Time for a New chapter!
Again, not much to add in this AN. Midterms have been killing me, so I apologize if there's more grammar errors/mistakes than normal. On the up side, this is where the story is beginning to kick off, with the Imperials and Remnant finally seeing each other in action! About damn time, right?
Reminder-
[Bishop-1] King -Squad lead
[Bishop-2] Code -engineer
[Bishop-3] Dairmund -demolitions
[Bishop-4] Rules -Recon
Kingdom of Vale
Mountain Glenn
Undercity
Former Transit Hub 002
Atop the shadowed roof of a partially collapsed building, a lone figure crouched, overlooking the beehive of terrorism below. He scanned the area, HUD zooming in on objects of interest while idly tagging any hostiles he could see.
"Bishop 4 to 1, got eyes on the objectives. Center terminal, being loaded onto a locomotive transport. Counting 50+ insurgents, 16 guards with assault rifles, remainder with assorted small arms."
"4, confirm last, objectives are being loaded onto a transport?"
"Confirmed, five already loaded, four are being so now."
Code interjected, "That's nine, where are the other three?"
"Give me a moment," Rules acknowledged, "moving for a better view."
Standing up from his position he swiftly maneuvered through the surrounding buildings. At two points he encountered wandering insurgents, but this far into their base the terrorists were lax, and he slipped by them with little difficulty. Eventually reaching the roof of a building with a more commanding view, he reassessed the enemy's base.
"Update. I see two of the missing mechs are being used to assist loading cargo, but the thirds a no-show. 1, what's the word?"
King's response was curt, "Give me a moment, contacting command."
Dairmund's amused voice commented, "Think they actually did move the mech to another cell? That'd be some irony right there."
Code snorted, "And only sent the one? Nah, idiots probably lost it."
Rules spoke up, "These caverns are swarming with Grimm. Might've picked a fight they couldn't win."
King finally responded, "They picked a fight they couldn't win all right, but it wasn't against Grimm. Command reports the insurgents clashed with some huntsmen in Vale and lost."
Dairmund chuckled, "Well, that's one less we've got to deal with at least. So what's the plan 1?"
"Depends on how soon these bantha scum are going to move. 4?"
Even though he knew no one could see it, Rules shook his head, "Not any time soon. I'm seeing tons of cargo containers still unloaded."
"Think they'll move before tonight?"
"Doubt it. They'll be lucky to be ready by tomorrow night."
"Good. Then we hit them tonight, when the only ones up are the guards and no one's piloting those mechs. 4, base layout?"
A few clicks sent over some pics, while Rules explained what he was looking at, "Their base is centered around the train, and I'm willing to bet that's where the majority of them sleep. They've got piles of cargo scattered around the clearing surrounding the train. Could be good for concealment, but depending on what's in those crates it's probably a poor idea to use them as cover. Additionally, I can see insurgents in some of the surrounding buildings. Numbers unknown.
King spent a few moments in silence studying the pics before responding, "The cargo is still unloaded but the train looks fine. I don't want them bailing once we attack. 2, think you can get on there and disable it?"
"Unlikely sir. Lot'a eyes on that train, inside and out. I could do it during the attack though."
"Not if we get bogged down before we reach the train. 3, what about the tunnel entrance? Can you set some charges and collapse it once the attack begins?"
"Sure can, but if they find the bombs before then, we'll be compromised."
"Rules, you see any patrols going into the tunnels?"
"Haven't noticed any."
"Good enough. Get on it 3."
"Aye sir."
"4, stay where you are. 3, once you're done with the charges, join him on the top of that building. You'll both provide some confusion once the attack begins."
"Permission to lace a few surprises throughout the area before I settle in?"
King shrugged, "By all means, just don't get caught."
Kingdom of Vale
Mountain Glenn
Uppercity
Former housing complex
Blake tossed and turned, unable to get comfortable on the crappy little sheet that served as her bed.
It had been a long and hard day, and by all rights she should have been asleep the second her head hit the pillow. Unfortunately, the conversation with her team kept her mind turning. Coupled with the frustration of finding nothing all day resulted with her glaring up at the ceiling for the past 20 minutes.
And, as much as she hated to admit it, she'd gotten used to her comfy bed back at Beacon.
Just as she was debating asking Ruby if they could switch watch she heard it. A quiet rumble. She shifted, grumbling. Probably just some building finally succumbing to years of neglect.
But then, a series of rumbles, continuing for several seconds. She sat up, ears perked. She focused, intent on listening as much as she could.
There. She could barely make it out, the faintest of sounds, but it was there. The pop, pop, pop of small arms, intermixed with louder, but still faint, constant buzz of automatic weapons.
Across the fire she saw that Zwei was awake as well, eyes fixated in the direction of the gunfire.
Professor Oobleck too, though still slumped in the windowsill, was awake, glancing between her and Zwei.
He spoke, a lot quieter than normal, "Miss Belladonna, is ther-"
BOOM
The ground shook, dust raining from the ceiling.
The Professor jumped onto his feet, thermos turning into an odd bat-looking thing in an instance. Yang and Weiss rolled out of bed, the latter scrabbling for her weapon while Yang deployed her own.
"The hell? What's going on!"
Ruby appeared in a whirl of rose petals, already pointing in the direction of the detonation.
"It came from that way!"
Professor Oobleck cut in, "Did you see the detonation?"
She frowned, "No… just a muffled boom."
"Miss Belladonna, can you hear anything that could direct us?"
Blake nodded, "Gunfire. Lots of it."
"Then by all means, lead the way."
Five minutes earlier…
Kingdom of Vale
Mountain Glenn
Undercity
Former Transit Hub 002
The start of the attack was cautious as it was swift. King and Code advanced ahead of the 72 stormtroopers and 4 AT-STs that comprised the main thrust, eliminating any isolated patrols and half-asleep look-outs in the way. When it was discovered that aura necessitated 2-3, and on rare occasions even 4 shots to neutralize an enemy the commandos switched to strangling their opponents, a tactic which proved far more effective.
Once all the outer guards were eliminated, the all clear signal was sent, and the stormtroopers and AT-STs formed up in front of the entrance to cavernous room that served as the insurgent's base. Peeking around the corner, King smiled. Time to begin.
"Bishop-3, please announce our presence to our hosts."
"With pleasure."
Deep into the room, atop one of the many crumbling buildings Dairmund thumbed his detonator and pressed down on the trigger with a resounding click.
In the next seconds over a dozen charges throughout the room, each timed to set off one after the other for maximum confusion, detonated in blasts of rock and fire. Numerous buildings shuttered and collapsed as their major supports and lover levels vanished in the thunderous conflagrations, sending them tumbling to the ground. The vast majority of those buildings were empty, but not all of them. Insurgent patrols and guard posts suddenly found the ground falling out beneath them, their cries of shocked panic cutting out as swiftly as they started up. The collapsed buildings scattered concrete, steel, and debris all over the massive cavern, turning the formerly wide streets and orderly layout into a maze of shattered rock and crumbling structures.
Even as detonations rung out the insurgents were already reacting, panicked figures scrambling for any weapon they could find, soon reinforced by storms of their fellows streaming out from the train and what few buildings still remained.
It was then the last charges were detonated. The transit tunnel gateway, one that in another lifetime the train would travel through and cause one of the most shocking breaches in Vale's history, had its primary supports instantly shattered by a few carefully-placed grenades. The secondary supports managed to hold the massive weight of the entrance up for a few more precious seconds before they too, inevitably gave away. In a single, thunderous crash over a hundred tons of solid rock fell to the ground, sealing the gateway and blocking the train's only path of escape.
With the enemy trapped and now thoroughly confused the assault began in full. Sormtroopers flooded into the cavern, the crimson bolts that ripped through a dozen insurgents announcing their presence. The insurgents, still reeling from half their base being blown to bits, frantically scrambled into defensive positions and began returning fire. Once passed the entrance, the stormtroopers likewise settled among the rubble, turning the engagement into a proper firefight. They were soon joined by the 4 AT-STs, the thrum of their heavy lasers overpowering the whine of blaster fire and gunshots.
"3, 4, how the view from up there?"
From his perch atop one of the few remaining buildings, Rules idly thumbed his comms as he pinged a particularly stubborn group of insurgents, watching as the AT-STs dutifully perforated the area with their heavy blasters.
To his right he could see Dairmund fire off another innendary from his launcher, seeing it detonate in the midst of a clump of insurgents and setting the screaming figures ablaze.
"Pretty colors 1, pretty colors."
"Glad to hear it. Just make sure no one jumps in one of those mechs. I think I see a few making their way towards them."
"Already ahead of you sir", Dairmund interjected, "I hit the mechs with a couple ion grenades when we started. Insurgents can't do jack with them."
Code's voice interrupted the conversation, "Two enemy officers exiting the train. Engaging."
Two loud cracks sounded out.
"Damn, they've got tough auras. Kriffing soul magic bullshit."
"Where are they?"
"Pinging now."
Switching to sniper configuration Rules turned toward the ping and zoomed in. There they were, hunkered down behind a pile of rubble. One was a mountain of a man, his status as a higher up established by the Grimm mask he wore, much more elaborate than the rack-and-file's version, as well as the massive chainsaw he was holding with one hand.
'A kriffing Chainsaw? Really?'
The other had no mask oddly enough, revealing a very irritated looking face, and instead opting for a white suit-coat and a bowler hat. He looked to be furiously yelling at the chainsaw guy and gesturing wildly with his...cane? Why was he holding a cane? Was that his weapon?
'Whatever.'
Deciding to focus on who was likely the bigger threat he shifted his aim and fired on the chainsaw-wielder. The beam hit the man directly in the face, knocking him off his feet. Despite the hit, Rules took Code's observation to heart and fired again as soon as the man hit the ground. Chainsaw guy wasn't an idiot though, and even as he fell he brought his weapon up in front of him. The shot bounced off the blade, sparing him a third hit. Not wasting a moment of the reprieve he'd created he rolled to the side, ducking behind more cover.
Behind his visor Rules frowned as he glared at the cover the man had hidden then he saw exactly what 'cover' the man was using and his frown threatened to turn into a grin.
"Bye, bye", he murmured, and fired.
The beam struck the crate of dust instantly, engulfing the surrounding meters in an explosion of elements. When the smoke cleared the chainsaw-wielder was little more than a charred corpse impaled on a spike of ice.
"Enemy officer down. Switching targets."
Shifting the scope he scanned the immediate area, but couldn't see the distinctive bowler hat anywhere. Lowering his rifle he glared at the chaotic battlefield below, the crumbling rubble and deafening firefight offering plenty of places to hide.
'Kriff, where'd he go?'
"Dairmund, you see 'em?"
Darimund snorted, half-heartedly lobbing a grenade at another clump of insurgents.
"Fucker jumped behind some rocks and scampered off when you started popping his buddy."
"Great."
Switching to squad comms he spoke up, "1, 2, we lost the other officer. Anyone got eyes on?"
"Negative, bit busy right now."
"I don't see him either. He'll pop his head out eventually, just be ready to take him out when he does."
As if summoned by the words, he glanced to the side just in time to see the man jump out from behind a rock into the wide open, aiming his cane in front of him.
Rules twisted, bringing his rifle into focus only for his eyes to widen in shock.
He barely had time to shout a warning to Dairmund before the building shook, purple/red blots slamming into its lower levels and detonating in bright explosion.
He felt the moment the building lost all support, the shaking reaching a crescendo before it began to slide forward.
He found the time to grimace, 'this is going to hurt.'
King watched as the building holding his squadmates tumbled down, shattering on the cavern floor in a cloud of crumbled concrete and dust.
"Rules, Dairmund! You there?"
Static was his only answer. A glance at his HUD confirmed they were still alive, though hurt, their icons flashing yellow.
He peeked over the rock he was crouched behind, firing a quick burst towards the insurgents between him and his downed squadmates, before ducking back down as bullets pinged off his shields.
"2, I'm pinned, can you reach them?"
"Aye, but they might be buried."
"All the more reason to get to them fast. Grab a squad and secure that section."
"What will you be doing?"
Boom
He turned to see one of the AT-STs topple backwards, its upper half a flaming wreck. In the distance he could see that damned officer duck back behind cover as the other AT-STs furiously attempted to retaliate.
"I'm going to go kill that kriffing officer."
Checking his HUD to see which stormtrooper squads were the least engaged he switched over to their comm channel and spoke up, "Squads Trill and Usk, you're on me. Acknowledge?"
"Trill acknowledges, coming to you sir."
Silence. King frowned.
"Usk, acknowledge!"
No response. King's fists clenched.
"...Usk, acknowledge! Are you there?"
He turned as he spotted Trill advancing up to him, darting between cover and loosing suppressive fire as they moved. As he watched as one trooper peeked over to provide some covering fire, only to have a bullet punch through his eye piece and right into his brain. The trooper slumped backwards, unmoving. At that point another trooper lunged next to King, landing heavily as bullets pinged off the rocks above him. The commando could see several indents in the trooper's armor where he'd been hit. Deciding to take the hint, he stood up and unleash a volley of shots, almost all of which hit an insurgent, dropping them and causing the rest to duck under cover. He was unsurprised, but still mildly disappointed when saw some of the ones he had shot get back up.
'soul magic bullshit indeed'
Still, his attacks intended purpose was a success, as the rest of Trill made it to his position with no further casualties. Once arrived they swiftly dug in, immediately opening on offending opposition, decimating them. Glancing towards Trill's squad leader he continued lay down fire as he asked, "Where the hell's Usk?"
"Unknown. They last reported -aggghhhh"
He turned around to see a needle-point blade withdrawn from Trill's leader, revealing a petit child holding the bloodied blade. The rest of the squad seemed just as shocked as he was at the little girl who had seemingly appeared in their midst.
The girl smiled, eyes flashing colors before her blade whipped around, instantly slicing the throat of the trooper behind her. Another flash, and another trooper had the blade sticking through his head.
He and the remaining troopers reacted all at once, everyone firing at the girl at once. A dozen blots hit only for her to shatter like glass.
To the right a trooper screamed, the needle-blade seeming to materialize in his leg, the girl next to him. The squad fired again, anger starting to overcome shock. Almost languidly the girl twirled behind the man she had just crippled, using him as cover. At least twenty bolts slammed into the poor man, turning his front into a charred mess. Idly she kicked the thoroughly dead body onto several more troopers, causing them to go down in a heap. At this point only King and two more troopers were still standing, and all fired the second she discarded her cover. Planting the tip of her blade into the ground she jumped up, easily evading all their shots. An errant slash on the way down killed one, while a kick to the head knocked the last unconscious. Once she was on the ground one of King's shots caught her in the back, but much like last time she just shattered like glass.
Silence. King scanned the area, seeing no sign of her. Cursing, he glanced over at the two stormtroopers who had been knocked over by her "cover", who he saw they were just now getting up.
"You men alright?"
"Yeah, what the kriff was-"
His voice was abruptly replaced by the sound of gurgling.
Finger already pulling the trigger, yet already knowing it was too late, King to turn back to them.
She was standing in between the two troopers, her blade piercing right through the right one's throat. In a single motion she slide the blade out, blocked his shot, and implanted it in his eye of the last one. As the two bodies slumped to the floor her gaze shifted to King, fixing him with a wide smile. He fired again, only for her blade to come up and block each and every one of them with ease, the smile never fading.
Her eyes flashed, and King knew he only had a split-second to act. He dropped his rifle and reach down for the pack of cylindrical objects on his belt. His fingers clasping around one right as his shields popped and his chest erupted in agony. Already feeling his body going numb as he gazed at the blood-coated blade sticking through his chest, he collapsed to his knees. Turning his gaze upwards at the still smiling girl, he spoke,
"Block this, freak."
The girl never made a sound, but as he pulled the thermal detonator from his belt and activated it with the last of his strength, he contented himself with the sight of her pink eyes flashing to shocked white.
Team RWBY+O raced through the underground caves, the sound of gunfire and energy weapons long having become audible to the humans of the group. More worrisome was the fact that they had already encountered and had to dispatch several groups of Grimm headed the same way.
Turning the corner they finally entered the massive cavern, pausing at the sight of the chaotic warzone within.
Well, we're here," Yang observed, almost having to shout over the noise of screams and gunfire, "Now what?"
"We finish it," Ruby declared, "Don't know who the armored guys are, but if they're fighting the White Fang that means we're allies!"
"I concur," Oobleck said, "But we must do so quickly. The Grimm will be here in force soon."
"I can hear Torchwick's weapon down there," Blake prompted.
"Are positive that it's him?"
Blake regarded the Professor with a blank stare.
"He's shot at me with it before. Yes I'm positive."
"Melodic Cudgel uses unstable dust projectiles as its primary ammunition, which produces a distinctive whistling sound when fired," Ruby added with glee, "It's like… really awesome! I tried to add something similar to Cesenent Ros-"
Oobleck spoke over her, "Good! Then this will be significantly easier. Our mysterious friends seem to have dealt with the majority of the Fang's rank-and-file, and the remainder must know that the Grimm will be flooding in here soon. The loss of their leader will likely shatter them!"
"Speaking of mysterious friends, Ruby, do you see their weapons?" Weiss interjected.
Ruby looked towards Weiss, her pout from Oobleck's interruption switching back to a grin as quickly as it had appeared, "Yep! Same ones we found in Materkind!"
"Armor matches too," Blake noted.
"Your mission the support tower?"
The girls nodded.
"Then we'll see if we can convince them to stick around after the fight. General Ironwood seemed very interested in the tech they're using."
He turned around to regard the battlezone.
"But that's a concern for later! For now we have a job to do! We will go down there and-" he paused as roar in the caverns behind them sounded out, "On second thought, do you girls think you can handle Torchwick yourselves?"
Yang rolled her eyes, "Uhhh, hell yea. -much-eyeliner ran out on us last time we tangoed. And that was when he had a giant battle-mech!"
"Do not be overconfident Miss Xiao Long. Arrogance is often a fatal flaw in our line of work."
With all due respect sir," Weiss began curtly, "As much as it physically pains me to say it, Yang is right. He was unable to defeat us even with the rather large advantage of a state-of-the-art Atlesian mech, and indeed ran the moment we destroyed said mech. I severely doubt he can defeat all four of us at once."
Blake looked up at him, "What will you be doing?"
Another roar sounded out from the caverns behind them, prompting a sigh from Oobleck.
"I will remain here, at the entrance, and offer ranged support for our armored friends below. And once the Grimm arrive, I will contain them as much as possible until the battle is concluded, at which point we will likely have to fight our way out."
He looked them all in the eye, "Eliminate any Fang in the way, but Torchwick is your top priority. This entrance is the largest into this cavern, and therefore where most of the Grimm will approach from. But it is not the only entrance, and so the longer you take to apprehend Torchwick, the more Grimm will inevitably find a way in."
The girls glanced between eachother.
"We got it Professor."
"Wonderful! Then you best be on your way. Go on!"
Ruby looked down at Zwei, then back at Oobleck. Shrugging, she ordered, "Zwei, stay!"
"Arf!"
The girls jogged to the edge of the platform they were on, overlooking the mess of a battlefield below.
"That's going to be tricky to get through," Blake remarked.
"No it won't!" Ruby cheerfully assured, "Weiss! Cannon!"
The heiress in question arched an eyebrow, "And what about you?"
Ruby just rolled her eyes, "I'll just use my semblance, duh."
"Very well, just try not to be late."
Ruby just smirked, giving Weiss the excuse to eyeroll.
With a flick of her hand she formed a gravity glyph, enlarging it and tilting into an angle. Turning to Yang and Blake she gestured at the glyph.
"All aboard."
"Ahh hell yea," Yang said, "This is the fun part."
"Speak for yourself," Blake grumbled.
With a quick step Weiss joined them. Another flick of her wrist and the glyph was further infused with burn dust.
Turning to Ruby she spoke, "Ready when you are."
Ruby grinned, and then began jogging in a small circle. Slowly she became faster and faster until she instinctively activated her semblance, moving so fast her circle looked like a donut from atop. After a few more seconds of building up speed she deemed herself herself sufficiently fast enough and broke the circle, slamming into the crimson/black glyph with the seed of a bullet and the momentum of a small tornado. The glyph detonated with the force of a cannon, launching the three figures high into the air.
Pockets of fighting across the room slowed and halted as the two sides became aware of the unexpected arrivals, watching as they soared over the Imperial lines, right into the middle of the remaining White Fang forces.
Said members of the White Fang were just beginning to wonder whether they should have moved rather than gawked when the girls landed among them.
Yang hit them first, the blow from the glyph not enough to fully activate her semblance, but enough to give her a boost, slammed into a group of Fang troops like a miniature, flaming comet, sending them flying.
Weiss was next, rapier piercing into the concrete below her. A moment, then solid spikes of ice shot outwards, slamming into the half-dozen Fang unlucky enough to be near her. A glance over her victims reveal that some of them apparently had low auras, as the spikes gored them. Her eye twitched at the sight, but she pressed onwards, dashing towards where she had already seen Torchwick.
Blake was last, having hooked her blade into the ceiling and swinging with her ribbon for some extra airtime, and unhooked once she spotted Torchwick, falling right towards him.
The master criminal was not looking his best, suit ruffled and scuffed, hat and shoulders coated with dust, and she could see a few areas blackened where he had apparently been hit or grazed by those energy projectiles. It might have something to do with the two weird-looking walkers blasting the hell out of the rock he was currently hiding behind. A quick look at a pair of flaming wrecks of the same type of walker quickly explained why they were so intent on him rather than the myriad of other targets in the area.
She could understand their desire to kill Torchwick, but as she fell towards the criminal she hoped they would cease firing so they wouldn't kill her as well. Being blasted to bits by the people she was trying to help would be a rather inglourious ending. And even if she survived a direct hit, Yang would never let her hear the end of it.
Fortunately, they seem to have seen her and thankfully stopped firing, shifting their focus to other White Fang entrenchments. The sudden absence of exploding rock around him prompted Torchwick to peek over the edge of his cover, just in time to see Blake's boot as it connected with his head, slamming it into the ground. She took a few moments to shoot him in the face with her pistol before a frantic swing of his cane caused her to jump off him.
Rolling to his feet he barely had enough time to open his mouth, undoubtedly to sprout some witty greeting, before Weiss flashed in front of him, blade already lunging. He brought his cane up just in time to defect the blow, and the two engaged in a furious clashing of blade and cane, Weiss's elegant thrusts and parries countered by Torchwicks unorthodox blows and underhanded style. The two were even until Blake reentered the fight, her lighting fast slashes and clone usage turning the tide.
Panicked, fighting foes that equaled him in speed, and losing steam from the hard fight before, Torchwick disengaged the only way he could. Planting the tip of his cane before him, he detonated a blast in the midst of the three, sending them flying.
Being the one to initiate the blow, Torchwick was obviously the one most prepared for it, and was therefore the first one to recover. He rolled to his feet, already aiming with his cane, only to receive a golden fist to the face. He stumbled back, allowing Yang to capitalize on her initial strike, unleashing a series of heavy blows to his body, finishing with a brutal uppercut.
He flew a foot or two into the air, before landing painfully against a rock.
"God damn," he quipped, clutching his bruised ribs, "They sent discount power rangers again. We're only missing Little Red!"
He groaned, leaning on his cane as much as the rock.
"Seriously, the store, the docks, the rally, then here? It's always you girls. Did I kill your team dog or something?"
"I wish," Blake muttered under her breath.
Yang grinned, "Nah, we're just persistent like that. Plus, you shot at my sister. Several times. Can't let that slide man."
"Yea, and if I'd known it'd get her into Beacon I wouldn't have done it," Torchwick snarked, "Bloody one-in-a-million favoritistic headmaster."
Oh I feel so sorry for you, you poor oppressed criminal," Weiss said with a flat glare, "Now, are you going to surrender? Or do we need to freeze you into a block of ice and cart you out?"
He gave a defeated chuckle, "Ice Queen, if you think I'm going to surrender you don't know a damn thing about me."
Weiss's eyes narrowed at the name, "And how, pray tell, are you going to get out of this?"
He stood up with a pained grunt, causing his three opponents to tense.
"Easily."
Still leaning against the rock, pointed his cane off to the right, towards the train.
"I'll admit, it's a minor miracle that nothing's banged that train too hard during this little scuffle, but I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, even if it kills the horse."
"The hell are you talking about," Yang said, eyes narrowed.
"Inside that train, miss blondie, are a bunch of giant fuck-off bombs. One in each carriage."
"How powerful?" Weiss demanded.
"Powerful enough that one going off will cause a chain reaction with every other bomb on board, along with every piece of Dust in this cavern."
"You're bluffing."
"Lady, do I look like I'm in a position to bluff?"
"No, you look like you're in a position to be desperate."
Torchwick considered that for a moment before shrugging.
"Fair enough. But is that really a bet you want to take? I shoot at that train, and there's no going back."
"You would kill everyone here?" Blake demanded, looking truly disgusted, "Just to avoid prison?"
"Oh it won't kill everybody here. A good chunk of everyone here, but not absolutely everyone. Explosion will be big, but not as big as this whole cavern. No. But what it will do is open up a whole bunch of holes into the caves below and around us, which I, and you if you've done your research, know for a fact are just swarming with Grimm."
He smirked, "I figure everyone, including you, are going to be far too busy defending themselves to stop me from making my exit."
"You are a truly horrible human being," Weiss declared, fingers clenching Myrtenaster hard enough that a non-aura reinforced piece of metal would have bent.
Torchwick grinned, "Hon, I'm the most wanted man in Vale. If me not being a nice guy is news to you haven't been paying attention. Now, what's it going to be ladies? Let me go? Or drown in Grimm?"
The three girls glanced at each other, uncertain what to do.
"Well," Torchwick demanded, the crosshairs on his cane flipping up, "I'm not wai-"
Crack
His cane was suddenly blown out of his hands, spinning off behind him. The girls didn't hesitate, acting immediately. Blake's sword flew forward, rapping around the airborne cane and swiftly pulling it into her hands. Weiss waved her blade, and a wall of ice rose between Torchwick and the train. Yang launched forward, slamming the cursing criminal against the rocks, hands forming an ironclad grip around his arms. She clenched her fists, and he screamed as his arua broke and the bones under her fingers were shattered.
Torchwicks cursing slowed, eventually stopping in favor of clenched teeth and closed eyes, keeping his arms as still as possible. Finally getting the pain under control, he took a few deep breaths before opening his eyes, being greeted by furious crimson ones glaring deep into his own.
"That was a mistake," Yang growled.
Looking over her shoulder, he could see the other two also glaring at him, equally furious. And there, off in the distance atop a pile of rubble he saw Little Red, the smoking rifle at her hip revealing what had happened to his cane.
And as a final cherry on top, while he still could hear the howls of Grimm trying to enter the cavern, the fighting in the rest of the cavern seemed to be dying down, and could even see some white-armored figures moving towards him.
'God damn it'
Turning back towards the crimson eyes he offered a tight smile.
"I …ah, surrender?