(AN: Due to many personal issues and lots of college class related things, I'll be slowing down my update schedule to make room for rest and more story building elements. I hope I've been doing well for this story, and I don't plan on stopping this fanfiction anytime soon. Thanks for reading, and I hope we'll all be able to handle the rough times that may happen now or in the future.)
The White Fang guard who was keeping hold on my arm earlier, Perry, was now carrying Yang while his buddy kept my arms behind me with one hand and a gun jammed against my back. I wasn't too worried about this guy, but I was scared that if I tried anything, the defenseless Yang would receive a bullet to the head.
I kept thinking to myself how it was kind of odd to see Perry in person. And not for any particular reason either, except for how his thin rimmed eyeglasses kind of just looked weird in front of that White Fang Grimm mask he had in real life, much less the animated episodes he showed up in.
It was quite a walk from the sinkhole all the way to the underground train network where the White Fang was operating. It felt like around a half hour of walking, and my legs did feel rather tired after about twenty minutes. At least I thought so. It might've been even longer, due to the tension seemingly stretching the time to extreme proportions.
"What, no talking? Most huntsmen we come across would try to talk their way out of the situation you and your girlfriend are in," the guy with his gun at my back said. He had a cocky tone, like one of those bullies in most American high school movies. Except this was a terrorist. And I was just a huntsman in training.
"What do you want from me? Begs? Quips?" I asked. "Or how about my life story? Maybe I could tell you how I got into this line of work? Some tragic explanation for why I fight Grimm and come into conflict with extremists. Maybe how I had a love of my life before something happened and now I'm on a path of self righteous vengeance-"
"Just stop," Perry said tiredly as we reached the main train line, where Paladins were loading equipment and supplies on and off the train. Many men and women in White Fang uniforms were bustling about, all working hard on this great scheme of theirs.
The train was the biggest surprise. In the show, it was a normal freight train loaded with boxcars and flatbeds for mechs. But this train in real life looked very different. The boxcars had machine guns on it, and the flatbeds had cover placed between the mechs. There were even a few passenger coaches rigged with multiple doors for mass troop deployment, where the sides would open up and allow for the entire complement to just pour out.
This seemed to be a fortress on rails rather than a massive battering ram.
A loud thud caught my attention from the train. Two grunts were standing near a bomb, one of the bombs for the rear cars. "Hey, be careful! What are you trying to do, blow us to the moon?" one grunt shouted.
"Sorry, sir!" another said sheepishly.
"First day on the job? Don't worry, we all have those!" I called. That earned me a confused look from the two grunts and a light smack on my head from the guy behind me. "Jeez, I was just asking."
We eventually reached the train, specifically one of the open boxcars near the middle of the train. "Hey, boss! We have something to show you!" Perry called out, knocking on the open door of the boxcar.
Roman's voice called from inside the open boxcar. "Is it good or bad, Perry? Because let me tell ya, I have had a day," he said in a very exasperated tone.
"Depends!" I called. "Am I good news or bad news to you?" Roman peeked out and a frown donned his face.
"Very bad indeed," he said before hopping down. "Go grab yourself a break, I'll handle these two."
Perry shoved Yang back in my hands before he and his buddy left. Without warning, Roman snapped his fingers and I felt a hand on my shoulder. Before I could turn, the sound of glass shattering filled the air and I stumbled against the wall, still holding Yang.
I was inside another boxcar now, with Roman and Neo in front of me. Neo just smiled cheekily at me and waved before she too disappeared in a pile of shards. "Straight to the point?" I asked.
"Yes," Roman said, sighing. "So, no belt of magic sparkling dust? I don't see you having it."
"Yeah, yeah...that was a stupid move on my part," I sighed as I set Yang down in a comfortable position and turned to Roman. "So, what now?"
"I wanna know how you found this place," Roman said. Before I could speak, he held up a gloved hand to stop me. "By that, I mean how did you find this...place?" He waved his hands to gesture to the hideout, I guess. "I know you and that other cat and monkey were at the rally."
"You said southeast," I said. There was no harm in explaining some parts. "We narrowed it down to a massive abandoned area like this. Kinda obvious and the kind of place anyone would choose to avoid."
"Eh," Roman said. "Guess you have a point. But why were you and your little girlfriend snooping?"
I looked back - or ahead - to Roman's death by Grimm Griffon and I sighed. "To get you and your friend out," I said. Upon Roman's raising of the eyebrow, I sighed. "You don't have to be put into this...scheme your boss is doing."
"And what boss do I have, pray tell?" Roman asked me, twirling his cane. I wasn't about to spill Cinder's name on the high probability that Roman may tell her, but I had to try nonetheless.
"I don't know. But they gotta be scary enough to make you go from thief to terrorist leader," I said. Roman seethed and he raised his cane. I flinched and backed off immediately, before he lowered the cane. "I'm gonna let that go because you have no idea what you're talking about, kid. No one's using me, I'm the one running the show."
"I know more than you think. Didn't you say your 'employer' helped you get these Paladins?" I added. Roman scowled and I took this as my cue to continue. "You're Torchwick! You escape prison, you could disappear!" I said. "You can't seriously think that you'll be able to get away with something as big as this...whatever this is. I dunno, on of your guys dropped a bomb out there."
"Animals, I swear," Roman grumbled tiredly as he spun his cane. "Kid, this is bigger than all of us. So why don't you just keep quiet like a good little brat and just don't cause any trouble."
"Ugh..." a voice groaned. Roman and I turned to see Yang slowly waking up. "H-huh? Where am I?"
"Your little girlfriend is awake," Roman said. "Maybe she'll answer some of my questions, with a little encouragement."
I turned back to Roman, just in time to see the hook of his cane wrap around my neck and pull me to the floor of the boxcar with a thud. "Markus!" Yang cried as I was dragged back to Roman with his cane.
I had forgotten that Roman's cane could do that.
"So, blondie," Roman said threateningly as he kicked me over, my aura flaring. He held up my head by the neck with his cane, and placed the heel of his boot on the back of my head. "Answer everything I ask honestly, and I won't go and snap your little kitten's neck like a glowstick."
Yang's eyes widened, her pupils shaking in fright. "W-what?" she said. There was no doubt that she was confused, suddenly seeing Roman Torchwick here after the last thing she remembered was falling down a great height from the streets.
I didn't remember Roman being like this. Sure, he was lethal against Ruby before his death in Volume 3, but he wasn't actively trying to threaten anyone with death. It didn't seem to be his style.
I couldn't dwell on it for long, Roman's foot jerked and my head did so too. Yang jolted and her eyes turned red. "You bastard, get away from him!" she cried.
Roman tsk'd as her hair began to light up, "I wouldn't try anything stupid," he said. I choked on my breath as he pulled the cane back. Gasping, I reached a hand back trying to grab the cane. I'd never been strangled in a manner such as this before, and I could feel fear seeping in. I know that Roman wouldn't actively kill someone over this - Neo would - but I was still feeling my heart race, and not just because I needed oxygen.
"No! I'll tell you whatever you wanna know, just stop! Please..." Yang cried as her semblance extinguished itself, her angry red flaming eyes turning into terrified lilac teary ones. "Don't...don't hurt him..."
"Ah, young love. Sentimental anchors, I tell ya," Roman said. "Now, how did you find this place?"
"W-we spotted two of your guys while we were patrolling," Yang said. "Then we fell down a sinkhole...then I passed out."
"Alright, a good start. What are you doing here in the first place?" Roman asked again. He'd loosened his boot on my head somewhat, making it a little easier to breathe now.
"First year missions," Yang answere desperately. "Teams are doing them. We came here for our mission..."
"Great," Roman muttered, as my caracal ears twitched. "They likely have a huntsman with them..."
"P-please...just stop choking him," Yang said.
Roman thought about it with a "Hmmmm" before he eventually let me go. "I'm not a fan of killing kids," he said. "So I'll make an offer we're both happy with. You two start telling me the names and numbers of the people you came here with, and I promise I'll only leave you locked up for as long as my..."
He stopped to glare at me as I stopped coughing. Rubbing my throat, I returned the glare at full force as Yang came over to pull me towards her. When I turned, I saw she was glaring up at the thief turned terrorist commander as well.
"...associate...deems it necessary. If she wishes to kill you, then I won't be one to stop her," Roman said.
He was either talking about Cinder or Neo, the latter being much more likely. "Who's...she?" I said.
"Trust me, you don't wanna know," Roman muttered darkly, though it wasn't aimed at us. I never really understood how much Roman disliked and feared Cinder, and I doubt I ever would, but my guess at the moment was more or less "a lot".
We were interrupted when the sound of gunfire filled the air. "Huh?" Roman said before opening the boxcar, where a few White Fang goons were waiting. "Hey, can you two tell me what's going on?" he asked.
"No idea, sir. We were just on our way to-" one of the grunts said before more gunfire filled the air. It sounded like they were mostly assault rifles firing, but there were sounds of a different weapon firing.
A sniper rifle firing, to be exact.
"Dammit," Roman groaned as he climbed out and moved to pull the boxcar door shut on Yang and me. "Somebody deal with-"
I grabbed Yang and immediately copied Ruby's semblance to get us out of there. I was glad I watched Volume 8 or else I wouldn't have been able to learn that Ruby's semblance disassembled her base components to a molecular level to negate mass and gravity. I was also glad that it was shown to be able to work on other people I touch.
So it was satisfying to squeeze through the door and blast right past Roman and the Faunus terrorists, heading towards the sound of gunfire. It did feel very odd to be nothing but molecules, however.
Yang and I reached the others in seconds, collapsing in front of Weiss, Blake, Liya, Ruby, Zwei, and Doctor Oobleck in a heap of gray rose petals. Around us were several unconscious White Fang members, all incapacitated.
"Mister Onissa. Miss Xiao Long," Doctor Oobleck said as he tossed us our weapons. Yang caught Ember Celica and pulled them on her wrists, allowing her to unfold and arm them at once. I latched my belt on with little issue as well. My aura had taken a hit from the semblance usage, but I still had a decent amount to work with.
"Thanks for the rescue, but that train down there is loaded to the brim with...everything!" I said. "Mechs, guns, this thing's built for invasion!"
"Wait, what?!" Yang cried.
"Yeah, I was awake when they dragged me there, but they're getting ready to move!"
"What! Impossible, ridiculous, unthinkable!" Doctor Oobleck said. "The tracks and tunnels are sealed, there's only a dead end!"
"And where do those tunnels lead?" I said. The doctor's face fell in thought, before gaping in horror seconds later. He didn't get to say anything as the loud crackle of loudspeakers filled the tunnels.
"Get to your places, we are leaving now!" Roman's voice boomed through the underground areas. Without a second to waste, the train began to screech, old wheels struggling to turn and support the heavy mass of the load. But move it did, and we were getting left behind.
"I'll call backup! Maybe Sun or Jaune!" Ruby cried. She pulled out her scroll and her face fell in dismay. "I can't get through, low signal!"
"What now?" Liya said.
"Well, ladies and gentleman. I believe there's only one thing we can do," Doctor Oobleck said.
Not another word was said. The eight of us - I'm including the dog - bolted straight for the train, easily catching up due to the rail vehicle's low rate of acceleration. We all managed to jump atop the last boxcar in time.
Doctor Oobleck and Blake moved to incapacitate the grunts in the car, while the rest of us waited on top for a chance to assess the situation.
"OK, White Fang are headed for the city. The train has lots of bombs, I saw some on the way in," I said. "It's likely all of this was planned for a massive strike against the civilians in Vale. They'll bust through with the train and send an entire army to just cause damage on a citywide scale."
"Why would they go through such measures-" Weiss said.
"They're White Fang! Terrorists!" I said, cutting off Weiss. "They spent years getting ignored so violence is all they have left! And we have to stop it!" Weiss stopped, wide eyed but nodding.
I'd forgotten how sheltered Weiss was this early on. While the White Fang was dangerous in her eyes due to assassination attempts and the many losses of loved ones, she only had a basic idea of how dangerous they truly were, both the effects and causes of that danger for this organization. Even if this point was stated earlier many times, it still took a decent while for it to be hammered in.
"We need to find a way to stop the train-" I was about to continue when the thud of a hatch slamming open cut me off. "Lemme guess. One of the bombs I saw earlier?"
Blake, who had opened the hatch, nodded. "Yes," she said before turning to see Doctor Oobleck waving from several cars away. "They all have bombs!" he yelled.
"Wait...but why would they do that?" Liya said before the loud timed beeping of the bomb below us right now caught our attentions. "That's not good."
Suddenly, the car jolted and began to slow down. The rest of the train, however, seemed to get farther and farther away from us. "Jump!" Ruby cried, and the seven of us managed to leap onto the next car as it disconnected.
"Was that a bad coupling or something?" Liya asked.
"I don't think so," I said. We watched as the car exploded, shrapnel and fire blasting everywhere. And through the smoke, swarms of Grimm followed.
"Shit..." Ruby said.
"Language," I said before the next car detached. Again, we leapt to the next available car, and we kept going to avoid any more detaching cars. Explosions and the noises of monstrous creatures filled the air behind us, and I could feel myself getting more and more anxious as the Breach got inevitably closer and closer to fruition.
"So the White Fang are leading Grimm into the city," I said as Doctor Oobleck popped out of the car we were currently on with the bomb. From the way he tossed it off the train and dusted off his hands, I think it was best to assume he disarmed it. "What do we do?"
We were interrupted by gunfire, bullets and rockets tearing through the air at us at high speeds. Several goons armed with heavy weapons and assault rifles were firing at us from several more cars ahead. A Paladin was also unleashing hell on us as well. "Schnee, Belladonna, Eyla, Onissa! Go down and stop the train! The rest of us will hold off those up here!" Doctor Oobleck said as he unfolded his thermos into the giant baseball club weapon he had.
"Alright, doc!" I said before sliding towards the next car, which had a White Fang member, one that I was pretty sure was Deery, climbing out. "Come on!" I shouted as I barreled into the hatch, me and Deery landing in a heap in front of about a dozen goons heading for the ladder.
"Shit!" someone said, and I instinctively held up a shield of Dust to block their bullets, before shoving the wall outwards and smashing them into the wall of the boxcar, knocking all of them out.
"That was close," I muttered before looking down at Deery below me, who looked like she'd pissed her pants from all the gunfire. "You're coming with me."
Liya, Weiss, and Blake landed alongside me as I got up, and the four of us ran ahead, me carrying this poor Faunus girl with us in a fireman carry. "Plan, we blow past anyone we run into, go straight for the loco!" I said.
"Sounds good!" Liya said. "Uhh, why are we bringing her?"
"Why not?" I said jokingly before turning serious. "Not many Faunus will survive when the train crashes. I have an idea to save as many as I can-"
"They're terrorists!" Weiss shouted. "You said so yourself-"
"They're people!" I said in retaliation. "Disillusioned, but still people! Listen, I can lock up some of the cars with my Dust and create a shield! But you have to lock them in!"
Liya smiled under her mask, and Blake seemed to get some more determination on her face. "Understood. Save lives on both sides," Liya said. She cocked her anti-material rifle and dashed ahead to the next car, which happened to be a passenger car.
"You tell the people in that car to lock any opening, and you fucking huddle up and grab something," I said. I didn't wait for Deery to answer as I went back to running.
Liya, Weiss, and Blake barreled through the car loaded with several White Fang goons, their attempts at stopping them stopped as they dashed by. I was next, and I managed to make my way through by chucking Deery at the guys in front of me like a ball at bowling pins. I flipped over them and dodged some bullets to the next car, slamming the door behind me.
Sighing, I took some of my Dust from my belt and quickly formed many small springs on the roof and sides of the car. I did the same upon through the next two loaded passenger cars,locking the doors behind me as I passd them. All in all, I think there were almost two hundred I'd managed to secure. At least, I hope I'll have secured them. As long as I maintain at least a minimum of my focus on those cars, the Dust won't deform.
Still, I didn't have much Dust left to work with. I had enough to form a barely size accurate Captain America shield, and that was going to be pretty thin anyway. In the end, I made a copy of Trifa's blade and hoped that would be enough.
I reached the next car to see Weiss fighting off the White Fang lieutenant and his chainsaw. Moving in as he overshot his swing and missed Weiss, I slammed the hilt of my blade against his gut and kicked him in the chin, knocking him down. Before he could get up, I slammed a foot against the side of his head "Let's go!" I said, grabbing Weiss's hand and running while the buff masked man struggled to recover.
As I reached the next car, I saw Neo waiting for us. Wasn't she supposed to be in a car before the White Fang chainsaw man? I didn't get to ponder very long because she made a mad dash for us at terrifying speeds.
Weiss was barely able to conjure up a barrier in time, and Neo's umbrella bounced right off, forcing her back. I immediately swung forward and got parried, but kicking forward managed to give me some distance.
Which was why I was able to tell her next move was an illusion as my next kick shattered her ino shards. Following that kick, I rolled back and narrowly dodged a killing stab to the back of my head. "Go," I said the moment I got back on my feet. "I can handle her. For a minute, at least."
Weiss ran ahead as a sharp blade jutted out of the tip of Neo's umbrella. "Shall we dance?" I said, panting. Neo grinned, her eyes switching hues of pink and brown before she shattered.
And so did I.
What happened next was likely the most convoluted duel that could possibly be put into words. I was copying her semblance, giving me near perfect unpredictability against the pint sized ice cream colored assassin. We were blinking in and out of existence, one of us shattering away to avoid a blow before reappearing to send one back.
While Neo definitely one-ups me in how many times she landed blows on my aura, I managed to match her by dealing much heavier strikes. But in the end, I ran out of aura first. I was left to Neo's mercy as I lay there, my current blade being no match for Neo's umbrella. It would be the end for me, right after an incredibly short battle.
At least, that's what I thought before a high powered shot blasted Neo all the way to the other side of the train car. "Move!" Liya shouted as she and Weiss fired bullets and blasts at Neo, pinning her down and whittling down her aura. I managed to get up and stumble to the next car. Liya locked it behind us.
"You OK?" Liya asked, helping me stay up with an arm around the shoulder. At my nod, she huffed. "Blake dealt with Torchwick, but the train's unstoppable. No way to even slow it down."
"So...the crash is inevitable," I said, panting tiredly. I let the sword in my hands drift into my belt and I decided to keep my focus on the springs on the train cars. Behind us, Ruby and Yang reached us, Liya letting go of me so Yang could hug me tightly. "I'm OK..." I whispered to her.
"What do we do now?" Blake asked as she jumped up to join the six of us. Looking ahead, the wall was getting closer and closer. Collision was unavoidable, and we were going to be right in the thick of it.
"We brace," I said. Ruby looked at Weiss and nodded. Liya and Yang sandwiched my aura-less body between them as Weiss formed an ice flower shield in front of all of us. And I didn't even feel the impact until it happened.
And it was brutal.