Big Issues
An: Another BIG chapter, one that hasn't been seen since the fight against Roman and the Paladin. But lots of action here to conclude this arc. Also, thanks to Afrojedi1 for the fave and follow of this series. As well as my usual reviewer, the last chapter was certainly "Badass". On with the show!
Breach
Early morning was almost always peaceful within the walls of Vale. Stores within the shopping districts were opening. Those who had the third shift were going home while those on first shift were going into their place of employment. The weather was clear with just a few clouds, the temperature is comfortable for late summer transitioning into fall, a slight breeze swept through the streets and alleys. Joggers were taking advantage of it all for their morning runs as the traffic was light in many areas.
All of that could be seen by Team DAIT as they raced in their Bullhead over the city towards the coordinates that Itazura provided the pilot. They knew that there was no way that they could stop the expected crash from happening, they would be lucky to get to the site before the train did and even then, they would have a thick layer of concrete to get through along with a steel gate in the old station.
But now, they could see their landing site; a large relatively open area resembling a small amphitheater complete with a structure providing a roof in the middle. The roads and sidewalks lined the stepped depression with multiple shops selling a variety of goods from simple handcrafted trinkets to bakeries to clothing stores to collectables. How many people even remembered that there used to be a subway station here that served to transport people and goods to and from Mountain Glenn?
Turns out that it didn't matter as those who had forgotten just remembered about that as the ground rumbled beneath their feet, bringing all traffic to a stop as the public tried to figure out what was happening; many beginning to assume it was and earthquake.
The loud but slightly muffled sound of crashing and crunching combined with the distinct pops of explosions made many reevaluate their decision and change earthquake to volcanic eruption. That was further emphasized when the center of the amphitheater was shattered from below and the chunks of debris were blasted away as large pieces of twisted metal were thrown from the new crater. Flames and steam and smoke poured from the hole into the city as a mostly intact train car shot up and out. That was followed by more, many of them as twisted and mangled remains. Large flat cars that bore hulking machines landed on the streets and dumping their cargo.
A large shell of ice was flung through the air to land near a bakery, shattering upon impact and four girls tumbled out of the shards of frozen water; the largest one slamming through the old wooden door and demolishing it. The other three rolled into the walls on either side of the door. Civilians stopped and stared at everything that happened, even as sirens began to blare throughout the city with a mass message being sent out to all Huntsmen and Huntresses in the Kingdom. Police and other emergency services were notified and began scrambling to contain the situation.
All of this was seen by the Vacuoan team as they approached the scene. "Get us down there!" Denko yells up to the pilot who had brought the craft to hover outside of the immediate area.
"On it!" The Bullhead lurched forward once more and began to descend into the depressed area of the city. Once within their comfortable drop height, the team bailed out and the pilot took off to clear the sky.
"Anya, Talon! Check that train! Sis! With me!" Denko orders as soon as they land. The sisters darted away to the crater where small Dust crystals continued to explode like small fireworks as they spilled from what was left of the engine and a few crates.
"Why did this happen?" Talon asks as she looks at the destruction around her. More than a few windows of shops had been cracked from the tremors and explosion, some of them actually shattered from debris being hurled from the eruption.
Anya looked into a gap and saw a man wearing a White Fang uniform, his tusks broken and blood running from his mouth. It didn't settle her stomach at all as she could only see his top half… and some organs dangling from it as he was speared through the chest and pinned to a wall by a rod. "Found the driver… what's left of them."
"I didn't need to know that last part." Talon gags as she moves closer to the hole, her hand on the remains of a car for balance as she peered into the dark depths. That contact was her only warning system as she began to feel the vibrations of what felt like a stampede through the metal. "Shit!" She shouts as she blasts herself backwards away from the crater as Beowolves surged out like a black and white tide, many of them beginning to focus on the closest mortals to them, civilian or Huntress.
"Ruby!" Itazura yells as she approaches the girl who had gotten tangled up in her own cloak making her look somewhat like a sausage. Silver eyes met green and the younger girl calmed as she was unwrapped. "What happened?"
"It… it was Torchwick." She was still dazed from the crash and being low on aura wasn't helping.
"He's working with the White Fang." Blake adds. She was the best of her team in terms of aura as she had relatively little fighting against difficult opponents. "They… they are leading Grimm here."
"What?" The fox shouts as she glances back at the crater.
Weiss was slumped against the wall in a sitting position and Denko assisted her into a more comfortable position. "How are you?" He asks as she stirs.
"Ugh… I'm going to be feeling this in the morning." Weiss groans as she tightens her grip on her sword.
"You're not the only one." Yang comments as she chews on a small donut that had fallen on her face after her 'dramatic entrance'. The blonde was leaning heavily against the door frame and doing her best to ignore the splintered wood.
"At least you're in one piece." Denko stands up to look his fellow blonde in the eye, taking notice of the bruise on her forehead and the white powder on her cheek.
"Get your asses back here!" Anya shouts were accompanied by gunshots from her gauntlets.
The brother and sister looked back to the crater in time to watch as a massive King Taijitu ram itself through the weakened concrete and rising high into the air, widening the hole significantly and allowing dozens of Grimm to pour through unimpeded. Boarbatusk's, Beowolves, Ursa, Creeps, Death Stalkers… there seemed to be no end to them. Even the screeching of Nevermore came from over the walls as they were attracted to the negative emotions that were a flare to the Grimm, an expected result of civilians suddenly having to deal with the sight of more than a hundred and counting beasts of darkness and destruction at far less than safe distances.
The waves of flame and ice from Talon did little to slow the waves as they invaded downtown Vale. This wasn't like Cloudspire, there were no fallback positions, no way to funnel the Grimm. They were stuck in the middle of a large bowl with little to no cover and vastly outnumbered. Unless they had some backup soon to help contain the horde, team DAIT would be forced to retreat with RWBY.
Ruby scrambled to her feet, stumbling a bit as she rose even as she unhooked Crescent Rose from her back and deployed the massive weapon, using it to help her stand upright. Blake was right behind her, standing easier than her leader and readying Gambol Shroud. Yang licked the powdered sugar from her fingers as she engaged Ember Celica. Weiss required assistance from Denko to get onto her feet but raised Myrtenaster regardless.
With the girls on their feet, Denko and Itazura shared a nod and ran towards the oncoming surge of Grimm, Raijin held at the ready as Lugh and Loki had the safety turned off. The nearest couple Beowolves were taken out before the pair reached them, thanks to Itazura's shotguns shooting them in the head, the Fire Dust rounds making short work of the beasts. Once within range, Raijin swept through the ranks like a cold wind, leaving severed limbs and deep gouges in bodies in its wake. Nearly all of them fell and faded away into ash soon after. Itazura deployed her sickles and made similar attacks along with continuing to use her shells for additional cutting power and removing Grimm from the world at range.
Talon unleashed another wave of flames into a trio of Beowolves that were targeting her. It was hard to tell how badly they were burnt beyond them collapsing and fading from existence. Her other blade rose to block the claws of an Ursa before she jumped up and flipped onto its head. It roared in anger and tried to swipe her off but it was too bulky to reach the short girl. With a grin, she used her Air Cannon semblance focused in her heels to launch herself away and subsequently smash it face first into a large chunk of concrete.
Anya slashed away at the Creeps in front of her. While the normally subterranean Grimm aren't exactly all that strong, they have very thick skull masks and legs that were comparably strong. Her bladed arms skimmed over a mask until they bit into the black flesh. Her Dust rounds plunged into hides to cripple and kill. Her arms stabbed through skulls to end the threat quickly. But the horde never seemed to end and the sisters were being pushed back. The giant snake waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike didn't settle her distress at all either.
Civilians screamed and ran, unintentionally leading Grimm further into the city. Some people opened their doors to those in need, others barred them from seeking shelter. A few brought out weapons of their own and did what they could to help stem the tide. The nearest cops had to deal with the stampede of humans and faunus fleeing the scene before the Grimm could be seen, then they began to join in with their own weapons but only for those getting too close to the people they were sworn to protect.
Team JNPR were getting an early start on their mission to go outside the kingdom to a small village to assist the sheriff. The skies were clear aside from a few clouds, light breeze, sun rising, comfortable temperature… perfect day.
"I'm sure they're fine." Pyrrha tries to assure her leader who was getting a bad feeling about something but wasn't sure why. Perhaps it was related to that dropped call earlier in the morning long before they were planning to wake up.
"Ya think?" The blonde was skeptical.
"Probably a butt dial." Nora almost sang as she skipped towards their airship.
"Team RWBY has always performed exceptionally in the field. We should be focusing on our own mission." Ren had absolute confidence in their friends.
"We're gonna be deputies!" Nora was probably too excited as she 'reminded' Ren with her arms in the air.
"I just got this… feeling. I, I don't know…" The blonde was still questioning himself.
"Jaune…" Pyrrha was likely going to give the most self-conscious of the team a pep-talk when the sound of sirens from the city caught their attention. Looking at Vale, they could see the plume of black smoke rising clearly in the morning sun, causing them all to worry. Even the sirens going off at Beacon didn't stop their confusion, though Nora did try to cover her ears to dampen the sound.
"We're changing our mission. Everyone on board!" Jaune took control of the situation and waved his team to the waiting Bullhead. In less than a minute, they were flying as fast as they could to the source of the problem.
"Ren, we'll make it out to that village another time." The blonde assures his quiet teammate as they flew.
Not far away from where team JNPR left, a certain trio watched with mixed reactions as the smoke rose and sirens blared. "You don't think…?" Emerald couldn't finish as she was worried about the plan, to be more accurate- the plan that Cinder had devised, being ruined and the young woman's possible reaction to that possibility. She was known to be… harsh with her punishments.
"Sure, looks like it." Mercury seemed more amused than anything.
"That's still days away!" The thief tries to remind him of the plan.
The assassin ignored her for their boss. "So, what do we do?" He asks simply but his tone was begging for some action.
Cinder looks over the city of Vale from her vantage point on the Beacon landing pads, her eyes narrowing as she thought.
Back in Vale, Teams RWBY and DAIT found themselves surrounded by the Grimm. The older students had managed to kill and drive back the more reckless of the creatures, giving the younger girls an opportunity to regain their strength. It wasn't as though RWBY hadn't fought since they emerged above ground, they had fought their way to this point. Ruby was able to clear out several Beowolves in a single swing of her scythe, Blake thinned the horde as she darted around, Yang watched her sisters back and took out a few of the braver Grimm, while Weiss picked off the few that got through to her with her usual precision cuts and thrusts.
But with the eight students surrounded, the Grimm were starting to gain confidence. They already rarely shown any form of self-preservation, lacked empathy for anything, and if any of their brethren fell it meant that the target was just a little bit weaker than they were before the attack. Numbers had always been their advantage to combine with their savagery.
Two full teams, one fairly fresh, the other nearly exhausted from near continuous fighting for a full day and night, were determined to fight with everything they had in them. Hopefully, the VPD and Vale Army would respond quickly enough to help contain the Grimm, not to mention the other Huntsmen from Beacon and elsewhere in the kingdom.
Stuck somewhere between the crater from which Grimm were still emerging and the bakery that team RWBY had crashed into with only a few chunks of broken concrete for cover, the teams maintained their forms for combat, ready to strike at the first opportunity.
The King Taijitu roared and all of the smaller Grimm around it charged as one on the Huntsman and Huntresses.
Ruby jumped forward to meet the beasts, the tip of Crescent Rose sinking into the concrete walkway before she jumped up and used her scythe as a pivot as she ran across the faces of a small pack of Beowolves to knock them back with the combined force of her weight and strong legs. The small ring was on the ground, trying to pick themselves up after the unusual attack, when the rotund reaper struck out with her blade and made short work of the Grimm.
Yang was no less gung-ho as she charged her own group, using a boulder for some additional height to jump on the head of a Creep. While her weight did crack its masked head upon landing and driving it into the ground, it did throw its head in retaliation and flung the blonde up into the air where she proceeded to rain fire upon the horde. Explosive rounds erupted and took off limbs and heads when they hit. Others sent shrapnel flying that dug into their hides. She flew through the air until a trio of smaller Nevermore attacked from behind and knocked the girl straight to the ground where she broke the concrete upon landing… and splattering the Creep she landed on.
Blake let the Grimm come to her. A Beowolf swung at her head only for her cleaver/sheath to redirect the claws while cutting into its wrist. It didn't have much longer before her other blade stabbed up through its lower jaw and out the top of its mask. Pulling it free, Blake switched Gambol Shroud to its pistol form, knelt for stability, and opened fire with her standard bullets, taking down Grimm with headshots and bullets to weak points.
Weiss had also opted to stay where she was and struck back with more of her precision-based swordplay, exploiting any and all weak and vulnerable areas of the Grimm. At one point gaining the confidence to use her semblance and remaining Ice Dust to create a large ice sword that struck down a trio of Beowolves before impaling another to the ground.
Itazura ran at a Beowolf, ducked under its swinging claws and hooked its arm near the shoulder with her scythe, swinging herself under the limb and behind it where she pulled the trigger and the force pushed the blade through the arm. Her other blade stabbed it through the neck. Standing on its falling body, the faunus unloaded rounds into any Grimm that came near her, the explosive rounds tearing out chunks of their flesh.
Anya was a flurry of blades and gunshots as she weaved her way through a pack of Creeps and Beowolves, leaving deep gashes and holes in her wake. A Boarbatusk rolled at her only to miss and received a pair of bullets into its flank as it passed by, tumbling into the legs of an alpha Beowolf and knocking down onto her raised, bladed arm. The impalement was accented with a final shot to widen the wound and finish the beast.
Talon was an almost literal whirlwind as she spun and danced through the Grimm, her scimitars leaving gaping wounds that were often burning or flash frozen. A wave of flames washed over a Death Stalker, searing the oversized scorpion's exoskeleton before spears of ice penetrated the weakened armor. A semblance assisted jump gave the chubby Vacuoan the height she needed to drive her swords through the armor over its head and she moved the blades within its guts, effectively scissoring its 'brain' and ending its life.
Denko spun Raijin in a tight figure eight as he slashed at an Ursa Major, hacking away at its limbs and body as he twisted and turned around its counter attacks. He launched a wide swing high into the air that cut through the creatures' throat. A trio of Beowolves leapt at him from behind and his polearm spun rapidly, removing limbs as moved between them before another wide arc led to two decapitations and the following upward slash split the final foe.
He turned in time to watch Yang punch down on the hood of a white car that had been abandoned, lifting the vehicle almost vertically to stand on its front bumper before a powerful left straight sent the mass of metal flying through a small horde of Grimm and finally coming to a rest after crushing an Alpha Beowolf against a rather solid brick wall. The blonde man had watched the white missile of destruction pass far too close for comfort, even if it had eliminated the Grimm closest to him. Movement from the ground led to him stabbing a Creep and a Boarbatusk that had survived.
Ruby spun herself to gain extra momentum before she slashed through the skull of a Creep while Anya leapt backwards towards a pair of Beowolves charging at her, stabbing them in the chests with the blades over her elbows, following that by turning and spreading her arms from between them to remove their heads. Talon practically flew overhead to strike down some smaller Nevermore. Itazura was dodging the striking tail and snapping pincers of a Death Stalker, firing into any exposed areas she could find, eventually hooking onto the tail to remove the golden barb. Weiss was nearly out of aura and was fighting purely defensively while Blake fought by her side.
There were too many to deal with as the Grimm kept coming and plenty of them swept into the streets. For everyone they killed, another would take its place seconds later. The black half of the King Taijitu hissed at Ruby, readying to strike at the tired girl when the sound of a familiar- to Ruby- explosion reached her ears. As if sensing her girls' hesitancy and distraction, the giant snake turned to look at the source of the sound as the human did.
Together, they watched as Nora Valkyrie came soaring over the last row of buildings on her hammer with a smile. Just before reaching the snake, she spun her hammer around to slam it into the larger skull, a grenade fired and detonated at point blank range adding to the girl's monstrous strength, her momentum upon impact, and her throwing her full pudgy body behind the strike. "Nora Smash!" Combined, these forces struck the head with enough power to drive it into the concrete and crush the slabs into broken fragments. The white half screeched in the shared pain, flailing and crushing the bakery that Team RWBY had run into.
Nora rebounded and landed on a nearby sidewalk where the rest of her team had just landed from dropping out of the Bullhead. "Let's move!" Pyrrha was quick to shout out, sword raised in the air before she, Nora, and Ren dashed off to fight more Grimm. That left Jaune alone behind them to grumble at the 'lost' opportunity to say that line before he ran out to the battlefield himself.
Nora engaged a Creep that was charging her head on with a big, wound-up swing of Magnhild that crushed its skull length-wise and what was left was shoved down into its body. Nearby, Ren jumped and kicked another Creep into the pavement as he fired Stormflower into the prone Grimm and kicked another as he landed. Immediately, he struck out with his weapons blades into the chest of a Beowolf several times and killing it.
"Okay, who's first?" Jaune says to himself as he runs only for luck to prove very fickle as an Ursa Major dropped from a ledge behind him and stands up on its hind legs. It roared into the blondes surprised face, the young man backs away slowly, adjusting his grip on his sword. "O-oh-oh-kay, you're first, huh?" He laughs to himself as his confidences was far from the best and he wasn't expecting to face off with something so strong from the start. But he forced himself to stand his ground.
Not far away, Pyrrha stabbed Milo through the skull of a Creep before tearing it out and twisting on her heel to use the blade to cut open the neck of another that was charging her. A Beowolf rushed her from behind only to receive the spear into its chest and the Spartan warrior to flip it over her head and into the ground head first. She had to twist again to drive her spear down the throat of a Creep that tried to come up from behind her.
She saw her leader facing off against the bear-like monster and she grew worried. He'd been able to handle himself against the average Beowolf before well enough, even Boarbatusk's weren't too much trouble. Sure, he'd defeated an Ursa Major back in Forever Fall Forest back when Cardin was messing with him, with some slight assistance from her.
"Totally fine, done this before. Done this before." Jaune says to himself as he steadies himself, takes a deep breath, and lunges in- surprising the Grimm- and slashes at it multiple times with a yell. The Grimm flinched with pain and flailed as the sword bit into its flesh. By the time Jaune finished his series of attacks, the Grimm had become still… eventually falling over backwards, dead.
The sight of Jaune succeeding brought a smile to Pyrrha's face before she reengaged the horde of Grimm around her, idly noting that the blonde had moved nearby to attack some Creeps of his own choice and did well for himself.
Not far away, Sun and Neptune arrived on the scene with weapons drawn as they had to fight their way through the streets. Granted, the road they traveled had few Grimm but they were still a threat to the public and it was their job to put them down.
"How did all these Grimm get in here?" Neptune asks his friend as he withdraws Tri-hard from the chest of an Ursa.
"No idea, buddy. Just put them down." Sun responds as he snaps the neck of a Beowolf with a whack from his staff. A Creep charged him from behind only for the staff to lodge itself down its throat and fired a shot of Fire Dust that burned out its insides.
"Right! We're on lockdown mode!" The blue-haired teen skewers a Beowolf through the chest, followed by tearing his weapon out sideways to slash at the face of a Creep.
Sun ran around a corner only to find a pair of Creeps lunging at him, he reacted by separating his staff into his gun-chucks; Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang, blasting both in the face with the Fire Dust shotgun shells. Lightning Dust rounds flew past him to hit a couple Beowolves and a Boarbatusk, followed by his teammate leaping at the stunned Grimm with his trident ready.
From where he stood, he could see Blake fighting closely with Weiss, and both girls were exhausted… the latter far more. He ran to help the girls only for an Ursa to charge out of a nearby shop and divert his attention. He filled its hide with flaming buckshot before smacking its face with one of his weapons, its retaliatory roar cut short by a shell fired into the roof of its mouth.
Overhead, the airships of the Atlesian Navy descended onto the area, drawing the attention of the mortals fighting below. Even the Grimm looked up, the older and smarter ones assessing the threats while the younger ones saw only more things to attack. Practical swarms of Manta gunships flew over the city, opening fire with gatling guns on any Grimm too close to the people. An Ursa leaping at Ruby from behind while her scythe was imbedded in a Boarbatusk and being shot backwards by the hail of bullets over the girls' head, was a good example. The rotund reaper gave the pilot a wave of thanks.
Other Manta gunships began opening their boarding ramps to allow Atlesian Knights to drop to the ground where they immediately began opening fire on the Grimm horde, some not even waiting to reach the ground to do so. The unexpected reinforcements certainly helped to take care of the Grimm swarming the streets, but not without issues of their own as their true strength relied on their numbers rather than durability or accuracy. More than a few were destroyed by their targets before any significant damage could be done. Neptune had to take out a Boarbatusk that had just taken out a pair of the Knights with frightening ease. A few shots to its flank stunned it long enough for the Mistral boy to run it through with his trident.
At an intersection, a trio of Knights kept an Ursa under heavy fire for several seconds before it succumbed to the injuries inflicted on it by dozens of bullets. A squad of Knights rained Dust treated lead down a street filled with charging Grimm where most were killed before the creatures reached them. A Beowolf tore into the machines with savagery it normally reserved for humans and faunus as it only saw them as a threat standing between it and its preferred prey. The Beowolf ripped apart five before the other Knights took it down, at the same time, the distraction allowed for more Grimm to close the gap and tear into the remaining Knights guarding the road.
On another road, Cinder led Emerald and Mercury to the battlefield to ascertain the damage to her plan for herself and to maintain their cover as students. A nearby Knight gave an Ursa an uppercut strong enough to drop it onto its back at their feet. Cinder glanced at the dying Grimm before looking back at her acolytes, giving them a subtle nod to join the fight to defend Vale. Something that Mercury had little problem with as he rushed off smiling while Emerald moved on at a far more sedate pace… and not because she was sure her ass had grown while playing student.
The black and grey clothed assassin was enjoying himself as he delivered a jumping side kick to the head of an Ursa, the force of his boot with the shotgun shell dropped it instantly. A nearby Beowolf had its spine snapped by a spinning heel kick and finished off with a stomp to its head. A Creep jumping at him had its chin kicked hard and his other boot fired a shell into its exposed belly. Talaria was getting some use today and he loved using them.
Emerald strolled onto another road with a trio of Beowolves, a pair of Creeps, an Ursa, and an Ursa Major. With a flourish, she drew Thieves Respite and leveled them with the Grimm. They charged and she opened fire with her pistols, taking out all but the Ursa Major before they could reach her. As soon as it was close, the Ursa reared up and swiped at her with its claws twice in quick succession. The thief was able to backflip away to give herself distance and opened the sickles on her weapons upon landing. While the beast was still upright, she darts in with both blades cutting into its ribs, then its back. Seeing that they did little but stun it, she twists and spins as she releases the blades to swing on their chains, the flailing blades now having much more centrifugal force behind them cut deep into its hide. She kept twisting as she flipped over its head and slashing into its shoulders and neck, finally ending the fight.
Underground, Doctor Oobleck wasn't having a very good day. He could argue that the past two days weren't the best but today was pushing his limits. He saw that the train was about to crash, his charges unable to get away from the front of the locomotive creating an icy shell for protection. He'd have to praise Ms. Schnee for her quick thinking on that.
Then the impact came and the entire train shuddered and the Paladins he was fighting struggled to maintain their balance on the moving and shaking battlefield. He dropped to one knee as he had the same problem. The cars continued to push themselves through the breached barrier and he found himself in a bad spot as debris from the exploded engine and other cars flew by him.
The car he was on buckled, lifting the roof high enough that there was no way it was going to clear the hole without contact. "Oh, dear." Was all he said as he jumps from the train with Antiquities Roast shooting a jet of flames behind him and Zwei on his shoulder. The jet slowed his momentum from the train so that he could land safely enough and apparently a few of the Paladin pilots had the same idea, though they lacked the jets to slow them so they tumbled a bit before rising to their feet.
"Well… this isn't good." The Huntsman says to his canine companion as the train slows to a halt. Even through the shrieking of tearing metal and the pops of exploding Dust crystals, he could hear the groans of White Fang soldiers from inside the cars… at least of those who survived the crash and shifting cargo. Yet it was the roars and growls of the stampede of Grimm that truly had him worried, their numbers so vast that the tunnels dim lighting was absorbed so that all could be seen of the oncoming horde were their glowing red eyes.
He had to make a choice of what to do, fight an overwhelming enemy force with enemies at his back or escape. His choice was clear.
"You have little time to make a decision. Come with me and you might live or stay here to fight the Grimm." He yells through an open door where some of the Faunus were picking themselves up or their comrades.
They looked at him confused, they had spent so much time trying to kill him and his team yet he was offering them mercy. The sight and sounds of the Grimm made their choices rather clear of what would happen to them.
Oobleck ran up to the cockpit of one of the Paladins that had turned towards the Grimm. He studied the ceiling and walls carefully but quickly. "I need you to shoot there!" He orders the pilot as he points to an escape ladder, more specifically the hatch over it and the one next to it.
The pilot hesitated but the appearance of the Lieutenant giving her a nod made her follow the order. Twin blasts from high caliber Dust cannons ripped through the hatches and the street above with ease.
"Pilots! Cover us!" The Lieutenant orders as he directs the survivors to the ladders where they began assisting each other up. He watched as the Huntsman opened fire on the horde alongside the Paladins, their combined firepower doing little to stop the Grimm but it did slow them down. At the same time, there weren't many soldiers left under his command and he didn't have time to search for others that could be saved; only those who were conscious or close enough to someone who cared enough about them and able to walk were the ones to leave the remains of the train.
Less than forty of the original three hundred troops climbed the ladder to safety and he followed them up. His respect for one human rose a notch as he saw the Huntsman order the pilots out of their mechs and to set their self-destruct devices as the Grimm drew too close. One of them refused and kept firing on the Grimm to give the others cover fire. They climbed the ladder along with the Huntsman who gave the pilot a respectful salute before he climbed with the dog on his shoulders.
They emerged into a scene of chaos, chunks of broken concrete, shattered glass, twisted metal, and humans and faunus alike running away from the crater in the middle of an amphitheater in Vale. The roars of Grimm followed them up the ladders, soon the explosions of the mechs reached them. It didn't take long for the massive body of the King Taijitu to emerge from the main crater with dozens of other Grimm in tow.
It was now that they realized what they had been doing and the damage that they helped to cause. The lives that were being lost as Grimm attacked anyone they could get ahold of, human or faunus. Nearly half of the survivors broke down into tears and at least three lost the contents of their stomachs.
Oobleck looked around the area and began to recognize exactly where he was. He dashed over to a nearby door and opened it with little trouble. "Quickly now! Everyone inside! I'll draw them off." He ushered them into a small but relatively empty warehouse. He couldn't help but notice that they had Torchwick with them.
"You're giving us an opportunity to escape?" The Lieutenant asks as the others followed the humans' orders without question.
"No. I'm giving you an opportunity to live. These people won't be able to escape and need help. The police and other Huntsmen will be by to take them into custody and treat their injuries as soon as the Grimm are cleared out."
He ran out the door, closing it behind him and leaving the collected faunus to think about their actions and do what they could to treat the wounded.
Once outside, Oobleck noticed that Zwei was missing. A large metal hand rising and grasping at the pavement drew his attention as the Paladin pulled itself up with its one remaining arm, and Zwei riding on its back, the corgi jumping off once the mech came to a rest and headbutting a Beowolf away. The man rushed to the mech and opened the canopy to help the pilot out. "Easy now. Your friends are in here." He half carried the woman to the warehouse where the Lieutenant was guarding the door and surprised that the woman had survived.
Back at the main battlefield, a Bullhead slowed to hover and allow team CFVY and Professor Port to drop out the open doors. Fox and Velvet dashing off to fight the Grimm as soon as they landed while Coco took her time walking after them leaving Yatsuhashi behind at the drop point as Port took off in the opposite direction.
The extremely large young man drew his equally large sword, Fulcrum, from his back as he was surrounded by several Beowolves that were eager for more fresh targets. With a quick turn on his heel to build momentum along with his own brute strength, Yatsuhashi slammed his blade into the pavement with enough force to create a crater of his own and blasting the Grimm around him with shrapnel and the shockwave.
Fox and Velvet double teamed a large Beowolf, the boy slashing at it with Sharp Retribution a few times before the girl kicks it back with her strong legs. A Creep fared worse as Fox simply smashed his fist into its skull and drove it into the pavement while Velvet jumped up to drop a heel onto the Beowolves snout while her other thick leg kicked up into its jaw hard enough to launch her into a backflip and the Grim toppling on to its back.
Velvet landed next to Fox and looked around for her next attacker, the Grimm apparently having some second thoughts about targeting them until a massive Ursa Major shoved its way through the ranks and roared its challenge. One that Fox took readily and rushed in to deliver an uppercut to its chin before following that with a backflip that hit its chin again hard enough to knock the beast back. Upon landing from the flip and long before the Ursa could recover, the blind man was on the beast and slashing away, the blades extending his reach as they flipped forward and the Grimm was sent stumbling backwards before yet another uppercut to the gut pushed it into the air.
Fox prepared himself and as soon as the Grimm was about to hit the ground, he struck its head with both fists and released a pulse of aura into the creature causing it to tumble back into its smaller kin before swelling rapidly like a balloon and exploding, its many spikes flying into many of the Grimm around it. More than a dozen are killed by the unusual attack, several spikes were swatted away by a handbag held by Coco, one of which hit Yatsuhashi in his shoulder armor.
The tall team leader walked almost leisurely through battlefield, "Nice hustle, Fox." She pats him on the ass, only to receive a slight 'glare' from the blind man. "Good job." She comments before he jumps back to join the other half of the team.
A massive Alpha Beowolf steps up in front of Coco, tall enough that she only reached its knees and it roared in her face. But she showed no fear… just… annoyance. She pulls down her sunglasses to look it clearly in the eye. "You just destroyed my favorite clothing store." She pushes the shades back into place and spits to the side. "Prepare to die."
The Grimm rightfully took the challenge and used its massive size to swing its claws at the girl, only for her to casually swat the hand away with her bag and knock the creature off balance before kicking its leg hard enough to drop it to the ground. It caught itself in a crouch, almost a bow where she bent down to stare the beast down as it growled defiantly at her. She didn't take that act very well as she swung her bag over her head and into the Grimm's, crushing its skull between it and the concrete that shattered from the force.
Three more large Beowolves ran at her along with a Death Stalker. The former was dealt with by a swing to the face of the first to reach her, snapping its neck. The next two received a similar smack, though the second took most of the force from the bag so the third was only stunned and turned around. Coco literally kicked it in the ass with her heeled boots to get it away from her. She looked up in time to see that the Death Stalker was right next to her and leapt back to avoid the stinger that pierced the concrete.
Where Coco landed, Velvet ran up to stand by her side with a hand on the box containing Anesidora on her soft hip, ready to be used. Coco holds a hand up to stop the chubby bunny. "Hey, come on. You spent all semester building that up." She drops her hand as Velvet relaxes and steps back and she walks forward herself. "Don't waste it here."
A few steps later and closer to the giant scorpion, Coco activates Gianduja, her rotary cannon and immediately starts spinning it up and focusing her semblance, Hype, through it as the Dust bullets start firing. The tore apart the concrete with ease before hitting the Grimm and blowing it to pieces. Nearby Beowolves and the ground they were running on met similar fates. She turned her weapon to the sky as a trio of Giant Nevermore soared over the city walls looking for targets to attack. The closest was nearly ripped in half by the bullet spray, the other two weren't much better as they were hit and killed causing them to drop from the sky. The halves falling into the main battlefield and crushing some of the land bound Grimm that couldn't escape their paths. The other avian bodies landed in the next street over and kicked up huge dust clouds with their mass before turning to ash themselves.
Peter Port joined Bartholomew Oobleck by the fallen Paladin and Zwei, the little dog barking at his arrival. A pack of Grimm consisting of Beowolves, Boarbatusk's, and Creeps charged at the men who wordlessly leveled their weapons at the creatures and released fireballs from their respective weapons that tore apart and burned them to death.
Not far away, Glynda Goodwitch stalked down the road with Disciplinarian in hand and a scowl on her face. She didn't even look back at the Creep and Beowolf that attacked her from behind only to be smacked around by her semblance. As she passed the men, she flicked her riding crop and the Paladin was yanked from the hole while the pieces of the road and sidewalk flew back into their place, making it look as though nothing had ever happened.
She maintained her march until she reached the main crater where she swung her weapon again and the remains of the train, at least the parts that are above ground, tore themselves from the tangled mess below while the hole refilled itself and the small pavilion was rebuilt. Thus, the source of the Grimm was cut off and the combined forces of Huntsmen, Huntresses, police, and army killed off those that remained in short order. The Vale Defense Force was holding the wall where a horde of Grimm were trying to break through to join their kin inside when the Atlesian Navy began raining bullets and bombs onto the dark beasts of destruction. Some of the older and smarter Grimm took the confusion as an opportunity to live and kill another day while the younger ones threw themselves at the defenders in the vain attempt to take anyone with them.
Within half an hour, the last of the Grimm were killed and the Huntsmen were allowed to relax. None being so grateful as team RWBY as they haven't really been able to rest since the morning before. Zwei nuzzled his face against Ruby's legs before jumping into her soft lap for cuddles. Weiss was leaning against the Reaper and took the time to give the dog a good scratching between the ears with a smile. "Good boy." The pair say to him while falling into a comfortable silence.
"Didn't I ask you to be careful?" Sun quips as he stands next to Blake where she sat on a step.
"Maybe, but I didn't have much of a choice." She gives him a tired smile.
"Need help?" He offers her a hand up with a smile.
"Give me a few more minutes, I just got comfy." She replies with a small giggle. Sometimes having your backside grow so large and soft was a good thing. She wasn't too surprised when he sat down next to her.
Yang was leaning heavily on Denko, her right arm over his shoulder, as her head injury was making itself known now that the adrenaline was wearing off. Adding in her exhaustion and walking a straight line was almost impossible.
"You know, you could sit down." Denko comments as he held her wrist in place and held her waist to help stabilize her.
"Maybe, but I'll probably pass out as soon as I'm down." She shrugs awkwardly.
"I'm not giving you a shower." He tells her flatly.
"C'mon Big Guy, you don't want to see me?" She teases.
"One, you're a big girl capable of washing herself. Two, you need a better nickname since I'm smaller than you." He emphasized the latter part by shaking her stomach.
Team JNPR and CFVY stood nearby watching the teams and the cleanup efforts. Itazura was guiding a handful of White Fang to a police van and ambulance as required for their injuries required. Anya and Talon were with Mercury and Emerald escorting Roman Torchwick to an Atlesian Manta gunship where a pair of Knights were waiting with handcuffs.
"Oh, I can't believe that you caught me. You've really taught me the error of my ways." The Gentleman Thief comment was full of sarcasm. At least until one of the Knights grabbed him roughly by the arm and pulled him along. "Hey, hey! Watch the hat!" Somehow the man had retrieved his stupid bowler hat during all of the confusion.
"Okay, the show is over. Back to school." Glynda says to the students after Torchwick was safely inside the gunship for transport to a cell. She received a chorus of groans from the tired quartet of girls. She rounded on them with a stern look, "You four will be going to the nurse for a full check-up. You're already bruising from today's incident and I will not see those under my care injured more than they have to be."
Nobody was stupid enough to vocally comment about that she was the one who ran Combat Class where she regularly had students fighting each other. Or that she would lead them out into the local forests to deal with packs of Grimm. Or that she had no problem with launching students off a cliff for initiation… It didn't mean that they didn't think about it.
'Hehehe.' Or Fox could broadcast the thought into their heads.
"Team DAIT, that goes for your too. So, I'm assigning you to ensure that RWBY gets their check-up before you get yours." She rounds on the oldest blonde besides herself. "But thank you for the warning you gave us and for your immediate action to the threat." While the first part was meant for the older team, the latter was meant for them all.
A Manta landed nearby followed by another. Apparently, these were their rides back to school. Team DAIT and Sun assisted RWBY into one while Teams JNPR, CFVY, and Neptune took the other aircraft. Thankfully, neither had any Knights in the passenger area but it was still a tight squeeze as they weren't meant to carry nine people, or someone the size of Yatsuhashi, or made with the idea of having plus sized girls. The lack of seats meant little as there was standing room only.
"Well, we did it." Yang comments as she leans against a wall as she was still held up by Denko.
"We did it." Blake echoes from the opposite wall.
"If we don't get extra credit for that, I'm going to be seriously disappointed." Of course, Weiss would be thinking about grades after all of that.
"Weiss, a two-headed snake literally crushed a bakery. I wouldn't count on it." Yang reminds her with a shake of her head. "They did have a good donut."
"Plus, I mean, we didn't solve everything." Ruby was clearly upset that she wasn't a hero where everything went right like some of her comics. "A lot of people were hurt, and we still don't even know why they did this, or who that mystery girl was."
"Well, not every story has a neat and tidy ending." Weiss wasn't exactly one to sugar coat things.
"We might not have all of the answers, but we do have a lot of dangerous people behind bars." She didn't want to think about all of those faunus that never made it out of the subway. She knew that the few being taken by the police were a drop in the bucket compared to what was at the rally or even the numbers on the train. She pushed that thought away as there was nothing, she could do about it now, they had made their choices. "And I think that is something that we can be proud of." Maybe, given the reactions she saw of the White Fang members being taken away, they could have a second chance… once they were out of jail. She wouldn't be surprised if Ozpin interfered with some plea deals, especially for those that were recent recruits.
"Yeah!" Ruby and Sun say together as they both looked to the positive side.
"And if anyone tries to something like this again, we'll be there to stop them." Ruby was confident and doing what she could to ride that high while she could.
Yang stretched as much as space and her tired and battered body allowed. "Yay. Teamwork, comradery, good guys, go team, alright good job." Denko and Itazura laughed at the blondes' semi-sarcasm. "So, what now?" She asks, far more seriously.
Talon didn't answer as she was doing her best to help her sister concentrate on reining in her semblance. The last thing anyone needed right now was for that to be free.
"I'd suggest training for the tournament, but… I think we have that covered at this point." Weiss offers.
"A little more wouldn't hurt… much." Denko comments from his corner.
"So then…" Blake was drawing a blank, to Sun's amusement.
"Uh, time for bed?" Ruby suggests.
"Not until you visit the nurse." Itazura reminds them and received a chorus of groans.
"I think you're gonna need to carry me." Yang mutters as she leans heavily on her best friend. Denko was glad that she was soft with the way her shoulder was pressing into his chest.
"Arf!" Somehow, nobody had really noticed Zwei being with them. Maybe it was because Sun was holding him with his tail off the floor and on his opposite side from Blake.
"Ozpin. Ozpin!" The Headmaster was in his chair over looking the school and Vale through his office window, observing what he could of the activity and aftermath of the attack. Thankfully, from the reports he was receiving it seemed that things were kept relatively contained and casualties were surprisingly low. But he had to turn around to address the rest of the Vale Council.
"Yes, Councilor?" He was weary of having to deal with them, especially with that particular man, but it was a system that he had encouraged once upon a time to ensure that no one person had too much power after the Great War.
"You've left us with no choice! The Vytal Festival cannot be broadcast, let alone held if we are unable to ensure the safety of the citizens." Ozpin didn't miss James in the corner of the screen watching the discussion. He raised his mug to his mouth for a comforting sip of hot cocoa.
"Therefore, we have reached out to the Atlas Council, and together have decided that the best option is to appoint General Ironwood as Head of Security for the event."
"Thank you, Councilman." James gives a small nod. "Our Kingdom is happy to lend as many troops as it takes to ensure that this event runs as smoothly, and safely, as possible." Ironwood's feed dominated the screen of the holographic display now that it was his turn to speak.
"And we thank you, General." The Council dominated the screen again.
"Will that be all?" Ozpin asks, as if he had anticipated this outcome and was disappointed that he was correct.
"For now." The Councilor states. "But after this festival comes to a close, we are going to have a serious discussion regarding your position at Beacon Academy."
"General Ironwood's reports over the last few weeks have left us somewhat… concerned. I'm sure you understand." The Council closed their feed and the General himself filled the screen again. While Ozpin may not show his concern about being replaced, he had other ways around the Council to keep himself involved with the school and plenty of people here loyal to him. Glynda being his primary confidant and net in line to take over should something happen to him. The other teachers and faculty, they may not be part of his inner circle but he knew nearly all of them would defend him against nearly anything. He'd done everything he could to earn their trust without pushing the issue.
"This is the right move, Ozpin. I promise. I will keep our people safe; you have to trust me." James says, almost pleadingly for a man who tried to never show that side of himself. The screen faded as the call ended.
Ozpin turned his chair around to look out the large windows once more. He knew that James would always do what he thought was right. He was just worried that he might go too far, not see the bigger picture as he focused on a threat immediately in front of him, leaving himself to be outflanked and vulnerable. His dedication wasn't the issue that he was worried about, but how he would go about it.
Within his personal flagship, the Resolute, James Ironwood looked out his window towards Beacon Tower where he could see Ozpin's office. He lowered his head in shame. "You brought this on yourself." He says quietly to himself, though it was tough to know exactly if he meant that for Ozpin or himself, or both.
He turns away from the view to slowly walk down the deck reserved for prisoners and the walls were lined with solitary cells. Ozpin and the Vale General had managed to convince him that the White Fang Lieutenant would be best held in one of their facilities as if he were held by Atlas, he would be far less likely to cooperate. That didn't mean they didn't allow him a very special prisoner. One that they argued should be kept separate from this he once led in the first place.
He stopped in front of a certain cell, the only one with guards on the entire deck. The door lowered into the floor to allow him to see the man inside. "Leave us." He orders his men, knowing that they wouldn't go too far, just a few cells away in case of an escape attempt.
"I've been informed, that so far you've refused to cooperate with the authorities." The General states to the redhead inside sitting on the small bench.
Roman Torchwick looks up at him, seemingly not bothered in the least of where he was at the moment. "I know this might be hard to believe General, but ah… I'm not the biggest fan of local law enforcement." Truly, sarcasm and confidence came to the man as easily as breathing.
"How about the worlds strongest military power?" James offers as he crosses his arms.
Roman looks around his new room. "Hmm… First impressions… not great."
"I'm going to give you one chance." He informs the thief, who after a small stare down signals that he's willing to listen with a tilt of his head. "Who's really behind all this?"
Roman leans forward into the light from the windows. "Isn't it obvious?" As James leans towards him, he leans back against the wall, puts one leg over his knee and raises his hands in a grand display. "You're looking at him." His tone was as smug as his smile when he said that.
Ironwood closes his eyes and gives a scoffing laugh, having been warned about his attitude and having met others like him before. "Very well then." He says as he walks away, the guards seeing that as a signal to return to their post.
"What's the matter, General? I thought you wanted to talk." The criminal almost sounded like a spoiled child teasing a 'friend'.
The General stops momentarily. "The Council has given me custody over you for as long as long as I see fit." He resumes his walking. "So, you can make yourself comfortable. I can assure you we'll have plenty of time to 'talk'."
"Oh, wonderful." Roman laughs from within his cell before the door closes once more.
"All in all, I'd consider today a success." Cinder says dramatically, complete with a hand on her chest when she referred to herself.
"Those stupid kids really made a mess of things." Emerald reminds her, letting out some of her anger that the plan had been derailed.
"Yeah. A lot of Faunus didn't make it out of those tunnels." Mercury comments as the real plan was to have the trainload of mechs and White Fang soldiers blast their way out of the old train station and attack everything on sight, planting the seeds of fear for the Grimm to be attracted to at which point the White Fang would hunker down and let the Grimm do the work of terrifying the populace and they would move to capture key areas of the city.
What the White Fang didn't know is that Cinder never expected them to actually hold the targeted areas for long but the message would be loud and clear about the fragility of the peace within the Kingdom, even for those inside the safety of the walls. No doubt that today that same message was delivered… just somewhat muted by the Huntsmen and Huntresses that were already interfering and making Roman enact the plan before even his part was ready.
"You still think the White Fang is gonna listen to us?" Mercury asks.
"No." A fourth voice answers as the taller man it belonged to walked up to their perch on a high roof top. "But they'll listen to me." He gestures to himself with the hilt of the sword that he kept sheathed and carried in his left hand, his black coat waving in the breeze and his intricate white mask over his eyes hiding his expression beyond his cold confidence and determination.
AN: Now that this arc is over, as well as what was covered in V2 canon, I can finally move onto some more fun filler chapters before we get to the tournament. Even that is going to have a BIG filler section with some BIG news... when I get to it. But plan on getting to the tournament in October, things are gonna heat up even as the air cools here for me (Southern Hemisphere readers will be warming up though).
Still kinda hoping for someone to take a crack at guessing the Semblances of Denko and Anya. I've given hints at what they are in previous chapters but nothing definitive. Their full reveal will be later this year, or early next year depending on how life goes and I can get the chapters written consistently. I also have other writing projects on DeviantArt along with art for this story.
As always, reviews and constructive criticism is welcome to help improve my writing.