for the fact I'm labeled as Commanding Officer Fourth Tier!" Carmine shouted holding up his scroll showing his Atlas profile which displayed his rank next to his picture.
Ironwood fumbled with his words "Uh, the council… and the soldiers are more likely to listen to you if you're at a high rank and… The council would be more willing to fulfill your request." He said, mentally patting himself on the back for that save. "Oh, so I would have to be a high-ranking officer to have a request fulfilled and not the guy who has done all your dirty work, do you know how much blood I have on my hands? You're lucky I have a stake in this war too, but I am not another one of your soldiers that you can order around. I am a mercenary like my brothers who died fixing your mess." Carmine said furiously. Ironwood nodded in agreement.
"Now, what is it you wanted to speak to me about?" Carmine asked after calming down but Ironwood looked away "Well…." Ironwood started to say. "Oh for Fuck's sake James! Your army isn't worth two shits if they can't protect a damn train! What got stolen this time? An aircraft carrier?!" Carmine shouted, Ironwood shook his head "No, six M777 UFH Howitzers." Ironwood said, Carmine's jaw dropped. "Fucking Howitzers!?" Carmine said in disbelief. Ironwood sighed "I'm afraid that isn't all, they also stole an Arleigh Burke-Class Destroyer from the harbor in Atlas, they disabled the tracking node so we have no idea where it is." Ironwood said looking down.
Carmine sighed in frustration "What am I gonna do with you, for fuck's sake, James." Carmine said placing a hand over his face. "Alright I'll take care of it but this will cost you so much more, 15 Million, no less." Carmine said with a straight face. Ironwood stared at him in disbelief then nodded "Fine." Ironwood said shaking Carmine's hand. Ozpin was quiet the whole time Carmine was yelling at Ironwood but he spoke up.
"Now that this is settled, I think the Vytal Festival is starting soon so I suggest you start training for…" He was cut off by a loud explosion and the sound of sirens "Fuck! What was that!?" Carmine shouted, running to the window to see a smoke cloud fill the sky above Vale "That came from Vale." Ironwood said surprised, Carmine just looked at him "No shit, Sherlock." Carmine shook his head before running to the elevators. As the elevator car went down, Carmine called his team "Regalia! Get the team together and arm up, something is going down in Vale." Carmine shouted running through the lobby, rushing into the courtyard.
As he walked out, three squadrons of VTOLs flew over, they broke off and flew different ways. Carmine called his locker to him and within thirty seconds it landed in front of him. He threw on his gear and sprinted toward the air dock, where his team was waiting for him. He pulled back the slide on his rifle and chambered a round into the marksman rifle, placing it on his back before walking onto a bullhead that was waiting for them.
The VTOL took off toward Vale at high speed, they reached the incident area in less than two minutes. As they flew over the city, they could see over fifty Grimm in the city and scattered gunfire coming from the dust. The VTOL touched down and team CRCL stormed out in full sprint, Carmine headed the pack and jumped into a group of Grimm and proceeded to rip them apart piece by piece. He drew his knife and plunged it into a Beowolf's throat, pulling it out and slitting another one. He tried to push deeper into the chaos but was blocked by all the dust.
He holstered his rifle and charged up both hands together, plunging them into the ground causing a large explosion. The shockwave flushed all the dust out of the city, as it cleared Team RWBY could be seen fighting Grimm but someone was missing "Hey, little red, where's Blake?" Carmine shouted to the hooded girl who sprinted to him "We thought she was with you." Ruby said confused but Regalia chimed in "She was still asleep in your bed." Regalia said, snapping a Grimm's neck.
"I'm glad she ain't here, so she won't see what I'm about to do." Carmine said leaping into the hole. He landed in one of the train cars that had a couple of WF soldiers in it, they charged at him but he gunned them down before they could reach him. He left one alive, knocking him out and dragging him back to the surface by his ankle, throwing him against a wall. The soldier came to but didn't fight when he realized he was surrounded. Carmine squatted down in front of him and grabbed his face, ripping off the mask and crushing it in his hand.
"You're gonna answer my questions or I will make you hurt in places you didn't think were possible. So, where are the Howitzers?" Carmine asked him putting his knife to his throat. "Fuck you, human trash." The WF soldier said, spitting at Carmine. Carmine chuckled "Wrong answer." Carmine said grabbing the WF soldier's hand and breaking a finger. The soldier cried out in agony as Carmine got in his face "Where are the Howitzers?!" He asked, grabbing another finger and breaking it. The WF soldier had tears in his eyes. As Carmine reached for another finger, the WF soldier pleaded with him "Wait! Wait, I'll tell you whatever you want, just please don't break another finger." He cried out in pain, tears in his eyes. Carmine let go of his hand and got right into his face "Don't even think about lying to me cause I will destroy everything you love." Carmine said, his eyes a deep shade of red.
The WF soldier adjusted himself against the wall, cradling his broken fingers. "Huh, I guess what they say about you is true, that you're ruthless and precise. The only people who know about the Howitzers are White Fang high command like Adam and his generals. They were worried that you would torture one of us so they didn't tell anyone." The WF soldier explained, looking up at a now standing Carmine who pondered the new information. "Alright, thanks for the info. You know what's gonna happen next right?" Carmine asked, the soldier nodded with a tear running down his cheek. "Sorry kid but you sealed your fate by attacking innocents." Carmine said before kicking the soldier in the throat with his boot, breaking his neck and killing him.
When he turned around Ruby, Weiss, and Yang looked horrified. They each covered their mouth in disbelief of what they saw, Ruby broke the silence "Carmine… Why? He didn't put up a fight and had surrendered." She said with sadness in her voice. Before Carmine could say anything, a voice shouted from the top of a building "Because your friend is a killer, it's all he knows. All he can do is kill, like he slaughtered a whole white fang camp." The voice said. Everyone turned to face the direction the voice came from, Cinder was standing on a roof in her red dress. "You got a lot of nerve showing up here!" Carmine yelled, stepping forward and raising his rifle. Cinder smirked "Are you gonna shoot me? An unarmed young girl who was minding her own business." She said, antagonizing Carmine who lowered his rifle.
Emerald and a silver-haired man joined her on the roof, the silver-haired man stared at Carmine, smirking. He spoke up "How's your girlfriend? Is she also dead?" The silver-haired man asked, laughing. Carmine grit his teeth and clenched his fists "Why don't you get your bitch ass down here and ask me again, I couldn't hear you behind Cinder's shadow." Carmine said pointing at the man on the roof who was furious now. He jumped off the roof and ran at Carmine, Emerald shouted at him "Mercury! You idiot, this is what he wants!" She yelled but it was futile. Carmine took off toward Mercury and tackled him, dislocating his arm immediately. Mercury howled in pain as Carmine threw him across the town square, Mercury crashed through a window. As Carmine walked toward him, he charged a Supernova in his right fist, Mercury shot a silver shot at him but missed.
Carmine threw a right superman punch, blowing Mercury into a crater in the ground. Carmine pulled off his mask and got close to the silver-haired man "That was for Blake, and this is from me." Carmine said exhaling into Mercury's face, engulfing his face in hot steam.
He could be heard screaming in pain across the town, Laurel winced a little at the noise "Good gods, when he gets revenge he goes all out." Laurel said, the group nodded in agreement. Carmine emerged from the smoke, dragging Mercury by his upper teeth, dropping him the middle of the road. He rejoined the group of people who just stared at him "You good, man?" Celadon asked, Carmine nodded. "Yeah, I've been waiting for that." He said, returning his attention to the woman in red on the roof, Emerald was collecting Mercury who had a large burn across his face. "He deserved it! Just like you do, bitch!" Carmine yelled, Cinder turned and left with Emerald and a now injured Mercury. Ruby tapped Carmine on the shoulder, he turned around to see everyone staring at him "What's up, little red?" He asked the silver eyed girl.
"What was all that about? You killed the White Fang guy then fought some guy, what is going on?!" She asked confused, Carmine nodded "Well, when I went to take Torchwick in at the dock, Mercury tried to stop me and he hurt Blake in the process. Cinder killed the girl I loved and wanted to marry so I have a vendetta with her but can't go after her cause she's undercover as a student. How bad would it look if I just suddenly killed a student from a different school? Very bad." Carmine explained. Team JNPR arrived with Team CFVY in tow, Carmine greeted them with his arms out "Oh come on guys! You missed all the fun!" Carmine said laughing. Jaune walked forward and delivered a right cross to Carmine's face, causing him to stumble backward.
Team CRCL raised their guns, focusing their aim on Jaune's head but Carmine had them stand down. "Jaune! What The Fuck! What was that for?!" Carmine asked angrily. "Cinder told us how you just attacked her teammate for no reason." Jaune said pointing at Carmine who just stared at him. "Oh son of a bitch! She was lying, he attacked first and he almost killed Blake at the docks. Please do not defend those monsters or I might be forced to put you down with them." Carmine said with anger in his voice. Pyrrha moved in front of her boyfriend "Don't you dare touch him!" She said raising her shield and sword. Yang moved in between the two teams "Let's all chill the fuck out!" She shouted, everyone backed up a bit and lowered their weapons.
"Mercury attacked first, Carmine incapacitated him. Cinder killed the girl Carmine was gonna marry years ago, her name was Sapphire." Yang explained, everyone on Team JNPR looked shocked and horrified. "We have to tell someone!" Ren said but Carmine stopped him. "No proof and even if I had evidence, they would arrest her, but I want her to burn." He said looking down for a moment. Coco walked up to the three teams, looking at Carmine "Hey cutie, you guys okay over here?" She asked, smacking Carmine on the ass but he didn't react. Laurel spoke up "Yeah, we're fine. We're just dealing with some stuff, that's all." He explained, Coco nodded "Alright, we'll be over here cleaning up." She said, winking at Carmine. She turned and walked away, Laurel just stared "Man, I hate to see her go but I love to watch her leave." Laurel said, staring at Coco's ass. Regalia slugged him the arm "Pay attention, dipshit." She shouted.
Carmine clapped his hands together "Alright, let's clean up and head back to Beacon." He said, readying his weapons. The crowd cheered and readied their weapons as well, charging at the remaining Grimm. After twenty minutes of fighting, the last Grimm fell to the ground dead. Carmine holstered his rifle and collected his team along with the other teams. Carmine pulled out an orange gun looking thing, Ruby stared at it questioningly "What's that?" She asked. Carmine shot a bright red light into the air "It's a flare gun, it's used for evacuations." He said. As he explained, a VTOL landed in the center of town. The teams piled in and made their way back to Beacon, landing in a matter of minutes. As the doors opened, a Humvee drove by, the gunner scanning the horizon for threats.
The four teams walked out onto the pavement, the ground shook as a T-90 patrol drove by the airdock. "Man, is this all Ironwoods? I thought the massive airships were overkill." Jaune asked but Carmine laughed "No Jaune, the firepower you see before you is mine! Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present to you my defenses for Beacon." Carmine said as two F-22's flew overhead. Ruby looked so excited "Wow! This is sooo cool, are you like a general or something?" She asked shaking with excitement. "Well, according to Ironwood I'm Commanding Officer 4th Tier, which is like one or two spots under General." Carmine explained, leading the teams back into Beacon.
"Alright, the festival starts tomorrow so I suggest you all get some sleep and pray you don't go against us." Carmine said laughing as he entered his dorm. As he closed the door Blake tackled him to the floor, biting his ear "Nyah!" She exclaimed playfully. Carmine laughed "What has gotten into you?" He asked wrapping his arms around her waist. "I need you, now!" She pleaded. Celadon, Laurel, and Regalia stepped out of the room after hearing what Blake said.
*Moderate NSFW (No lemon)*
Carmine stood up and picked Blake up, laying her on the bed. She pulled at his armor, trying to get it off but he stopped her. He stood up and unclipped the sides of the IBA, removing it and setting it on an armor rack in the corner. He crawled back into bed over Blake, kissing her on the lips and her neck, eliciting a moan from her. Carmine untied her bow, setting it on the nightstand beside the bed. He caressed one of her cat ears as she kissed on his neck, she unzipped his hoodie and tossed it on the floor, she placed a hand on his chest feeling his muscular chest beneath her hand. She wrapped her arms around his back and pulled him into a kiss. He pushed his pelvis up into hers, eliciting another moan from her.
He rested his hands on her waist and squeezed lightly "Nyah! Stop teasing me." She said kissing him on the neck, biting him playfully. He pulled at the bottom of her shirt, pulling it upward revealing a black lacy bra, he pulled the shirt off of her and hung it on the headboard. He kissed her on the lips, she slipped her tongue into his mouth, battling his tongue for dominance. He broke the kiss and kissed her neck then he kissed the valley between her breasts, she moaned from the sensation and pleasure. She pushed him off her and onto the bed, straddling his waist and unclipping her bra. She slowly pulled it off, revealing her breasts to her boyfriend. "Well… What do you think? I know they're not the biggest but…" She began to say but Carmine cut her off "Babe, they're perfect. Besides, big or small, I love them all." He said pulling her into his embrace, kissing her again.
He placed his hands on her breasts and massaged them, she arched her back in pleasure. She nearly collapsed when he pinched her nipple, she let out a somewhat audible moan. She covered her mouth immediately in fear of nearby dorms hearing her, but Carmine reassured her "Blake, it's fine. If anybody says anything about this I'll throw them off a cliff." He told her, making her giggle. She pulled the cover over them as she went downward toward the end of the bed.
*End NSFW*
Carmine opened his eyes slowly, scanning the clothes scattered room for his team. He grabbed his boxers off the floor and slipped them on, standing up and stretching. He winced in pain when stretched his back, he walked into the bathroom and turned his back to the mirror, he saw multiple scratch marks going down his back. He chuckled at the sight "Damn Carmine, you still got it." He said to himself as he walked out of the bathroom, Blake was now awake and staring at him "Hey sexy, you were amazing last night. It was my first time so how did I do?" She asked sitting up, covering herself with the sheet. "You were fantastic, especially that thing you did with your tongue. I'm surprised I'm able to walk." He said to her, she giggled at the last part.
He tossed her bra and panties to her, she threw them on and stood up but collapsed to the ground immediately. Carmine laughed a bit "I told you that you wouldn't be able to walk after I was done with you." He said picking her up, sitting her back on the bed. "And as usual my pull out game is hella strong!" He said playfully celebrating by doing the running man, she giggled at her boyfriend's movements of celebration.
He stopped dancing and started to get dressed, pulling on his signature black jeans and black shirt. He slipped on his shoes, lacing them up. "Hey, I'm gonna go grab something from the cafeteria and bring it back here, you want anything?" He asked, adjusting his shirt. "Some fish would be great and some pancakes, watch out for Nora on the way back though." She said, warning him of the orange haired hammer wielder. "You stay here and rest up." He said kissing her goodbye and leaving the dorm.
As he walked down the dorm hall, he couldn't help but notice the pep in his step. Yang left her dorm and accompanied Carmine on his quest for pancakes "So, big night last night?" She asked nudging him. He laughed "You heard it from your dorm?" He asked but she shook her head. "We heard it from the dorm entrance and in the courtyard." She said with hand gestures. "Man, I still got it! How long did it go on for? I kinda lost track." He asked her, making her think for a moment. "I'd have to say somewhere around five hours. Are you even human?!" Yang said in disbelief. Carmine laughed and pumped his fist into the air. "Hey, check this out! Little kitty has got claws." He said lifting his shirt up. "Wow! Man, you must have been putting it down." She said looking at the scratches on his back.
"Well, when she stood up this morning she collapsed immediately." Carmine explained as they approached the cafeteria. Team JNPR was at a table, Jaune's face was on the table. Carmine and Yang approached the team "What's up with him?" Carmine asked, Jaune looked up at him "All the screaming and moaning coming from your dorm, what was all that anyway?" Jaune asked, Pyrrha tried to stop him from asking but it was too late. Carmine got down to his eye level "Well Jaune, that was the sound of a girl getting some good dick, but I doubt your dorm will ever hear that." Carmine said, Yang covered her mouth at the sudden burn. "That was for yesterday, don't ever hit me again." Carmine said patting him on the head and leaving to get breakfast for him and Blake.
He started to leave but stopped when he saw Jaune look distraught and about to storm off, he sat down his food and walked over to them. "What's going on now?" He asked, Jaune turned around and faced Carmine "You should know, you just said it." Jaune said stepping up to Carmine. "Alright fuckboi, two things. First, back the fuck up and second, it's called a burn, friends do it all the time. Also if you want to hear those noises, romance it up with your lady and she might rock your world." Carmine explained, Pyrrha blushed at the last part. He patted Jaune on the shoulder reassuring him before grabbing his food, he left the cafeteria and made his way back to his dorm.
When he opened the door, Blake was looking out the window while wearing his hoodie. "Hey sweetie, what are those?" She asked pointing a strange tank thing. Carmine looked at what she was pointing at "Oh that is a TOS-1, it's a Multiple Launch Rocket System. Able to decimate an area in a matter of minutes. There are six or seven of them here." Carmine explained wrapping his arms around her. They ate breakfast together, Carmine noticed how she looked so happy, happier than before.
After they finished eating, Blake got dressed in her clothes and let Carmine put his gear back on. He holstered his FiveSeven behind his back and his 500 on his left hip, the MP7 on the right side. He slipped his IBA back on and clipped the sides, adjusting his hoodie and shoulder pads. He grabbed spare clips and placed them in their pouches, he grabbed a speed loader for the magnum along with a sixty count box of ammo. He grabbed a pair of boots out of the closet and strapped them on, he stomped the ground twice causing a blade to come out of the front of the boot, he stomped again collapsing the knife.
After he finished gearing up, he grabbed a box from the closet and sat it on the bed. Blake came over to observe what he was doing, she noticed it had the wolf pack symbol on the front of it. He lifted the lid and revealed a black gas mask with a reflective candy apple red visor, the filter had a white biohazard symbol on it. He hooked it to his holster belt and closed the box. Carmine double checked everything on him on last time before they left the dorm. Blake and Carmine walked down the hall hand in hand until they reached her dorm room, he kissed her goodbye "I'll see you there, I love you." He said kissing her "I love you too" She said smiling, entering her dorm room. Carmine made his way to the festival grounds where his team was waiting.
Team CRCL headed for the entrance to the Colosseum but were stopped by an Atlas soldier "Stop! It's not open for another three hours, turn back or be arrested." The soldier demanded, he drew his sidearm. Carmine stepped forward "Soldier, stand down. I am Commanding Officer 4th Tier Carmine Sable and you will stand down!" Carmine demanded, the soldier holstered his pistol immediately "I am so sorry, sir. Go right ahead." The soldier said stepping aside. Team CRCL entered the Colosseum and made their way to the announcing booth, Carmine plugged his scroll into the Main System and uploaded a trojan horse into the system. A black laughing skull with red X's popped up on the screens before disappearing, he unplugged his scroll and placed it into his pocket. He sat down at the main system and started typing away, eventually finding the main roster. "Let's see, Haven Academy. Cinder. Fall. Here she is, 17 my ass." Carmine said reading here info card.
As he typed away, a black pawn popped up on the screen but it was eaten by the skull. "You gotta wake up real early to beat me, Cinder. I promised I'd destroy everything of yours." Carmine said with a smirk. "And now to back-trace the source and… there." Carmine said pulling up live camera feed, Cinder could be seen talking with Emerald and Mercury. "Emerald, I need you to make teams RWBY and JNPR hallucinate, long enough for Mercury to take them out." Cinder said instructing her minions "You have no idea how bad I want to call in a cruise missile to their location. Just need to record a little longer and…. There." Carmine said ending the recording process, saving it to his scroll. "Laurel, you know what to do. Null her semblance and chain her to… something." Carmine said, giving Laurel his orders.
Carmine unplugged his scroll, leaving the announcement box with his team in tow. As they left he handed each an earpiece and a handset "Stay on channel 4." Carmine said, putting his earpiece in. They followed suit, placing it in their ears and setting the channel feed. "One last thing, watch the skies. The only an attack could happen is by air, the Strela 10's should knock them out though. All flights have an encryption code now. If they don't answer the code, they get shot down." Carmine explained. They all nodded and went in separate directions.
Carmine sat down in one of the chairs and looked into the arena, scanning the seats. He noticed a girl with black hair and emerald green hair staring at him, she sprinted out of an exit as Carmine was standing up. "What the fuck was that about?" Carmine asked himself out loud. He left the arena and entered the festival grounds, scanning the now growing crowd. Fireworks detonated behind him, signaling the beginning of the festival. Carmine returned to the arena and climbed up into the rafters, setting up above the fighting field.
*1 Hour Later*
Carmine was brought back to reality by the P.A. System coming on and the sound of Professor Port's voice "Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen to the 40th annual Vytal Festival, the battles will commence shortly." Port said addressing the crowd. "First up is Team RWBY of Beacon vs Team ABRN of Haven. Will the fighters take their places." Prof… Dr. Oobleck said over the P.A. System. The battle commenced, a girl on a hoverboard charged at Blake attempting to hit her with the board.
She kicked the board at her but failed and fell to the ground, Blake drew her pistol/sword and her P226 and dumped on her, emptying both clips. The board girl's aura dropped to 5%, eliminating her. Carmine punched the air "That's my girl." He said to himself as he watched Blake and Yang eliminate two more of them. Blake remembered what she saw Carmine do and attempted recreate it, she tackled the last one to the ground and wrapped the band of her sword to his leg, Yang got behind her and they started swinging him around, eventually throwing him out of the ring. "That's it! Team RWBY has won!" Port said cheering.
"Up next is everyone's favorite team, Team CRCL of Beacon vs Team BLAK of Mistral. Will the fighters take their places." Dr. Oobleck said, Carmine hopped down from rafter to rafter until he leaped onto the ground, rolling to a stop. He joined his team, pulling out his scroll. He opened up his scroll and accessed the lighting system, dimming the lights. The crowd began to chatter in confusion until a song came over the P.A. System.
Ladies and Gentlemen – Saliva
Ladies and Gentlemen please, would you bring your attention to me? For a feast for your eyes to see.
Carmine and Team CRCL walked out onto the field.
An explosion of catastrophe. Like nothing you've ever seen before, Watch closely as I open this door. Your jaws will be on the floor, after this you'll be begging for more.
Carmine cut off the music and undimmed the lights, they stood across from four hooded figures with bandanas over their faces. Carmine strapped on his gas mask, testing the purge function and lifting the hood. "Team CRCL is led by Carmine Sable, a former mercenary of Wolf Pack. He has para-military training and an arsenal of weapons at his disposal. He is responsible for the mini army outside, they are at his command." Professor Port said through the P.A. System. Blake cheered from the bleachers "That's my boyfriend! Give 'em hell, Carmine!" Blake cheered. "Team BLAK consists of Burgundy, Lapis, Acajou, and Kobi. There are no last names listed here." Oobleck said.
Team BLAK readied their weapons, Burgundy had on a red bandana and a UTS-15, Lapis wore a blue bandana and had an AK-12. Acajou wore a brown bandana, heavy body armor, a helmet with a face guard and a brown bandana, he had a Ameli LMG with a bullet guard. Kobi wore a pink bandana and had a G28 DMR. They had a crate behind them that looked suspicious to Carmine "I don't like the look of that crate, how did they get that through?" Carmine asked his team but they just shrugged their shoulders.
The buzzer rang, signaling the start of the match. CRCL took off in different directions as the bullets started flying, Carmine pulled out his SCAR and popped off five rounds. Acajou walked forward suppressing fire, dumping bullets out of the Ameli; he pulled out a grenade, pulling the pin and throwing it at Carmine. Carmine grabbed it and threw it back at him but it detonated midair, leaving a cloud of smoke which Carmine used as cover. Celadon climbed behind a rock and deployed the Bipod on his rifle, taking shots at Kobi, hitting her in the leg. Regalia ran through a few trees, dodging gunfire from Lapis and Kobi. She returned fire at Lapis, hitting her in the chest and abdomen.
Carmine snuck around Acajou who was searching for him, Carmine got behind him and slipped a C4 charge into a pouch on his back. Acajou swung around and kicked Carmine in the chest, knocking him backward. Acajou raised his LMG and opened fire but Carmine got out of the way, pulling out the detonator and triggering the charge, blowing Acajou out of the ring. "Boom! Acajou is out!" Port said in his booming voice.
Carmine stood up and charged at Burgundy who was sweeping through some trees, tackling him to the ground and hitting him in the chest but Burgundy hit him in the side with a knee. Carmine stood up and stepped back, Burgundy hopped up and holstered his UTS, raising his fists. Carmine rushed him, hitting him in the side and the chest, thrusting his knee into his gut. Burgundy drew a pistol from his holster and attempted to shoot Carmine, but he stopped him by grabbing the gun and ejecting the clip. Burgundy grabbed the barrel and used it as a hammer, swinging at Carmine.
As Carmine fought Burgundy, Acajou climbed back into the arena "What's this!? Acajou has climbed back into the arena, what is he doing?!" Port shouted over the P.A. System. Acajou ran over to the crate and kicked off the cover of the crate, pulling out a large gun and a tripod. He placed the tripod on a rock and mounted the gun, attaching a box mag and loading the chain of ammo. Carmine kicked Burgundy in the knee, dropping him to the ground and kneeing him in the face. Carmine turned around in time to see Acajou loading the large gun, he pressed his comms "Guys! They got M85 HMG, get behind cover." Carmine shouted as Acajou fired the .50 cal BMG HMG, the bullets ripping through the trees like paper.
Carmine hopped behind a rock as the bullets followed him, he pulled out a smoke grenade, pulling the pin and tossing it over the rock. The grenade exploded into a cloud of smoke, Carmine sprinted to the left as the bullets sprayed everywhere. He holstered his SCAR and pulled out his Ithica 37, cocking it and sprinting at Acajou. He slid behind him and popped off a round into his back, blood sprayed everywhere as Acajou fell lifeless. "Good lord! Acajou is… dead. Stop the match!" Oobleck shouted over the P.A. System. A buzzer sounded as Atlas soldiers stormed the field, Kobi shot and killed two soldiers as they came on the field. Laurel ran at Kobi, suppressing her aura with his semblance and shooting her in the chest, ripping her chest open.
Celadon lined up his sights with Lapis as Laurel ran behind her, suppressing her aura. Celadon shot her in the head, the bullet ripping through her brain and spraying blood everywhere. Atlas soldiers surrounded everyone, handcuffing Carmine, Celadon, and Laurel. They picked up an unconscious Burgundy and dragged him out of the arena. Ironwood walked out onto the field, furious "What the hell was that, Sable!?" Ironwood shouted at Carmine. "Sir, they were here to kill us. That HMG would have ripped us apart. It was either kill or be killed, you can ask Burgundy over there." Carmine said gesturing toward the unconscious one. Atlas let team CRCL go, they followed Ironwood out of the arena as the crowd murmured as the left. "Uh, I guess Team CRCL wins. It seems Team BLAK was here to kill CRCL. We need time to clean up the field so we are gonna take a thirty-minute break." Port said over the speakers.
Carmine walked into the office with Ironwood and Burgundy, they placed Burgundy in a chair and strapped him to the chair. Carmine slapped him awake "Wake up, fucker! Who hired you?!" Carmine shouted, Burgundy spat at him "I ain't telling you shit!" Burgundy said in disgust. Carmine drew his fist back but Ironwood stopped him "Let us take care of this, you go." Ironwood said, dismissing Carmine and locking the door behind him. Carmine exited the office area and rejoined his team, he filled them in with the information. They met up with RWBY and JNPR who were eating at a stand, Blake had a bowl of fish in front of her. "What up, fuckers?!" Carmine said enthusiastically, the two teams greeted him and his team. "I can't believe that happened, how were they able to get in?" Jaune said shaking his head.
"Well, it doesn't matter, three of the four of them are dead now. I'm starving." Carmine said, sitting down next to Blake who hugged him tightly "Love you!" She said holding Carmine. Carmine looked over the other members of RWBY and saw that Ruby was looking down at the counter "What's up little red?" Carmine called out to Ruby, she looked over at Carmine "Those students died, how can you look so okay with it?!" She asked tearfully. "Ruby, those were not students, they were mercenaries hired to kill me. The HMG was military grade." Carmine said putting Ruby's mind at ease.
"So, who would hire someone to kill you?" Yang asked, eating a bowl of noodles. "Well, there's a lot of people who want me dead. Cinder, Adam Taurus, all of the White Fang." Carmine said counting on his fingers. "Y'all still hungry? Aye shopkeep, a large bowl of your best noodles and put some steak in it. Thanks bud." Carmine said to the chef at the stand. Within minutes, there was a giant hot bowl of noodles and steak in front of him. Carmine handed him a black card with gold writing on it, the shopkeep took it and swiped it, handing it back to Carmine. "Is that a black card?" Weiss asked wide-eyed. Carmine laughed "Yes, yes it is. Are you surprised?" Carmine asked chuckling. "You having a black card, yes that is surprising." Weiss said with sass.
Carmine put the card back into his wallet and the wallet into his pocket, digging into his bowl of noodles. As he ate, he noticed Pyrrha had her head on Jaune's arm, holding him it tightly. "So, you two seem happy, did Mr. Oblivious finally come around?" Carmine asked, eating a slice of steak. "Yes, and it's all thanks to you, Carmine." Pyrrha said, thanking the rifleman. "Hey, anytime!" Carmine said, accepting her praise. He felt Blake tighten her grip around his waist, he looked down at her "You seem more happy than usual, what's up?" Carmine asked putting his arm around her, she looked up at him "Oh, you know why I'm so happy. How's your back doing? Did you have Regalia patch it up?" She asked him with a giggle.
"It's fine and no, I didn't because I want to remember this. Hell, how could I ever forget it." Carmine said, making her blush. Ruby spoke up "Was all that pounding and screaming you guys? What were you two doing anyway?" She asked innocently, Carmine's eyes shot open wide. "Uhhh… We… were watching a horror movie and I was training her for the festival. Yeah, that's what happened." Carmine said, patting himself on the back for his quick thinking. Ruby looked at him in suspicion "Hmm, you're lying. Tell me!" She demanded, Yang interrupted her "Uh, Ruby, want to go get some cookies?!" She asked, Ruby immediately switched her focus. Ruby and Yang ran off into the festival, everyone exhaled a sigh of relief.
Carmine finished his noodles, sliding his bowl toward the shopkeep. He fished out a hundred lien and handed it to the shopkeep who graciously accepted it. The teams got up and walked into the festival grounds, getting praise from festival goers about his match. They made their way to the dock areas where people collected, they ran into Velvet who was taking pictures of people's weapons. "Hey Velvie, whatcha up to?" Carmine asked as they approached her. "Oh, hey Carmine, Ruby, Blake and uh… everyone else." She said nervously, she took a picture of Carmine's rifle. "Uh, what was that about?" He asked confused. "Oh, how rude of me. My weapon is this camera, it documents any weapon I take a picture of, like your rifle for instance." Velvet explained. Carmine laughed a little "Well, it looks like you need to come by my armory, you'll have a field day there." Carmine said, gesturing to the rest of his team to present arms.
They held out their guns for her to photograph, one by one she cataloged them all. "Thanks guys, that really helps!" Velvet said enthusiastically. All of a sudden, they heard a lot of commotion from a crowd. They ran over to see a man and a woman squaring off, she had white hair and the look of nobility. He had a cape and a giant ass sword, he looked like a mess. Carmine stepped forward into the crowd "Specialist Schnee, what is the meaning of this?!" He yelled. She stood at attention, saluting him "Colonel, I didn't see you there, what brings you here?" She asked terrified. "It's Commanding Officer 4th Tier now. I'm here because I go here, what are you doing here?" Carmine asked the Specialist. "I'm here at Ironwood's request, I'm also here to check on my sister, Weiss." The Specialist said, gesturing to Weiss. "Winter! It's so good to see you!" Weiss exclaimed happily, hugging her sister. Winter looked at her sister in disapproval "What do you think you are doing?" Winter asked her sister, making her back up. "My dearest apologies, Winter. It's just so good to see you." Weiss said with a curtsy, Winter looked away.
"So does anyone want to tell me what the HELL is going on here?" Carmine asked raising his voice. Winter began to fumble with her words "Uh eh… I'm just… uh… dealing with this drunk, sir." Winter said, Carmine turned his attention to the swordsman "And who the hell are you?!" Carmine asked, Ruby rushed past him and attached herself to the swordsman "UNCLE QROW!" She exclaimed happily. "Wait, Qrow as in Qrow Branwen?" Carmine asked, Qrow nodded in agreement. Carmine walked up to him and extended his hand "It is good to finally meet you sir, I'm Carmine Sable." Carmine said shaking Qrow's hand whose eyes have gone wide. "Wait, Carmine Sable of Wolf Pack?! Kid, you're a legend!" Qrow said shaking his hand. Carmine waved it off "Oh, I was just doing my job." Carmine said shrugging his shoulders.
"So Winter, What are you doing here?" Weiss asked her sister. "Classified." Winter said coldly, Weiss looked slightly pained by her response. "Ok, so how long are you staying for?" Weiss asked happily again and again Winter responded coldly "Classified." Winter replied to her sister. Carmine got fed up with Winter's attitude "Winter! Cut the bullshit high and mighty act, it's your fucking sister! Weiss, she'll be here until the tournament is over. As to why she is here, well that one I don't know." Carmine said to Weiss, who looked happy for his statement. "Thank you, Carmine." Weiss said thanking the rifleman.
"Specialist Schnee is here because she is in charge of all of Ironwood's tin soldiers, they're pathetic. She doesn't want to say why she's here so she seems more official and special." Qrow said gesturing to Winter. "Well, it's in the title after all." Winter replied with sass. Qrow rips the head off one of the Atlesian Knight's, tossing it to her feet "See, tin soldiers. I can rip these apart all day." Qrow said pushing over the headless robot, Winter drew her sword "You wanna go, you drunk?!" Winter asked, taunting Qrow. Qrow drew his large sword and readied it "I'm not drunk." He said matching swords with a clink. Winter strikes at Qrow who blocks, parrying and attempting to sweep her legs. Winter leaped back and uses a glyph to thrust herself forward, sword aimed right for Qrow's throat. As she gets closer, Carmine drew his rifle and changed it into its sword form. He leaped in between Qrow and Winter, raising his sword and blocking her strike.
As Carmine blocked her strike, the ground cracked underneath him and collapsed. A voice roared behind them "SCHNEE!" Ironwood yelled, accompanied by Ozpin and Glynda Goodwitch. Winter dropped to one knee, her sword on the ground "I am so sorry, sir. This is all my fault, are you hurt?" Winter asked Carmine, apologizing for her actions. "You should be sorry, that was unprofessional and dangerous. What if you injured one of the students or a civilian got hurt? It would be horrible!" Carmine shouted, berating the specialist. "Sable! That's enough!" Ironwood said, calling Carmine down. Carmine withdrew his sword, returning it to its rifle form and placing it on his back. He stepped out of the hole and walked back to his team, collecting them and walking toward Ironwood "You settle this, now!" Carmine said, gritting his teeth in frustration. He walked away, bumping into his shoulder as he left the courtyard.
The other teams joined him as he left for the Colosseum, they entered the arena and filled a row of seats. As they sat down, the match between Coco/Yatsuhashi vs Mercury/Emerald went on. Coco used her Gatling gun to destroy the trees of cover. Mercury and Emerald were nowhere to be seen, Coco looked all around trying to find them. Suddenly, Mercury attacked Coco from the air, delivering multiple hits on her. Yatsuhashi attempted to attack Mercury but he just stopped and started looking around like was lost, Emerald attacked him from behind, leaping around and draining his aura. Emerald eliminated Yatsuhashi with no problem, changing her focus to Coco, peppering the heavy gunner with a spray of bullets. Mercury grabs her attention by throwing some punches at her, giving Emerald a window to get behind her, she drew her pistol back and hit her in the back of the head, ending the match. The buzzer sounded the end of the match, Mercury and Emerald stood victorious in the arena, Mercury put his foot down hard on Yatsuhashi's gut as he took in the victory.
Carmine stared at him, squinting his eyes in wonderment but was brought out of his gaze of anger by Professor Port on the P.A. System "What a match! Up next we have our crowd favorite: Carmine/Laurel of Team CRCL vs Blake/Yang of Team RWBY. Fighters, take your places." Port shouted in excitement. Carmine's eyes went wide in the realization of what this meant, he's gonna have to fight his girlfriend, he looked over to Blake who looked equally as shocked. Carmine got up with Laurel and made their way to the arena entrance, standing behind the heavy doors. Laurel looked at Carmine who looked visibly shaken "Hey man, are you alright? We can throw the match so you don't have to fight her." Laurel said patting Carmine on the back.
Carmine shook his head and pulled out his scroll "I'm gonna make a roster change." Carmine said, tapping away at his scroll. A few minutes later the P.A. System came on again "There seems to be a roster change. Now going against Carmine/Laurel is Cardin/Dove, fighters take your places!" Port said updating the arena. "I got no problem beating down this pussy." Carmine stated, readying his rifle.
The door opened and Carmine/Laurel ran out onto the field, the crowd went wild cheering them on. Cardin/Dove came out to a lot of boos, Cardin looked disgusted by Carmine standing before him "Hey bitch boy, now we can go all out and I can really wreck your shit!" Carmine shouted at Cardin. Oobleck came over the P.A. System "Now this has never been done before in the history of the Vytal Festival, there must be a glitch in the system but these two teams look ready to go so let this be a good match." Oobleck explained as the buzzer sounded.
Cardin charged at Carmine, swinging his mace at the rifleman who hopped out of the way, slapping Cardin across the face. Cardin growled in frustration, spinning around and swinging again at Carmine who blocked it, kneeing Cardin in the gut and elbowing him in the back. Cardin punched Carmine in the side, causing him to falter and move sideways.
Laurel was busy fighting Dove with his weapons, his stryker on his back, he had two serrated machetes, the handles resembled Glock 40s, the slides were the handles and the grips were the handguards. Laurel swung his machetes down at Dove who blocked with his sword, firing a round off at Laurel who blocked the shot, he transformed the machetes into their pistol form and opened fire at Dove, hitting him multiple times in the chest. Laurel quickly switched to his stryker and put two in Dove's chest, draining his aura.
"And like that Dove is eliminated, now it's up to Carmine to finish it!" Port exclaimed over the P.A. System. Carmine kicked Cardin across the face, following it up with a roundhouse and another spinning roundhouse, knocking Cardin to the ground. The crowd went ballistic "Oh My Gods! A 540 Roundhouse from Carmine, how is Cardin still standing?!" Oobleck exclaimed, Carmine stepped back as Cardin stood up, wobbling a bit "Finish it!" Laurel called from the side. Carmine ran forward and delivered a flying front kick, the second hit connecting with Cardin's jaw and sending him back into a boulder, collapsing defeated.
"There you have it ladies and gentlemen, Carmine and Laurel are the winners of the doubles portion of the tournament. Carmine will be moving on to the singles portion, congratulations fighters!" Port exclaimed over the speakers. Carmine and Laurel waved to the cheering crowd as they left the arena and entered the locker room, Blake tackled him excitedly "NYAH! I'm so happy we didn't have to fight each other!" She said, biting his neck lightly. He pulled her into a hug "Love you too, Blake." He said hugging her tightly. She let go of him and he stood up, brushing off his IBA and adjusting his holsters, he picked Blake up bridal style, she wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. He carried her out into the stands, rejoining the rest of his friends and team "Wow, you really kicked his ass!" Yang said pumping a fist into the air.
"I told him we could go all out during the fight, that's what I did." Carmine said sitting down with Blake in his lap. The P.A. System kicked on again "And that concludes the Doubles portion of the tournament. Let's get round 3 underway, first up is Yang Xiao Long vs Mercury Black. Fighters take your places." Oobleck said over the P.A. system. Yang stood up and punched her fists together "Oh Yeah, let's do this! Wish me luck, Car…" Yang began to say, turning to Carmine but he was gone. "Wait, where did he go!?" She asked confused but her question was soon answered as the combat doors opened, Mercury stepped into the ring and readied himself. Carmine walked out of the other door, the crowd gasped in surprise. "What is this?! Carmine is fighting instead of Yang, is substitution even legal?" Port asked bewildered, Oobleck drank from his mug and spoke into the microphone "As long as the subbing student is from the same school, it is legal." Oobleck said calmly, adjusting his glasses.
"Sup fucker, remember me? Yeah, I'm surprised to see you in this competition, I'd figure you'd kill everyone else." Carmine said, taunting Mercury. Mercury growled angrily "Shut up, dog!" He snarled. Carmine pointed to his legs "So, anyone else know about your augmentation? Yeah, I noticed the day we fought at the dock and I think I'm gonna set your pants on fire." Carmine said, slipping on his gas mask. Carmine clenched his right fist and charged a supernova as the timer ticked down, 5…4…3…2…1… The buzzer sounded, Mercury charged at Carmine and dished out a flurry of kicks.
Carmine blocked the attacks, parrying them with a right hook. The supernova detonated on impact, sending Mercury flying across the arena, he shot two shots out of his legs and flipped himself over, skidding to a stop. Carmine pulled out a large red canister, pulling the pin and tossing it at Mercury, it slid across the floor and exploded into a ball of fire, setting his clothes on fire. Mercury worked on patting the fire out on his shirt but didn't notice his pants were engulfed in flames. Carmine laughed "Liar Liar, Pants on Fire!" Carmine chanted, Mercury looked down to see his pants legs had burned off "Oh my, Mercury Black's legs are metal!" Port said in observation. Mercury growled furiously, charging at Carmine and shooting a cluster of silver shots at him with his boots. Carmine dodged the shots except for one that hit him in the gut, Carmine landed and held his gut "Mother Fucker!" He exclaimed.
"Oh, did that hurt?" Mercury asked sarcastically, Carmine looked up "Not at all, I just hope this doesn't stain." Carmine said flipping him off and pointing at him. Mercury looked over to Emerald and nodded, she nodded back; touching her temple. Carmine delivered a right cross to Mercury's face, sending him to the ground "Pay attention, bitch!" Carmine said, kicking him in the ribs. Carmine pulled out his 500 Magnum and cocked the hammer back, pointing it at Mercury. As he aimed, Mercury started to disappear and reappear all over the arena, Carmine reholstered the magnum and raised both his fists "Alright, you wanna play that game, we'll play it!" Carmine shouted, charging up both of his fists. The crowd watched as Carmine stood there for five minutes, charging his fists up. Celadon shouted from the crowd "Carmine! He's behind you!" Carmine looked up and punched his fists together, there was a large flash of light and a heavy shockwave as fire and black smoke erupted from the arena, the Colosseum shook as the explosion went off. Mercury was sent flying across the arena and into a wall, knocking him out and eliminating him "Wow! Look at that explosion! Mercury Black has been eliminated and Carmine Sable has won!" Oobleck exclaimed over the speakers.
Carmine stood in a scorched circle as the smoke cleared, revealing Carmine to the audience. They cheered loudly as Carmine stood there, panting; Carmine fell to his knees then collapsed on the floor. "Good lord, someone get a stretcher!" Port shouted through the speakers. Team CRCL stormed the field, coming to a stop beside their unconscious leader. Blake joined them, sliding to her knees beside him; she gently removed the mask and leaned back as steam shot from his mouth, making a hissing noise. Regalia held her hands up as they started to glow purple, she placed a hand on his chest and focused her aura into his chest. Celadon pulled out his scroll and watched as his aura level began to rise, she stopped when he had about 35%, Carmine slowly opened his eyes and was met with a pair of amber eyes looking back at him.
"Did I die, cause all I see is an angel." Carmine said smiling at Blake who giggled and hugged him. Laurel and Celadon pulled him to his feet, brushing him off and adjusting his gear "Bro, you never told us that your semblance drains your aura!" Celadon said, obviously worried about his best friend. "It can but it doesn't all the time, if I do a large detonation, like even bigger than that, it can bring it down low." Carmine explained, putting his arms around Celadon and Laurel as the escorted him off of the field. He let go and stood up straight, walking to his locker and taking off his gear. Carmine closed the door and slipped on his street clothes, putting on his shoes and leaving with his friends.
Carmine sat down and layed his head back "Oh, I'm exhausted! I should be good to go in thirty minutes, I kept seeing things like he disappeared and reappeared." Carmine explained. "You too?" Coco asked as she walked up "We saw the same thing and I think it's the girl with the green hair." Coco explained, Carmine nodded in agreement. "Anyways, I'm gonna rest a bit. Wake me up when the next round starts." Carmine said resting his head on Blake's shoulder, she ran her hand through his hair "Good night, cutie." She said softly, kissing him on the head.
(AN: Thus concludes part one of the Vytal Festival "arc". Remember to Favorite, Follow, and Review, every review helps, no matter how small. And no, there will be no lemon, ever. As always, this is Nightmare 6-4, signing off!)
