I bet you didn't expect me to update again so soon. The feeling is mutual, since I don't think I've ever done this, writing and publishing two updates in two days. Even so, I hope you enjoy this newest chapter. Please let me know what you thought when you're done reading, so I can work on improving myself. That said, enjoy!
EDIT December 10, 2015: Added a bit of justification for Ruby taking the lead over someone who, as was pointed out to me, has vastly more experience and authority than she does. Also changed a bit of her wording to be more in line with her personality. Nothing big, though.
Chapter Four: Monochrome Reflection
The light began to dim quickly as we got deeper underground. It was like the very lights along the walls darkened as we descended. That, however, wasn't the most pressing issue on my mind. The charred sandwich from earlier was still wreaking havoc on my stomach, and I had the feeling Ruby's soothing back rub was wearing off. With every step I went down, my stomach shook just enough to make things very uncomfortable. To make matters worse, Ruby was directly ahead of me. If I were to vomit, I'd hit her.
My stomach growled and grumbled. I felt the blood rushing to my face. We weren't talking, and I had the feeling the concrete walls were making every sound ten times louder than it had any right to be. Thankfully, I was saved when Yang spoke up.
"How much farther down is it?"
"We're about halfway down, I think," Blake replied.
I groaned. I hoped I wouldn't end up defiling the stairs before we got there…or worse, Ruby. Deep breaths, Weiss, I told myself as we went ever deeper into Remnant's crust.
"Simply fascinating that this tunnel is so deep. The soil at this depth is extremely dense. The construction of this facility must have taken years," Dr. Oobleck marveled. He walked at the back of the group and had closed the tunnel behind us.
Blake didn't answer. I presumed this was because she didn't like to be reminded of her past. I could relate to that feeling.
"So, Dr. Oobleck, what are we supposed to discover here, anyway?" Ruby asked.
"Ideally, we'll find documents detailing our quarry's plans, but that would be foolishly optimistic to believe. If we can find anything pointing to their current whereabouts, we can consider this excursion a success," Dr. Oobleck replied.
At long last, we reached the bottom of the staircase. After taking a couple of deep breaths to settle my roiling stomach, I looked at my surroundings. We were currently in a small hallway. The same dim lights that lined the staircase were on the walls. At the end of the hallway was a single door. Ruby glanced at the rest of us, then shrugged and walked over to the door.
She tried the knob, and immediately the door swung open. It opened easily, soundlessly, which it certainly would not have done if the base had been long abandoned. I shot a look at Blake, whose expression hardened. Evidently, she was having the same thoughts I just had. Ruby looked at Dr. Oobleck, who gave her a small nod and put his finger to his lips. No more sound from here on in.
Ruby stepped through the door first. My heartrate went up. I expected to hear people shouting and machineguns firing. I wasn't too afraid for Ruby, her speed would probably allow her to step back into the hallway, but the thought of her being shot at made me irrationally angry. I soon found out that I got worked up over nothing, however, when Ruby opened the door wider and gestured for us to come in.
We stepped through the door…into a cavern that rivaled the hidden city beneath Mountain Glenn for size. In fact, since this place lacked the apartment complexes that city had, it seemed even bigger.
"It's huge…" Yang whispered.
Blake sighed. "This place was a shelter," she said softly. "During the war, the Faunus built it to hide their civilians. Due to their nature, many Faunus have an instinctive dislike of enclosed spaces, and it was for their sakes this place was made so extensive. After the war, the White Fang moved in and began to use it as a hideout. Of course, it wasn't long before other Faunus revealed its location, feeling that the White Fang was unlawful and would hurt the relationships between Faunus and Human, instead of helping it. It was abandoned shortly afterward."
Blake said all this in a rather flat voice, as if she were reciting lines from a report. I knew the symptoms as those stemming from very powerful emotions being suppressed. A rueful smile played on my lips as I realized, not for the first time, that Blake and I had certain things in common.
"So, what do we do now? We can't exactly search this entire facility," Yang said. I agreed with her, though I remained quiet. I wasn't entirely sure I could speak yet.
"We don't have to," Blake said. She pointed into the gloom at a barely discernible shape in what appeared to be the center of the cave. "That's the overseer's hut. When the White Fang used this place, it was their command center."
Yang cocked her head. "Okay, this has 'trap' written all over it in huge glowing letters," she said.
Again, I agreed with her. The cavern was silent as the grave, but there were lights, and they were on. They didn't give off a whole lot of light, granted, but they were certainly there. If this place was truly abandoned, these lights would not be working.
"Weiss? What are your thoughts on all of this? You've been so quiet," Ruby said. She was looking at me with those big, concerned eyes of hers.
Swallowing hard in a futile attempt to get rid of the lingering taste of charcoal, I said, "I agree with Yang. Nothing about this place feels right."
To my unending relief, I didn't erupt into a geyser of half-digested 'sandwich' when I spoke.
"Be that as it may," said Dr. Oobleck, "We came here to gather information. If our enemies set a trap for us, we may be able to use that to our advantage."
"You mean, we beat them up until they spill the beans?" Yang asked with a grin. "I'm down for that."
Blake didn't speak up this time. Being here was clearly taking its toll on her, and she nervously shifted her weight from leg to leg.
"I think we should do this," Ruby said, looking at the hut. She turned to face Blake. "Will you be okay?" she asked softly.
Blake took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes. I have to do this. For myself as well as for the mission," she said.
I admired her bravery. Unlike Blake, I wasn't so accomplished at facing my past. I'd avoided contact with my family ever since I came to Beacon, and I don't think I'd be as resolved as Blake was now, if I had to face them.
We began walking, keeping our weapons at the ready for any sudden signs of attack, but nothing came forward to hinder our progress. Looking around, I saw decrepit buildings that almost looked like large shipping containers looming in the semi-darkness. On one of the buildings, I thought I saw a marking I knew all too well. I squinted, and though it was hard to make out in the low light, I was certain that the mark on that building was indeed the Schnee company logo, the very same one I wore on the back of my bolero.
"Blake," I hissed. "Why is the Schnee Dust Corporation's logo on that building?"
Blake gave me a pained look. "Most of the buildings here were constructed from stolen materials. When the White Fang got their hands on some Dust shipments…they decided to repurpose the containers."
So the buildings didn't just look like shipping containers. I wasn't sure on how to feel about this, and apparently Blake picked up on this. "Weiss, I'm sorry for the trouble we've caused your family…but you have to understand…"
I held up my hand to silence her plea. "I know," I said. "I'm not angry at you, Blake. Not…not anymore," I whispered.
Yes, I had grown to despise the White Fang and everything they stood for, despite once believing in what they represented…but Blake was in the same boat. She too had sought a better way than terrorism and crime. I couldn't be resentful of a person truly seeking to atone for the sins of others. Wasn't that exactly what I was trying to do as well, in a way? To set right the wrongs my father committed…Yes, that was my goal in life.
We reached the hut without any opposition. Again, Ruby tried the doorknob, and again, the door opened easily. The overseer's hut was larger than it had appeared from the distance, and most of the walls were lined with monitors and other electronic equipment.
Several of the monitors showed a live feed of the cavern in infrared. Judging by the vast differences in color and shape the devices had, I guessed that all of this equipment had been stolen at some point during the war, or after by the White Fang. A large, wooden table decorated the center of the room. On it lay electronic components of various sizes and a number of binders.
The sole wall that did not contain monitoring equipment was occupied by a large bookcase, containing even more binders.
"It would be best if we all examined different parts of this center," Dr. Oobleck said. "Be on the lookout for items that appear to have been hidden."
We spread out through the overseer's hut. I wandered over to the bookcase and drew out a number of binders. As I opened the first one, I felt uneasy. Something was wrong here, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. I tried to focus my attention on the contents of the binder I was holding. It was dated twenty years ago. I put it at the bottom of the pile in my hand and opened up the second one. This one was even older. I looked at the bookcase and sighed. This would take a long time.
Then, from the corner of my eye, I saw something move. It wasn't one of my friends, who were all either gathered around the table looking into their own binders, or searching for hidden spaces elsewhere in the room. I turned towards the direction of the movement. The only thing I saw was the wall full of monitors. Had one of them glitched? I noticed only now that my heartbeat was getting faster. My subconscious had realized what I had seen, before I had.
But now, other monitors began showing movement. An unbelievable number of Grimm, mainly Ursai and Beowolves, came out of the many shadows.
"Guys," I said, keeping my voice carefully neutral.
"Hmm? What is it, Weiss?" Ruby asked, looking up from the document she was reading. I merely nodded at the monitors. The others looked.
"Well, shit," Yang muttered.
"Do they know we're here?" Ruby asked Dr. Oobleck.
He nodded gravely in response. "It's likely they heard our approach and hid. They've been known to ambush people. Them being here in such a large number can only mean one thing: whoever used this base has been completely eliminated."
My blood ran cold hearing that. Mountain Glenn had been a settlement of civilians, for the most part. The White Fang were well-armed terrorists. If they had been taken out by these Grimm…we were in a lot of trouble. Ruby took a deep breath and looked at the monitors. One of them showed the door we'd used to get into the complex. Between us and it were dozens of Grimm. Worse, among the group were several Ursai Major and Deathstalkers.
"Okay," Ruby said when she'd taken in the situation. "We're going straight for the door, and we'll cut through any Grimm we can…and avoid the ones we can't take out in one hit. If we get stuck fighting them, we're in trouble. Keep moving, no matter what."
Her eyes were cold and hard, very much unlike her normal look. I'd seen them before, in the Emerald Forest. Whatever else one might say about Ruby Rose, the girl knew how to fight Grimm.
"I concur with that analysis," Dr. Oobleck said. "We move at your signal, Miss Rose," he added. For a moment Ruby seemed surprised at the trust Dr. Oobleck was giving her, and even a bit embarrassed that she spoke up even though a teacher was present. Normally on field exercises, it's just us left to our own devices and while we all contribute, Ruby's usually the one to make our battle plans.
"Dr. Oobleck? Is it really okay for me to...?"
Dr. Oobleck cut her off with a gesture. "Miss Rose, I have seen you in action at Mountain Glenn, I know the person who trained you quite well, and Professor Ozpin has showed me your way of dealing with the Nevermore in the Emerald Forest. I would like to see more of that, so for now I shall do as you say. Rest assured that I shall take over if I think it's necessary. However, we are running low on time so please share your plan with us."
Ruby hesitated for a moment, but then she nodded.
"Get ready. I will open the door and use my speed to create a path. There are too many for me to make it all the way to the door, but it will give you a moment to come after me before they fill up the gap. Weiss, you can give all of you enough speed to make it to me before the path is gone. When we're back as a group, I want Yang in front to blast them out of the way and Weiss, you keep using your skills to help her. Blake and I will handle the flanks, and Dr. Oobleck, we need you to cover our rear."
Her lips twitched slightly when she said that, and I was amazed that someone who could outline such a detailed plan on the spot could be childish enough to think the word 'rear' was funny. Still, this showed why Ruby was the team leader. I'd known that from the moment she was chosen, but…ah, well, now wasn't the time to dwell on the past.
I looked into Ruby's eyes and nodded once. She looked at Yang, Blake, and Dr. Oobleck in turn, and each of them nodded their consent as well.
Ruby counted down. "Three, two, one, GO!" She threw open the door and blasted off in a whirlwind of rose petals. She scattered the hordes of Grimm like a plow, leaving a free area for us for dash across. I summoned my speed glyph, focusing extra hard to create one for Blake and Yang as well. I knew from experience that Dr. Oobleck was nearly as fast as Ruby. We shot forward, coming to a stop just behind Ruby.
We had covered slightly more than half of the way to the door, and the Grimm were already surrounding us. We quickly assumed our assigned positions. I stood at the center of our formation, and summoned a glyph that would double the momentum of a thrown punch. I focused its energy on Yang, who flared up her Semblance as well and began throwing punches that could shatter concrete. The Grimm in front of her were blown apart like bowling pins, and we began to move again.
Ruby, Blake, and Dr. Oobleck were fighting off the Grimm that approached us from the sides and behind us. Ruby stood slightly farther away from us to be able to wield Crescent Rose without restriction. She swung her scythe so quickly that I felt some of her victims would be left wondering why they were suddenly short an arm…only to remind myself that Grimm don't 'wonder' anything.
"Weiss, focus!" Yang yelled.
My momentary distraction had weakened my glyph, and Yang was having more trouble blowing away the Grimm. Oh, she was still killing them, but she couldn't clear a path as easily anymore.
"Sorry," I muttered, and renewed my efforts.
I wondered why I had lost my focus when I looked at Ruby. Something about the way she fought seemed almost…poetic, but for it to affect my ability to multitask was rather worrisome. We made steady progress. Every now and then I looked around to see how everyone was holding up, somehow always lingering on Ruby a little longer, but I managed to keep my focus and thus give Yang the brute force needed to secure our getaway.
"Rubes, door!" Yang yelled as we neared the exit.
Ruby only deliberated for a moment. "Yang, then Weiss, then Blake, then me, then Dr. Oobleck," she said.
"Dr., I need you to make sure the door stays closed after we're through. Weld it shut," she added.
There wasn't time for any debate, so when Yang threw open the door I stepped through after her immediately. Blake and Ruby followed, and at a gesture from Ruby took up posts next to the opening. As soon as Dr. Oobleck stepped through, Ruby threw the door shut and held it.
"Yang!"
"On it," her sister replied, lending her formidable strength to the task of keeping the door shut.
Dr. Oobleck set his weapon to its flamethrower mode, and upped the temperature to such a ludicrous degree that flame became invisible. He moved it past the metal edges of the door, causing them to glow red hot and meld with the door frame.
"Weiss, Blake, up," Ruby said, still helping Yang keep the door shut.
"But I…" I protested. How could I just leave Ruby and the others down here?
"Weiss, even welded shut this door won't hold. You and Blake need to make sure we can at least close the tunnel when we get up there," Ruby said.
Unwillingly, I turned around and went after Blake up the stairs. "This feels lousy, like I'm abandoning my friends," I said to Blake as made our way up.
"I know how you feel," she replied, and I knew she meant it. It was like she and I had everything in common today.
We got upstairs, and Blake flicked the lever that opened the hidden passage. The gears ground into life, and the boulder through which we had entered the cavern swung back. Though the sun had not yet set and the smell of the open plains was lovely, I wasn't quite in the mood to appreciate nature's beauty. I couldn't, knowing my friends were still down there.
Before I could get too worried, however, I heard footsteps racing up the stairs. Yang, Dr. Oobleck, and Ruby burst out of the tunnel.
"Close it!" Ruby yelled to Blake, who instantly stomped on the rock that hid the access switch.
The massive boulder groaned and was lowered over the hole again, giving the appearance there was nothing out of the ordinary on the plains.
"Is everyone okay?" Ruby asked, breathing heavily. One by one, we nodded.
"Ladies, while I share in our collective relief at having escaped, we should really head for the hideout now. If they break through, we don't want to be here," Dr. Oobleck said. "Remember, however, that we should be quiet. There might be other Grimm nearby, and we don't want to attract attention. Stay close, and stay ready," he advised as we began to move.
I made my way over to Ruby, whose breathing was beginning to get back to normal. "You did really well down there," I whispered.
Ruby smiled, and I swear she even blushed a little. "Thanks," she said. "I was trying to borrow your confidence," she went on.
Now it was my turn to blush a little. Confidence? Did Ruby really see me as a confident person, a…a role model of sorts?
"You always seem to know how to handle yourself," Ruby said. "Well, I can't be like that in social situations…but with something like this, I think I did okay."
I smiled. It was just like her to talk about confidence, while essentially playing herself down. "Ruby, you dolt. You're allowed to take a little more credit for what you did just now," I said. "Not everyone can come up with a plan like that on the fly. There is no one I'd rather have as a team leader and as a partner," I went on, feeling the blush on my face deepen.
I honestly didn't know why I added that last part, but the bit about the team leader was certainly true. Ruby just giggled at the compliment, completely back to her normal, innocent self by now.
"Wow, Weiss, you're really nice today. Are you feeling okay? Did you eat something strange?"
My stomach twisted at that remark. "Ruby, please. Don't mention food," I pleaded.
She looked completely nonplussed at my request, but she shrugged and let it slide. With a small smile, she turned her gaze back to our surroundings. I let my eyes linger on her for a moment longer. The setting sun gave her hair a fiery quality, and it made her look…well, beautiful. I tore my eyes away from her, and resumed searching for Grimm.
When we got back to the outpost, we sat down at the rickety table. "Well, that was a total bust," Yang said with annoyance in her voice. "We didn't find anything useful, and we couldn't even stay to fight all those Grimm."
The sad part is, I knew that Yang meant it. She would have loved to have stayed there butchering Grimm until none of them were left, but even for that would have been suicide. Still, I shared the first part of her sentiment. We couldn't go back to the hideout to search for more clues, and since we hadn't found any we officially didn't have any leads.
"Not…not exactly," Blake said hesitantly.
We all focused our eyes on her. "What do you mean, Miss Belladonna?" Dr. Oobleck inquired.
Blake took a small piece of paper out of her pocket. It looked like it had been crumpled before. She laid it down on the table so we could all get a look at it. It had a date stamp in the corner which was only one week previously. The implications of that in regards to the Grimm presence there now made me feel a bit uncomfortable, but I began to read just the same.
"Mistral Ops can proceed as planned. Don't delay.
A."
I hope you don't mind too much I ended it on the note itself. I felt it would work that way, without any reaction shots to it. For some minor clarification on the chapter title…this fic isn't Monochrome, and it won't be. But while writing this chapter I came to the conclusion that Blake and Weiss have quite a bit in common in one way or another. Since I pointed that out about four times, I felt it was worthy of being mentioned in the title. Anyway, thanks for getting this far, please leave a review and I'll hopefully see you next time!
