UFF Territory, Bloodhound Forest
02:45 hours
Second Lieutenant Belladonna's squad finishes their approach to the crash site through the woods, and gives her troops behind her the signal to halt, and they crouch down.
"Crow 4-2 Actual, this is Crow 3-1 Actual, over," she says into her radio. Multiple other squads of the 54th Airborne Regiment also stay hidden in the forest, surrounding the target.
"Copy, 3-1, this is 4-2 Actual, go ahead," says the receiver, Captain Svart.
"I've got eyes on the target. Nothing's moving inside, over."
"Roger that, Bell. Maintain your position. Anything moves, you are authorized to fire."
"Copy, Actual. Out." Bell moves her hand from her radio to her night vision goggles and lifts them up for a moment.
Due to being so far south of the equator, Federation territory is seasonally the darkest lands of Remnant. Being well over 30 miles behind enemy territory was no exception. Without night vision goggles for assistance, all any human could see was the shadows of the surrounding trees, partially illuminated by the faint fire coming from the destroyed helicopter.
On the other hand, Bell isn't exactly a human.
Bell puts the goggles back on and uses the zoom function to study the crash site: The Faunus-built DY-43 Creeper helicopter is broken into two main parts; the cabin, and the tail. The tail sustained the most damage, and is scattered into a dozen different pieces on the forest floor. The cabin, on the other hand, remains mostly intact. Both pilots are visibly dead, their bloody corpses still strapped into their seats. The main body of the craft is dented and broken in multiple places. The main rotors have been shortened from their original length of 55 feet to an average of 15, and lay in pieces alongside the tree branches that they sliced up on the chopper's way down. The whole scene reeks of fuel and burning wood.
"Crow 3-1 Actual, this is Crow 4-2 Actual, over," Svart says over the radio.
"Copy, 4-2 Actual, over," Bell replies.
"I just got off the horn with Command. They want us to confirm ID of the target. If it's our bird, we're to torch it immediately. Go check it out, Bell."
"Roger that, 4-2, we're oscar mike." Bell immediately throws several hand signals to her squadmates, rearranging them into a wider formation, and begins closing in on the target, weapon raised.
Just as Bell's squad reaches the edge of the small open field that the Creeper created on its journey down, where a large spruce has been chopped in half, the top laying next to its stump, she signals them to halt again. She observes the scene again. She's surprised that, even after surviving a direct hit from an AIM-9 Sidewinder missile, tumbling into a tightly packed forest, and the remaining fuel supply erupting into a fiery blaze, the emblem of the White Fang is still visible on the upper back of the cabin.
"Crow 4-2 Actual, this is Crow 3-1. Target is confirmed. Repeat, target is White Fang."
"Roger that, 3-1. Close in on the cabin, check for survivors, and rig the explosives."
"Roger, 4-2. Out." Bell has just raised her hand to signal her squad to move up.
"Scratch my last, 3-1. Repeat, scratch my last," Svart quickly orders. "Shit, get back, get back!" Bell immediately signals to fall back and go prone, and then does so herself."
"Talk to me, Svart," she says.
"White Fang to your two o'clock." Bell takes off her goggles and looks to her right. She can make out close to eight white uniforms in the trees. More are sure to be close.
"Do we engage?" Bell asks. Two of the White Fang walk out in the open and appear to talk to each other.
"Negative, everyone hold your fire. They're probably doing the same as us; checking for
survivors. We'll let them pass and continue our mission."
"Copy." Bell slowly moves farther back into the forest and lays down behind a tree, iron sights lined up on a White Fang's head.
She thinks back to the day when the White Fang first got their official uniforms. Before, they were still just wearing civilian clothing, usually white shirts, black pants, and red handkerchiefs tied to their arms and legs, almost like gang signs. In reality, they weren't much better than thugs back then. The new leadership had just been put into power, and they made sure their troops were well equipped. When the uniforms reached her cell, everyone's spirits were boosted.
The White Fang didn't just buy old equipment, they created a whole new uniform, the White Fang Combatant (WFC). Included was the WFC Vest; a white, armless, bullet proof vest, with patches for their designated cell number, squad number, name, and White Fang insignia; the WFC Touser, which are essentially customized white cargo pants with two velcro pockets on either leg and a built in plastic pistol holster that can be moved to either leg; WFC Combat Boots, which are black hiking boots with soles that moderate the temperature to make the wearer as comfortable as possible; and, most importantly, the WFC Combat Mask, a standard black SPECTRA helmet with a mask attached to the front. The mask is grey in color, with two slits for each eye, and are angled downward, ending with a point just below the nose. They symbolize the Human Coalition's decision to label the Faunus as monsters, and wear the masks as a reminder of humanity's ignorance.
Bell deserted not long after that.
Suddenly, one of the White Fang launches a flair into the sky. The entire forest is illuminated by the dark red light, and Bell can now see that there aren't just eight WF; there are close to twenty. The one that launched the flare points at Bell's position.
"We're made, weapons free!" Svart shouts. Bell fires, and the White Fang falls over. His comrade raises his weapon and sprays bullets at her position. Wood starts exploding, sending splinters in every direction. Bell turns to her squad, who have begun returning fire.
"Fire and move!" she shouts to them. "Fire Team 1, stay, Fire Team 2, move!" Half of the soldiers get up and run deeper into the woods while the other half hold their positions as more WF troops emerge from the trees.
"All Crow units, this is Crow 4-2 Actual," Svart shouts on the radio. The WF are making their way to the chopper. Bell takes out two of them and her gun clicks. She moves back behind a tree to reload. "Fall back to the rendezvous point. Repeat, fall the hell back!"
"Fall back, squad," Bell repeats to her troops, and they release a final burst of ammunition and run into the woods. Bell is about to join them when she notices activity by the chopper. Even though there were more WF joining the fight, she takes a chance, crouches down behind a tree, and takes aim.
Suddenly, the door of the downed helicopter is slid open, and a passenger attempts to climb out. Bell fills his skull with bullets. Two more passengers, without missing a beat, jump five feet into the air out of the Creeper as their comrade's body is still crumpling, and make a mad dash into the woods.
Yep, definitely Faunus.
"4-2 Actual, I got two bogeys escaping the chopper," she says into her radio. She raises her weapon to fire on them, but they're already getting consumed by the waves of white uniforms.
"Too late to do anything about it," Svart replies. "We can't break through them." Without hesitation, Bell takes out a smoke grenade and pulls the pin, counts silently in her head, and throws it into no man's land. It starts spewing bright grey smoke in between her and the approaching WF the moment it touches the ground."
"I'll circle around and pursue, out," she says, and clicks off her radio. As long as she kills them, she should escape her CO with a slap on the wrist and nothing else, and she really wants to kill them.
When the WF soldiers try to walk through the smoke screen, she tosses a flashbang at them, waits for the bang, and bolts from the tree.
There fire is mostly sporadic, 90% of the bullets flying in every direction but hers, but the remaining 10% send dirt and bark flying up around her, some of the bullets impacting inches from her feet or face; but she doesn't turn to fight, just keep running, faster and faster, putting as much cover between her and the attackers, and less distance between her and the passengers, as she can.
After about ten minutes of following the trail of flattened grass and broken twigs that the fleeing Faunus left, she is sure that the WF grunts lost her long ago, if they even knew where she was in the first place, that is. Now, she puts all her effort into catching up to her targets. She assumes that they can't be that farther ahead, them assuming their safety behind their front lines. Of course, they've most likely never been chased by one of their own.
Sure enough, the trail of debris begins to slow down, and Bell is face to face with the two Faunus as she rounds a tree.
One is a plump high ranking Federation Officer, bent over and covered in sweat, trying to catch his breath. The other appears to be his bodyguard, judging by the dominantly black uniform. Most likely WF Special Forces. Luckily for Bell, he's not looking in her direction when she approaches.
The officer's eyes widen as Bell instinctively unloads half her mag into his torso, then aims at the bodyguard.
"Don't move," she commands. He whipped around when the Fed fell, but now slowly raises his hands over his head.
"Why didn't I fire?" Blake's head asks herself. She and the rest of the paratroopers were given strict orders to kill, not capture. This Faunus is no different than any of the others she's killed tonight.
But, as she takes a closer look, she realizes he's not. The customized red markings of his mask; the natural, harsh frown on his firm mouth; the ceremonial red sword slung around his waist; his perfected professional stance, as if he's preparing to pounce. Then, a light goes off in Bell's head.
It's him.
The Faunus cocks his head to one side when he notices Bell's grip on her rifle begin to waver.
"Are...who are you?" he asks slowly. Bell juts her rifle barrel forward, refilled with vigor. "Is..is that you, B?"
"Shut up," she says. His frown slowly turns into a smirk.
"After all this time," he says, lowering his hands, respectively keeping them in front of his front, away from his sword. "This is how we meet again."
"Guess so." His frown quickly returns, and he takes a step forward. Bell doesn't move.
"Alright, shoot me," he says.
Bell touches her finger to the trigger, but stops. Why did she stop?
"I know your superiors want no survivors. Just finish it."
Bell slowly starts to apply pressure to the trigger. She's holding her breath.
The Faunus takes off his mask and drops it in the pool of blood of the officer. He stares daggers at Bell with his dark black eyes.
"It's been a good run, B, I have to admit. I guess it had to end sometime."
Bell breathes out, then breathes in again. She tries to force the trigger down, but it's still holding back.
"Goodbye, B," the Faunus says, and closes his eyes.
Bell's mind travels back years prior, well over a decade. How she and him first met; how they survived lives as refugees in a border country, descendants of a long line of people left for dead. How he taught her how to fight, and how she followed him wherever he went, even to a White Fang cell.
And most of all, how even after all he's done, and all she's been through, she still can't consider him as an enemy.
She flips on the safety and lowers her rifle. The Faunus opens his eyes and sighs.
"Still don't have it in you, do you?" he asks. She flips the safety back off and fire at his feet. He barely flinches, but his eyes tell her he understands.
"I never want to see you again," she says sternly. He nods.
"You will," he says.
"Doubtful." He lets out a chuckle.
"Good luck keeping them from knowing, B," he says, and takes off sprinting in the other direction. Bell watches him until he's out of eyesight.
She knows that he's right; he won't stop his personal crusade until his last breath, but for just one moment, she imagines that she actually won't ever lay eyes on him again.
Goodbye, Adam