The Long, Hard Road

by Onhiro

This is a story of recovery, of the long, hard road that people who have suffered truly grievous injuries have to travel before they are well again. Ruby was terribly hurt when she sacrificed herself to save Weiss, and is now trying to cope with her losses as well as come to terms with what remains of her future. But she does not walk this road alone! Based on Funblade's Future AU

7. Operation Surgical Strike

AN: Holy crap, this is a long chapter! I know I said I wanted to post this on the weekend, but then I wrote...and wrote...and wrote, until I had 9,854 words down. This chapter took a lot out of me, and I most likely won't be posting anything until next weekend, especially since I have drill this weekend.

This should be the only super long chapter for a good while. Now we'll be going into Ruby's recovery, which should be rather extensive. There will also be the repercussions of this chapter to deal with, but that will come a bit later.

As always, read, enjoy, and please review!

Operation Surgical Strike

or

Hell at the Hospital (Part II)

Vale Memorial Hospital

Downtown of Vale, 15:03

Dr. Jabir al-Tabeeb flipped through the chart, dark eyes thoughtful as he considered the information recorded there. All of his patients were dear to him, and he felt every loss as if it were his own sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers who had passed on, just as every life saved and body, mind, and spirit healed was dear to him, victories to take with him when his own time came and he went to be judged. Even so, he knew that the patient lying still on the bed before him was special.

Ruby Rose. Savior of Vale, Huntress of the highest caliber, famous around the world for her deeds in protecting the meek and defenseless, often for little of no charge. She was, without a doubt, a heroine, one whose deeds would sung about for generations to come. For her to be injured thus…for a moment, his hands tightened on the scroll as anger surged. She knew the risks she took every time she went out to fight the soulless creatures of Grimm, as did every Hunter and Huntress. But for those with souls to be so violent against someone with such nobility and decency made him sick, a bitterness surging within.

…But he had taken an oath long ago, hadn't he? Let his hands heal, not harm. Let none fear him, let all come to him for aid. Even if one of the Crimson Claw were to come to him as a patient, he would treat them the same as if they were the pure-hearted young woman lying before him. His path wasn't always the easiest, but at night when he laid down to rest, his heart and conscience was clear. He merely tried to be a good man in a world where wickedness still existed.

"Let us begin," he said, and he and Ruby's nurse for that shift, an ever cheerful older woman named Marcia, started the physical examination of Ruby's healing wounds.

That had been the main reason for his decision to start her on Propofol, the sedative. Yes, she had needed to be intubated, both in the mouth and the nose, to help her with breathing and feeding, respectively. But it was far better for her many wounds to have a chance to get a good start on the healing process while she was as still as possible, so that she might not agitate her injuries, prolonging the healing process. Additionally, if she was sedated, she wouldn't have to go through as much pain. Had she not been sedated, she would have been in agony, prompting the use of more pain-killers, which would likely have been opiates, leading to much higher chances of addiction. She would still need pain medicine, of course. But they could be taken in smaller quantities than if she had been awake the entire time. It was standard procedure to place her on antibiotics in a preemptive attempt to prevent infection, which was highly likely given her types of injuries, and some of them were hard enough on the body.

He gently peeled back the bandage covering the burns on her face. That had been a loss, when her skin grafts hadn't taken. She would always bear these scars, always be disfigured. If her right eyelids hadn't been burned away, she may have been able to use a fake eye, but the extent of the burns had been too great. The burns themselves were healing quickly enough, and he was grateful that her Aura was as strong as it was. She'd heal twice as fast as the average person.

Still, it took an individual with a strong stomach to look at the wounds. The skin was uniformly shiny, but that was merely because of the ointments they were using to aid the healing process and fight infection. The coloration was what was disconcerting, never mind the residual smell of well-done meat. They had cut away the dead skin that would never heal, but what was left was burnt reds, bloodless whites, and pussy, leaking yellows, though some of the lesser burnt skin on the outside of the injured areas was turning brown, the color of poorly cured and treated leather. It seemed to alternate between bubbled and tightly drawn, and she'd likely have some difficulty in regaining full range of motion with that side of her mouth and her neck, as well as her right shoulder and what was left of that arm, judging by the burns extending from her neck down across that shoulder and part of her upper back. Thankfully the burns there weren't as bad, and were well on their way to healing.

The amputation site was doing fantastically, all things considered, and earlier CT scans had revealed that the internal sutures had all healed with no issue, and her white blood cell count was well within the norm. All-in-all, she was well on the way to the road of recovery, he joyfully shared with Marcia as they set about replacing the many dressings with fresh, clean ones. The nursing assistants would have to come in after them and do a little bit of cleaning up, but both the urinary catheter and rectal tube were doing their jobs, drastically reducing the need for clean up, which reduced the amount of agitation to the wounds. Which is exactly what he wanted.

His spirits were high as he put in the order to discontinue the Propofol. Her wounds had healed enough that she no longer needed to be sedated. Given her metabolism and her Aura, she would definitely have flushed the drug from her system by morning. Honestly, he told himself as he briskly walked through the wide, gleaming hall to his next patient, she would probably wake up sometime during the night. It was better that way. Disorientation was common, and she should be given the opportunity to find her bearings before her friends and family visited her. It would also allow the nurses to take out the NG tube and the tracheal tube with some privacy. He knew from experience that that was an unpleasant sensation, waking up, groggy and confused, only to find multiple tubes shoved down one's throat. Better for her to have that done long before her friends come…let her surprise them in the morning, awake and able to talk, gravelly though her voice might be, what with the burn damage and the minor trauma associated with intubation.

Now, his next patient…ah, yes! "Mrs. Rosenfeld, how are you? Still experiencing chest pain? Not to worry, I've looked over the test results…"

xxxXXXxxx

Atlas Interregional Aerodrome

Atlas, 15:41

Chad idly tapped his foot as he played another game of solitaire on his scroll. This was, quite honestly, the boring part of his shift. While frequent air patrols and advancements in airship design had made travel to the other kingdoms much safer, the preferred flights for civilians and even the less experienced Hunter teams were the ones that would reach their destinations prior to the setting of the sun. The last such flight had left a few hours ago, and any remaining flights for the day didn't have any civilian passengers. No, they carried freight, which was handled through a different terminal. Yes, they did have room for passengers, but nobody signed up for those seats, no matter what the discounts were. If a flight went down during the day, chances were that a rescue could be mounted before the Grimm could overwhelm the survivors. At night? The numbers were much less reassuring.

Honestly, I didn't even know why they kept this shift open, he grumbled to himself as he started a new game. It'd save money, after all, and the number of people trying to get a flight this late did not justify keeping him in this seat. Hell, the last two weeks, he hadn't had a single-

"Salutations!"

"Gah!" He jerked upright, banging his knee on the underside of his desk, heart lurching in his chest at the unexpected voice. Rubbing his knee, he looked up.

A girl who looked to be about sixteen smiled beamingly at him, green eyes bright with good humor. She blinked at his reaction, smile dimming. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Can I, uh, can I help you?" He was tempted to ask if she was looking for her parents, but figured that she might be a Huntress and could take offense to the question. And the last thing you wanted to do was piss of a Huntress or Hunter.

"Yes, I would like a flight to Vale, please!"

He refreshed his terminal. "Of course. Are you ordering ahead for a morning flight?"

"Nope! I would like a seat on the next flight, if possible. My friend from Vale was hurt, and I was unable to go there because I was working for my father!"

He blinked. She was very exuberant, but definitely had an air of innocence about her. "Are you sure? The flights are more dangerous at night."

"Don't you worry," she said. "I'm combat ready!" Then her smile changed, becoming softer and sadder, aimed more towards herself than at him. Maybe her words were an inside joke that she had shared with her hurt friend.

"Of course you are," he replied carefully. "May I see your ID and passport?"

"Absolutely!"

He accepted the documents with a smile, and glanced over them…did a double take…and then looked at them much more carefully. Everything was in order. In fact, everything was so in order, including her clearance level, that he knew that anyone hindering her without a very good reason would likely be out of a job. "Right. The next flight is leaving at 16:30. Here are your tickets and your documents. The flight should be arriving in Vale around 2:30 in the morning. Is there anything else I can get you?"

"No, thank you. Have a good day!"

"And have a good flight," he replied, watching her as she strode towards security and boarding, orange hair bobbing with each energetic step. Well…that was certainly interesting. Shrugging, he went back to his scroll and the waiting game of solitaire. Hopefully her friend was okay.

xxxXXXxxx

SDC Interrogation Building

Outskirts of Vale, 0227

Blake leaned against Bagheera, staring aimlessly out into the farmland that stretched into the distance, with Vale a line of shimmering lights on the horizon. She glanced at her watch, and sighed heavily. Velvet was extremely late. They had agreed to meet at nine in the evening, but Velvet hadn't made that time, and half-an-hour after they were supposed to meet she sent a text saying that she was going to be late, but that she was definitely going to come out that night. The text had been a relief…Blake's imagination had run away from her as the minutes had continued to crawl by, and she had worried that the Crimson Claw had somehow managed to capture Velvet in retaliation for Vern's abduction. But now, almost six hours after they were supposed to meet, she was feeling angry.

There. Headlights on the road leading here. A motorcycle, which was in keeping with what she was expecting. Sure enough, the distant rumble grew louder and louder, and Blake threw her arm up to shield her eyes as Velvet pulled her cruiser into the small parking lot. "You're late," Blake called out by way of greeting as Velvet swung off of her bike, taking off her helmet and unzipping her brown leather jacket.

"Sorry, I was a bit predisposed. Our last mission against the Grimm got a bit…messy, and we had a lot of paperwork to do." Velvet's accented voice, normally warm and friendly, was now cold and brusque. "Right, let's bloody get this over with."

They walked side by side, boots crunching in the gravel, and Blake opened the door for her. "I appreciate your help in this matter," she said, and Velvet shot a glare at her.

"I'm only doing this for Ruby, you know," she snapped. "If it wasn't for her, I'd be telling you to go sod off. Frankly, I'm surprised you're willing to go along with this. I know you're loyal to her, but I never thought you'd be willing to torture a Faunus for a human."

Blake paused at that. "You think that Weiss is in charge of this?"

"Well, yeah. Of course I do. As much as she spouts goody-two-shoe prose about how the Faunus and humans need to work together, she is still her father's daughter."

Blake frowned. "Weiss has no idea about this. She doesn't even know that this building exists."

Velvet stopped dead in her tracks in the middle of the dimly lit corridor, folding her arms across her chest. "You mean you're doing this on your own?" she asked, lip curling back in disgust. "You've got to be fucking me."

Blake sneered back at her, even as the hair at the back of her neck stood on end. Velvet was very powerful, and her senior in skill. She might be able to win if this came to blows, but it would largely be due to luck. And if the rest of Team CFVY caught wind…it would be very bad. "Despite what you think, Weiss truly does believe in what she says. She's actually working with the White Fang to build a better future."

Velvet stared at her for a long moment, dark eyes unreadable. But finally she spoke. "If I do this for you, you need to tell Weiss. If you don't, I will. This is sick."

"Yes, it is. But it's also necessary."

"If you believe that, then the White Fang twisted you more than we thought."

Blake scoffed. "Sometimes the good guys need someone to do the dirty work for them, do what's hard, but necessary."

Velvet uncrossed her arms, one hand coming to a rest casually on the chest that was slung over her shoulder. Blake flicked her eyes to the case, and then back to Velvet's face as she fought the urge to reach for Gambol Shroud. That could be taken as a sign of aggression, lead to something that neither of them wanted. "Maybe," Velvet agreed, voice soft, focused, deadly. "Maybe, if you're talking about killing someone evil, rather than let them live. Or maybe attacking an enemy preemptively, or resorting to dirty tricks to beat an enemy during a fight. But torture?" The hand on her case tightened to a fist as her eyes narrowed. "That's never justified."

"Ha! Don't make me laugh!" Blake countered as she bared her teeth at Velvet. "This isn't torture, this is interrogation. What Yang did to him during his capture? That was worse than anything her endured here. Vern is only going through desensitization, and soon you will give him kindness." She shook her head, eyes narrowed. "This isn't torture, Velvet. You know as well as I do what torture is like. Or was I alone in enduring the abuse of humanity?"

Velvet chose not to answer, though a muscle in her jaw twitched.

"I wasn't alone in being held down by humans while they threatened to cut off my ears, laughing jeeringly the entire time, was I? I wasn't alone in enduring the slurs every day while merely walking down the street, was I?! I wasn't alone in being beat just because I was a fucking Faunus, WAS I?!" With each passing sentence, her voice grew more and more hysteric, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes as she remembered all the pain, all the fear, all the hatred that she had had to endure growing up. She stopped, noticing pain in her palm. She looked down at her hand, where her nails had dug into her skin, blood slowly trickling from the crescent moon punctures. Squeezing her eyes shut, she forced herself to take many deep, calming breaths before she continued. "No, Velvet, this isn't torture. I know torture, but it wasn't the White Fang that taught me."

Velvet closed her eyes for a moment, pain rippling briefly over her face before she gave a short, curt nod and held out one arm, the gesture a silent 'lead me onwards.' Blake nodded, feeling a sickness in her heart as she did as Velvet asked, leading her to Vern's room. "Open it," she said into one of the house's radios, and the door clicked as it unlocked, the lights in the room flickering on as Blake pushed the door open. Velvet shot her a look of disgust as she stepped into the room, going to the Faunus huddled in the corner. She murmured something to him that Blake couldn't catch as she laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. Vern gave a short, anguished sob as he jerked up, threw his arms around Velvet's midriff, and latched onto her desperately.

The next few minutes were spent wordless, Vern's gasps of relief and Velvet's soft murmurs and coos of comfort the only noise. But finally he calmed down, and began to speak haltingly, voice hoarse. "I know…precisely…what you're doing…" he rasped into Velvet's stomach as she locked hard, angry eyes on Blake, all the while stroking Vern's back comfortingly. Blake saw the blame and disgust in Velvet's eyes, acknowledged it, and let it pass by as she kept her face emotionless. "I…don't…care."

"We need your help, Vern," Velvet said softly, and Vern laughed, madness barely held at bay.

"You think…I give a shit…about the Crimson Claw? Those…bloodthirsty…animals? Thought I didn't listen, thought I didn't know…but Vern knows how to listen…how to survive! All of their secret plans…that they thought I didn't know about! Oh, I'll help you, just don't leave me alone, please!" With each passing word, his voice gained strength, even as madness drew ever closer. And Blake knew that she was to blame. But Velvet's eyes wouldn't let her look away.

"What secret plans?" Velvet asked gently.

"An attack on the hospital, using a well-trained group that used to be in the Atlas military." At his words, Blake's blood ran cold.

"What attack?" she snapped as she stepped further into the room. "When?!"

Vern turned away from Velvet for the first time, looking up at Blake with haunted eyes set in a tortured face. "Thursday the seventeenth, just after three in the morning." Then his mouth turned up in a tremulous smile as a mad giggle spilled from his lips. "What day is it, Belladonna? What day is it?!"

"Stay with him!" she barked at Velvet even as she spun and sprinted for the door, hand going to her scroll. 2:53. Fuck! She desperately dialed the emergency line to the police, agonizing at the two…three rings before her call was answered by a cool and professional voice.

"999, this is Susan, what is your emergency?"

"Sarah, this is Blake Belladonna, Chief of Security with the Schnee Dust Company, I have information regarding an attack on the Vale Memorial Hospital that is going to occur at any time! You need to warn the hospital and get everything you have available to the hospital ten minutes ago, do you understand?"

There was a brief pause, and Blake grit her teeth as she threw open Bagheera's door, slid in, and turned the car on. She tossed the phone onto the passenger seat as the call was automatically transferred to the car's system. Finally Sarah answered. "Yes, ma'am, the information was forwarded, and we're sending units to the hospital now, but it may be some time before we can get there in force."

"Good, I'm coming from the southern outskirts of Vale, and I'm going to be coming fast. If you can have traffic units clear the way, that'd be much appreciated."

"We'll see what we can do."

"Thanks." She ended the call, slammed Bagheera into gear, and roared out onto the road, dust billowing into the night air behind the car as she pushed it to its very limits. "Call Yang," she called out over the sound of the howling engine. This call took longer, ringing six times before Yang answered, loud music in the background.

"Yo, Blake, what's up? You know I'm at work, right?" Yang asked before cheerfully yelling at her patrons, telling them to shut up. "I'm surprised you're still awake, you-"

"Yang, this is an emergency, Ruby is in trouble!"

The music cut off in the background, and Blake winced as Yang roared out a command for everyone to shut the fuck up! loud enough that it caused feedback on her phone. But it was effective, silence suddenly coming from Yang's end. "Go." Yang's voice was charged, focused.

"Attack on Vale Memorial, can happen at any minute, don't know the fine details, but it's going to be a small force of ex-Atlas military, likely well-trained. You need to get Weiss caught up and get over to the hospital right now! I'm driving, but it'll be another twenty minutes before I can get there."

"Done. Drive safe, see you when you get here." The call disconnected, and Blake popped the e-brake, sliding around a curve, fear heavy in her throat. God, please let me make it in time!

The speeds that she would reach on that drive would make her previous joy-ride seem positively slow and sedate.

xxxXXXxxx

Airspace above Vale Memorial Hospital

Vale, 0305

"We will be on the landing pad at 0330, and will wait there for exactly one minute before departing, with or without you, do you understand?" the pilot's voice crackled through their ear pieces, tone brooking no argument, and the strike force members in the Bullhead's red lit cargo bay looked at one another, finding strength and determination in one another.

"That's an affirmative," Abraham replied into the handless mic, and the cargo ramp to the Bullhead opened, revealing the dark night's sky.

"Good luck," the loadmaster shouted, and the red light turned green. The eight of them ran out into the sky, letting gravity take them, and Abraham looked to his left, seeing the remaining eight Faunus of his force jumping out of the back of the second Bullhead on this mission. They could all fit in one, and would, at the end of this mission, as only one of the Bullheads would land, the other providing close air support.

"All members, sound off," he called into the full-faced oxygen mask. "Alpha one, made the jump." The other members all called in as they free fell towards the tall building that was their objective. Twenty stories tall, with their target on the fifteenth floor. "Remember, rules of engagement are to engage only those threatening our mission. We're professionals, not murderers." He glanced at the altimeter strapped to his wrist. "Pop chutes!" He pulled his rip cord, and his chute deployed with a jerk.

In between gathering his risers to direct his fall and a quick check to make sure he had all his equipment, he took a moment to admire the beauty of Vale at night, the glittering lights working well with the classical architecture. He felt a pang of regret, knowing that the Faunus deserved a kingdom as grand as Vale, but they had always been denied it because of humanity's greed and hatred.

He also noticed that the hospital's roof was clear of any hostiles, and that there were a lot of police cars all over the kingdom driving towards the hospital, red and blue lights flashing in the darkness, their sirens just barely audible over the great distance.

And then his view was cut off by the rapidly approaching roof, and he pulled the risers just so, nearly stalling his descent, letting him step onto the roof as gently as if he were stepping off a staircase, the other members of the force doing the same thing, save for Bravo Team. The other assault team had deliberately missed the roof and would instead descend to street level in the back of the hospital complex, giving them closer access to their objective. They would radio when they were set, he told himself as he slapped his release harness and gathered up his chute. "Secure the roof!"

xxxXXXxxx

Bravo Team, 03:09

They slid through the air, and Michael was glad that the air conditions were optimal. Barely any wind, and without rain. He glanced in the windows that they were descending past, but most of them were dark, their residents asleep. Not for much longer, likely, he told himself as he reached up with one hand, pulling down the night vision device attached to his helmet. Yes, they could see in the dark, but this was a thermal sight, which was something that most Faunus lacked. He carefully scanned the maintenance courtyard that they were headed for. It had a narrow access road leading to the highway, but that was it. "LZ clear," he called out into his radio. Moments later, they were on the ground, soft landings save for Ryan, who rolled as he hit before flashing an okay sign. "Insertion complete," he radioed to Abraham. He received one squelch in return, the affirmative signal. They quickly gathered up their chutes, stuffing them in the convenient dumpsters.

Just in time, too. "Cover!" someone hissed, and they dove behind the dumpster and the stairway next to the loading bay as a cop car drove by, flashing its searchlight into the alley. It didn't stop, and Michael released a relieved breath. They would have been able to deal with it, but every moment that they avoided hard contact, the better.

"Stack up on me." The rest was training, stacking up outside the door, using the key card that their contact inside the hospital had gotten for them the day before from a maintenance worker who had yesterday and today off. The door opened without an issue, and they cleared the landing of the stairwell waiting beyond. "Alright, let's go."

One of the reasons that they had chosen now of all times to hit the hospital was that this early in the morning, only a skeleton staff remained working. Though they kept their weapons at the ready as they went down the stairs into the basement, they didn't encounter anyone. "Left here…right at the T intersection. Alright, this is our door." He, Ryan, and Kendrick faced out, aiming down the concrete corridor as Lucas set the small breaching charge on the door handle.

"Set!"

They returned to the T intersection, and Michael peered through the sights on his Personal Defense Weapon, a blocky little weapon that fired small rounds with a lot of powder behind them. Good for defeating body armor, and enough rounds could definitely get the attention of even experienced Hunters. Not their secret weapon, Ryan had that slung on his back, but their P40s would get the job done. Certainly did better than the police standard issue submachine gun. "Fire in the hole!" Lucas called out softly, repeating the phrase twice more before hitting the detonator.

It wasn't much explosive, just enough to bust the door. Anyone not on this floor wouldn't even hear it. Still, it seemed loud as hell to them as they returned to the doors that were now missing their handles and locks. They opened easily enough. Michael and Ryan stood guard at the door as Lucas and Kendrick disappeared into the labyrinth of the Mechanical and Power Center. Fancy way of saying 'if you want to make the building go dark, hit here.'

"Vic, you down there? What the hell was that noise?"

At the voice calling from the way they came, both Michael and Ryan brought their weapons to the high ready. The security guard who came around the corner didn't stand a chance, and Michael didn't hesitate to put a three round burst into the man's chest, suppressor muffling the gunshots. Michael felt a brief pang of remorse as the man collapsed, look of horror on his face, but it was a fleeting feeling. They had a job to do.

Lucas and Kendrick rejoined them. "It's set."

"Blow it."

Once more, Lucas hit a detonator, and there was a muffled thump from deep within the room at their backs. Immediately, they were plunged into darkness.

xxxXXXxxx

Sierra Team Leader, 03:10

"Insertion complete," Michael reported over the radio, and Sarah watched as Abraham hit his PTT button twice.

"Lot of cop cars headed our way," she pointed out, and Abraham shrugged.

"Doesn't make much of a difference. Maybe if they had started coming thirty minutes ago, but now it's too late. Will your teams be good?"

She nodded absent-mindedly, already scanning the roof for good spots to set up. Besides the massive AC units and heating ducts and various maintenance doors, the hospital had been built with classic architecture in mind. As such, there were multiple spires and towers that served little purpose other than satisfy artistic sensibilities, and the walls had crenellated facades. A sniper's dream.

"Good. Keep them occupied, and stay safe," he said as he clasped her shoulder briefly before gathering his and James' teams and heading for the door that would lead them to the ICU the quickest.

Looking after them, she unslung the heavy antimaterial rifle from her shoulder, attaching it with a clip to her plate carrier. "We can do that," she murmured quietly, almost to herself as she quickly chambered one of the custom made .50 caliber rounds. Louder now, she called out to the other three snipers. "Henry, you've got the west, Ira, you have east, Evan, the south, and I've got the north. Remember, we don't have to stop them, just slow them down for a bit. Don't do anything stupid, and if you've got too many targets to handle, call for help. Move."

The moment the other three turned and began to bound off, she did the same. The north road was the one that offered the easiest approach, of course. She took it not only because she was the best shot, but the highest chance for danger would come from here. She fully expected to have one of the others come and join her before the end.

With a grunt, she jumped over a rooftop AC unit, pausing in the shadow of one of the towers as she peered over the edge of the wall and down at the city streets far below, getting her bearing. Just like she expected, she was far above a T intersection, with the top of the T lying flush against the hospital and running east and west, and the body stretching away from her to the north. She commanded an excellent view. She leaned out more carefully and looked straight down. There were already two police cars parked at the main entrance, but another one was approaching fast from the north, its lights flashing.

"Damn!" she hissed to herself as she eyeballed the range…half a mile? She knew they'd be coming fast and thick, but she wanted at least a little more time to set up. She braced herself against the crenellated wall, leaning out as far as she dared, ignoring the long drop to the city streets below as she acquired a shooting solution and snapped off a quick shot, ignoring the heavy kick to her shoulder, eyes squinting at the fireball the blossomed at the end of her rifle's barrel, the report loud enough to wake the dead.

If she had been aiming at the driver, she would have taken longer to aim, but her mission was to slow them down…and the explosive bullet hitting and then detonating against the car's engine block did just that, and rather spectacularly. It swerved into some cars parked into the side of the road with a crunch that echoed up to her position. She ducked back as she heard a shot from Evan's side of the building. She hoped that the police would get the bloody hint and not send too many more against them. They just needed a little time, is all.

Speaking of time, now that she had some, she could at least secure her position a bit. She pulled out the fifty feet of rope she had in a drop bag as she shoved against one of the crenellations as hard as she could. It didn't budge. Good. A few minutes later, and she had a loop thrown over the crenellation and was secured to it using a few simple but sturdy knots and a climber's carabiner that could hold five hundred pounds. She could release herself in a matter of seconds, but should she fall, she wouldn't fall to her death.

Thus secured, she leaned out once more. Great, two cars travelling together from the east. She grimaced as she aimed down the street. Maybe the message she was sending had to be of a more permanent nature. She took in a deep breath, let half of it out, gently squeezed the trigger, shifted left through the recoil, exhaled completely as she found her next sight picture, and fired again, brass shell casing spinning into the air. The first round cracked through the lead car's windshield, the time delay fuse going off right when the round was probably in between the driver and passenger, and she could see through her scope as she lined up for an unnecessary second shot the blood that had sprayed against the windshield that had spider-webbed with the round. They might be alive, but it wasn't likely. The second car's occupants had fared a little better, though the car hadn't. She had placed the round through the right headlight, and the round blew off the tire, sending the car careening into a building. She rested her scope on the car, contemplating sending another round its way, but her finger came off the trigger as the door creaked open and a bloodied cop spilled out of it and collapsed on the ground. Out of the fight for now.

She leaned over the wall, peering down at the lead car as it continued onward, propelled by its own inertia and little else. She winced as it ran a red light and was t-boned by a delivery truck that couldn't stop in time. The cops were almost certainly dead now. "Come on, you idiots!" she snapped into the warm summer air, a bead of sweat running down her cheek. "Stop traffic, and stop coming!" Movement caught her eye to the north as a cop car emerged from one of the cross streets that way, screeching to a halt next to the first car she had taken out. She licked her dry lips as she brought her rifle to bear. "Get them and get out, please!"

But they didn't follow her unheard plea, one of the cops from the first car pointing up at her general direction, and a cop from the new car pulled out an assault rifle that had some sort of low powered telescopic sight on it and aimed up towards her. He probably couldn't even see her, but she couldn't take the chance. Heart heavy, she aimed carefully, and rewarded his zeal with a round to the chest. The resulting explosion and its aftermath would stay in her mind for a long, long time.

xxxXXXxxx

Alpha Team Leader, 03:10

Abraham lead them through the door and down the stairs, the faint jostling of their equipment, the tread of their boots on the steps and their breathing the only noise as they continued down, down, down, him counting under his breath as they passed each floor. They reached the fifteenth floor without incident, and he quickly checked the map of the floor as they stacked up on the door exiting the stairway. By now, word had to have spread to the hospital that there was an attack. Their only advantage lay in that the hospital's security staff didn't know where the attack was going to come from. Still, it was going to get loud.

Taking a calming breath, he reached back with his left hand, tapping the Faunus behind him as a sign that he was ready, weapon held at the high ready in the off chance that someone were to come into the stairwell unexpectedly. No one did, and the last man in the line came up, quickly checked for traps, gently twisted the doorknob, and quickly pulled the door open. It was all violence of action after that. This door let out onto the floor at the end of a hallway, greatly diminishing the directions that a threat could come from, but if someone was set up right, they could wipe the entire team. But one couldn't think about the hail of bullets that might be waiting for them. One had to push through quickly and decisively, or the entire attack could falter and fail. As such, Abraham's mind was clear as he pushed through the open doorway and hooked hard to the left…only to come nearly face-to-face with a man holding something in his right hand.

His reaction was reflex…center the laser sight on the target's chest, and fire. The young man died with a look of horror on his face, cup of water spilling from his hand as he collapsed against the wall, smearing blood against the white surface. "Fuck!" Abraham snarled bitterly before training took over once more. "One up!"

"Two up!"

"Three up!"

"Four up!"

"Fuck!" Abraham snapped again even as he scanned for new targets. The Crimson Claw wouldn't care that he just killed a civilian, but he was still a professional soldier at heart, and it had been beat into him that defenseless civilians were not to be targeted. "James, set up the trap in the stairs, and get out here."

The four members of the heavy weapons and demolition team emerged from the stairwell, James giving a curious glance at the cadaver that was now leaking blood into an ever growing pool. "It's set."

At his words, the overhead lights died, emergency strip lighting along the edges of the corridor flashing on with a dim glow. "Seems like our friends in the basement are doing well. Let's go." They set off, Abraham carefully stepping over the man he had killed, boots sticking slightly in the blood puddle. There were alarmed shouts ahead of them, he had to remain focused. "Corridor right," he called out behind him as he took a knee at it, aiming down the wide expanse, eyes seeing through the gloom. "Clear."

However, as the third member of his force started to make the quick crossing, two figures rounded the corner twenty meters down, and his eyes picked out the security uniform of the hospital easy enough. "Hold!" one of them shouted as the other drew a pistol and aimed at them.

Cursing again, Abraham fired two more bursts, but the one armed with the pistol didn't die, though he went down hard, behind his partner, gaining some cover. He managed to fire twice, pistol reports loud in the enclosed space as the shots went wild, and Abraham stood, took a bead, and fired again. "We're loud, gentlemen!"

Luckily they didn't have much farther to go, and didn't encounter anyone on the way. They came around the corner leading to the ICU entrance, and Abraham had to fight the urge to sigh with relief at the sight of the double doors. "Breach and clear, explosive entry," he ordered as he glanced at his watch. 03:16. Fourteen minutes until they had to be on the roof. Cutting it close. "Prep the anti-Hunter weapon, they'll be waiting for us." Pat nodded, pulling the heavy weapon off of his back, and doing what little assembly remained as James' team moved up.

They knew what they were doing. Yuki moved quickly, placing an adhesive foil tape with a det cord on the inside of it in a broad X that crisscrossed the door as Rose stood by with the explosive plate set on the end of a spring-loaded pole. Set off the det cord, it weakened the door and set off the plastic explosives in the plate, thus blowing the door down. Yuki backed off, giving a thumbs up as Rose pressed the plate firmly against the center of the door, the pole clicking silently twice before she placed the no-skid base against the floor. Abraham watched as Yuki's calm, sure fingers peeled back a portion of the tape at one corner of the door, exposing a short length of det cord that he attached to a wireless detonator. Once done, the demolition expert lead them back around the corner, looking for Abraham for the final order.

Abraham nodded. "Do it."

Yuki lifted the transmitter, and pressed the button.

Bravo Team Leader, 03:18

Michael and his team waited in the shadows of the corridor, listening to the group ahead of them arguing. The small group of cops and the security staff were disagreeing with what to do now, the cops arguing that they had to wait for back up that couldn't get to them because of snipers on the roof, the security guards countering that some of their people on the fifteenth floor weren't answering their radios, and that they had to do something, now! Michael glanced back at his team. Well, time to render the argument invalid.

It was astounding how close they got to the group huddled around the security admin center before they were noticed. One of the cops glanced up, her eyes widening in shock as she noticed them approaching. "Holy-!" she started as her hand went for her sidearm, but whatever word was going to follow would never be said, Lucas's bullets catching her in the mouth and neck, and the rest of the group suffered similar fates as Michael of his team gunned them down.

"Alright, let's move," he said, and as they drew away from the room, he tossed a grenade into it. Might not blow all the monitors and radios, but it'd get some of them, he told himself as the grenade detonated. Right, so they had to pass an admissions desk for prompt care on the way to the staircase that would get them to the roof, and he hoped the staff members there were smart enough to disappear. "Stay frosty," he warned, and just in time, as someone leaned around the corner up by the admissions desk, firing a pistol at them. The bullets cracked by them, and he heard a grunt of pain behind him as he and Kendrick dropped the target.

Fearing the worst, he glanced back, but Ryan only shook his head, hand wrapped around his upper arm. "Just a scratch," he assured him, and Michael nodded.

"Right, let's go." As they approached the desk, he heard movement behind it, and he brought his weapon up as he came up on it, Kendrick doing the same at his side. But it was just a nurse who had dragged the man who had shot at them behind the desk, trying to slow the bleeding from the bullet wounds in the man's chest. A futile effort, but let the human try. "Okay," he started as he turned away from the two. "We need to turn left at-"

"Sir, look out!" A burst of suppressed weapons fire, and Michael jerked back in shock as the nurse collapsed across the chest of the man that she was trying to save, guard's pistol dropping out of her bloody hand.

Michael could only stare for a moment before the indignant rage arrived. "What the fuck?!" he shouted at the dead woman. "We weren't going to kill you! You could still be alive, you stupid bitch!"

Before he could say anything else, another unexpected thing happened. The PA crackled to life, and a scared female voice echoed throughout the corridors tremulously. "A-all hospital s-staff and p-patients, there a-are a-armed intruders in the ho-hospital. P-please stay i-in your rooms until th-the p-police come, thank you." He frowned, hopped over the desk, strode around a large filing cabinet, and looked down at the young woman sitting on the floor, who was holding a phone in one trembling hand as she looked up to him with wide, terrified eyes. He sighed heavily in exasperation, bent over, and pressed the switch hook.

"Are you g-going to kill me?" she gasped out, entire body shaking with terror.

He shook his head. "It would be a shame to kill someone who isn't trying to hurt me, and who is trying to keep as many safe as possible. You've done your job well, miss. Now, keep your head down, understand?" She nodded. "Good."

"Sir, we have a problem!" Kendrick shouted just as Lucas roared out a command to halt. Shooting the scared girl one more glance, Michael ran around the filing cabinet…to see a young girl with green eyes and orange hair. What the hell?

She tilted her head at them, frowning thoughtfully. "Are you friends?" she asked as she continued to walk towards them.

"I said stop, dammit!" Lucas shouted as he brought up his P40.

The girl stopped, looking from the weapon to Lucas and the rest of the team with no fear. Why wasn't she afraid? Was she…? Oh, God, she was a Huntress! "No, you are most certainly not friends!" she said, face going from curious to determined as swords, fucking swords floated into the air behind her.

"Huntress, drop her!"

But before they could fire, eight of the swords formed a circle in front of her, spinning rapidly as his team opened fire, blocking the bullets. "Fall back!" Michael ordered, but not quickly enough. The swords in front of her still spinning, she launched four more over her shoulder at Lucas. Michael watched in horror as the blades effortlessly cut through Lucas's Aura and body armor, skewering him instantly as they picked him up and slammed him into a wall. The blades returned to their master, and Michael turned to face her as Ryan and Kendrick stopped firing. They couldn't win.

The blades in front of her stopped spinning, and she strode towards them with all the deliberateness of the tide as her swords gathered in the air behind her, arranged loosely in the shape of wings. That, coupled with how her eyes flashed in the darkness, gave her the appearance of an angel of vengeance, and Michael knew true fear. He was going to die. Unless…

He threw up a hand. "Stop, please!" Perhaps it was the last word that did it, but the girl stopped her inexorable advance forwards. "There is a girl at the admissions desk, and she needs your help. If you go to help her right now, I give you my word that my men won't fight anymore tonight. We just want to leave with our fallen brother."

She stared at them, head tilted and face inscrutable. Then, without warning, three of her swords flashed forward, and Michael flinched, expecting to die. But there was the crack of metal against plastic as the swords flew back to their mistress, and Michael looked down as his P40 fell in half, Ryan's and Kendrick's weapons suffering the same fight. "You are right, you won't fight anymore tonight. Get out of my sight," she said as she turned towards the admissions desk.

Michael let out a breath of relief as he ran towards Lucas, fearing the worst. Even a quick glance confirmed his fears. Lucas was definitely dead; his lungs, spine, and heart had been the target of the swords. I will grieve later, Michael told himself as he bodily pulled his friend's limp corpse up, Ryan and Kendrick helping him getting Lucas on his shoulders, warm blood spilling down his back. "Let's go!"

Hopefully everyone else was doing better.

xxxXXXxxx

Alpha Team Leader, 03:18

The explosion tore through the silence, a cloud of dust and smoke billowing towards them. "Move, move, move!" Abraham ordered, and they came around the corner…and into a hail of bullets coming from a single figure standing in the middle of the hallway, obscured by the dust and smoke. "Hunter! Get back!" They quickly backpedalled, getting behind cover, rounds hissing and snapping around them.

James dropped to the ground at the corridor intersection, gaining some cover as he got behind his LMG. "Covering!" he shouted before opening up with a long burst, the rounds tearing through the air. But, just as he expected, they didn't deter the Hunter, who focused his attack on James, the floor and wall shattering as bullets thudded around him.

"Pat!"

In the long war against the Grimm, it was well known that Huntsmen and Huntresses were the best weapon to be used against them. But there were always situations in which they weren't available, and those without the special training that Hunters got had to defend themselves. Small arms worked well against the lesser of the Grimm, but the larger creatures like the Nevermore and the Death Stalker and the Goliath…they needed more. And so, Atlas developed a weapon that the average man could use against even the largest of Grimm and face a better chance of survival. An unexpected side-effect was that said weapon also worked very well against Hunters.

Pat leaned around the corner, the 20mm Man-Portable Antimaterial Cannon held snugly on his shoulder. It was a strange design, the MANPAC was, but it worked. It was a bullpup, with the thick, heavy magazine behind the trigger and pistol grip. But what made it so successful, what allowed a man to fire a cannon round was the special recoil action. The barrel was designed to drive back. With most weapons, that meant driving back into the buttstock and thus, against the shooter's shoulder. With the MANPAC, the barrel and it's impressive, heavy duty buffer spring ran in a straight line over the shooter's shoulder. It still kicked as bad as any .50 caliber rifle, but a lot of the recoil was distributed in the barrel rocking back, the buffer spring, and a specially designed muzzle brake, and what remained was focused over and behind the shooter's shoulder. The muzzle climb was horrendous, but that was a small price to pay for being able to really put down a target.

"Firing!" Pat shouted, and Abraham clapped his hands over his dog ears, knowing what was coming. Pat fired, rocking back with the shot, and a massive fireball erupted into the dim corridor, windows shattering along the hallway. The sound was deafeningly loud even through his hands, and Abraham winced at it. There was a flare of blue light as whatever shields the Huntsman had set tried to resist the cannon round, but it was a futile effort. Abraham couldn't see the result of the shot clearly because of the dust, but the Huntsman dropped heavily.

"Xavier!" The cry was pure anguish, and a tall, willowy figure came out of a side room, sliding to a halt next to the fallen Huntsman.

"The other Hunter, quick-!"

But before Pat could aim and fire again, the Huntress shot up, tucking a violin under her chin and bringing a bow to bear. A violin? What's she going to-

She drew the bow across the strings, and the eight of them screamed in agony, stumbling back at the sounds that emanated from the instrument. Her face a rictus of rage and hatred, she started towards them, still playing that one horrible, terrible note, the paint peeling from the walls and the floor starting to crack. She was shouting something, but he couldn't hear, couldn't think over that damned note!

It was James that saved them. Bellowing in pained anger, he somehow found his feet, and the Huntress pointed the violin at him, playing a different note that was somehow worse than the one before it, though that didn't seem possible. James staggered, shook his head, blood droplets splattering on the floor, and he took one…two…three steps forward. If she hadn't been so consumed by her emotions, the girl might have had the mind to fall back, but she stood her ground, playing her hellish song. But James didn't falter, got within striking range, and slammed down with his fist. The violin shattered under the blow, the song blessedly ending, and the girl was broken from her rage, staring up at the massive bull Faunus with shock. "How-?" she started, but James didn't let her finish, massive hand finding her throat and lifting her up into the air.

She struggled, clawing at his arms and kicking at his torso, yes, but it wasn't enough. James merely squeezed harder and harder until a crunch and a crack was heard, her trachea and spine going. She went completely lax, and James carefully laid her body next to her partner. "Well fought," he said into the resulting stillness before turning towards Abraham, and Abraham winced at the blood trickling from James' ears and nose. "Powerful little one, wasn't she? Time?"

"0322. We need to move." The target's room was just around the nursing station. Almost there, almost done.

xxxXXXxxx

Outside Vale Memorial, 03:17

Weiss practically threw herself out of her car, stumbling slightly as she moved up to where she could see Yang talking with a large group of cops. "What's happening, have we sent anyone in yet?" she demanded as she drew closer, twitching at the sound of a rifle shot on the other side of the building that lay between them and the hospital. "What was that?!"

The chief of police jerked his head towards the hospital. "Snipers, we think there's four of them. Our own sharpshooters are still on the way. I only got here so fast because I live close to here. Most of my officers are still waking up. We've lost contact with the personnel we've sent inside, and we think they're dead. So I've already lost at least six officers, and have three confirmed wounded."

Weiss waved him off. "I don't care. We can sort everything out after all of this. We need to get into that building."

"Easy for you to say!" he snapped. "You're a bloody Huntress! Most of my personnel aren't prepared for this…that's a bloody well trained and well equipped force in there, killing my men!"

Weiss paused, hearing the anguish in his voice. "Yes. You're right. I apologize. Yang, let's go."

Leaving the group of police, the two of them headed around the building towards the hospital. "Plan?" Yang asked as she cracked her knuckles.

"Cat-apult," Weiss answered as she rested her fingers on Myrtenaster's hilt.

"But Blake isn't here yet."

"I know!" Weiss snapped. "Do it with me. Throw me at the building. We know where Ruby's window is, I'll use my glyphs to get me there. I just need a boost."

"And the snipers?"

Weiss grinned. "Well, we'll just have to give them a moving target."

Yang grinned toothily back, and as one they darted around the corner as fast as they could, sprinting towards the hospital, keeping their paths random, unpredictable. Almost immediately, heavy rounds started to impact around them, and Weiss felt her heart pounding in her throat as she drew Myrtenaster. Right…about…now! "Set!" she cried out as she jumped up. Yang ran up underneath her, grabbed the bottom of her feet, and hurled her upwards. Weiss set a line of acceleration glyphs up the side of the building and started to run upwards, wind howling in her face, eyes fixed on Ruby's window. So focused was she, that she didn't notice the figure leaning out over the top of the building, large rifle trained on her, but the figured jerked back as Yang fired a barrage at the top of the building, giving Weiss cover.

And now! She cast a platform glyph parallel to and outside Ruby's window, and kicked off the wall, spinning in the air, landing feet first on the glyph before pushing off of it, crashing through Ruby's window…just as a figure clad in a dusty black assault suit and body armor opened the door. They stared at each other for a moment before bursting into action, the figure raising a blocky looking firearm while Weiss dashed forward. He fired a burst that flew harmlessly over her shoulder before crashing into Ruby's sink, and the Weiss was on.

The quarters were tight, so she was limited, and whoever this guy was, he had some skill. They came together in a flurry of blows, and at first they seemed to be on even footing, Weiss unable to maneuver enough to attack well, and he was unable to use his gun for anything but blocking her attacks. But then he left an opening, and she took it, Myrtenaster sliding past his defenses and into his shoulder. He cried out in pain as she withdrew the blade, preparing for the final blow, but he jumped back, out of the room, where seven more figures stood, aiming more of the blocky weapons at her.

Cursing, she threw up multiple shield glyphs as they opened fire, the rounds they were using unable to penetrate her shields. Then one of them knelt, pointing a large rifle at her, and she sneered. Even .50 caliber round couldn't penetrate all the shields she set up. But then she looked more carefully, saw its different shape, recognized what it was, and her heart plummeted. "Oh, no…" she whispered as the Faunus fired. She brought Myrtenaster up just in time, focusing a shield glyph at its tip as the round shattered all her other shields before impacting her last line of defense. It was strange that she could see her death in the shell that was digging against her barrier, rapidly draining her Aura. But she couldn't move…everything was focused in stopping the cannon round. Would her Aura last long enough to-

The shield shattered, and the shell snapped forward. "No!" she screamed as she gathered the very last vestiges of her Aura protectively around her just as the shell exploded against her right shoulder, throwing her backwards into a counter. Head swimming, she looked down at her tattered shoulder armor and the ruined flesh underneath. But, surprisingly, she could still flex the fingers on her right hand. She was still holding Myrtenaster. Even though she was at the cusp of unconsciousness, she could still fight, still protect Ruby, the one she cared about the most.

But to her surprise, the dark figures that swam in and out of her vision were running away. That didn't make any sense. Why would they run when they could still win?

"W-Weiss?"

The voice, hoarse though it was, was still recognizable. Weiss looked down at Ruby's bed, noticing for the first time that she didn't have tubes down her nose and throat. But more importantly, Ruby was looking up at her with a grey, heavy lidded eye.

Weiss gave a sob of relief, the pain of her wound catching up to her. "You're okay!" she cried as darkness surged up, swallowing her whole, dragging her into oblivion.

AN: (Part 2) Normally don't need these, but I just wanted to clarify something. The MANPAC is based off the M82A2 Antimaterial Rifle that was developed by Barrett. I don't know if I described it well enough, so now you have something you can use to google search it. Thanks!