Sorry for the long wait guys. I just got back from a weekend getaway upstate so I didn;t have time to get this chapter out. I also start classes next week, but on the bright side I have Fridays off. Lucky me!
Anyway, the next few chapter will introduce a new set of villains. We are approaching the halfway point of the story, and the AU of Volume 3.
Enjoy!
Chapter 18: Dust Busters
Remnant, Continent of Solitas, Kingdom of Atlas
POV: The Reds and Blues
Premise: Desperate for resources to fuel their growing war machine. The Reds and Blues go looking for dust. While several opposing parties become acquainted with the Blood Gulch Crew.
The Prowler flew over bright blue skies of the continent of Solitas. It had been nearly two days since the Reds and Blues began teaching several huntsmen students. Most of them were improving drastically by the second, with the exception of Team CRDL of course. But now, the Reds and Blues need to work on the war effort. Their first problem: an army, and it all went back to a conversation they had with Ironwood and Ozpin the previous day.
"I'm still not sure why we need this." Ironwood said to the Blood Gulch Crew, "The Atlas Military is capable of-"
"Capable of acting as a police force, that can be easily hacked." Grif cut him off, "Which it almost was."
Ironwood rolled his eyes, "Look, I know you all want to do good. I'm just having a hard time believing that this deal could work."
"Trust us General." Locus said to him, "The Federal Army of Chorus and the New Republic will increase our resources tenfold."
"Can we trust your friend?" Glynda questioned them
"Don't worry." Donut assured them, "Vanessa Kimball is an old friend of ours. She'll do anything for us. Hell, we got her to parole Locus."
"Very well." Ozpin spoke up, "How do you propose we move the troops and resources from Chorus all the way to Remnant?"
A bigger teleporter of course. The Reds and Blues explained that they needed a specific dust type to fuel their teleporter designs: X-636. Ironwood knew of a place where most of the dust type was found. An old abandoned Schnee Dust Company mine just north of the Kingdom of Atlas. It seemed like a good place to start.
The Prowler landed on the snowy tundra, snow covered mountains and old run-down SDC buildings surrounded the area. The Reds and Blues exited the ship and began to examine the area. They were all in new armor, this one particularly had a white camo color scheme, while the area of the armor that was once cobalt blue to honor Church was now the color of the user's original armor, same for the visor. Overall, they were the same as their other new suits, just a different color scheme and built for sub-zero temperatures. Lopez on the other hand, stayed on the Prowler for the time being.
"Alright, let's move out." Wash said to everyone, "The Reds will take one side of the sight, while the Blues the other.
"Geez, it's cold." Grif shivered
"Without heat, these suits, or a projected aura." Simmons began, "The cold of Solitas can kill you in a matter of hours."
"Well, it's not as bad as Sidewinder." Carolina shrugged, "What's the temperature exactly?"
"It's about -40 Celsius out here." Simmons replied
Everyone just looked at him confused.
"...That's -40 Farhenhiet." Simmons muttered
"That cold!/Jesus!/WTF/Really!?" was what the maroon soldier got in response
Simmons sighed, "You people are idiots."
"Well say it in American next time." Grif retorted before looking at the surrounding facility, "So this is the place huh? Looks abandoned."
"Well duh." Kai shot at her brother, "Look at the place!"
"I'm starting to realize why Irondick and Atlas wouldn't come with us." Tucker quipped, "Fuckin sissies."
"You know I can hear you." Ironwood's voice came through the comms
"Oh my god! I just heard God! Have mercy!" Caboose shouted
"That wasn't God Caboose." Wash said to him, "That was Ironwood, he's just on the comms."
"And I won't be down there until you clear the area of Grimm, and you all find what you need." Ironwood added
"Right." Sarge replied as he and his team walked around the complex, "So you wanna tell us what this place is?"
"It was an old facility used by the Schnee Dust Company." Ironwood explained, "This area has a large quantity of raw dust beneath the surface. An accident opened up an hole for Grimm to get in, since then the SDC abandoned the place. Leaving the faunus workers inside to die."
"Wait, faunus workers?" Wash questioned, "Don't tell me that they-"
"They do." Ironwood cut him off, "The SDC claims to help them by giving them jobs. But instead give them bad working conditions, just send them to die in dust mines."
"Who would do that?" Carolina asked
"The head of SDC of course." Ironwood replied, "Jacques Schnee."
"Isn't that the bastard that hates us on the news?" Grif questioned, "The one with the clip-on tie?"
"Wait, you realized that too?" Ironwood asked him, "Nevermind, yeah that's him. He's also Weiss' father. From what I know, they've never seen eye-to-eye. Jaques isn't even a Schnee, he married into the family and took over via his marriage. All he wanted was the family name, he doesn't care about his own bloodline. Only himself."
"I'm starting to realize why Weiss is at Beacon." Doc muttered, "To get away from her fuckin' prick of a dad."
"I want to rip his mustache right off his face." O'Malley added
"Jaquess will do anything to get his way." Ironwood continued, "He's been trying to get a seat on the Atlas Council so he could rival myself as a matter of fact."
"Basically he wants to screw over democracy." Locus spoke up
"Well, if democracy means 'power to the people' then yes." Ironwood replied
"Seems to me like Jaques is gonna be a problem down the road." Tucker muttered, "Better keep a tab on him, he's a threat to us and the peace. I would label him a terrorist."
"Sure." Ironwood replied, "Just as long as it doesn't involve putting a bullet in Jaques' head."
"Hehe, don't worry Jimmy. I was thinking of turning him over to you in the end." Tucker chuckled
The Reds and Blues eventually arrived at several caverns that went down behind the SDC complex.
"This was the main entrance." Simmons muttered, "Avalanche blocked it up and opened up several new tunnels. This is where we'll split up."
"Agreed." Sarge said to him, "Red Team on me!"
Red team entered the left cave, while Blue Team proceeded into the right cave.
POV Change: Red Team
Red Team walked through the darkened halls of the abandoned dust mine, weapons at the ready.
"Where the fuck is all the dust?" Grif muttered
"This is just a cavern Grif." Simmons shot at him, "You're not gonna find any dust in this area."
"It could've had dust before." Grif countered, "Maybe the Grimm ate it."
"Sure, cause that's a plausible theory." Sarge said to him dryly
"Or just an idea thought up by an idiot."
Red Team stopped walking and raised their rifles.
"What was that?" Locus muttered
"Somebody following us?" Donut questioned
"Maybe." the voice said to them, "Or perhaps I'm simply trying to see what you are all up to."
Grif tightened his grip on his rifle, "I know that voice. Show yourself! Raven!"
Sure enough, a red portal appeared right in front of Red Team. Raven then walked out of the portal, her sword already in her hands.
"What in Sam Hill are you doing here?" Sarge asked her, his shotgun pointed at her face
"What?" Raven questioned, "I can't visit?"
Red Team looked at one another before they opened fire on Raven. She dodged the incoming bullets before slashing at them with her fire dust-infused sword. The Reds successfully dodged the firewall, which left a scourged line in the ground.
"Come and get me." Raven said to them before dashing down a separate ice cavern. Grif then ran after her at whatever his 'speed' was.
"Grif! Wait!" Locus shouted as Grif was already out of sight
"I've got this!" Grif shouted, "Keep going!"
Red Team decided to listen to him and kept going. But not without warning Blue Team of course.
"Guys!" Simmons shouted into the comms, "Raven's here!"
POV Change: Blue Team
"Grif's giving chase right now!"
"What? How'd she get here?" Tucker asked
"We don't know." Simmons replied, "She just showed up outta nowhere. Grif said he can handle her."
"Ugh, if he's got it, he's got it." Wash said to him, "Let's keep moving, Grif will find us later."
"Alright. Over and out." Sarge replied before getting off comms
Carolina then decided to speak, "You sure Grif can handle her?" she questioned
"Trust me, I know Grif." Doc said to her
"We all do." Kai added, "But I knew him best. Once he has a goal, he won't stop until he reaches it. Whether it's simply to be lazy, or to protect his friends."
POV Change: Raven Branwen
Raven ran through the icy caves of the old SDC mine. She flipped over a small chasm before an unknown object hit her, and she ended up trampling down the avern before landing on a frozen plateau looking over a huge cavern filled with dust crystals.
The unknown object that hit her turned out to be Grif, who immediately drew his sword.
"I must admit." Raven muttered as she got back on her feet, "You're faster than you look, Dexter."
"How did you find us Raven?" Grif barked at her, "Have you been spying on us?"
"I thought I told you to watch over Yang for me." Raven replied, ignoring what he said to her
"You didn't answer my question." Grif retorted
The two began to circle one another as Raven spoke to him, "My semblance is very unique. I have the ability to make an emotional attachment with someone over time. In doing so, I then can make a portal to his or her location. I have one for Yang, one for Tai, one for Qrow, I had one for Summer, and now...I have one for you."
"When did you of all people make an attachment with me?" Grif questioned
Raven shrugged, "Beats me. Perhaps we're the same."
"We are definitely not the same." Grif barked at her, "The only thing we have in common...is Yang."
"Which reminds me." Raven continued, "You haven't answered my question."
"If you wish to know, I am watching over Yang." Grif shot at her
"By training her to fight a war on terrorism?" Raven questioned, "Then I presume you and your friends are already in league with Oz. May I ask, what did he tell you so far?"
Grif then started walking up to her, "He told us enough."
Girth then slashed at Raven with his sword, but was deflected by Raven's. The two proceeded to do this until Raven managed to find an opening, and punched Grif in the stomach. The orange soldier stumbled a bit before Raven grabbed him and threw him into an ice wall. Raven charged at him, but Grif managed to dodge her upcoming attack and rolled out of the way, and Raven ended up getting her sword stuck in the ice. Grif then took out the Grif Shot and fired a single round, causing the icy plateau to shatter into pieces. Both Grif and Raven ended up falling deeper into the cavern.
As they fell, Raven tried to turn into a raven and fly away. But Grif stopped her by delivering a punch into her face. Raven retaliated by kicking him nuts, causing the orange soldier to groan in pain. Grif quickly sucked up the pain and kicked Raven back before pulling out the Grif Shot once more and used its sharp blacked to pierce the edge of a nearby ice wall, slowing down his descent. Raven proceeded to draw her blade and do the same thing before landing on the ground and proceeded into a nearby cave. Grif did the same and continued to follow her.
POV Change: Red Team
Red Team continued deeper into the cave when a large jolt shook the entire cavern.
"What in Sam Hill was that!?" Sarge shouted
Suddenly, a Geist broke through the roof of the cave. The Grimm was currently possessing a large rock that happened to be covered in the dust crystals they needed.
"Geist!" Locus shouted as he fired his shotgun at the creature, only for it to flee down the icy corridor.
"Quick! After it!" Simmons cried, "It has the dust we need!"
Red Team darted after the Geist as fast as they could. With Simmons taking out a grappling hook he had on him and fired a round onto the Geist's back. Simmons proceeded to fly off down the cavern, holding onto the grappling hook for his dear life.
"FFFFUUUUCCCCKKKK!" he shouted as the Geist moved at superhuman speed. The Grimm then realized what Simmons had done, and began to ram the maroon soldier into any obstacle it saw. But Simmons still managed hold on as the Geist floated into a large cavern filled with dust. Simmons then detached his grappling hook before hitting the ground hard.
"OW!" he cried before getting up. Simmons then noticed the Geist turn around and was about to attack him when an explosion came from the cavern's ceiling, causing ice to fall on top of the Geist. The Grimm was immediately crushed, turns out the explosion came from Grif, who fell through the ceiling.
"Ow." the orange soldier muttered, "I think I fell on my keys."
Simmons walked over to Grif and helped him up. That was when Raven jumped down from the hole, holding onto her shoulder.
"Wow." Raven muttered, "You pack a punch."
"Thanks." Grif replied, pistol drawn, "I guess."
"Call it a draw then?" Raven questioned
Grif lowered his sidearm, "Sure."
Raven then sheathed her weapon, "Why are you here?" I thought your war effort was centered in Vale currently."
"We need resources." Simmons explained, "That's all you need to know."
Suddenly, the rest of Red Team and Blue Team arrived at the scene.
"Sorry, what'd we miss?" Tucker asked
"What the fuck took you so long?" Grif asked Blue Team, "Did you stop for drive-thru?"
"Ah, no but did ask Tucker if we could." Caboose answered him, "I wanted Burger King."
"Burger King?" Carolina muttered, "Please. Subway for life."
"You got me hooked." Donut added
"Can we please change the subject." Grif ended the conversation abruptly, "Raven why are-"
Grif was about to turn his sights back to Raven, only to realize that she was gone.
"Dammit, I should've seen that coming."
"Raven's gone?" Wash guessed
"Yep." Grif shrugged, "And now she can teleport to me whenever she wants."
Simmons looked at him funny, "Seriously? I thought her semblance allowed her to teleport anywhere."
"No that's what we thought." Grif explained, "Her semblance allows her to make a connection with someone, which then allows her to make a portal to his or her location. From what she told me, she has one for Yang, one for Taiyang, her brother Qrow, had one for Summer, and-"
"And now you." Tucker added
"How did she make a connection with you?" Carolina asked
"She said because we have a lot in common." Grif replied, "But the only thing we have in common is Yang."
"We'll worry about this later." Sarge spoke up, "Right now-LOOK OUT!"
Suddenly, the Geist that was thought to have been crushed by Grif and Raven emerged from the icy rubble it was buried in. Sarge charged at it, but the Geist swung one of its arms, impaling Sarge's shoulder before fleeing.
"SARGE!" Tucker shouted
"DOC! HELP HIM!"
"On it!/On it!"
POV Change: SDC Mining Facility
"Is Sarge gonna be alright?" Ironwood asked Tucker and Grif as the trio walked through the abandoned SDC complex. Atlas personnel were now there making sure there were no more Grimm in the area. The general was now wearing a new white and blue uniform. His hair was slightly disheveled and his face covered in 5 o'clock shadow.
"Doc got to work on him right away." Tucker replied, "He said he'll be just fine."
"Good." Ironwood nodded, "And Raven was here, correct?"
"Yeah." Grif answered, "She formed a connection with me. Now she can teleport to my location whenever she wants."
"Well that's just great." Ironwood sighed, "Though I highly doubt she'll do that in the near future."
"Eh, I highly doubt that." Grif retorted
"At least we have the dust we need." Tucker said to them, "Now we can focus on getting to Chorus and speak to Kimball."
Ironwood then felt his scroll ring and took it out of his pocket.
"Yes? What? What does he want?" he muttered in frustration, "Ok, fine. Let him land."
Ironwood then pocketed his scroll before staring up at the sky. A luxurious bullhead flew toward the nearby landing pad.
"What is it?" Tucker asked as all of the Reds and Blues now joined them, Sarge included. Who now had a large bandage over his shoulder.
"A problem." Ironwood muttered
The white bullhead landed at the facility as Ironwood and the Blood Gulch Crew approached it. On the maind door to the craft were the initials: SDC.
"Oh my god." Carolina muttered in disgust
"Is that-?"
"Yes." Ironwood cut them off, "It's him."
The door to the bullhead opened and out stepped a man in a white double-breasted suit with a red handkerchief and a clip-on tie. He had fair skin, icy blue eyes, frost white hair, and a large obnoxious mustache.
It was none other than Ironwood's personal rival and the one of few people to display negative views towards the Reds and Blues.
Jacques Schnee.
"So let me get this straight, James. In addition to this nonsensical war of yours that's crippling my business, you've also decided you have the authority to commandeer private property?" Jacques rudely announced as he approached Ironwood, "When the Council hears about this, you will never-"
"Actually, I've already informed them." Ironwood calmly interrupted him, "As this is now the site of a classified military operation, it didn't even require a vote."
"Didn't require a vote!?" Jaques shouted
"You might want to brush up on Council law before you lose this upcoming election, Jacques." Ironwood quipped, "Now. I've allowed you to land here once as a courtesy. The next time, it won't be a friendly reception."
Jaques sneered at the general, "Lately, you seem to forget who your friends really are. I'm going to get that Council seat, James, and maybe then, you'll-"
Jaques then noticed the Reds and Blues standing behind Ironwood.
"You…" he muttered, "You brought those bastards here!?"
"Us bastards are going to make this world get back on its feet." said Grif, "So what that mouth of yours dipshit."
"I'm the head of the Schnee Dust Company. Do you know what I can do to you?" Jaques threatened them
"Ah that's sweet." Carolina snarled at him, "Your talk gonna tuff in your clip-on tie?"
Jaques grew even angrier as he looked down at his tie.
"It's a good thing Weiss got as far away from you as she could. You're even worse in person." Doc added
Jacques' eyes widened at the mention of his estranged daughter.
"Oh yeah." Tucker spoke up, "We know here, and why she left Atlas."
Jacques recomposed himself, "She belongs to me. She threw everything away just to go to Beacon. I'm pretty sure you are all responsible for her staying there in that hellhole of a kingdom."
"That hellhole has suffered." Wash retorted, "All thanks to you, your actions of putting faunus through hard labor are the reason the White Fang have resorted to acts of violence."
"How dare you speak to me that way!?" Jacques protested, "I have half a mind to-"
"Half a mind of what Jacques." Ironwood calmly interrupted him
Jacques sighed in anger before turning to Ironwood, smirking.
"I knew one day, you would overextend your reach James." he said to him, "I didn't come here to beg for an abandoned mine. I came here to thank you...for personally handing me the noose to hang you."
Jaques then turned his sight back on the Reds and Blues, "I'm going to get that Council seat, and when do...you will be brought to justice."
"We'll see." Tucker replied darkly
Jacques then turned back around and past Ironwood.
"You'll regret this." he said before boarding his ship and leaving the facility.
"I really want to punch him in the face." O'Malley announced
"Same here." Doc added
"I'm surprised none of you shot him." Ironwood joking said to him
"He's the head of the largest dust exporter and importer." Simmons explained, "That's bad doo doo if we shoot him."
Ironwood sighed, "I apologize for Jacques' sudden arrival. I didn't expect him to show up out of the blue like that. But there are some other people I want you all to meet."
The Reds and Blues all looked at one another before looking back at Ironwood.
"Who?"
Ironwood looked back up at the sky. An Atlesian-class Manta was making its way towards the facility.
"Ah, perfect timing." Ironwood muttered with a smile as he approached the craft. The Reds and Blues proceeded to follow him with interest.
The door to the Manta opened and out stepped five huntsmen in similar uniforms.
"General." one of them said to Ironwood
"Clover." Ironwood replied, "Good to have you here."
Ironwood then turned to face the sim-troopers, "Reds and Blues, may I introduce the Ace-Ops. Atlas' best huntsmen team. This is Clover Ebi, the team leader."
Clover stepped up, "Pleasure to meet you all."
"Same here." Tucker replied, "I'm Tucker. I lead Blue Team, that's Sarge who leads Red Team, and these are Simmons, Grif, Donut, Lopez, Wash, Carolina, Doc or O'Malley, Kai, Caboose, and Locus."
"One team that consists of two?" Clover questioned, "That's strange."
"Eh well, It's a very complicated backstory." Grif muttered casually
"But you guys were amazing!" the young and newest member of the Ace-Ops Marrow Amin exclaimed, "Stopping a terrorist plot before it happens!"
"Well it's fun to save the planet." Simmons replied, "It's our hobby."
"There is nothing 'fun' about stopping a world-wide crisis." the tranquil Vine Zeki calmly said about Simmons' joke.
"Well, I can already tell he's a party pooper at parties." Caboose quipped
"Ha! You're a funny one!" the kind Elm Ederne chuckled as she patted Caboose on the shoulder. However once she did, she was unprepared for the hard impact.
"Geex, he's tough." she muttered
"Yeah! Caboose has crazy strength." Doc exclaimed, "We call it God's way of compensating."
"I have to admit your abilities are beyond our comprehension." Clover exclaimed, "I don't even think we could've stopped the breach in Vale."
"Let's not give the color crew that much praise. I'm sure we would've beaten those monsters faster if they appeared in Atlas." the competitive Harriet Bree claimed
"So, what brings you all out here?" Carolina asked them
"We were hoping to join the war effort." Clover replied
Ironwood then took it from there, "I was hoping for more huntsmen to sign up for out Operators guild. I thought why not use the Ace-OPs to help convince more recruitment into our ranks."
"That...does seem like a good idea." Tucker nodded, "But first we need to get the supplies we need. This dust facility was the first step in our operation. Once we get them, we''l put the Ace-Ops through some training, to test their might."
"Agreed." Clover replied, "Then we'll see you all soon. Good luck."
"Same to you."
POV Change: Evernight Castle
The lone Geist from the mining facility flew through the dark plains toward Evernight Castle before stopping just in front of Salem.
"Report." Salem muttered
The Geist hissed quietly before giving Salem one of its tentacles
Salem smiled sinisterly, "Good...the blood of one of the soldiers themselves."
The Geist then reached out and gave her a sliver of dust.
"Hmm...interesting."