Chapter Seventeen: Train Trouble
"Ruby? What the bloody hell are you doing here?" Phoenix shouted as he grabbed his coat and held it in front of himself, turning a bright red. Ruby was having a similar reaction to him.
"Phoenix! I'm so sorry! But what are you doing here?" she asked, clearly flustered.
"Just wait around the corner, I'll tell you when you can come back."
"Oh uh, right got it," she said as she stepped behind the corner.
"Alright, you can come back now," Phoenix groaned. Ruby returned, holding the dog from earlier.
"Wait… why are you dressed like The Flaming Shadow? And what are you doing here? And what were you doing… uh… you know?" Ruby asked, blushing as she asked the last question.
"One question at a time. What do you mean I'm dressed like The Flaming… Shadow… shit," Phoenix said as he looked at his attire and saw he was in fact wearing his vigilante outfit. He facepalmed as he realized that in his panic he forgot what he was putting on.
"Hold on, are you actually-?"
"Yep." Upon hearing this Ruby went into full fangirl mode, but suddenly stopping as she thought of something.
"Why'd you keep it secret from us?"
"At first it was because I didn't want to tell secrets that made me one of the most wanted people in Vale."
"What do you-?"
"Combining my current work with what I did with my Mother, I'm guilty of a lot. Anyway, once I got to know you guys I kept it secret for two reasons. First, I was afraid of how you'd react, and second I didn't want to put you in any more danger than you were already in."
"What do you mean more danger?" Ruby asked, slightly annoyed she wasn't trusted.
"I knew that if you found out about my job you'd want to help me in the field. Am I wrong?" Ruby shook her head. "Exactly. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if you got hurt because you were helping me. Once you found out about my mother, I asked you to keep it a secret because if you told your team what, Blake and Weiss might think you knew everything. Then they'd actually tell you everything else."
"What do you mean Blake and Weiss?" she asked, confused.
"Blake found out at the docks and Weiss found out after the mech fight.
"Why keep it secret?" Ruby asked, now annoyed at her teammates.
"Don't blame them. I asked them to. Afraid of how everyone would react, remember. You have every right to hate me for all this but we can talk about that later. Right now, I'm guessing you have other questions."
"Back up. What is it with you and assuming that we'll hate you? We're your friends. Sure, I'm a bit annoyed, but I could never hate you," she replied, blushing slightly when she said the last sentence.
"I'm sorry. It's just that it was one of the ways my mother kept me in line. Telling me that if anyone else found out who I was they'd despise me, so the only place I'd be accepted was by her side. I guess it's hard to get years of thinking like that out of your head. But enough about my backstory, what other questions do you have."
Ruby gave Phoenix a look that said 'this isn't over' and asked, "What're you doing here?" Phoenix suddenly remembered the incident where they met here and became a bright red.
"The same reason as you, I think. To find the White Fang. When you…uh… found me, I was changing into one of their uniforms as a disguise."
"So you found their base?"
"No. I was going to say my party was ambushed by Grimm and return to base with another party. Now I think it's my turn for some questions. Starting with why the hell you have a dog here?" he asked as the dog sat at his feet.
"My dad sent us Zwei and I didn't want to leave him alone." Phoenix started laughing, earning an annoyed look from Ruby.
"I'm sorry, it's just the thought of you trying to sneak a dog into a dangerous mission."
"Well, Professor Oobleck called me a genius," she replied proudly.
In the distance they thought they could hear a voice yell "Doctor!"
"Oobleck is here? Of course he is. Oz wouldn't send students here alone. Why he sent you anyways I've got no clue. I told him I could handle the mission myself. Don't get me wrong I'm grateful for the help, I'm just... I'm rambling again aren't I?"
"Yep."
"Anyways, I was thinking since you've got me revealing all my secrets I may as well tell you one more. I-" before he could finish Zwei ran off, causing Ruby to chase after him. "Damn it Ruby! Wait up!" Phoenix yelled after her, remembering how things went at the dance. He took a moment to grab his weapons and mask before pursuing her. When he thought he'd caught up to her, all he saw was a hole with Zwei in front of it. When he saw her weapon beside the hole he realized what happened and jumped in without a second thought.
"Freeze!" one of the two White Fang who had their weapons aimed at Ruby ordered.
"I was about to say the same thing to you," a voice from behind them said as a tiger hook sword went by each of their throats.
"Phoenix!" Ruby exclaimed. As she was calling his name Phoenix knocked out the two thugs.
"Please try not to reveal my secret identity to everyone. When I'm like this just call me Shadow."
"Got it Phoe- I mean Shadow," Ruby replied.
"Good, now go back to your team and tell them what's happening. Feel free to tell Yang about this," he said gesturing to himself, "She'll be pissed if she finds out she was the only one left out. As for Oobleck, he already knows."
"What do you mean go? I can handle myself!" Ruby shouted.
"I know you can. You're one of the best fighters I've ever seen, but someone needs to tell your team what's going on. Besides, you don't have your weapon."
Ruby frowned at him, replying, "Zwei will tell them. Besides, I can fight without my weapon. Face it, you can't get rid of me."
"How's the dog supposed to-? Fine, I suppose I should trust you on this," Phoenix groaned, hoping that this wouldn't get her killed. "No, I'll die before I let that happen," he thought, shaking his head.
"Why're they loading mechs on that train? The tracks lead to a dead end," Phoenix mumbled as he watched the White Fang load mechs, among other cargo, onto the train while Torchwick barked orders at them.
"Can I see?" Ruby, who was standing behind him, asked.
"You can try, but my mask won't do you much good," he replied.
"What do you mean?"
"My mask's lenses serve as my glasses. Unless you're also nearsighted then it'll be pretty hard to see what's going on."
"Wait, you actually need glasses? I thought you just used them for the tactical info they gave you."
"I thought we got question time out of the way back at my camp. But yes, I do need glasses. Now let's get back to the task at-" Phoenix said, interrupted by an explosion which seemed to surprise the Fang. The few that went to investigate were blown away with a familiar sounding blast. "Well I'll be damned. The dog actually warned them," Phoenix muttered as he saw the rest of team RWBY.
"That's our cue," Ruby said as she jumped off the ledge and charged into the fray.
"I really need to talk to her about this," Phoenix thought as he jumped after her.
Unfortunately for them, they landed right between the two sides. Phoenix set up a wall of fire to obscure the enemy's aim while they regrouped. "Ruby! You're okay!" Yang exclaimed as she embraced her sister.
"You say that like it's a surprise," Phoenix responded, not bothering to disguise his voice.
"Wait a minute… you sound a lot like-" Yang tried to say before being cut off.
"Phoenix!" both Weiss and Blake exclaimed, "What are you doing here?"
"Phoenix is the vigilante," Yang said before bursting into laughter. "Seriously, why do you sound like him?"
"Why is it so bloody hard for people to accept I'm The Flaming Shadow!" he shouted as he took off his mask, causing Yang to stop laughing immediately.
"But-?"
"I'll explain later. Kind of under fire right now," he interrupted as he put his mask back on and did his "work voice".
"When we take them on, call me Shadow." The others nodded in agreement, and Yang handed Ruby her weapon. "Good now let's kick some-!"
"Get to your places, we're leaving now!" Torchwick announced over a speaker.
"What's our next move?" Weiss asked.
"We're stopping that train," Ruby answered dramatically.
"That, my dear, is a bomb," Professor (Doctor) Oobleck answered in response to Weiss's question about the contents of the train car they were on.
"Wonderful," Phoenix groaned.
"We've got baddies!" Ruby announced, pointing to the hoard of White Fang approaching them. Before they could react the bomb activated.
"Blake, detach the caboose! It will kill us all!" the doctor ordered. Phoenix couldn't help but grin as he remembered a soldier he met named Caboose, who would also likely get them killed. Blake was about to slash through the connection when the caboose decoupled itself, an event which she quickly informed them of. As it drifted behind them the bomb detonated, blowing a hole in the tunnel.
"Oobleck, where does this tunnel end?" Phoenix asked.
"Below central Vale. Why?"
"Hate to interrupt your little talk but the rest of these have bombs on them," Yang shouted to the two of them, who were now one car behind the others. Just as she said this the car the two of them were standing on decoupled as well. They both jumped, barely landing on the new car.
"I was asking because that could prove to be a bit of an issue," Phoenix responded, continuing their conversation as though nothing had happened. He gestured to the hole made by the explosion of the car they were just on, which Grimm were now entering.
"They're leading Grimm into the city!" Oobleck declared.
When the White Fang had finally reached them, team RWBY and Phoenix drew their weapons. Yang was the first to make a move, using her gauntlets recoil to propel herself forward and punching one of the thugs through the hatch on the car. Following her example, the others charged toward the enemy. Phoenix found himself in the front of the fray. To clear a path he grabbed onto one of the Fang with his hooks, throwing him into a crowd of other thugs. The result was something comparable to bowling. Once the way was temporarily clear, Phoenix started giving orders.
"Yang, Weiss, Blake, you three go down and try to stop this bloody thing. Oobleck, Ruby, and I will stay up top and distract them."
"Of course you want to be on a team with Ruby," Yang joked.
"Now is not the time!" Phoenix yelled. With that, Yang, Weiss, and Blake jumped through the hatch.
As the trio moved forward they heard a thumping noise in front of them. "Well, this day just keeps getting better and better," Phoenix groaned as he saw a Paladin charging them. Oobleck extended his weapon from his thermos, a cross between a bat and a flamethrower. As if on cue, Zwei, who Phoenix just noticed was there, leapt up into the air and was hit like a baseball by the doctor. "What the hell!" Phoenix exclaimed as he saw the dog fly through the air like a comet, knocking a mech off the train when he struck it. When he landed he acted as though nothing had happened. "Wha-? Why? How?" Phoenix stammered, but he got no answer.
After recovering from the shock of what he just witnessed, he charged forward, switching from his hooks to his claws. Having learned from experience which parts of the mechs to tear out, dispatching them was no problem. The fact that the pilots were far less skilled helped. He saw Ruby activate the flame blade they'd installed in Crescent Rose and got an idea. "Ruby, charge forward spinning with the flame active!" Phoenix ordered. Ruby, although confused as to what he was planning, did as he asked. As she charged by the mechs, Phoenix used his semblance to create a tornado of fire behind her. He then jumped from the mech, tearing the pilots out of the weakened metal. As he'd suspected, the material these machines were made of was far lower quality than the one Torchwick used. "Great work!" he yelled to Ruby.
Once they got close to the front they met up with the others. Oobleck had stayed behind to hold off the White Fang, and made a great comment about "teaching them a lesson". Phoenix couldn't decide whether it was badass or hilarious. "So, any ideas to keep us from dying horribly?" Phoenix asked as they sped toward the end of the tunnel. Weiss proceeded to create a barrier of ice around them. "Ruby, in case we don't make-" Before Phoenix could finish the train crashed, and everything went black.
Wow, Phoenix has terrible luck when it comes to telling Ruby how he feels. Like always, if you have any tips or ideas for future chapters let me know, and thanks for reading.
