It should be the Saints and Chiefs going to the Super Bowl. Change my mind.
Chapter 22: Russian Winter, Part IV
Greg and Ivan
"How soon until that Grimm horde reaches the wall?" Alex asked.
"It's still a decent ways away, but it'll be there before we know it." Ivan replied, eyes glued to the drone screen. He initially was trying to get a wider view to see if ANTIFA was operating further out into the Forever Fall forest, but what he saw instead was the Grimm making their way towards the wall. Beowolves, Ursai and other "grunt" type Grimm made up the majority of the horde with Deathstalkers, King Taijitus and other larger types slowly joining the horde.
"What about the ANTIFA forces out there?"
"From what we see, it looks like the ones outside the wall are getting ready to head back inside, leaving the hostages to their fate. The ones in the warehouse, appear to be slowing down their operation." Greg answered.
"Probably because all the Dust is here at the wall." Nick commented.
"There's still a good amount of Dust inside the warehouse. Also, I see another eight Atlesian paladins inside, fully armed and ready for use." Greg added. With all those Dust crates moved out, he can see much more of the warehouse through his scope.
"Both of you standby to engage the warehouse. We're going to hit these guys with simultaneous attacks while Winter's forces make their way here." Greg and Ivan looked at each other and nodded, indicating they knew what to do.
"Roger, standing by." Greg simply replied.
Alex, Nick and Winter
"Okay, we're running out of time so listen up: Winter, call in your forces, then make your way outside and do what you can to free the hostages. Nick, you're going to head down and reset the power." Alex said, pointing to the stairwell that led to the power room with Winter and Nick both listening intently at Alex's orders.
"We're splitting up?" Nick asked while Winter pulled out her scroll to call in her troops.
"Winter can get around a lot quicker by herself." Alex answered before Winter chimed in.
"Why the change of heart?" Winter asked, skeptical since he told her moments ago to hold off on them on the hostages.
"I didn't know ANTIFA was going to destroy the wall while using the hostages as Grimm bait. That changes things." Alex simply replied.
"Nevertheless, my forces are readying themselves and will be here shortly. I made sure that EOD technicians were with them."
"How long?" Nick asked.
"5-10 minutes."
"Alright, get ready you two." Alex said, checking his ammo.
"Wait, if Winter is going to rescue to hostages and I'm resetting the power, what're you doing?" Nick asked. Alex turned to him, a fire of resolve in his eyes and a subtle smirk under his balaclava.
"I'm going to slow down their progress." He answered, then turned to Winter. "Dust is usually volatile and explosive, right?"
"With the way it's being handled at the moment, yes." Winter answered, not sure why he asked but had a pretty good idea. Her curiosity was sated when Alex pulled an incendiary grenade from his pouch.
"Get ready to run." Without warning, Alex swiftly made his way to the room where the bombs were being assembled and placed himself right outside its doorway. He took a quick peek inside, thankful that the occupants were too preoccupied with their current activities to take notice of him. The ANTIFA members sat at long tables littered with Dust, electrical components, various tools, and equipment used for bomb making. They were working in the fashion of an assembly line, having each person do one simple task in constructing the bomb before sliding it down to the next person and so on. This led to them making several explosives in a relatively short time. Better yet, with each person only having one specific task during the process, there is, theoretically, less chance of someone screwing up than if one person builds the entire bomb themselves. When dealing with explosives, not fucking up the assembly process is imperative, and Alex will give them credit for their efficiency.
"Is he doing what I think he's doing?" Winter asked Nick. Before he could answer, they both watched as Alex threw the incendiary grenade into the doorway and quickly ran back towards them.
A few seconds later a loud "pop" was heard followed by screams coming from the room. Another few seconds passed, and a loud explosion was heard. Another followed it. And then another three went off until finally, the entire supply of Dust in the room went off, engulfing it in flames of various elements and destroying the surrounding walls. The other ANTIFA members stopped what they were doing when they heard the explosions and screams. It was all they could do, seeing as how everything was going smoothly so far. They gawked in shock as a couple of their men came running out of the burning room covered in flames, screaming for help as the flames burned their flesh off. Some of the members managed to come back to their senses and tried to help the two out somehow. Yells were heard telling their comrades to drop and roll but the two weren't listening due to the flames. They wildly ran around the area, flailing their arms in the air until their bodies couldn't take the flames any longer, and collapsed to the ground, screaming their last breaths of life.
Winter would've felt pity for the men if it weren't for the fact that they tortured and murdered civilians for their own selfish ideology. Something about seeing those executed people in the closet struck a nerve in her, and she was going to make sure these bastards pay. Still, being burned alive is a very unpleasant way to go. Alex and Nick were both indifferent due to personal experience that made them resilient to such sights. To them, this was nothing more than a chore.
"What're you guys waiting for?! GO!" Alex shouted. As Winter and Nick ran to their current objectives, Alex brought up his rifle and fired an under-barrel grenade at a pallet jack carrying more Dust. The result was another decent sized explosion that took out a few more hostiles and more fire. The other ANTIFA members quickly scrambled away, trying to find anything to put out the fires while keeping the flames from reaching the rest of the explosives piled up. A few of them were insightful enough to use their personal supply of ice and water Dust to help combat the flames, while others made for the bombs to carry them away from the danger.
Just when they were starting to get things under control, silenced shots rang through the air, and multiple ANTIFA troops dropped dead from the well-placed shots. One of them looked over and saw Alex's form off to the side with his rifle aimed at them. He fired a few more rounds, taking out a couple of enemies, before falling back into the doorway that leads back into the maze of interconnecting hallways of the perimeter wall interior.
"Over there!" The ANTIFA goon shouted, pointing towards Alex.
"After him!" A woman yelled out, drawing her weapon before running to his position. Several others that weren't actively taking care of the fire followed the woman's lead, brandishing their weapons, ready to kill the intruder and any friends he brought.
Winter
Like Alex said, Winter is able to travel much faster on her own. Coupled with being able to use her abilities to their full extent, she is now ten times deadlier to the enemy. She was practically flying down the hallways thanks to her Semblance, while quickly dealing with any opposition that foolishly got in her way. A series of sword strikes combined with her mastery of Dust enhanced by her Semblance made short work of the ANTIFA guards.
She eventually came across large fan blades in front of a ventilation shaft that led to the outside. With time running short and not knowing if there is a nearby access door that leads outside, Winter decided to take a short cut by using a gravity Dust infused glyph to blow away both the large fan and the ventilation cover from their hinges and flying out into the Forever Fall forest. Seeing as how she and the Russians have already caused a good amount of property damage, a little more won't matter in the long run.
Stepping to the ledge of the new hole in the wall, Winter looked down and took notice that she wasn't that far from the ground. About 20 feet give or take. Nothing she couldn't handle. Taking a quick survey of the surroundings, it didn't take her long to spot the makeshift stockade where the hostages were being held. From what she could tell, there were approximately 50 people crammed into the small confined space surrounded by wooden stakes, razor wire, and under the watch of half a dozen hostiles. They were currently loading up into a truck with the intention to leave the area and the hostages to their fate with the Grimm.
Without wasting any time, Winter launched herself forward into the air, and with an impressive front flip, she landed in front of the truck, catching the ANTIFA goons by surprise and forcing the driver to slam the brakes. She brought up her SMG and sent a flurry of bullets through the windshield and into the torsos of the driver and passenger, eliminating them from the fight. The other four jumped out from the bed of the truck with weapons ready to confront their foe. Too bad for them, their foe is a highly skilled Atlesian Specialist who currently seeks retribution for ANTIFA's heinous activities.
The difference in skill between a highly trained soldier and a group of amateur thugs was blatantly obvious. Demonstrating swordsmanship with the grace and elegance that seems to radiate from Winter, she effortlessly and mercilessly took down the rest of the ANTIFA goons with a series of sword attacks enhanced with her superior Aura manipulation abilities. When it was all said and done, she was left surrounded by the lifeless bodies of her enemies, plus the two in the truck. With all hostiles neutralized, Winter turned her attention to the stockade and the hostages within.
"Stand back!" Winter ordered to the hostages before bringing down her sword to break through the door. It was then that she got better a view of the current condition of the hostages. In short, they were in terrible condition. The group consisted of mostly Faunus with a handful of Humans among them. There was an even dispersion of men and women, of whom most were adults, but elders, teens and even young children were present. Their bodies were dirty, beaten, bruised and bloodied from ANTIFA's abuse. Winter wasn't sure how long these people have been here, but some of them appeared to be half starved based on how thin they looked, indicating they must've been there for a while. The more she looked at her surroundings, the worse it got. Finally, she saw the poor souls that were murdered by ANTIFA: Two adult males, two adult females…and one male child, aged 11 or 12, being held in his sobbing mothers embrace. Winter nearly broke down at the horrible sight of a mother losing her child, but she had to remain strong.
"Everyone, we must leave before the Grimm arrive." Winter addressed to the crowd. One of the now freed hostage spoke up.
"Many of us are injured, there's no way we'll make it past the Grimm." A man commented. Thankfully, Winter had a plan for that.
"We can use that truck to get all of you out." Winter replied. This was the exact reason why she intercepted the truck, rather than wait for it to leave the area before rescuing the hostages.
"How are we going to get back into the city?" A Faunus woman asked. Before Winter could answer, another person stepped in, an older Faunus man with deer antlers, who you could tell took a heavy beating based on the dried blood on his face.
"They used a service gate to get in and out. One of those ANTIFA punks should have a remote on them that controls it." He answered, voice slightly hoarse but still strong.
"You saw them use it?" Winter asked.
"I was in the last group those bastards brought over here and saw everything." He replied.
"Then you know the way." She commented. "Do you think you can lead these people back by driving the truck?" Winter already knew she was going to have her hands full protecting them from the Grimm. Having someone else drive would allow her to focus solely on protection.
"Yes ma'am, I can do that." He said with confidence.
"Excellent. What's your name sir?" She asked.
"Greenwood, John Greenwood ma'am." The Faunus man replied. A sudden roar in the distance caused everyone, minus Winter and John, to look up in terror towards the forest.
"We don't have much time. John, find the door control and ready the truck." John simply nodded and did what he was told." Everyone else, start loading up. I need any able bodies to help the injured." She said in her authoritative tone.
Immediately, everyone was up and moving helping one another, whether they were Human of Faunus. However, the hardest decision was what to do with the deceased. For all Winter cared, the ANTIFA members could be left to rot and be devoured by Grimm. But what about the civilians? On one hand, it'll be unsettling and slightly cumbersome to take the bodies with them on the truck. On the other hand, they don't deserve to be left for the Grimm to feast on. Not surprisingly, it was decided that they would take the deceased with them. At least then, they could be put to rest with dignity and respect. It was a grisly and morbid task, but eventually the fallen were carried to the truck by presumably, their loved ones and others who had the stomach for it. The mother who embraced her dead son was the most difficult to convince to move, as expected. Nearly everyone among the civilians gave her words of encouragement, refusing to leave her behind despite the mother's insisting on staying. Not use to these kind of situations, Winter stepped up to try and help. She took a knee next to the sobbing mother and placed a compassionate hand on her shoulder.
"I will never truly understand the terrible pain of losing a child. The feelings of guilt of not being able to protect your child, coupled with hopelessness and anger would tear anyone apart. But his memories and legacy live on with you." The grieving mother briefly stopped sobbing and slightly looked up towards Winter. "So long as his name is still spoken, he will never truly be gone. For that to happen, you must press on to ensure that your son will never be forgotten through you." Winter wasn't too sure where these words were coming from. Perhaps she read them in a book that had similar wording. Maybe she picked up some interpersonal skills from conversing with Alex, especially since she found out he's more articulate than she initially thought. Or maybe, they just came naturally. Whatever the case, she was sincere in her words, temporarily dropping the "Ice Queen" persona she's known for.
The woman seemed to have temporarily regained her composure at Winter's empathy. She didn't smile, but the look in her eyes told Winter that she understood and agreed. With her son still in her embrace, the woman was helped up to her feet by Winter and helped onto the truck by the others. Right as Winter was about to find John, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned only to find that it was the mother's hand.
"…Thank you for rescuing us." Her soft voice contained traces of gratitude yet had the underlying tone of defeat in it as well. Several other echoes of thanks were heard from the others, each one filled with gratitude. Seeing those hopeful faces reminded Winter of why she joined the military.
The moment, however, was interrupted by a lone Beowulf charging right at the truck, catching even Winter off guard. The Beowulf lunged forward, ready to sink its teeth into the weak and injured civilians but was stopped when something sharp got in its way. Winter removed the sword from its body, then turned to face the woods, only to see two more rushing them.
"Make for the gate John! I'll catch up!" Winter shouted. She didn't need to tell him twice. Figuring that Winter can hold her own, he put his foot on the accelerator and peeled out heading straight for the gate. One of the Beowulf's swiped its claw towards her head, but Winter easily blocked the attack. Before she could counter attack, the second one circled around and lunged forward. Sensing the danger, Winter brought up her SMG to fire, but the Beowulf clamped its jaws down onto the guns barrel, rendering the weapon useless. It then ripped the SMG out of her hands and threw it far out into the forest. Winter took advantage of this opportunity by summoning two small glyphs underneath the Beowolves and conjuring two large ice spikes that lifted the two Grimm off the ground and impaled them from below.
"Be it Grimm or terrorist, the people of Vale will sleep soundly tonight, knowing they are protected." Winter declared in her head as she saw more Grimm emerging from the forest. She summoned more glyphs to propel herself forward and catch up with the truck. She can protect them, but without the perimeter defenses online, it could possibly be all for nothing. "Come on Nick, we're all counting on you."
Nick
Luckily, Nick met little to no resistance as he made his way down into the utility level of the wall's superstructure. He figured that most of ANTIFA's forces were upstairs dealing with Alex, so he needed to work fast before Alex gets wasted. And not the fun way. Nick stepped through the doorway with his rifle raised and did a quick scan. The room was free of hostiles and would've been fairly spacious if it wasn't filled with massive power generators, transformers, relay stations, and every other device used for power distribution. It was loud with the combine noises of machinery and electrical crackles coming off of coils. He carefully made his way across the room over to what looked like a control console. The screen indicated that power levels were normal, and systems were online and fully operational. Nick knew that was a damn lie.
"Okay, according to movies and TV shows, there has to be some kind of master switch or something around here." He said out loud. A quick search led him right to what appears to be, the primary power source. And lo and behold, there was a large knife switch with a label that read, "Main Power, Authorized personnel use only." The switch was covered in safety locks, no doubt as a precaution to prevent unauthorized use. Too bad they were cheap, flimsy locks that Nick was able to shoot off with ease. "Here goes nothing."
As soon as he flipped the switch, the entire northern section of the wall was completely shut down. Light systems, door controls, and everything in between had gone offline. The entire wall area was pitch black, save for a few emergency lights. Nick then flipped it back, only to find that the lights were still off.
"Hmm." He said in amusement. Making his way to the central console, he felt relief when he saw the screen lit up, lines of code appearing as the console began its startup. A loading bar then popped up followed by a command prompt. "Yes, restart all systems." He said while pressing the enter key. More prompts appeared as the system continued its reboot process and selected 'yes' for all of them. "Just like any other computer." Nick commented.
"What's happening Nick?" Alex asked.
"The system is rebooting, why?" He replied.
"The lights are still off." Alex replied over the sound of gunshots.
"Yeah I don't know. Maybe there's a startup delay for them." Nick commented while trying to see if there's a circuit breaker or something for the lighting system.
"I have my goggles on so it's not bad right now. I just don't want the lights the kick back on and blind me." A small explosion echoed from Alex's end followed by more gunshots.
"Sounds like you're having fun." Nick commented in reference to the fighting he hears in the background.
"Well when you're done, head back up and we'll rendezvous back at the control room."
"Copy, I'll make my way there." Nick took one last look at the status monitor before heading up and saw that all systems are starting up normally and will be fully operational within minutes. More importantly however, where before Nick restarted the power and everything was green despite the offline defenses, there were now several displays in red indicating errors in the system. "All right, we're in business." Nick said in satisfaction knowing that the plan worked, and the system is un-fucked…for the most part. He quickly made his way back upstairs and brought down his NVG's, ready to find Alex in the darkness of the wall superstructure.
Greg and Ivan
"It looks Winter managed to save the hostages." Ivan commented to Greg.
"Where are they now?" Greg asked.
"They're in a truck, and I believe it's heading for the access gate."
"What about the Grimm?"
"Winter's doing a good job of fighting them off, but she won't be able to do that forever." Before Greg could respond, Alex called in.
"Greg, start attacking the warehouse!" Alex shouted over the sounds of gunfire and explosives.
"What the hell is going on?!" Greg asked.
"We're in the process of getting the defenses back online but these fuckers are everywhere. Attacking the warehouse should draw some of them away." Alex replied.
"We're on it!" Greg turned to Ivan." Get the RPG's!" Ivan set aside the drone screen and went to grab the two smaller RPG-26's and the larger RPG-27. He tossed one of the 26's to Greg while readying the other one for himself. Thanks to their simplicity, the guys can use and operate most RPG's with little training. Of course, Nick has the most training and experience with the various types of launchers from the simple RPG-7, to the more specialized 9K333 "Verba" portable surface-to-air missile. Still, Alex made sure that everyone can use a variety of weapons, including each other's if necessary.
"What's the target?" Ivan asked, placing the RPG on his shoulder.
"Aim for the Dust crates." Greg replied. Though most of the Dust has already been moved to the wall, there were still many crates in the warehouse, most of which was moved closer to the loading dock for easier access when the trucks returned. "Fire!" Greg shouted.
The two rockets found their marks, with Ivan's hitting the crates outside on the docks, and Greg's hitting inside the warehouse and the rest of the Dust crates. As expected, the explosions ignited the Dust, and the entire warehouse was rocked with explosions and engulfed in flames with many ANTIFA troops caught in the blaze. Taking advantage of the confusion, Ivan and Greg threw the empty tubes aside, grabbed their main weapons, and continued their assault.
While Greg picked off enemies with his Dragunov, Ivan was spraying the area below with his Pecheneg. ANTIFA troops were falling left and right, unaware that their protective Auras weren't stopping the Russian weaponry until it was too late for them. By the time they figured it out, most of them were already dead, injured, or trying to take cover while avoiding the gun fire, as well as secondary explosions coming from the warehouse.
"Who the fuck are these guys!?" An ANTIFA member shouted to no one in particular. He and some of his comrades were pinned down behind some of the trucks but the sheer power of the Russian weapons were tearing through their cover like nothing. Unfortunately, they were caught in middle between the burning warehouse, and the concentrated fire on their positions. They all watched in horror as they're colleagues were either shot full of holes, shot in the head, or caught in the Dust fires.
"The warehouse is under attack! Does anyone copy!?" Another shouted into his radio in an attempt to contact the rest of their forces. "Is anybody…gah!" Ivan cut him off before he could finish his sentence.
"You bastards!" A woman yelled out in rage. Furious, she stepped out from her cover to get a better shot at the Russians. She barely managed to bring her rifle up before a bullet found its way into her head, courtesy of Greg.
"Enemies reinforcements coming from both sides!" Greg shouted to Ivan. No doubt the other patrols heard the fighting and quickly made their way over to the warehouse. Both Ivan and Greg shifted their fire over to the new threats to prevent their position from being overran. ANTIFA fought back with bullets, throwing knives, arrows, Dust blasts, and all sorts of attacks that made Greg and Ivan take cover. The two continued putting pressure on the ANTIFA forces, but a loud mechanical rumble was heard coming from the warehouse. They looked down towards the ground, knowing what's coming.
"Son of a bitch." Ivan simply said, witnessing the Paladin making it's way out of the flaming warehouse.
"I guess not all of them got destroyed in the explosions." Greg commented. He hoped that firing the rockets at the Dust would destroy or the very least, damage those Paladins. The battlemech aimed its main guns up towards their position and fired away, forcing the two to once again take cover. It then concentrated on using its grenades and rockets in an attempt to draw out the Russians or bring the building down. Fragmentation and pieces of building flew everywhere, causing Greg and Ivan to find cover in the lower levels of the building.
"That thing certainly packs a punch." Ivan commented. More rockets were fired at the building, causing some of the walls to collapse and exposing the building cross-section.
"Hopefully the 'Tavolga' can pierce the armor." Greg replied, motioning to the RPG-27 they still had. It's similar to the RPG-26 with the only difference being it weighed more and does more damage thanks to a larger rocket, though not as heavy as more powerful launchers like the RPG-28 or 30.
"Okay, I'm going to head to the far side of the building and try to draw its fire. Stay on the other side where you can hopefully, hit the rear or side of the cockpit." Greg explained while handing the RPG to Ivan.
"And if this doesn't work, well… it was nice knowing you." Ivan joked, to which Greg replied with a short laugh.
Making their way to opposite ends of the building, Ivan went to the side that had the collapsed wall and took cover by an overturned desk while prepping the rocket. Greg was hugging the wall on the other side, glancing out the window to get a better view of the Paladin. The battlemech was still in its same spot firing rockets and using it's guns to tear the building apart, while the ANTIFA forces started making their way to their building. With no time to lose, Greg popped out from cover and took several shots at some of the advancing infantry, as well as the cockpit of the Paladin. The battlemech turned it's attention towards Greg's position and fired its machine gun, but Greg was already long gone. Just as the Paladin was about to unleash another barrage of rockets, an alarm alerted the pilot that something was incoming from behind. He tried to maneuver away, but it was too late.
Ivan's rocket hit the cockpit directly from the rear. It penetrated through the more vulnerable armor with relative ease, killing the pilot and disabling the Paladin. The nearby ANTIFA troops could only stare in disbelief as the Paladin collapsed forward, spraying sparks and flames, and showing the rockets impact point and the hole it made.
"Nice shot man." Greg complimented to Ivan. He was relieved that the 27 managed to take the down the Paladin. Then again, it looked like a prototype model that probably wasn't fully configured to battle specifications, and they'd most likely be screwed if it was fully armed and armored. Still, they'll take the small victories.
"How do you think that thing would fair against a T-14?" Ivan asked while tossing the expend tube to the side and grabbing his machine gun.
"I'm not sure. The Paladin is definitely more maneuverable and agile, but I think the T-14 could blast it from a longer range. Again, I don't know." Greg replied as he brought his rifle back up, readying himself for ANTIFA's counterattack. However, the guys on the ground seemed to be diverting their attention somewhere else. Shouts were heard telling everyone to fall back while they ran for cover.
"Over there!" Ivan yelled, pointing off in the distance. Greg poked his head out the window and saw the very welcoming sight of dozens of Atlesian ships flying towards them.
"Fireteam AGNI, this is Frostbite 2-1; Does anyone copy?" An Atlesian pilot radioed.
"2-1, this is Sgt. Fedorov; I read you loud and clear." Greg replied.
"Roger, what's your status over?"
"Cpl. Sokolov and I are currently hold up in an office building and engaging enemies at the warehouse." Greg replied.
"We can see the fires all the way from Beacon. Is Specialist Schnee or Sgt. Volkov with you?"
"Negative. Sgt. Volkov and Cpl. Stepanov are engaging hostiles in the wall superstructure while attempting to restore the perimeter defenses. Specialist Schnee is outside the perimeter escorting rescued civilians away from an approaching Grimm horde."
"Roger that. We'll set up a perimeter around the mission area and divvy up our forces to assist you all."
"Thanks 2-1, we'll see you on the ground." Greg and Ivan watched as the Atlesian ships all flew in different directions and began unloading soldiers. Near their position, ANTIFA were taking potshots at some of the airships, but they responded with full machine guns at the attackers. Eventually, ground troops entered the area and began engaging any stragglers that stayed behind.
"I caught the tail end of that call. Are the Atlesians here?" Alex asked.
"Affirmative. They're setting up a perimeter and are sending relief forces to your position." Greg replied as he watched Ivan wave to some of the Atlesians on the ground, who returned the gesture in response.
"Copy. Nick and I will keep an eye out."
Alex and Nick
It wasn't hard for Nick to find where Alex was. All he had to do was follow the sounds of battle echoing through the hallways. But like Alex said, the main lights were still off for some reason, leaving the whole place in a sea of darkness save for a few emergency lights. Good thing Nick and Alex have night vison goggles, otherwise they would've accidentally shot each other when they ran into each other in one of the hallways. Currently, the two were pushing back towards the control room where luckily, ANTIFA resistance was falling due to them not being able to see in the dark, and the Russian weaponry that cut through them like paper.
"I think they finally figured out that charging head on leads to instant death." Nick commented while prepping a grenade to take out the dug in enemies.
"They learned that when they were chasing me around these hallways." Alex replied as he reloaded. ANTIFA initially thought they had the upper hand against Alex when they were pursuing him down the corridors…but they were wrong. He was quick enough to turn hallway corners and set up hasty ambushes, picking off a couple of enemies when they moved in before firing an under-barrel grenade and moving on. This hit and run maneuver was effective at breaking up the pursuing forces, while allowing Alex to get some distance from them. He kept this going up until the lights were shut off.
Then all hell broke loose.
ANTIFA didn't have natural night vision like the Faunus, and the emergency lighting wasn't that great. With night vision goggles and a suppressor for his AK-12, Alex was like a ghost. One by one, the pursuers fell to their unseen enemy, bodies piling up in the hallways. Some of them lost their nerves and tried to retreat, but they ran straight into Nick, who put them out of their torment.
"What the hell are these guys even shooting at?" Nick asked, noticing that their enemies shots were spraying all over the place.
"They can't see us, so they're just shooting randomly in hopes they'll hit us." Alex replied, taking out another one. On the other end of the hallway, the dug in ANTIFA troops were in full panic.
"Oh man, we are so fucked!" One of them said as he popped up to fire his weapon. As soon as he did, a bullet found its way into his head.
"Shit! Our Auras aren't protecting us from whatever their using on us!" Another exclaimed. He tried to blind fire his rifle over his cover but failed to notice the grenade that flew over him. It detonated, killing him and two others that were nearby. Another explosion was heard, but it sounded much farther away. Distant gunfire and yelling soon followed.
"Atlesian troops are attacking the loading dock!" Someone shouted over the radio. That seemed to be the last straw for some of the ANTIFA members.
"Fuck this, I'm out of here!" One of them shouted. He threw his weapon to the ground and was about to make a run for it, but a hand smacked him upside his face and forced him to the ground. The rest of the members trembled at the sight of the imposing figure who laid the guy out: Their current leader, a man going by the name Crucifix.
He was of average height and weight, dressed in a stereotypical biker gang outfit complete with boots, jeans, white shirt, and a black leather vest with the sleeves cut off and ANTIFA's logo stitched on the back. His face is almost always hidden behind a faceless, black metal mask with a painted blue cross in the center, and a steel helmet to protect his head. The only noticeable features were his fair skin, and his eyes; one red, the other blue.
"Get ahold of yourselves!" He shouted to the others in a commanding tone. Compared to most of ANTIFA, Crucifix has a reputation of being a competent commander as well as a formidable fighter. Not much is known about him personally since he just showed up out of nowhere, but he is directly responsible for multiple attacks against the White Fang and their supporters that forced the White Fang to retreat to their Mountain Glen hideout. Several Huntsmen have been sent out in an attempt to bring him to justice, but none have returned and are presumed dead by his hand. Since then, he has been declared a major threat to Vale and are willing to pay for either his capture or death.
"Sir, our enemies are somehow breaking through our Auras and preventing us from getting close." A woman explained.
"I'm aware of our current situation, which is why I'm giving out the order for our remaining forces to fall back." Crucifix explained.
"But what about the operation?" Another asked.
"The Atlesians have us out-gunned and out-manned, many of our brothers and sisters have fallen, and we lost all the detonators when the bomb making room was hit. We have nothing left to gain. Our enemies have earned their victory today." Crucifix calmly explained, despite the gunfire. In truth, he was against this plan from the start and was only sent to oversee the final preparations by ANTIFA's higher ups. He argued that this plan would highlight them as public enemy number one, and the four Kingdoms would combine efforts and seek retribution against their organization. Crucifix prefers subtlety when dealing with the White Fang and their sympathizers. He can't wait to go up to the leadership and tell them off, but right now, he needs to save what's left of Vale's ANTIFA chapter before their enemies destroy them. Reaching into his pocket, Crucifix pulled out a handful of small explosive charges before giving the order to retreat.
"I'm sure we'll cross paths once again, unknown warriors. Until then, enjoy your victory, for I look forward to meeting you on the battlefield." Crucifix thought to himself.
"Hey, they're falling back." Nick pointed out. Alex squinted his eyes and indeed, saw the ANTIFA forces retreating.
"Let's push forward!" Alex ordered. They kept their rifles up as they proceeded down the hallway, lest ANTIFA try any funny business.
As if on cue, explosions went off in front of them, causing that portion of the hallways' ceiling and walls to collapse and block the path. Thankfully, Alex and Nick weren't caught in that blast.
"Guess they don't want to be followed." Nick commented.
"Let them go for now, we need to make sure the wall defenses are back online." Alex replied. As the two Russians made their way back to the control room, the main lighting system finally kicked on, allowing them to remove their night vison goggles…once they recovered from the amplified light that briefly blinded them.
"Fucking shit!" Nick exclaimed while rubbing his eyes.
"At least it didn't happen in the middle of a firefight." Alex joked to lighten the mood. Once they entered the control room, the first thing they noticed that more alarms were going off. Then they noticed some of the displays showing that this section was completely offline. But none of it mattered because of what they heard coming from the console.
"Perimeter defenses offline, outside station defense override initiated." The robotic female voice said. Alex then took a closer look at the status monitors, and although they still read 'offline' in red letters, there was a green star next to it that indicates another station has taken control. "Incoming Grimm detected, preparing to engage" The sounds of machinery coming to life echoed throughout the wall was quickly followed up by the sounds of weaponry going off. This normally would've meant that the two could relax, but one thing was still left unchecked.
"I hope Winter's alright." Alex commented. With all the fighting going on, he almost forgot that he sent her out on her own outside the wall.
"I wouldn't worry about Winter. From what I can tell, she's a badass." Nick replied.
"Yeah she is. Well, let's go regroup with Greg, Ivan and the Atlesians. With any luck, Winter is already grouped up with her forces." Alex said.
Winter
"You have Death stalkers closing in on your position." The Atlesian pilot communicated to Winter as it flew close to her.
"Engage all hostiles 2-1, we're almost at the gate!" Winter replied. She was currently using her glyphs to keep pace with the truck while clearing any Grimm that got too close. At first, they were the smaller variety that she could deal with easily. However, as the main horde approached, so did the larger and more deadlier types arrive. Winter is able to take them, but even she has her limits. Fighting both ANTIFA and the Grimm was starting to take its toll on her, but she had to press on in order to protect the freed hostages. It was a bloody miracle that Winter's forces arrived when they did.
"Copy, salvos inbound!" Frostbite 2-1 replied. The Atlesian escort ships fired multiple barrages of rockets, followed by machine guns into the Grimm invested forest to slow down their advance. If it wasn't for the Grimm, Winter would've had the civilians load onto the air ships, but since the area is too hot to land, they'll stick to air support while the truck makes for the gate.
"There it is ma'am!" John shouted to Winter. She looked to see what appears to just be more wall, but black and yellow hazard stripes that outlined a small section of the wall identified it as gate access.
"Step on it John!" Winter shouted back. As they got closer, more Grimm started appearing. They came in, swarming towards the truck while Winter desperately fought them off. Despite her best efforts, there were just too many of them. Her airships were being harassed by Nevermores, so they couldn't assist at the moment. The civilians cried out in fear, knowing that this was the end of the line. And they were so close to making it out alive. "Not like this." Winter thought to herself.
Just when all seemed lost, alarms started blaring out followed by the sounds of machinery activating. Winter looked back towards the wall, and felt her spirit suddenly rise at the wonderful sight of auto-turrets emerging from the wall.
The defenses were back online.
A flurry of machine gun fire, light cannons, rockets, mortars, heavy cannons, Dust launchers, and more, shot out and obliterated the Grimm hordes with deadly accuracy. Smaller Grimm were cut down by the machine guns and light cannons, larger Grimm were blown to bits by heavy artillery, and anti-air rockets knocked those pesky Nevermores out of the sky. All of this occurred without injuring Winter, the civilians, or the Atlesian escort. All parties cheered at the perfectly timed miracle while John opened the gate with the remote and drove on through. Winter watched as the gate closed behind her before directing John to drive towards the wall loading dock where the Atlesians have set up a temporary staging area.
"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Frostbite 2-1 exclaimed.
"We made it." Winter thought with a satisfied grin under her balaclava.
Atlesian staging area.
"Well son of bitch! Is that you Alex?" John asked in surprise.
"John Greenwood? From Oxford?" Alex asked in response. The older Faunus man approached the young Russian with a grin before they shook hands in greeting followed by a brotherly hug.
"Small world after all." John commented.
"How'd you get wrapped up in all this?" Alex asked, wondering what the chances were of running into one of the first people he met when he "arrived" on Remnant.
"Last thing I remember was walking home from work, when all of these ANTIFA pukes jumped me and knocked me out. Next thing I knew, me and a bunch of other people were left to be Grimm bait. At least until your lady friend showed up and saved all our assess." John answered.
"I knew Winter could handle it." Alex commented.
"Winter? As in Winter Schnee?" John asked.
"Yeah. Why?" Alex responded.
"Never thought I'd be saved by a Schnee of all people." John commented. Alex was well aware the Schnee family and the SDC didn't have the best relationship with the Faunus. So he understands John's surprise that the eldest Schnee daughter risked her life to save them.
"I can't speak for the rest of the family, but Winter and her younger sister are okay." Alex said.
"I'm glad that not all Schnees are the same. Anyway, I'm going to get these injuries looked at, so please give my thanks to Miss Schnee."
"No problem John. Get well soon."
"Thanks Alex. It was good seeing you again."
"Likewise." As John made his way over to the medical tent, Alex walked through the makeshift camp to find the rest of the guys. Since there was still possible ANTIFA presence, the Atlesians were on high alert while sending out patrols to search for any stragglers. Their EOD teams were hard at work defusing all the explosives that ANTIFA set up throughout the superstructure, while firefighters worked to put out the flames from the burning warehouse and areas of the wall. Thankfully, the firefighters and EOD determined that the explosive detonators were destroyed when Alex ignited the Dust in their bomb making room, preventing ANTIFA from blowing the wall altogether. Now all EOD had to do was use modified electric Dust to create a small EMP that fries the bombs circuitry, making it safer to handle.
He then passed by Greg talking to an Atlesian officer who seemed upset that he and Ivan destroyed those Paladins in the warehouse. The Atlesians would've preferred if they could save them, but Greg simply asked if they'd rather see those Paladins destroyed, or in the hands of their enemies. That seemed to get the officer off his back. He spotted Gary standing outside his bullhead talking to Nick and Ivan while they all smoked cigarettes. Alex would've joined them, but first he needed find Winter.
A few minutes of searching led him back to the medical area where he saw her talking with some of the patients, particularly the children. She removed the balaclava she was wearing, allowing Alex to get a good look at her smiling and comforting the children while nurses tended to their injuries. With the way she interacted with the kids, coupled with the relaxed look her free flowing hair gave, Winter appeared very nurturing and motherly. Which is very ironic because he sees how she interacts with Weiss, and it's nothing like how she's acting right now. Once the children were tended to, they waved goodbye to her as they were loaded onto a transport to take them to a nearby hospital. It was then that Winter noticed Alex standing nearby, smirking at her.
"And here I though you were a stone-cold ice bitch." He said in a tone of amusement. Winter kept a neutral expression but had a very subtle grin present.
"Contrary to popular belief, I am capable of empathy and compassion just like any normal person." She replied.
"Well you could've fooled me." As Alex's smile grew, Winter's face returned back to her normal, no-nonsense look.
"Since you don't possess an Aura, might I suggest you be aware of what escapes your lips?" She retorted with her own hint of amusement.
"Ah there's the Winter we all know and love." She slightly grinned at that sort of compliment. "Anyway, I came to let you know that John Greenwood gives his thanks to you, and I give my personal gratitude towards your phenomenal performance today."
"Tell Mr. Greenwood I appreciate it, and that I extend my thanks for his help in driving the truck out of there." She said very proudly. "And I must admit that you and the others are very capable as well. You especially, are very good at keeping a level head and coming up with plans on the spot." That was a genuine compliment on Winter's part.
"It comes from plenty of experience." Alex replied.
"Speaking of which, I seem to recall you saying you'd explain a few things including how you are in possession of weapons that can break through Auras." She said in a quizzical tone.
"That's right, I did." Alex replied. "I do owe you an explanation, but right now isn't the ideal environment to discuss such topics. Maybe another time over drinks perhaps?" He asked with a sly grin.
"Well…"
"Specialist Schnee!" A soldier shouted as he ran up to her.
"What is it?" She asked, upset that she was interrupted.
"General Ironwood has been trying to contact you ma'am." He replied.
"For what reason?"
"There's Grimm inside the city!" The soldier exclaimed, leaving Alex and Winter stunned in surprise.
A/N:
I suppose I owe you a longer chapter, hope this suffices.
As always, thanks for your support and your patience seeing as how I don't have time pump out multiple chapters. Until then,
Hawk out.