Big Issues
AN: Thanks merendinoemiliano for the consistent nice reviews and to Perum who provided a review where I doubt they read much of anything, they didn't say much but it was all negative. But I'm not writing this for them. A good chunk of why I'm writing this is because I enjoy it, others have enjoyed this story so far here and on DA, and because I feel that the canon of RWBY needs to be fleshed out a bit along with making some consistency. The little additions with The Issue caused by Cinder and the inclusion of Team DAIT are here to spice things up so it isn't simply a retelling of the same story that we can watch.
I hope you all enjoy this chapter as things really begin to pick up speed. Now get on and-
Stop That Train!
Ruby was not having a good night. Volunteering to be first on watch duty after a day full of fighting Grimm probably wasn't the best idea. Looking back, she figured that she was too excited about being on an official mission. When she did lay down to sleep, there was little chance of her really getting comfortable on the bed provided, no matter how warm Yang had left it for her. Her dinner was little more than field rations… not that she hadn't had them before, but the ones Doctor Oobleck provided them were more about nutrition than taste… far more. That 'meal' wasn't exactly satisfying to fill her stomach either, it had been months since she was able to really fill her belly, not since she and Yang had gone home for a quick visit to Dad before the whole Issue started.
Now… now she found herself being tossed around by Roman Torchwick and he thought it was funny.
"Wow, you are much more manageable without that oversized gardening tool of yours." Roman was enjoying himself. He didn't even stop chuckling when Ruby growled and charged him with a punch, one that he easily sidestepped and tripped the chubby girl with his cane. "Ya know Perry, I really did need this." Behind the gentleman thief, the faunus gave his boss a thumbs up as he and two others watched the young Huntress struggle against her captor.
He let out a few more good laughs before shifting to business mode. "But seriously…" He crouched down to be eye level with the girl while lifting her chin with the end of Melodic Cudgel. "How'd you find this place, Red? You don't expect me to think that you simply got lost delivering some food to Granny, do you? Looks like you've been sneaking plenty from her picnic baskets for yourself. Can't say I blame ya if they are that good that you'd ruin your figure for some snacks. Got anything on you? I'm pretty hungry myself." His cane withdrew from her face only to poke her soft stomach.
Ruby growls at the accusation and humiliation before using a burst of her Semblance, Petal Burst, to get a head start on running away. "Huh?" Was all Roman could say when she disappeared before finding how far she had traveled and coalescing back into human form. "Woah!"
The girl had only used her semblance briefly but it had taken a large chunk out of her aura as it had yet to really recover from the fall and the beatings, she had taken over the past few minutes. As it was, she was running on fumes aura-wise. It didn't help that her body was sore and tired either from everything since she left Beacon. Even so, she had managed to put a good distance between herself and the criminal mastermind and the gap was growing as he had yet to move and she had more than a train car length between them.
Roman simply stood there in place, casually holding up his cane before giving it a small toss so the hooked end was pointed at the fleeing girl. A small hidden button launched the hook with attached cable at the girl faster than she could run. Ruby barely had time to look back at the source of the noise before the hook caught her hood. "I see you have some tricks up your sleeve!" It began to reel her back to Roman where she stopped at his feet. "Let me make this clear. We're not through here yet." He returns the handle of his cane back to its proper place with a flick of his wrist.
An explosion rocked the train station where he was at, though it was more than far enough away to be of no concern about being hurt by it. "Oh, what the-?" He turns around to see the dust billowing out from a street. Just as quickly, he turns back to his 'associates'. "Perry, if you and the boys could take care of that?" He points a thumb over his shoulder at the obvious disturbance. "Kinda in the middle of something."
Perry silently bows his head and leads his two comrades away.
For Yang, the night couldn't have gone any worse so far. Things started out well enough with the mission and their fights, aside from the questions from Oobleck and the talks with Weiss and Blake. But then Ruby snuck out without telling anyone into a wasteland filled with Grimm and potentially White Fang terrorists.
Her heart was racing after learning that Ruby had fallen in a sinkhole in the middle of the street, and it had yet to calm down. There had been little reason for her to relax and she knew she wouldn't until she found her sister. Thankfully, Doctor Oobleck wasn't ever one to sit still and led the way into the base, after Zwei showed them the door that the White Fang used.
From there, they let Blake lead them as she was the one with the best skills at stealth and as a Faunus, she was able to see in the dark. Weiss had to be extra careful since white wasn't the best color to be wearing in a dark building. Same with Yang's hair, in normal lighting it sometimes seemed to glow. With her anger barely being kept in check by her worry, her semblance was manifesting one hair at a time and casting random shadows from the light produced.
The one time they were nearly caught, they had gotten lucky that there were some live wires sparking nearby and Yang's flashes were dismissed as just a new break in the power lines. The grunts weren't worried about fixing the 'break', claiming it wasn't their job and they hadn't heard about anything failing back at base. Oobleck was quick to silence them with a pair of whacks to their heads and the grunts were tossed, literally, by Yang into a corner out of the way.
Another guard on patrol was knocked into a wall… after her fist had met his head. Then another. Blake took out two more with barely any sound. Weiss managed to take out some woman quietly enough while their Huntsman took out three more.
Then they reached the 'ground level'. They had seen the train and the mechs along with the cargo and the dozens upon dozens of White Fang members around the train before they had gone that low. It didn't help that there wouldn't be much in the way of cover once they needed to get close to the train.
That was when Yang spotted the bright red of Ruby's cloak amongst the black and white uniforms and the dirty grey of the cavern. Her sister was putting up a fight against that bastard Torchwick. Unfortunately, Ruby didn't have her scythe and her combat skills without a weapon in hand were poor at best. The man was beating her, visibly laughing and enjoying what he was doing. The trio of White Fang standing nearby and watching didn't help Yang's mood at all.
"We have a bunch of Fang here." Blake kept quiet when talking to the Huntsman.
"Hmm… too many to sneak past and no time to find alternative route." The Doctor cupped his chin as he thought things through while watching their surroundings as best, he could from his position. "Very well, we will hit them fast and hard, throw them into confusion, grab Ms. Rose, and regroup by the train in a defensible position."
"Works for me Doc." Yang reloaded Ember Celica with a belt of her special shells.
A minute later, the four of them burst from their hiding place into the gathering of White Fang members, Yang punching her way through the steel door and launching it from its hinges and into the crowd to take out at least two. Oobleck wasted no time following her, leveling Antiquities Roast at the Faunus and releasing a fireball that exploded near them. Yang's explosive shells created their own brand of confusion as she didn't hold back… much. Once she had found out that most of the Fang didn't have awakened aura, she had made sure to adjust her aim for near misses and leaving the effects of her shells to do the work for her.
Blake and Weiss took advantage of the confusion and the dust being kicked up to strike out against the terrorists, taking plenty of them who had managed to avoid the blasts out of the fight with rapid and precise strikes. Yang charged past them to deliver a point-blank shot to a small truck with a mounted gun on the back. The truck was pushed back by her fist far enough that the shell detonated the engine and the Dust within barely touched the seething blonde in the resulting fireball.
"What is going on here?!" Torchwick shouts to no one in particular when he saw the fireball and the faunus running away screaming, a few turning back to fire their guns at whatever was attacking them. Then he saw why, a team of four; one Huntsman and three Huntresses, the latter looking familiar, came running around the corner of the building and chasing after the White Fang.
Roman growled at the interruption and the fact that the soldiers her was 'provided' weren't able to stop a few little girls. Then again… they do look bigger than the last time he saw them. Any further thoughts of assessing the situation were interrupted by Ruby jumping up onto his shoulders and pushing his hat as far onto his head as it was possible. As it was, he could barely stay upright thanks to the girl who had to weigh at least as much as himself being on his shoulders. He did manage to throw her off and lifted his hat in time to see her roll to her feet and start running away again, towards the other Huntresses.
"Somebody kill her!" He yells in frustration as he raises his cane and a handful of White Fang line up next to him with weapons at the ready. They all began firing at the fleeing girl who managed through luck to avoid the bullets and Dust rounds, leading to Roman to nearly bend his cane in anger that nothing seemed to be going right for him lately.
He turns to one of the grunts next to the train. "Attach this car, and spread the word. We're starting the train."
"But we're not finished."
Roman never let him continue as he used the business end of his cane to pin the faunus against the train and lift him by the chin. "Do it or you're finished." He dropped the grunt and left him to his coughing fit without a look back.
Ruby was looking back at the sudden stop in gunfire at her, her feet kicking up clouds of dust as she ran as fast as she could while sore, tired, and her aura low. Facing the right way, she saw why as there were four White Fang lined up in front of her and already taking aim. She slid to a stop and raised her arms in front of her face, pumping as much aura as she could manage to her front to take the bullets. The bullets that never came due to the all too familiar sound of a shotgun gauntlet firing and the high explosive round detonated on the ground just behind the grunts, the blast flinging them all in different directions, two of them impacting a train car.
"Ruby!" Yang shouts in joy with her arms outstretched, catching the smaller girl in a big warm and soft hug, spinning once around to arrest the girls' momentum from her leap.
"Are you okay?" Weiss asks as Ruby detaches herself from her sister.
"I'm fine! I'm fine! But listen…" She raises her hands to make the rest of the team stop and listen to her. "Torchwick's got all kinds of weapons and robots down there." Ruby gestures down the tunnel where all of the White Fang had disappeared to.
"What?" Blake asks as she unhooks Crescent Rose from her back mounted magnetic plate.
Ruby takes her 'baby' and begins to inspect her out of habit, making sure everything is working properly and assessing damages. "Androids, mechs- they're all loaded up on the train cars."
"Ah, that's ridiculous!" Oobleck dismisses with a wave of his hand. "These tunnels are sealed. The tracks lead to a dead end."
The screeching of an intercom rang through the caverns, more than loud enough to make the team flinch at the sudden and unexpected noise. "Get to your places, we are leaving now!" Some White Fang member announces before halting his broadcast. Soon after, the sound of the train starting to power up and move filled the station, complete with blaring horn.
"Well, it sounds like they're going somewhere!" Yang's sarcasm to the teacher could be heard over the hundreds of tons of moving steel.
"We need backup!" Ruby says from where she was crouched down checking on Zwei. Pulling out her scroll, she speed-dials for Jaune, only to receive LOW SIGNAL flashing on the screen. Nearby, Oobleck was having the same issue when trying to call for Team DAIT to be prepared. "I can't get through!" Ruby tells them all.
"So, what do we do?" Weiss was starting to sound a little panicked.
"I believe we only have one option." The Huntsman states with calm determination.
"We're stopping that train." Ruby finishes for him as she turns around with her scythe now open and ready.
The massive train carrying dozens of Atlesian Paladins, quite possibly hundreds of White Fang soldiers, large crates of Dust and ammunition and weapons to use them, barreled down the tracks of the old subway and was picking up speed quickly.
Apparently, that wasn't enough to stop some late arrivals for the train as one grunt found out. A few thuds on the walls and roof caught his attention and he looked back along the tracks through the open door in time to see a red cloak fluttering in the wind before vanishing over the roof. He holds up the radio in his hand. "I think they're on the- "
He never spoke another word after Oobleck whacked him on the head with his weapon, rendering the man unconscious. The man responsible for the knockout looked out the door with a smile on his face as the first part of the plan was successful.
In the conductor's cabin of the train, Torchwick monitored their progress. As displeased as he was that he was forced to move early, and so would SHE, he couldn't really care less now that things were compromised. So, he was forced to salvage what he could of the situation.
Then the door opened and a grunt yelled through. "Boss! They made it on the train!"
Roman rolls his eyes with a growl before turning to face the grunt. "Then grab some cargo and get them off the train!" He turns to face forward again as the door closes. "Manic animals, every one of 'em!" He grumbles his frustration.
That was when he noticed the Faunus with large tusks next to him handling the controls staring at him. The gentleman thief assures him with an awkward chuckle. "Not you though, you're, heh… you're great." The faunus simply nods in approval and gets back to work.
"Hmm… picking up some odd readings on the seismic detectors." Itazura says and draws the attention of the captain and her brother.
"Really? We having an earthquake?" He asks as he leans over her shoulder to look at the screen.
"That's no earthquake, kid. Something big is moving our way. I'm gonna call up the outposts and we'll get this thing triangulated and tracked!"
"Why do I get a bad feeling about this?" Denko drains his cup of tea before going to the bunkroom to wake his teammates.
The Huntsman climbed back onto the roof now that the sentry was taken care of. The rest of the team was gathered there and hunkered down against the wind threatening to blow them over. "Hurry children! We must get to the front and stop this train."
"Uh… Professor?" Weiss calls from her place by the roof hatch, turning away from something that was making her very uncomfortable.
"Doctor." The Doctor corrects her on his title as he joins her by the hatch.
"What's that?" Weiss asks as she points to the floor inside where a large device with hexagonal sides and rings, covered with wires and tubes sat.
"That my dear." He says far too calmly for the gathered teens as he leans down for closer look. "Appears to be a bomb." Needless to say, all four girls and dog took a step back in fear.
Then it was Ruby who delivered worse news as she points towards the front of the train. "We got baddies!" A few cars up the line, several dozen faunus were climbing up ladders to the roof and making their way to the Huntresses slowly, ensuring that they couldn't pass without a fight or risk of falling off the speeding locomotive.
"Well, I didn't expect them go…" Oobleck's attention was drawn to the sound of electronics powering up. He, Ruby, and Blake with Zwei looked down to see that the bombs screen was now flashing, indicating that it was now active. "…easy on us…" He finishes his thought. He stands up straight, finger raised. "Time to go!"
The four girls and dog rush forwards to put as much distance between them and the bomb as possible. There was no way that any of them wanted to be nearby a bang that big.
Oobleck grabs hold of Blake's shoulder to stop her. "Blake! Detach the caboose! It will kill us all!" He orders before following the rest of the team.
"On it!" Blake wasted no time dropping down to the small platform on the end of the car that provided a stable foothold over the clamps that held the cars together. She did take her time gathering her strength to cut the coupling though, long enough that just as she was about to make her move it decoupled itself… much to her confusion. "Huh?"
"It decoupled itself!" She yells up to the roof.
"What?" Oobleck pokes his head out over the edge, not sure that he heard her correctly.
Yang walks up next to the man. "I guess he really doesn't want us on this train."
Oobleck and the two girls watched as the car slowed down as its momentum ran out due to the friction of its wheels on the tracks. The car drifted farther and farther away but something compelled the three to watch it.
The explosion that sent large chunks of steel railway car in all directions, the force of the blast and the debris brought chunks of ill-tended concrete raining down into the crater… that was a perfectly good reason to watch why it was detached in the first place.
"That's not good…" Oobleck says to himself as he shakes his head.
"Uh, neither is this!" Ruby calls out, garnering his attention where he, Blake, and Yang saw Ruby and Weiss by another roof hatch looking down.
"Another bomb?" Blake asks with disbelief. She knew that White Fang tactics have never called for bombs of this size before, let alone multiple. Sure, the Fang may have used smaller bombs and grenades at times… to send a point
That statement led to the Doctor to run ahead on the train and check the cars muttering "No, no, no, no…" Opening the next hatch, he found what he had feared. "They all have bombs!" He calls back to the team.
At that announcement, the bomb within the car the girls were on activated along with the car decoupling. The girls shared a quick glance with each other before running and jumping to the next car before they separated too far.
"This doesn't make sense!" Yang shouts as she waves her fists like a small tantrum. The rest of the girls and Zwei stood nearby watching the latest bomb filled car drift away. Motion towards the front of the train reminded them that they weren't alone. Turning around, they saw dozens of White Fang slowly working their way closer with weapons at the ready.
"Get the humans!" A deer faunus cries out as she emerged from one of the roof hatches, complete with pointing at the targets.
For Blake, she didn't know if she should be insulted by that she used to be that way before she left the organization or the fact that she was being considered a human and/or enemy by those she once likely served with. While she didn't have much time to think on it, she did decide on going with all of the above.
The four girls and Zwei ran to the front of their current car and readied their weapons. The first grunt chose Yang as his opponent, likely thinking that the one with the biggest gut would be an easy victory. He came at her with a roundhouse kick at her legs which she used her own right leg to stop and push away with a stomp, using the momentum to drop low and spin, her outstretched leg taking his out from under him with enough force to nearly flip him completely. The girl stood up with a smile and right fist cocked back, giving the hapless faunus a playful wink before punching him in the face hard enough to break through the roof hatch they were fighting over, the shot from her gauntlet only adding to the force and ensuring that the man wasn't coming back.
Blake drew her sword and attacked quickly and precisely at several grunts, disarming and defeating most of them. One managed to get close when she stopped for a moment to try grabbing the girl, only to receive a backhand that knocked him off the train altogether. His scream of fear as he fell was cut short when his body hit the floor and the sound of the train and rushing wind kept them all from hearing the bones breaking from the impact and his forward velocity.
Weiss lunged forward with the assistance of her glyphs and used the Dust within Myrtenaster to freeze more than a dozen grunts feet to the roof. Where she stopped, she swung her blade to knock the rifles out of the hands of four more grunts.
Ruby followed that up, after positioning Crescent Rose behind her and using the boost from firing a shot and a burst of her semblance, by extending her blade to its maximum length so it was no longer a scythe but a true polearm, and used the blunt side to hit the frozen terrorists in one swing hard enough to break them free of the ice and have them crash hard onto the roof.
Oobleck stood back and watched them fight, noting that they have yet to be hampered in any meaningful way by their girths, yet. But the sound of another decoupling made him turn and watch the car explode and seeing that it opened a hole to the surface, the daylight was almost blinding for a second, even with the dust and debris falling from the roof of the subway.
Then he saw them. It wasn't just the roof of the subway that collapsed from the blast but also a wall. And apparently, that wall covered the entrance to a cave… that was full of Grimm. The beasts poured out of the cave and fell through the hole in the ceiling, and noticing the fleeing train and the hatred and fear that it held. A massive King Taijitu drops from the opening and gives a roaring hiss, signaling for the gathering Creeps, Beowolves, Boarbatusk's, Ursai, and Deathstalkers to give chase. Oobleck gave up trying to count them as he could see more crawling through the new entrances, even if the train was moving faster than the Grimm could ever hope to run.
"Oh… dear…" The full intent of the plan finally came together in his mind, filling him with dread. "He's leading Grimm into the city!" He yells to the girls over the wind and the echoes of the roaring Grimm behind them all.
Weiss found the time to turn back in shock. "What?!"
"It's the cars!" Bartholomew begins to explain, arms held wide. "They detach and explode, creating openings for the Grimm!"
"That's insane!" Blake had no idea how the White Fang could have fallen so low. Working with a human like Torchwick was one thing, almost understandable given that they were all criminals… at least the Vale Cell of the White Fang were now. But to purposely use Grimm? And a full out attack on the city? She had summed it all up in those two words.
Another car detached with a groan. "We have to hurry!" The Huntsman orders before running up to the team. "You three! Go below and try to stop those bombs!"
"What about us?" Ruby asks, feeling slightly dejected that she wasn't going to deal with the explosives. Bombs weren't her choice of weapon but they were weapons and she loved weapons. If anything, she might be able to disable a bomb in some way.
"We're going to stop this train."
"But I said that before." Ruby's comment took some of the wind out of his sails for a second before the whole team began to move to the orders given. The latest car blew up, far enough ahead of the Grimm horde to not catch them in the blast but opening more entrances to the outside where more began to join the chase.
Further up the train, several of the grunts had hopped into the pilot seats of the Paladins and started them up, the whine of electronics and Dust fuel cells powering up briefly overpowering the sound of the train and wind. All other White Fang members had retreated into the relative safety of their cars, the few that didn't have any bombs set to go off like the other cars.
The first Paladin jumped up onto the roof and began running at the team, Weiss, Blake, and Yang had already swung down into a car filled with grunts and had begun to engage them. The sounds of bodies hitting walls, firearms clattering to the floor, cries of pain… they were left behind as Ruby and Oobleck ran to confront the mechanical monster.
"Up ahead!" The Huntsman calls out, pointing at the machine that made a jump over a gap in the cars and smashed through a tunnel support beam without problems, landing on its feet and ready to fight. The two humans and dog stop. "We've got a problem." He was somewhat concerned at that display of endurance and mobility from the mech.
Then he smiled and took a long drink from his thermos before extending it into its true weaponized form, holding it near Zwei. The corgi looks over his shoulder at the man and gives a small, confident bark before jumping high and tucking himself into a ball, a ball that Oobleck struck hard with his flaming bat, sending the flame engulfed dog rocketing over the train. The Paladin may have been too far to get an accurate shot at the Huntsman and Huntress-in-training with the wind and the rocking of the train, but the flaming missile that was Zwei had no problems directing himself into the machine, the flames surrounding him exploding in a glorious display that sent the war mech toppling over the side of the locomotive. Zwei stood near the edge of the roof to watch it roll along the train, no doubt that the pilot inside was likely killed before the ball of scrap metal hit a support wall of the subway and stopping it dead.
If they pilot somehow survived at all in there, he was soon a victim of the encroaching horde of Grimm that were following… according to plan.
A large metal foot stomped down next to the dog, who turned to see that it was another Paladin like the one he had just destroyed. One that readied its cannons and were bringing them to bear on the pet. "Ruff!"
Half a dozen balls of fire struck the machine at once, the Huntsman responsible for them running up behind them and with a powerful swing of his torch-like club of a weapon and the resulting explosion on impact with the leg, another Paladin was launched from the train and into the subway wall. Oobleck stayed kneeling with Antiquities Roast held aloft behind him in one hand with the other holding his hat, Ruby not far behind with Zwei watching her teacher with awe. The display was far more impressive than she thought that the man was capable of, even if he was a fully trained Huntsman. The act did nothing but inspire her and see him in a new light.
Denko's scroll rang, the screen showing that it was the captain of the guard. "What is it?" He asks simply. He knew what the subject would be about, the call would just be confirmation of their fears.
"This is gonna sound nuts kid, but there's a train coming to the city." She states, sounding like she could barely believe it herself.
Talon and Anya looked at the blonde since he had the volume up so they could hear the call. "A train? How?" He asks.
"The old subway from Mountain Glenn. That's how." She sounded grumpy, maybe her semblance varied with her own mood? "The tunnels were sealed up years ago when that city was overrun by Grimm. Should have remembered that there was still a train left on that side but no ones been living in that region since it was cut off. Just the few Huntsmen who go there to take out some Grimm."
"How long until it gets to Vale?" Talon asks as she gives her swords a quick once over and saw that the Dust compartments were filled and the blades sharp and clean.
"It won't be long, half hour tops." She informs the team as Itazura runs into the room to gather more ammunition.
"Great." Anya grumbles as she slips her gauntlets on her arms and locks them into place. "Any idea where its gonna stop? That would be helpful."
"Can it. The old station in the city was over near the southern industrial district. Problem with that is the place had been torn down and rebuilt for a new factory or something."
"That can't be the only way they 'sealed' the tunnel off." Denko says, searching for answers.
"You're right, that isn't. Doing that just made sure that people couldn't get down to the emergency gates that are really closing the tunnel off from the rest of the city. It would take a lot to get through those doors."
Silence reigned in the room. Outside, they could hear teams of wall guards prepping to defend the wall and any other emergency. "Like a big ass train at full steam…" Denko quietly says before shaking himself back to the task at hand. "Where is this gate? We need to get there fast!"
"What? C'mon kid, that gate is at least a hundred feet underground and the entrances are blocked. You ain't getting to them."
"I got the coordinates for the area above them. We can be there about the same time the train does if we leave now." Itazura chimes in, ready to go like the other two girls.
"Then let's go!" Denko slings Raijin onto his back and hangs up his scroll, cutting off the captain from anything else she was going to say. Team DAIT ran all the way to their Bullhead, the pilot already having the checks done and engines warming. If they were lucky, they'd beat the train. The problem was, what were they going to do about a train they couldn't reach?
Blake couldn't believe how many faunus she had to take down today. When she ran from the White Fang, she hadn't really considered that she might have to fight any of her old comrades. Adam being the only exception she could think of. Even Sienna Khan, the new High Leader since her father stepped down and the one to introduce the organizations more violent methods to the forefront, wouldn't be one to lash out against her without hearing her out first.
But here she was, taking down those she once would have called brothers and sisters. Fighting side by side with a Schnee that so many of the faunus would call for her blood… and have.
Yet all she could see now were the masks of hatred, lashing out at anything that they believe to have slighted them. Encouraged by those around them. Inspired by their leader. Willing to do anything and everything he says. Willing to throw away their lives for His cause.
The man who threw away the ideals of the movement that he was a part of and corrupted it from the inside. A man who was once a guardian, a mentor, a friend, more than just a friend…
She used that as fuel once again to prevent these people from hurting others. She struck them down swiftly and let them lay on the floor where they dropped. Never giving them a second look.
Weiss thought that she knew of the hatred that the faunus of the White Fang had for her family. But there was a difference between hearing it from someone else, reading it in a report, seeing it on the news… and having it shoved in her face.
She was currently stuck in close proximity with dozens of radicalized faunus who made her their main focus of attack, calling for her death, capture, humiliation, to ransom her… or even all of them. But she had her friends by her side to help her.
The fact that one of them was once a member of the group attacking them was almost mind boggling, as aside from being as frosty as she was when they first met, her faunus teammate never really insulted her. It was a bitter pill to swallow to recognize how much Blake had said about her was true after their argument about the White Fang and Faunus in general last semester. But she had making strides to amend.
But these faunus? She was almost considering that they were beyond saving at this point.
Yang was almost really enjoying herself. The thrill of the fight, stopping terrorists, throwing bombs of the train? Couldn't get much more exciting than this. But her mood was soured by the cries of hatred being directed at her white-haired friend and teammate. The calls of traitor to her darker themed friend.
That simply pushed her harder to be their shield against that hatred and she used that to drive her fists into anyone who was stupid enough to come close to her. Given that they were fighting through train cars filled with crates of cargo, space was a hot commodity and she was blazing her way through these simple grunts who could barely throw a punch worth the time.
The few times someone did manage to hit her, they were immediately smacked down and she shrugged off their meager attacks. Still, once they were down, she didn't give them any though and simply moved onto the next punching bag. A rather sizable faunus came at her but she found a way to take care of two birds with one stone. Grabbing the bomb by the closest ring, she spun once around and hit any faunus in range before throwing it at the big guy, bowling him over and out the bay door.
None of the girls gave their defeated foes a thought as they had other things to worry about. The didn't worry about the cars still detaching themselves, even without the bomb on board anymore. It was hard to say if they even remembered about the wave of Grimm following after the train. The same Grimm that they had essentially just served dozens of faunus on a silver platter to as the cars continued to detach. Four cars full so far before they moved to a car that didn't have a bomb waiting inside.
"I guess this is what we trained for." Yang says once she and the others saw that the car was clear. It was unclear if she meant that as a pun but given that her tone was serious, likely not.
Weiss reached into her hip pouch now that they had time for a breather and withdrew a clip full of Dust rounds and handed them over to Blake. "Here, this should help you." The Heiress says as the Faunus looks the clip over, noticing that it was fully meant for her pistol function of Gambol Shroud. Blake wordlessly takes it and loads the clip into her weapon as the last clip had been spent and this was her first opportunity to reload.
"Nothing for me?" Yang asks innocently enough.
"No." Was the cold answer. A raised eyebrow prompted her to explain after sighing. "I only had time to make one and with the way you go through ammunition, it would be a waste of time. Just stick to your usual Fire and Explosive rounds and you should be fine."
"Sorry for asking." The blonde turns forward and begins walking with her teammates right behind her. Soon they broke out in a run to cut down on time.
A short figure of a girl dressed in a familiar brown, pink, and white color scheme with matching hair and eyes drops from the ceiling to land in a crouch. The three girls stop their running as the newcomer stands tall… all four foot and ten inches… in heels. Yet she stood there with on hand on her hip and the other loosely holding her umbrella with a confident smirk on her face.
Blake and Wiess reached for their weapons.
"You two go on ahead. This one is mine." Yang orders her friends with a scowl. The blonde slips into her fighting stance as the two girls run towards the girl on either side of the car, forcing Neo to choose which one to target, her umbrella raised to strike.
A shot from a gauntlet caught the short girl's attention and forced her to backflip out of the way as the round exploded on the floor where she once stood, the black and white duo running past her in the meantime and through the door.
Yang marched up to her chosen opponent who rose and stood confidently once more. Her head barely even reaching Yang's shoulders was more than enough to suggest that there was a great size difference between them. But the differences in their builds made the situation all the more drastic, with Neopolitan having a petit, lithe figure and a generous bust compared to Yang who was much bulkier with her own more than generous bust with a large belly for them to rest on, thicker all over with plenty of muscle under the insulation to move her easily.
For a few uneasy seconds, the two girls stared each other down… or up in Neo's case. The smaller girl's smile became teasing as she used her free hand to stroke the air in front of her as if she had a gut like Yang.
The blondes' fists clenched and the first punch was thrown with a grunt of frustration, only for the umbrella to have struck her in the stomach and pushed her away. Yang growled as she steadied herself and readied for another round with her opponent, one who was likely three times smaller than herself.
Neo simply continued to smile as she opens her umbrella and rests the shaft over her right shoulder, tauntingly.
AN: Yeah... I'm leaving on a cliffhanger here since I don't want the chapter to run too long, already nearly 7k words as it is and fights take a lot of writing and time to get down. I hope you all enjoyed the little bit in the beginning with the beginnings of the rescue of Ruby. And some of the taunts from our favorite braggart thief... even Neo get's in on the taunting, more than her usual.
But the big fights on the train will feature in the next chapter... so expect about 2-3 more chapters before I close out the events of V2 and move onto a little free style before V3 begins. It will only be a few chapters to go over what the teams are doing between the Breach and the Tournament. Think about this, what will Tai say when his girls come home to visit? What do Blake and Weiss do when they don't want to/can't go home to their families during the break?
Also, I was wondering if anyone was able to guess as to what Denko and Anya's semblances might be? I've worked in a few hints during the course of the story with only Itazura and Talon showing theirs off clearly.