09. Mountain Glenn
"So how was he?" Cinder should've known this was the line of questioning Emerald would come to first thing in the morning. Doesn't mean she appreciated it. "Abysmal? Subpar? Average?"
Cinder stopped brushing her hair. "And why are those the only options?"
"He's a teenager," the mint-haired girl deadpanned. "I doubt he could make it past decent."
On the contrary, Naruto had been a very attentive lover. He'd explored every inch of her and gave far more than he took. Definitely not his first time. She didn't even know a tongue could reach that deep. The unrelenting stamina, the accuracy.
Hmm. Could she keep him? She knew her master would have need of him and whatever it was that interested her, but would she need him after? If not, well, she could always do with someone like Naruto on her team. And in her bed… And in her pants… And just in her in general.
She might be a power hungry woman with morals as gray as Mercury's hair, but she had needs too.
"So?"
Her lips were sealed.
x-x-x-x-x
"AHHH!"
"RWBY!" Naruto kicked open Team RWBY's door with the rest of his team in tow. "Is everyone… okay?"
"Arf!"
"Sensei!" Ruby pulled in her sensei's team and shut the door behind them.
"Is…"
"... that…"
"... a…"
"... doggy!" Nora squealed. "Who's a good boy?! Who's a good boy?!" The little dog barked and whined as Nora scratched his head and ears. "What's his name?!"
"Zwei~" Yang sang the little dog's name, bending down and scooping him up into her arms.
"That is a very sweet name," commented Pyrrha, giving the little dog a pet.
"And here I thought someone was dying," Ren sighed, allowing Stormflower to snap back into their holsters.
"Blake? You alright up there?" Naruto smirked up at her.
"I'm fine!" She said it just a little too quickly.
"Kitty cat's afraid of the big bad pup," Yang teased, smirking.
"Arf!"
"Shhh!" Ruby pushed through the throng of bodies and pulled Zwei away from her sister's bust. "The school doesn't let us keep pets on campus, so you'll have to keep quiet, Zwei!" The little whine and drooping ears almost melted the little reaper. "I'm sorry!" Waterfall tears poured down her cheeks as she nuzzled his cheeks.
"'Hey girls!'" Yang read from a note that had come out of the same package that held Zwei and his twenty or so cans of food. "'Gonna be outta town for a mission. Will be back in a week or two. Look after Zwei. Love you! - Dad.'"
"Oh! Of course we'll look after him!" Weiss cooed as she scratched his head.
"Of course," Pyrrha agreed.
"Yes, of course," Blake sarcastically agreed.
"Oh come on, Blake!" Naruto laughed and gently pried Zwei from Ruby's arms. "It's okay. See?" The little pup crooned and licked his cheek. They looked fucking cute until the conniving little mutt flashed her this evil look.
Oh hell, no!
"Just keep him away from me and my belongings," she grunted.
"Aw, Blake!" Ruby whined. "How can you say that?"
"Easily."
"Hey, Whiskers! Turn around for me, would'ya?"
"Yea. What's up, Yang?"
Click!
Naruto's mouth opened in shock. The rest of Team RWBY and Pyrrha had gathered around the blonde brawler, eyes on her Scroll, shining with interest.
"Oooh."
"That is adorable!"
"Could you…?"
"Already sent~."
"Wha… girls?" It took a second, but he realized what they were talking about when Zwei licked him on the cheek. "Oh, come on." The resulting giggles only made him sigh. "You did this," he accused Zwei.
"Ar?" The little dog whined, tilting his head in confusion.
x-x-x-x-x
"And how was your evening with Ms. Fall, Naruto?"
"My hips hurt…"
"Aside from that."
"I might need an STD test."
"Which one?"
"Just give me everything you have. Twice."
"... did you not use protection?"
"... I ran out…"
"Your sexual encounter aside," Ironwood interrupted, "what have you learned about Ms. Fall?"
"She's strong," Naruto continued without further prompting, "but she's also hiding her strength."
"Did you get an accurate assessment of this hidden strength?" Ironwood pushed.
"Well, I got an accurate assessment of something," he whispered. "Uh… not much? Just something burning away, just beneath her Aura, but it doesn't feel like her Semblance."
"Could you describe this feeling?" Ozpin pushed, growing ever more curious.
"Like energy. Pure energy." Naruto's brows furrowed. "Like… what I feel from you."
Ozpin's eyes hardened. "It's her." A cold anger seeped into his eyes.
"Who, Ozpin?" Ironwood pushed.
"Follow me. You too, Specialist Schnee, Naruto." Ozpin took them to the elevator. "You have done more than enough to earn my trust, young man. You deserve to know the truth behind Cinder's hidden strength."
Throughout the entire elevator ride, Naruto could feel Winter's eyes snapping over to him every now and then. He wouldn't call her out then and there given their company.
Nope. Don't say it. Don't open your mouth. Don't-
"Specialist, if you stared any harder, I might have to tell Weiss I'm gonna be her future brother-in-law."
Had Mettle not been maintaining a tight leash on his emotions, Ironwood would've laughed at the face his Field Specialist pulled. Glynda looked like she was already nursing a headache, but she was smiling. Ozpin was sipping his coffee like nothing was wrong.
"I-I was doing no such thing!"
"Lighten up," he smiled. "I'm just teasin' ya."
"Hmm!"
There it was. That patented Schnee huff. The only difference between her and Weiss was how they physically responded. Weiss held her head up high and jutted out her chin. Winter snapped to attention and straightened her back.
"Eyes up, eyes up. Don't be like Pervy Sage. Annnnd it's not working." He thought having Cinder sate his lust would've toned down his urges, but apparently not. Instead, his eyes kept wandering. "Sage damn it."
"I take it we're going down a lot deeper than just the basement huh, Professor?" Naruto stared at the back of the grey-haired man's head to keep himself in check.
"That would be correct, Naruto."
The elevator doors finally slid open. Down in what Naruto could only describe as a dungeon and secret scientist's lair and he'd seen enough of both of those to last a lifetime.
"So... why is that girl sleeping in an escape pod?"
Half an hour later, Naruto really wished he hadn't opened his mouth. Head thumping against one of the support pillars, Naruto murmured incoherently while the other watched on, a mix of cautious and exasperated.
Magic. Maidens. Grimm having a leader, which, now that he thought about it, made a lot of sense given what he sensed on the first day of Beacon.
"Why me?!" he bemoaned. "It hasn't even been a full two years! Can't I just live in peace?! Fuckkkkk!" One last solid thump echoed through the room, shaking loose dust and pebbles from the ceiling. "Okay. I'm good now."
"What do you mean by it hasn't been two full years, Naruto?" Ironwood questioned, curious about the young man's reaction.
"Was fighting a war on my seventeenth birthday," he answered dismissively. "Fought some crazy goddess who could level Vale with one punch."
The other wide eyed members of Ozpin's council turned to him for verification.
"As far as I know, Naruto is not lying."
"But a war?" Ironwood questioned. "The last war we had was The Great War. That was eighty years ago. How could…" Ironwood stopped himself, finally realizing what the two were insinuating. "He's not from Remnant."
"Ding ding ding! Someone give the General a prize!"
The room was awkwardly silent as the newcomers digested that tidbit of information. Glynda was staring at him, her lips parted in a slight "o" as she finally placed together whatever hints Ozpin had been dropping for her. Winter looked like she was going to dial up the nearest psych hospital for one bullhead delivery. Cargo? Him. Ironwood, however, seemed way too calm for whatever was going on.
"I assure you, James," Ozpin attempted to placate the paranoid man, "Naruto means us no ill will."
"How can you be so sure?" The General was openly glaring at him.
"Because he has been doing more to keep Vale safe than any other Huntsman." The Headmaster produced a manila folder filled to the brim. "Take a look if you wish."
The three parallel red slashes across the front of the folder told him everything he needed to know. Leaving the General, Glynda and Winter to pour over the contents of the folder, Naruto stared at the unconscious girl kept on permanent life support.
"Why wasn't Amber protected in the city of Vale? Or in Beacon?" he frowned.
"Amber," started the Headmaster, staring down at his coffee, "had always been free-spirited. She hated the confines of the city. Having grown up in the country-side, she finds the lack of nature stifling. Beacon itself felt far too much like a prison for her."
The frown returned with a vengeance. "How did Cinder take this power of hers? You said the power, this Maiden's magic, is tied to someone's soul, so how?"
"That… we don't know," Ozpin admitted. "One of my Huntsman, the one who retrieved her, could only tell us that she'd already been comatose by the time he'd intervened, yet there were no major injuries, at least none that could have resulted in her coma."
"That means Cinder knew what she was doing," Naruto concluded. "She knew who and what she was after."
"Ozpin," Ironwood interrupted with a hiss, "how has nothing been done about this?! How have you not mentioned this to me? They have Atlesian technology!" He gestured towards the litany of pictures and details Naruto had written down from his moles within the White Fang.
"Because we didn't know what they were after." Naruto crossed his arms and glared at the General. "Now, we do." He placed a hand on Amber's life support pod. "They're here to finish the job."
x-x-x-x-x
"Teams RWBY and NPLN. Normally, a mission of such importance would be left in the hands of more experienced Huntsman. However, Naruto has vouched for your abilities and given the training he's given you, I find myself unable to refuse his request."
The two teams couldn't hide the shock on their faces when Naruto stepped forward from behind Professor Ozpin and General Ironwood, his face stern and stolid.
"Blake. We'll be moving our timetable forward to Mountain Glenn. Grab the gear and one week of provisions."
Everyone turned to the cat Faunus, eyes searching, questioning. Blake, however, understood him clearly. With a firm nod, she walked out of the Headmaster's office.
"Blake already knows what's going on so I'll brief you while she grabs your gear."
"Gear? But we already have everything we need, sensei."
"No, you don't." Naruto gave them a once over. "You're dressed for an outing, not a mission. I'd rather not have my friends and teammates die on a mission because they thought their aura and weapons were all they needed for a mission."
Ruby looked down at the floor, nodding slightly in agreement.
"Now, for the debrief." Naruto tossed each of them a copy of the information he'd gathered. "Several months ago, Blake and I scouted out a White Fang operation that took place along one of the piers and Schnee Dust storage facilities along the riverfront."
The teams wanted to speak up, but that stern glare meant they wouldn't dare to interrupt him. Each member flipped through the information given to them.
"From then, I had someone infiltrate the organization. That is how we have the information in your hands now."
"Wait!" Weiss yelled. "This says they have over sixteen full shipments of Dust! Why hasn't any of this been recovered or reported?!"
"And let the enemy know we know about it?" Naruto shook his head. "Tipping our hands to the enemy when we know nothing about what they're going to do is a bad idea. Only recently have we figured out what they're after: Vale."
The two teams gasped.
"This is a threat, one that cannot be taken lightly." Naruto looked each one of them in the eye. "Do not hold back."
"What is the mission, Naruto?" Pyrrha asked.
"Intercepting a bomb shipment." Naruto nodded to Ozpin. With a push of a button, the entire office dimmed as the glass became opaque. A hard light screen appeared, showing an overhead view of a desolate city. "This is our destination: Mountain Glenn, a failed expansion attempt by Vale. Beneath the city run a series of rails, leading from Glenn to the very heart of Vale."
"Okay?" Yang scratched her head, seemingly angry and annoyed for a reason Naruto couldn't place. "So what's the big deal? Aren't Vale's rails in a closed system?"
"Yes." Naruto nodded. The image on screen changed to a satellite view of the area between Vale and Mountain Glenn with a network of blue and red lines running between them. "Vale's system has no access to Mountain Glenn's system due to a series of bulkheads that were sealed when Mountain Glenn fell to the Grimm."
"Then…" Yang trailed off, eyes lighting up when she finally realized the threat "with all the Dust they have on hand…"
"They can blow them wide open," Weiss finished the thought for her.
"Our mission is to stop that from happening." Naruto gestured towards a geared up Professor Oobleck. "Since we don't want to arouse any suspicion, we'll be joining Professor Oobleck here for what is supposed to be a routine expeditionary mission towards Mountain Glenn. That will be the cover story at least. When we get there, I want everyone fully geared and ready to face heavy opposition." The screen changed, showing image after image of the enemy Naruto's informant had given them. "And I mean, heavy opposition."
"Atlesian battle mechs," murmured Weiss, eyes wide. "How… how did they get their hands on Atlesian mechs?!"
"Underground crime networks," Naruto answered. "You can get your hands on anything given the right price. Nora. Pyrrha. Yang. Any mechs that come online will be your responsibility. Bring 'em down. Any that don't? Do your best to keep 'em intact."
"Roger, Captain!" The spritely Nora had a devilish smirk on her face, turquoise eyes shining with malice.
"Gotcha," Yang said quietly.
"Mm." Pyrrha nodded.
"Good." Naruto tilted his head towards the door. "Memorize the information at hand and leave the documents here when you're done. We'll leave when Blake returns and gear up on the Bullhead."
It was a tense ten minutes of waiting. By the time Blake returned, both teams were anxious with anticipation.
"Okay." Naruto held up the four scrolls Blake handed him. "All of the gear and provisions you need will be in here. I'll hand it out on the bullhead. Now, something I forgot to mention," he glanced at Weiss, who caught the glance, "is that Specialist Schnee will be joining us on this excursion. However, she will not be aiding us to any major degree, only to supervise, so don't expect her to hold your hand."
x-x-x-x-x
"It's him, my Lady. Whatever it is about him, the Maiden's magic responds to it."
"How?"
"I do not know." Black curls bounced as she shook her head. "But whatever it is, it tempted my powers to the surface last night."
"Did he see it?"
"No. He was asleep."
"Very interesting. You've done well, Cinder. Continue observing him."
"Of course, my Lady."
x-x-x-x-x
"No wonder he wanted to disappear."
Satsuki, though she loathed to admit it, agreed with the strongest of the Tailed Beasts. If this was planned by Naruto, it was a brilliant plan. Upon his "death," the entire world had taken to celebrating his life and sacrifice. They held celebrations in his name. Now, even the Kage at the Summit were having peace talks.
Permanent peace talks.
With almost all the higher tiered shinobi across the world dead and gone, every nation was, for all intents and purposes, neutered. There was dissent from the old guard, those who had fought in the previous wars and still held hate and anger against the other villages. That, however, was a vocal minority whose sway was drowned out by the overwhelming majority of the surviving shinobi who had fought side by side with Naruto.
It was an experience she could recall, though not of her own choosing. The memories of those consumed by the God Tree ran through her. Nothing coherent, nothing concrete, but she could feel them.
Fear. Anger. Shock. Surprise. Gratitude. Flashes, glimpses of him, wreathed in gold, standing before the might of the Five Nations, serving as a shield to protect them against Madara and Obito Uchiha.
"Well, looks like your revolution will be rather… unnecessary at this point," Kurama laughed, "unless they decide to just go out in a blaze of glory and burn everything down once again."
She chewed on the inside of her lip. No. Waging a war now would do nothing. There was no one strong enough to stand up against her. Any war she waged would seem pointless. After all, it wouldn't be a war.
It would be a massacre.
Anyone who could face up against Madara Uchiha like she had would make short work of the continent's remaining forces with ease. With such a war, there wouldn't be much they could do to stop her. No. Any war she waged would be ousted as smoke and mirrors by anyone with half a brain.
Still, what she saw now would be a decent start towards world peace.
It would only be a matter of time before they were at one another's throat again. Then, she would step in. After all, if she fought them now, the only thing she would manage would be to make them turn against her, as futile as it might be. No. She needed to make them believe she was a saviour. Best to give them the illusion of her as a saviour than to have them believe she was a tyrant.
Then, and only then, would peace be achieved under her rule. But until such a time would come, when the people of her world would plunge themselves into war again, she had some time to kill.
What to do, what to do?
x-x-x-x-x
"SO COOL! YOU'RE THE BEST, SENSEI!"
"This is awesome!"
"Very useful."
"You're the best captain ever!"
Blake agreed. She hadn't gotten a look at any of the gear Naruto had ordered for their teams, but seeing them now, the surprise was worth it. Each member had mechashift armor - bloody armor! - tailored to each individual's needs.
Her own was light, a series of metal plates and leather that protected her chest, reinforcing her ribs and sides. The top of her chest - she didn't know how he knew her measurements or the measurements of everyone else, but she wasn't going to ask yet - and upper arms were covered by a layer of dark purple leather, while a pair of black metal vambraces hugged her forearms. The same metal-leather layout was used for her legs, with the metal on the outsides of her thighs and on her shins while the leather kept the insides of her thighs relatively protected.
"So what is all this armor supposed to be for?" Weiss asked.
"Keeping you safe." Naruto pushed the heiress's hands aside, blatantly ignoring her protests as he pulled her hair out of its ponytail with quick hands. "Your Aura might be stronger now than before I started training you, but I'd rather know you have a secondary defense than just aura."
"Hey! What are you doing?!"
"Getting rid of your ponytail."
"Don't you dare!"
"I will put you in pigtails if you don't stop moving!" Weiss, along with the rest of her team, knew that was no idle threat.
Blake wasn't mad. No. Not at all. She wasn't jealous. Nope. Couldn't possibly be. Why would she ever be jealous of Weiss getting her hair brushed and done by Naruto? Pfft.
Don't be ridiculous.
"There."
"What did you do?!"
Naruto held out his Scroll for her to look into, giving her her first look at the new style. Her long, snow white hair was now done up in a braided bun at the back of her head. It wasn't a bad look for her, a thought echoed by the rest of her team. It was a regal style, one that was similar to yet still distinct from Winter's own.
"There. Last thing we need is for you to have your long hair caught in something or by someone, yea?" She caught his eyes. "You're next, Blake."
She didn't fight it. She didn't fight his hands when they ran through her hair, relieving her of any kinks and knots. She stilled when his fingers brushed against her ears, something she knew for a fact he saw. Rather than giving her a braid like Weiss, he tied her hair up into a high ponytail.
"There. That'll have to do."
It was a good look, she decided.
Blake, along with everyone else save Ruby, assumed he would be doing Yang's unruly head of hair next. So when he walked right by her, Weiss and Blake were rightfully, and respectively, outraged and confused.
"How come Yang doesn't get a makeover? Wouldn't someone be able to grab her hair?" Blake nodded in agreement.
"Ha! I'll drop off some flowers at the funeral of whoever's dumb enough to do it."
Confused, everyone but Yang turned towards Ruby for an answer. "Uh… sis doesn't like it when people touch her hair. Like, really don't like it."
Still, it didn't explain why Yang looked downright murderous given how at ease she was that morning.
x-x-x-x-x
"Alright, Ruby. You're up."
"Right."
Ruby took a calming breath. She was so excited! It was their first ever sanctioned mission! And Naruto had gotten them a high priority, safety-of-the-kingdom type stuff!
"Good job, Ruby." She held back the urge to dance and cheer upon hearing his praise.
"'Good job? She hasn't even done any...thing…" Weiss trailed off.
"Who's a badass now, huh?" She cheered and winced internally. "Sorry, dad! I'll add a quarter to the swear jar later."
Down below them, the Ursa they'd spotted were shredded to bits, fading away into wisps of black ether.
"Wha…? But…?"
"That's fast," Pyrrha noted, eyes furrowed beneath her helmet.
"Oh yeaaa!" Nora cackled, congratulating Ruby. "Up top, girl!"
While the petite girls were celebrating, Naruto gestured for everyone to move forward. "Ren. Forward scout."
"Got it."
With that, Ruby was left, walking side-by-side with Naruto at the front of their formation with the rest of the Teams behind them while Winter and Professor Oobleck brought up the rear. She was excited! Giddy! Her first mission out and she got to be side-by-side with someone near and dear to her, someone who taught her so much! Just before she could start vibrating with nervous energy, she took a slow, calming breath, reaching into the pocket of her new black and red leather-steel jerkin. Her fingers closed around the cold steel of the object she was looking for a moment later.
In what she thought was a badass show of dexterity, she whipped out the metal object. It became a blur of shining red and black steel in her hands. Over and over again, she spun it in her hands and through her fingers, channeling her energy and anxiety into the specific hand motions she needed to continue the exercise. Only when she was calm enough and not ready to vibrate her way through the concrete road did she stop and look at the object in her hand.
A beautiful - not as beautiful as Crescent Rose, of course! - butterfly knife lay in her hands. Although it was small, given her own stature and hands, it was still a deadly piece of steel. Black handles embossed with a burning red rose as the pivot opened up to reveal a curved razor-sharp blade, electroplated to be as red as blood itself.
This little piece of steel was more than just a weapon. According to Naruto - the bestest sensei ever! - his own sensei had forced him to learn how to play with a balisong as a way to calm his mind and focus his thoughts. So, in a way, this was a piece of his story, some part of him that was passed down from his sensei to him and from him to her.
"Eyes up, Ruby."
"Right, sensei."
Now, calmer and more focused, she turned her eyes back up to the crumbling city around them and pocketed the knife. It was something she would treasure, always. But what was she going to get him? Shaking her head, she shelved those thoughts for later. She had bad guys to beat and a city to save!
x-x-x-x-x
The more she learned about Naruto, the more concerned Winter became for her sister. There was just too much about him that she didn't know. Professor Ozpin might trust him, but she certainly didn't. After all, he wasn't the one who had a sister near that bastard.
Just to compound the issue at hand, her sister was infatuated with him! What could have possibly been a good idea for her to become infatuated with a womanizer like him?
Still. She had to thank him. He'd helped her sister unlock her Glyph: Summoning. It was… a bit upsetting to realize that he'd stolen a bonding experience from her and Weiss, but given how happy and at ease her sister had been around the blond, the least she could do was extend an olive branch between them. That will have to wait though, given the mission at hand.
"Stand by."
From what she saw of Naruto and the way he commanded the two teams, perhaps Professor Ozpin had been correct in trusting the young man with the mission. He had taken every precaution when approaching the underground encampment. With his and Ren's stealth and Ruby's speed, the three of them had cleared out the sentries with ease. Of course, this left the rest of the teams rather frustrated given the lack of action.
"Calm down," Naruto sighed. "You'll get to cut loose in a sec." A small flash of light, blinking repeatedly from the opposing cavern wall was the signal he had been waiting for. "Alright. Yang, Pyrrha? You're up. Make some noise."
"We won't let you down," Pyrrha nodded, her shield and sword in hand.
Winter's jaw dropped when Pyrrha, new gladiator-style helmet in hand, leaned over, kissed the blond on the cheek, blushed to the roots of her hair and ran off to follow Yang to their destination. Instead of a proud smirk or anything reaction she would expect from someone she could only describe as a playboy, he blushed and rubbed the spot where she kissed him, torn between a smile and a frown. Something to note, she decided.
"Ruby, Weiss, Ren, Nora," he called into his earpiece a few seconds later. "Make sure those trains never move."
"You got it, Captain!" With the confirmation from the other squad, turned to her, Blake, and Professor Oobleck.
"Let's go see them wreak some havoc shall we?" She could still see that faint little blush on his cheeks.
Yet again, the universe threw another curveball her way. Or was it Naruto's way? Blake, falling into step beside him, took his hand into hers, threading their fingers tightly together.
"Excellent assignment of skills and manpower, Mr. Uzumaki!" Oobleck praised. "I had been hasty in protesting your role as leader on this mission but it would appear my fears had been misplaced. And for that, I must apologize!"
"Don't worry about it." Though Naruto had responded to the professor without hesitation, his eyes were locked on Blake, confusion evident on his face.
"Well, Weiss. If you want to get your man, you'd better act quickly."
Either that, or Winter would have to prepare a "there's plenty of fish in the sea" speech, several tubs of ice cream and a dozen boxes of tissues. Knowing how stubborn Schnee women could be? She doubted Weiss would listen to her anyways.
x-x-x-x-x
"Who's next?!" Yang declared.
Maybe she should've gone easy on them. Then, they wouldn't have been afraid of her. Well, if they weren't going to come to her, she'll just have to go to them.
Problem solved.
She wondered how she looked at the moment. Dressed in red and yellow armor, scaled and plated like the dragons of legends, with her hair blazing behind her. Really, she had to thank Whiskers for everything he's done for her.
The thought of her sparring partner and current romantic interest only made her angrier. She had assumed they had something going! They made puns together, they sparred and wrestled together! And then there was that kiss! Did he think she was just some skank who goes around kissing any guy that catches her attention?!
She thought they would go to the Festival together. Joke's on her, apparently, when he decided to take some bitch to the Dance instead of her. They made out on the dance floor and then they disappeared for half the night.
"Stupid…"
That White Fang enforcer will be making his dentist a very rich man.
"... fucking…"
Another will be making a plastic surgeon somewhere a fucking killing.
"... asshole!"
And that guy just lost his walking privileges for the foreseeable future.
Red eyes turned from her latest victim to the rest of the ragtag military group. They didn't have a chance to run away. A boost from her new greaves and gauntlets sent her into the middle of the pack. Two of them ate dirt when they were too slow to get out of the way. Another three got decked when her gauntlets barked out a dozen Dust rounds. The rest tried to run.
"Where the fuck do you think you're going?!"
Her fist slammed into the ground. A seismic ripple sent every last one to the ground. Before they could get up, Pyrrha was on them, her sword tearing through aura before her shield pounded them into submission or unconsciousness, whichever came first.
Now… who else deserved to get their teeth caved in?
x-x-x-x-x
"Where do you think you're going, little lady?"
Nora didn't feel the slightest bit intimidated by the hulking Faunus. Chainsaw? Pfft. She had a fucking hammer.
"Where I damn please, big guy!"
Magnhild extended in her hands, the condensed one handed hammer expanded, opening up from its compact form to its double handed grip with a broader face. The chainsaw-wielding asshole didn't even get a chance to mock her. A concussive blast behind Magnhild added momentum to her swing. A single smash was all it took to break the man's aura and send him through the train behind him.
"Renny!"
"Already on it."
She watched her childhood friend tear his way through nearly a dozen White Fang soldiers with his hands, feet and aura to the head of the next train over. That's his style. Too fancy! Who the hell needs martial arts when you got a hammer and muscles?
Magnhild holstered onto her back. She rotated her shoulders, feeling the weight of the new shoulder guards her Captain had ordered for her. Time to put those to the test!
Bending down, she gripped onto the train's undercarriage. Thousands of volts poured into her from the armor. How her Captain got them that way, she didn't know and she didn't care. With a tremendous heave, her muscles screamed in protest at the sheer weight of the train. She soldiered on, performing a deadlift on the car until the entire vehicle was lifted right off the tracks and tossed onto its side.
"One down, three to-"
A massive explosion from the tunnel Ren went down rocked the entire underground system.
"Make that two! Two to go!" Nora corrected. She turned her eyes towards the White Fang members crawling out of the turned car, smirking with obvious intent. "Well, hello there!"
Several tunnels across, Weiss was doing her own part in the raid. Several Glyphs had opened up, spawning a dozen crystalline Beowolves the size of Ursas. Their howls echoed throughout the caverns, drowning out even the explosion several tunnels down. Together, they tore through the train cars. No White Fang was left unharmed. All those in their path were bashed, beaten and chewed into submission before being dragged off to join the rest of their fallen comrades in the central cavern.
Weiss breathed out, steadying herself as her aura drained. Myrtenaster stood at a parade rest, primed and ready for her next assault. The Dust chambers within her sword twisted and clicked until it reached her choice for the upcoming event.
She jumped on top of the train with a shaky exhale. Time to do her part. A trail of white Glyphs led down the entirety of the train, from the locomotive to the caboose. Dense crystals of ice tore through the entirety of the train as she dashed forward, locking up every last car until everything within the tunnel was frozen over.
"Just one more to go," she sighed. "Now where's-"
"Hey, bestieee!" Ruby appeared beside her in a flurry of petals, as bright and giddy as she had always been. "I got the last train~."
"Good! Now we can go back and regroup with everyone."
"Yup! Come on!"
"Hey! I can walk by myself! You don't have to drag me along!"
x-x-x-x-x
"Finally! A fucking challenge!"
Pyrrha sighed as Yang charged straight for the powered up Atlesian mech, dodging the hail of bullets fired from the machine's cannons with ease. Dropping down into a slide between its legs, Yang landed on its back and began tearing away at the metal hull.
"Get out here you fucking asshat!"
Pyrrha could hear the screams of the operator within, obviously terrified of the angry girl who was treating the million lien war machine like it was made of papier-mâché.
"SOMEONE HELP ME! PLEASE! SHE'S CRAZY!"
"Snivelling son of a- whoa!"
Yang was cut off and forced to hold on as the machine bucked and shook. Unfortunately for operator, that only pissed off the blonde more. A barrage of Dust rounds were launched point blank at the operator's compartment until the metal was nearly caved in. Punching straight through the damaged hull, she pulled the man right out, leaving the mech unmanned.
Just when it looked like Yang was gonna put the young man in a wheelchair for the rest of his life, Pyrrha stepped in.
"Yang!" She held her friend's elbow, keeping her from punching his lights out. "It's over. He's down."
"Rah!" Yang grunt and pulled her arm from Pyrrha's grip.
Instantly, she knew what was going on. A quick use of zip ties, courtesy of Naruto, apprehended the terrorist for collecting. Just to make sure, she slammed the young man's head directly into the foot of the mech, knocking him out as quickly as she could.
"Sorry," she muttered to the unconscious Faunus before turning to Yang. "Is this about Naruto?"
"'Is this about Naruto?'" Yang repeated mockingly. "YES! Of course it is! We-" She huffed, eyes flickering between angered red and tearful lilac. "I thought we had a thing! I thought it was special! And then he goes and…"
She trailed off, unable to say anything further, leaving her arm to wave in the air in the general direction of Naruto. At least she didn't brush Pyrrha off when she placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"I thought he was different." Yang placed her hand against the mech. "I thought he was the best thing to happen to me since Ruby, ya know?" Pyrrha almost scowled at the way she subconsciously mirrored Naruto's little catchphrase. "Funny, hunky, handsome and didn't just see me as walking a pair of tits."
"I understand." Pyrrha nodded, still keeping a lookout for the two of them. "I feel the same way."
"Pfft. Yea, no shit." Yang kicked the leg of the mech, hoping to vent some more frustration. "I… I wouldn't be so fucking mad if he told me. Instead, he's been seeing this bitch without telling any of us a goddamn thing until the day of the dance." She tousled her hair, pacing angrily. "And then he goes and disappears halfway through the Dance with her!" She huffed. "I saw her limping this morning with a fucking smile on her face!"
Pyrrha felt her heart shatter.
x-x-x-x-x
"Mission accomplished, Headmaster." Naruto reported. "White Fang presence decimated, Dust and equipment confiscated."
"I just received word from my men," Ironwood grunted, eyes on a hard-light tablet. "Six dozen members of the White Fang were arrested. Nearly two dozen Atlesian mechs were recovered along with over a dozen shipments of Dust." Ironwood eyed him with suspicion. "And yet, their leaders were not arrested."
"Of course they weren't," Naruto scoffed. "This was a single stage of their plan. They have over a dozen bullheads and countless more men and women hidden elsewhere. If we'd caught them, it would've been even more suspicious."
"Regardless," Ozpin interjected, "Teams RWBY and NPLN, this was a job well done. You are dismissed."
Winter watched as the two Teams left, briefly making eye contact with Weiss before they left. The elevator's chime had only gone off when Ironwood barked his next order.
"Specialist. Report."
"Sir." She snapped to attention. "Uzumaki has a well developed sense of leadership, capable of creating thought-out plans and assigning his teammates to appropriate roles to see those plans fulfilled."
"James!" Ozpin hissed. "This is unnecessary."
"Isn't it?" Ironwood retorted. "Continue, Specialist."
"Though he showed no combat prowess during the mission, from the tidbits of information I'd gathered listening to Teams NPLN and RWBY and watching their interactions, he was the one who trained them, implying that he far surpasses them in combat potential and/or knowledge in order to train them."
"I could've told you that myself," Ozpin muttered before sipping his coffee, knowing well enough he could stop neither Winter nor James when his paranoia was in full swing. So, all he could do was sit back as the eldest Schnee gave her report.
Mettle was a bitch of a Semblance.