AN: Where back! Bastions in full swing and things are happening! Lets see what happens in this fight
"Jaune no!" Ruby yelled as she saw her best friend run down and tossed off the cliff by the cackler. "Shit!" Kage yelled as popped off another shot from his heavy pistols. "Bossman?" Mika asked as she decapitated another before she saw a red-blur blaze into the falling grim."AHH!" Ruby yelled as became a crimson wave of silver and red as she charged into the cacklers. Turning them in mincemeat. Her rage propelled her forward as tears fell from her face.
The grim fell in mase before her attacks as limbs fall and bodies were cut in three; Kage saw it coming before it happened.
"Red lookout!" Kage yelled as Ruby's last exaggerated attack killed a cackler before she fell to the floor exhausted from her burst of attacks. As she cried fresh tears at her friend's death she never noticed the dark shape of a cackler rising from behind her, nor did she see the claws that came down to her face followed by the terrible sound of tearing flesh and a sharp scream as the monster slashed down on her slashing into her head and smashing it forward into the dirt.
"AHH!" Ruby screamed as the claws broke past her aura and into her face sending blood flying everywhere as the girl was bored down. "Damn it!" Kage yelled as he snapped another shot and killed the Grimm before sprinting to her side.
"Hold still kid! It'll be alright!" Kage shouted as he slid to the downed crying severely injured girl. "Shit! Hold still!" HE shouted as he tried to take the squirming girl's hands from her face. " It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!" Ruby yelled as her face dripped red as her small hands tried to keep her blood on it. "It hurts so much!" Ruby shouted as she giggled to herself as red liquid sprayed out of her face.
"I need to get a look at it!" Kage shouted as he looked to the bleeding girls face. AN shade appeared on his right as another cackler appeared in front of him. "Come on!" Kage shouted as he shot the things in the hand. The mass reactive projectile snapped the things neck back and neatly decapitated it. Causing to cartwheel backward its neck spouting a fresh fountain of red as it fell. "What's wrong with her?" A familiar voice asked as Kage felt his hairs rise.
"She's obviously hurt Mika! She needs help!" He shouted to his longtime friend. Although he had no idea why they were considered friends. Even if he had known her all of his life, the girl had done nothing to really earn his friendship besides sticking to his side like gorilla glue and making his life hopelessly more inconvenient.
"Oh no! She's hurt!" Mika said in her most sympathetic voice that Kage knew she saved for whenever she was attempting to feign empathy for others. Although she sounded like she was compassionate. Kage knew better, Mika never knew what sympathy was and could never show it to another being. The only rare exception was when she harmed him for some reason, but that was solely so she wouldn't lose the one person who would tolerate her.
"She needs help!" Mika said sliding to her side her assortment of furs dirtied by the dust of the floor. As she did Kage knew her tone of voice. She was ecstatic. The sight of blood and pain always made her excitable. He knew her mood was about to get better despite his irritation.
" She needs help! Hold her straight and grip her face, so she doesn't bite her tongue off!" Kage yelled ruing the rapturous expression that came to her pale face as her emerald eyes shine in delight. He was giving her two of her favorite things at one. One the ability to help a friend, and to the chance to cause unnecessary harm to another living creature.
As she took out her ax and forced the shaft sideways into Ruby's mouth, ignoring the girl's cries as she pushed it between her teeth preventing her from biting her own tongue. "Here you go, Ruby! Just bite this, and you will be A-ok!"
Mika said with a joy-filled expression. Kage shuddered before looked at the injured girl as she cried on the ground her face was nearly removed. The cacklers claw had found the right side of her face as the creature's claw reeved the right side of her face turning it into a side of shredded meat.
As she moaned and cried, Kage stood up to a sorry sight. Most of the initiate class students, otherwise known as cannon fodder were either ripped in three chewed into pieces or wounded beyond function. As the last grim fell, Kage noticed that they had not so much beaten the Grimm back, but the things had merely stopped attacking. A rare thing for Grimm to do. As usually, the things either assaulted till they were dead, you were dead or you were both killed.
As the last of the cacklers merely retreated to the sole entry point of the cavern Kage saw their strategy." Starving us out huh?" Kage mumbled to them as he walked over to Horatio who was swearing worse than a drunken Mistrali soldier. As he walked over to the tall fourth year.
"Kage!? That you? Where's your leader?" Horatio asked as his radiant silver armor shone brightly reflecting off the strange algae light. His bald head shined in the scene as his golden eyes glared down at him.
"My leader was taken over the edge by a cackler," Kage told the other punishment student as he nodded his head once in agreement.
"Shame. He seemed like the good sort, well good for us you know?" He said before turning around to the gaggle of other fourth-year students to discuss a plan of escape. Kage sighed heavily before going forward with the idea.
"I'm going to look for him," Kage said as he reloaded his pistols. There was a pause amongst the fourth years as Horatio tuned back to look at him. Hie golded eyes alight with curiosity and suspicion.
"Why? There's no way he survived that you know? We need you here Kage." Horatio stated evenly not once breaking eye contact with his technical subordinate.
"He lived, I can feel him," Kage said as he turned away quickly causing Horatio to swear loudly. "Kage he's dead! You don't need to waste your life going to save him you know? You can still live." Kage chuckled at this as he checked his guns.
"You say that but If that kid bites it here so do I," Kage added making the fourth year shake his head and wave him off.
"You got a death wish? Because this is a hell of a way to do it you know?"
"Yeah I do but I need this kid not to die before he gets back to his damned home." The student said making Horatio swear an look back to the group of his friends.
"Oh? What is this? Is Kage going to do something heroic for once?" Mika asked as she held Ruby's face in a way that while keeping her from biting her tongue was obviously incredibly painful for the girl.
"I'm going looking for the kid. If I do not come back don't let anything happen to her alright?" kage asked as he noticed the strange expression Mika's face took.
As her eyes sparkle disappeared for a moment before returning in full force. "OK!" she said grinning wildly making a cold hand grip his spin. Kage knew if he never came back that girl was going to be in the most painful experience of her life as he went to the edge looked over the yawning black chasm. He sighed once before putting a hand on the ledge and going over.
When his eyes opened the first thing that came to hs mid was the pain. "AHH!" Jaune screamed as he shot halfway up before being forced down in pain. As his eyes shot open, he saw he was no longer on the ground of the fight but somewhere deep below the chasm. The walls of the are were illuminated by those strange glowing algae that seed to cover every part of this cavern as he tries to stand up. As his eyes looked around, he noticed a considerable wet feeling in his shirt as he looked down he froze as he saw the massive hole in his stomach.
"Ah"! Jaune was beyond sore as he saw his trademarked armor was gouged out as his pale skin was ripped open as the first signs of his intestines stuck out, exposing his innards t the cool cave air. Even with aura, he knew he was going to die.
"Damn it!" he swore loudly as his body was racked by an electric current. As he felt himself start to convulse before he spat out a wad of reddish spit. As he tried to grip into the soft ground, his pale hands desperately attempting to gain some purchase on it. His ears picked up the sound of heavy footsteps approaching him.
"Hello!? Is somebody there!?" Jaune asked as the heavy Thump! Drag! Of foot steps filled the air as his eyes stared into the blackness around him. " Is somebody there!" Jaune shouted as the Thump! Drag! Increased in volume as he managed a pained grasp for his sword or shield which were only a few feet from him in either direction. As he gripped the pommel of his sword. He cried out loudly as he left his arm buckled as a lance of pain shot through it causing him to drop the weapon.
As he cried out in pain the Thump! Drag! Sound only intensified as craned his neck to see what it was.
"If there's somebody there I need some help!" Jaune shouted as the sound finally materialized as a pair of beady red eyes came out of the dark a cackler appeared. The monster stood ten feet from his downed body as its beady red eyes glared at Jaune. It looked at him with almost confused expression before it opened it's long canine-like mouth and spoke.
"I don't want any trouble! Just go your way and I'll go mine all right!?" The cackler said as its moth mimicked in perfect human words what was probably the last words of its previous victims. As the thing lurched forward opening its long canine-like mouth revealing two rows of sharp teeth a low cackle escaped its mouth as it scraped its claws together.
"I don't want any trouble!" The thing repeated again as it stepped closer Jaune opened its slobbering mouth in what looked like it was grinning ear to ear as it finally stepped over him. It seemed to know that he was injured his blood stained clothes and falling intestines seems to fascinate the create as its long black fur brushed up against Jaune's skin as it knelt down to him long canine face opening revealing a terrible form of halitosis and an elongated tongue that licked his face as if tasting him.
" I don't want any trouble!" THe thing repeated making Jaune glare at it.
"Just do it already!"Jaune spat at the Grimm not willing to let it get the satisfaction of making him cry who's face took on an amused grin as it coked its head to the side and opened its mouth.
"Just do it already!" The thing mimicked making Jaune so quickly as it gave a perfect version of his own voice as it repeated his final words before opening its mouth an- BANG! A loud retort sounded and the things head snapped backward as a bright flash of yellow filled his vision as the monster fell backward. Its body tossed back as it was ripped back from him.
"Crap you still alive kid?" A familiar voice asked as Jaune saw the familiar form of Kage sliding down the wall of the cave.
"Kage!? What are you doing here!?" Jaune asked not believing his luck. As his other teammate and possibly only friend at Bastion slid down the walls.
"I came to save you of course. I can't have you dying on me, not until Vytal at least." Kage said as he knelled down next to his fallen leader.
"Ah hell," Kage said as saw the ruptured skin and exposed intestines. The good news was his guts didn't seem to be ruptured otherwise he would have been in even more excruciating pain. As the crap in his bowels would have been eating him alive.
"Your lucky, your guts are intact so you might make it out of this alive," Kage said as he took out a cloth from his back and wrapped it around the wound making his leader grunt in pain the scream in agony as Kage poured a clear liquid over it.
"Disinfectant, slash aura booster. It's a rare Bation thing usually reserved for fourth-year students only." kage explained as Jaune felt his aura being to regenerate as he felt like his legs might function again.
"Fourth-year students? Then why do you have it?" Jaune asked as he leaned forward as Kage gripped his arm his blood red armor was stained with even more red as the blood rubbed off on it.
"Haven't you ever heard the phrase don't look a gift horse in the mouth? Don't ask how I got it just be happy that I do. Now let's get out of here before another cackler comes."
Kage said as he stood up his leader. "Easy There!" kage said as his file took another step making him stumble and spit out blood.
"We need to get to the top!" Jaune shouted as he coughed harshly before righting himself.
"What happened to Ruby!? Is she ok?! IS she-
"She's all right. She was injured by a cackler but she'll live. I Left her with Mika after the fight where the cacklers are being held off. We need to climb up before we get picked off. S grab my shoulders." kage asked as he positioned him so that Jaune could grab his shoulders from behind in a piggyback position.
"Don't worry about you friend Mika has her and will take care of her and other people are surrounding her. That should limit her curiosity and curtail your friend's pain to a somewhat reasonable level." Kage reassured Jaune as he made a grunt as he felt the boy gripped his shoulders and they began their climb.
"She'll lose the eye." Horatio said bitterly as he looked at the downed punishment student in the red hood. His personal medic Vera had just finished putting the final touches on her in an attempt to stave off infection. An effort Vera confided in him was probably for naught as the Grimms claw appeared to be a natural biohazard as she wiped her brown hair as her crystal blue eys hung sadly before she went off to another injured student.
As The strange girl, Mika cradled her head. Horatio head already had to stop her from digging out the poor girl's flesh with her ax. Making the peculiar paper colored girl pout like a toddler before going back to giving some type of comfort to the girl. As he took his eyes away from them, he eyed his current situation and realized that it was not good. A mob of cacklers stood right outside of the firing range an on the other side of the cave making them wait either staying here and eventually starving to death of charging them forward into Oum knew how many more grim.
"Sir we need to make a break for it. If we stay here, we will die." A calm, collected voice from his right said as Horatio turned to his second in command and boy name Caleb. A tall, pale faced youth from Atlas who was here after deserting his post during a Grimm attack said. As he stared at the Grimm horde his strange rotating saw blades hovering over his gauntleted hands as he eyed the grim with his light blue eyes.
"I know that, it's just we need to find out how much of them their ware then we can see if making it out is really worth it."
"Getting ripped in three will sure beat being crushed to death, and picked of Grimm if they survive and you aren't killed by the rubble." The odd girl Mika said as she tugged the blood-soaked hair of her downed teammates. Her red life fluid stained the girl's furs as it gave the variety of pelts and skins she wore a crimson hue as her green eyes stared up at him.
"I know that Mika. It's just I want to keep as much of us alive and possible. A suicide attack on the Grimm will not achieve that goal all right?" Horatio asked the girl who merely shrugged in response as if to say that she didn't care one way or another. An after so many times talking to their Horatio Was starting to believe it. She didn't care whether they all walked out of here without a scratch or were ripped into tiny bite-sized pieces by the Grimm.
He read her psych profile that all leaders were given and shuddered at the thought of her. An actual unknown student. One whose only real connection to the world was her murdering of random civilians businessmen and after that everything was redacted. And bastion never redacted students information. That meant either she had some high connection in the school which he doubted very much. Horatio was already the fourth year, and he barely had access to the aura salve that he Knew kage had stolen from somebody. Probably killed him for it too. Usually, Horatio would have shot Kage the moment he saw him with the cream but decided against that action.
Not because he liked Kage or anything but for the simple fact that Kage was one of the rare Bastion punishment students that wouldn't shoot you in the back at a moments notice. And seemed to be generally committed to the missions end. Something that was desperately needed right now. Also, his strange bond with Mika meant that if Horatio killed him he would have to kill her and he knew from experience and hacking the Bastion servers for data on the girl that was trying to kill or torture an immortal masochist was not only an inefficient but an extremely counter-productive use of time...
Horatio thought as he eyed the waiting horde of cacklers debating on what to do. He head started this op with around one hundred and thirty students and hos lost approximately forty to he spitters damned plasma attacks. After that, he had to take the majority of his people into the cave where they fought the cacklers ambush at the pillar. Of the seventy or so he had taken thirty were now dead. Most of them being Initiate students the support staff medics, sappers, coms units, etc... leaving them in critical a mission juncture without adequate support or means of escape.
"Sir? I tried, but I can't alter the timer, we are running out of time." A timid voice from a second-year initiation said from behind him as his grey-black uniform was filled with cuts scars and dirt. Horatio pitted the initiation students. They were forbidden to have their aura unlocked until graduation and their survival rater reflected that fact.
"Damn it; I guess we're doing this the old fashioned way then." Horatio sighed as he looked at the central support pillar riddled with det tape. The lead demo expert a third-year initiation student who was currently resting in several places across the base of the pill courtesy of a now dead cackler. Unfortunately, the student had heard Horatio say to blow the thing and had head hardwired the timers to take down the whole cavern. He had hoped that the second year would be able to undo his predecessor's work but it happened to be no dice.
"Ready the wounded, I want initiation students who can't fight but can still walk taking care of those who can no longer move. Everybody else gets to the front. We are going to bash our way through to the evacuation zone where I-
"Wait for a tick damn it!" A familiar voice said as a bright red arm crested the cave side as the familiar form of Venke Kage globe over it with a blonde punishment student on his back.
"Wait a minute damn it!" Kage swore as he crested the cave ridge depositing Jaune on to the ground when the boy barely got to his feet. Luckily his aura head healed some of the damage and was know working on his legs.
"Kage! Bossman!" Mika said happily as she skipped to the returning teammates enveloping Kage in a tight hug rubbing her bloodied fur against his already red and stained armor making the boy sigh in irritation as he hugged her back.
"Yes, we're back now let's get-
"Where's Ruby!?" Jaune asked immediately looking for his friend.
"She' over there! She's; going to lose her eye though!" Mika chirped as she pointed to he downed red girl with a bandaged face and bleeding scalp.
"Ruby!" Jaune yelled as he blew past Mika almost missing her grasping hug before shuffling off making Kage sigh.
"Did you have to say it like that?" Kage aks as eyed his friend who smiles beatifically at him.
"Honesty is the best policy Kage! You taught me that after all!" Mika replied making Kage shake his head.
" Honesty from you? That'll be the day. I ken she'd lose that eye. I knew it from the moment she went down. Shame" He mumbled as he saw Jaune crying over his downed friend.
"Is she going to be ok!?"Jaune asked as he held the unconscious form of Ruby's hand as the medic form the leader's team looked at him grimly.
"She'll be ok, that eyes have to go though. If we don't get it out of her head soon, it will get infected and put her brain at risk, so we have to move soon." The medic was a hard-faced girl with sharp plain features as she gauzed Ruby's head with a fresh layer of tape removed the blood stained red version and applied fresh, clean white ones.
Jaune wished he could see her face but instead all he got was a mop of dirty brown hair and light blue eyes. The rest was covered but surgeon's mask and combat scrubs as she finished bandaging Ruby.
"Initiation attendants!" She barked as two initiation students who looked like they were unfit to hold a pen they were shaking so badly came up before lifting Ruby onto a cot and moving her to where the other wounded were gathered.
"Ok, listen up! We only have a limited amount of time before this pillar blows and kills every last one of us. And I don't know about you, but I do not plan on dying today! Least of all in some Grimm infested hell hole a mile below ground level. Now here's the plan we are going to bash through these bastards and take the fight to the entry way." Horatio began his final speech as he laid out their escape plan attempting to rally his remaining students.
"We will fight our way through the tunnels until we reach the evacuation zone. At which point I will call in a medical transport and get us the hell out of here. Any questions before I assign our roles?" He asked getting a grim silence in return.
"Alright, this is how it's going to play. I want initiation students who can fight at the fore. Their ranged firepower will do wonders before we smash into the Grimm. Afterwards, I want regular students specifically those adept at close quarters tunnel fighting next. We need to move fast people speed is paramount to our survival! Also, we have a lot of wounded, so I'm picking a group of us to watch the initiation students carrying them. Besides that we are running out of time, we have less the twenty till this place come down to us so be quick!" Horatio said as he gave his last speech in the group of hunters moved into position.
"This is it!" Kage yelled as they sprinted forward wind rushing into his face as the harsh staccato of the heavy gun sounded sharply in his ear. With a rough CRACK! Like somebody tearing fabric but infinitely louder as the initiation students worked the mobile gun across the cackler lines. The grim popped and burst as the massed fire power from the into students and whatever hunters had ranged weapons tore into them.
"This is going to be terrible!" Kage shouted as he tossed off two shots with his pistols each killing a particularly large cackler who heads the misfortune of sticking its ugly face out for two long.
The Base plan was for the initiate students and those with the ranged firepower to lead the charge only to merge back into the group once they hit the tunnels and provide support for the wounded while the close in fighters moved in for the thick of things.
Norma Kage didn't mind fighting for any reason. In fact, it was one of the few things that did give him joy in life. But knowing that his somewhat unique weapon choice made him both equally adept at long range charges and brutal close quarter fighting made his heart race.
He knew that he would probably die in those damned cavers. Wither ripped in three by a cackler claws or killed by an errant weapon swing from his comrades. Or worse still he would have to suffer the indignity of bleeding out as his semblance worked its magic and his femoral artery took an inevitable hit.
"Either way I'm killing some of you bastards!" kage shouted as the charge faltered as the devastated wall of cacklers reformed as their brothers melted into mist, the walls were thickly coated in their blood one of the few things that did not disintegrate when Grimm died as the melee fighters rushed to join him.
Kage stopped shooting in one hard or read into a side pouch and grabbed a cigarette. He never had to ask as Mika rushed to his side with her pilot light and lit it for him. He nodded his thanks as he tossed one to her one as they charged forward with the way there was no way he was dying without one final smoke.
He heads dignity after all. As the melled line reached the grim line. A final cry was given by the bastion students as the crashed into the Grimm.
"Damn it!" Jaune yelled as he slashed forward decapitating a cackler as its bloody body fell back ward before kage blew one in three as his pistol cracked to life. Jaune fought the urge to become sick as the massive weapons retort. If he thought it was loud before it was twice that in the cave as the gun sounded nearly deafening him as he turned to the next enemy.
It was a brutal and bloody affair this cave fighting. The cacklers were so packed so deep in the caves that it made it so running into them as line charging into a living wall of jagged teeth and sharp claws. As the hunters attack only Kage's pistols, fire power gave the end as his close quarter's pistol made short work in the tunnel blowing hole in their lines allowing hunters to take advantage of the gaps in their ranks. Time ebbed and slowed as
Time declined and slowed as Jaune struggled to kill the Grimm all around him the sound of battle filled his ears as he slashed and blocked his wounds barely mended by the Medic Vera. As the world dipped and turned, he swore this was the end. Blood filled his Boyd both Grimm and human as the hard stale air of the cane was now charged with dust rounds, and fresh viscera as the once pitch dark caver were now alight with the harsh bark of muzzle flashes, Grimm howls, and human yells.
"AHH!" Jaune yelled as he gutted a cackler, relishing the feeling of sword though flesh before wincing as he gripped his own stomach remember his previous evisceration that he was still recovering mysterious form Caleb ran in front of him with blurring green lights that appeared to be whirring saw blades? Surrounding him turning any grim limbs that approached him into shredded meat as ran into their firm were being pushed back. The Ferocity of the charge was ranged fire power was proving too much for them as the hunters made their way. The grim fell by the dozens as they forced their way past it wasn't easy.
The cacklers were crafty bastards and hid many of the numbers in crevices or crannies as they jumped out of nooks and depressions to sow chaos in the student's midsts. Reaching claws and jagged snouts snapped forward from the shadows like whirling hands of death, either crashing into aura or taking limbs from any unfortunate initiation students or injured hunters. As the ran a stray torso slammed in front of Jaune its headlong since removed fresh spill blood flying everywhere as it crashed into the ground. Even still Jaune ignored the grey initiation uniform as they ran.
"Get those hooks up! I got a bird inbound in t minus five so we have to get going!" Horatio barked as the loaded the injured students onto the rappelling devices modified so they could get the stretchers up onto them first. Jaune was glad Kage wa sone of the students sent on the expedition to secure the landing zone. As despite his rather brusque manner he was one of the few students in Bastion he could actually trust. As Jaune held onto the rapidly dimming of Ruby. "Don't worry Rubes. We'll get through this I promise."
Hold her down!" The medic yelled as Jaune and Kage both tried to hold down the flailing form of Ruby as the medic attempted emergency removal surgery. What was left of her eye head developed a nasty infection and needed to be removed immediately to prevent future contamination? The movement was complicated as the craft shuddered mid flight buffeted by turbulence as the sounds and smelled of the dead and dying filled and echoed through the bullhead.
"I hurt! It hurts! It hurts so much!"Ruby yelped as Kage grabbed her right hand and Mika her left as they forced her down onto the silver bull head floor while Jaune cradled her face attempted to calm his best friend while the medic deftly removed the bloodied gauze stripes as she tried to get into the middle of her damaged right eye.
As the final cloth came undone, Jaune had to suppress the urge to gasp. What head once been a beautiful silver eye was now festering orange. There was a pulsating mass of flesh. Broken and inflamed as what remained of her eye was now a deformed and a leaking sore that squirted out several long strands of yellow liquid while it shot out burst of sickly green fluids.
"This will hurt! So hold her down!" The medic shouted as she stabbed her tongs into Ruby's eyed and pulled.
Jaune would never forget the sound of metal hitting dying flesh or terrified and pain filled scream Ruby grave as she got her eye removed. She shouted so loudly Jaune thought that he would go deaf as the medic plucked out the meat of the infected eye ball an efficiently bagged the infected eyeball into a bag before putting a clear liquid into her gaping hole to wash out the contaminated fluid before administering a mild sedative to calm her down. As the small girl's body shook and convulsed violently on the silver floor until her energy gave out an she want will. Jaune gave a sigh of relief. Ruby Was hurt maimed for life both physically and possible. But she would live, and that was the critical part. Ruby would live to talk about it…
"Be blessed child! For you have come closer to the machine them most ever will!" The strange Bation medical staff member in the crimson cloak shouted as he finished Ruby's operation. The remaining members of team ARKM main the AKM part of stood outside of the operating room waiting for their teammate to come back as the doors swung open and the man? In red came out. " Be at ease! For you comrade not only lives! But she has taken her first step to truly becoming one with the machine!" The man said as he stepped aside revealing the small downcast form of Ruby.
"Ruby! Jaune shouted as he went to see his medical robbed friend only to stop as a mechanical whirring sound filled the air. Jaune froze in place as in place of Ruby's once perfect silver eye was now a baleful red glow followed by an extended brown tri pieced whirring device followed by the sound of whirring motors and the turning of servos….