Here's chapter 2 of "RWBY: Necrophobia". Enjoy.
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Present Day
"Welcome back to the VNN. In this segment we will be continuing coverage of an unresponsive Schnee Dust Company train. In a brief recap for our viewers the SDC train departed almost four full days ago. While such things are normally routine the anomaly in this case is a complete communications blackout that occurred about six hours after its departure. The train has standard communication gear as well as backups. Furthermore, most of the sixty-eight crew members are reported to have had personal communication devices. However, when questioned, the friends and families of the crew said that they have yet to receive any word from the train. This has led officials to worry about the train and its crew. A police lockdown of the train station has been put into effect but authorities stress that this is just a precaution. Experts say that the worst case scenario is that the train may have been jumped by Grimm. However, others argue that this may be an act by the White Fang in a form of 'retribution' for the upcoming eighth anniversary of the Cerca Mine Incident, a tragedy that the SDC still has not commented on. If so, this would be their second recorded attempt at hijacking a Schnee Dust Train. In any case, officials have requested and received a freshmen team from Beacon Academy in the event that the train was taken by Grimm. We will bring you more as the story develops. This has been Lisa Lavender on VNN."
It was dark and cloudy over Vale. Thunder rumbled in the distance and Ruby could see lightning over the horizon. Had it been a sunny day the view from the window would have actually been a lovely sight. It certainly would have helped to ease her nerves. Her eyes shifted from the horizon to the tracks next to the station. It wouldn't be long now.
To say she was nervous about her first mission was an understatement. Here she was, leader of team RWBY and she didn't have the slightest clue what she was going to do. She had been surprised when Ozpin had told them that they were receiving their first legitimate assignment. She'd kept up her usual cheerful demeanor but it had faded overnight.
"Don't worry about it Ruby," Yang had told her with a smile, "It's our first mission, so it should be an easy one. I mean, think about it, would Ozpin really give us a mission that was something we couldn't handle?" Yang's expression had begun to grow sheepish when Ruby had reminded her about what they had to face in the entrance exam. "Oh yeah…" She had said, "That thing."
Speaking of Yang, the elder sister sat down next to Ruby. She looked concerned for her younger sister. "How ya feeling Ruby?" She asked inquisitively.
"A bit nervous." Ruby replied.
"Well, I guess that's only natural." Yang said. There was a bit of silence in between the two girls. "So what do you think it is?"
"What do I think what is?" Ruby asked confused.
"You know." Yang said. "What do you think the deal is with the train?" She pointed towards Weiss and Blake with her thumb. The two were currently debating what was going on themselves. While not an aggressive argument, it looked like it was a fierce debate. "It seems those two have narrowed it down to either a Grimm attack or the White Fang. So which do you think it is?"
Ruby rested her chin on her hand and thought for a minute before answering. "Honestly…I don't think it's either." Yang looked at her with surprise. "When I think about it, the only thing that makes sense to me is that all the phones are broken or no one is bothering to answer."
Yang just stared at her sister with confusion, "Could you explain your reasoning, 'cause that seems a bit unlikely given what we were told at the mission briefing."
"Well… I know it's unlikely that all the phones would be busted."
"My thoughts exact-" Yang began but then paused as Ruby continued.
"But isn't it more likely that the phones are all broke than if they all worked and something happened and no one said anything?" Yang looked surprised. She hadn't thought about that. "I mean, what are the odds that they could communicate and yet something happened so fast that none of them could? And also…didn't that report say that the train hasn't stopped since it first left? You'd think if it was Grimm or the White Fang it would have stopped or changed speed for one reason or another."
There was silence in the room. It took Ruby a moment but she realized that if it was quiet then that means Weiss and Blake had stopped their conversation. She looked at them only to find that they were staring at her. They leaned towards each other and Ruby could just barely make out what was being said.
"She has a point." Blake whispered to Weiss.
"How come we didn't think about that?" Weiss whispered back.
They continued to stare at Ruby, unaware of how uncomfortable she was becoming. She still wasn't a fan of being the center of attention. Thankfully Yang spoke up at that moment.
"Wait a minute." She began as she looked Ruby in the eyes. "If you think that nothing's wrong then why are you so nervous?"
Ruby mumbled her reply. "What?"
"I said I didn't think it through until now." Ruby said just loud enough to be heard.
At that moment Glynda Goodwitch entered the room. The professor had on her usual attire and scroll in hand. "Well then students." She said as she looked away from the scroll in her arms and towards the girls. "You are all to head to the station platform. The train is about to arrive. And your first mission is about to begin."
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They heard the train before they saw it. At first Ruby had mistaken the initial sound for just more thunder. But as it got louder she realized it could only be the train moving down the tracks. All of them stood next to the platform watching the spot where the train would appear. They didn't need to wait long. Soon they saw it turn the corner and into their view.
A few moments later they saw sparks fly from the wheels of the train, the sound of metal grinding on metal filling the air. Some of the police on the station actually stopped what they were doing so they could cover their ears. It was clear that the train wasn't stopping on its own accord. It seemed that the people in the control booth had finally deemed that the train wasn't going to stop and had taken the necessary failsafe. In the event of brake malfunction, all train stations were equipped with electromagnetic railing to force an out of control train to come to a halt. It was working too.
When the train rolled up to the station it was moving rather slowly. When it came to a complete stop they could hear the sound of the pistons straining against the wheels, trying to force them to turn. It wasn't long before the train's own failsafe activated and released a cloud of steam to remove the pressure on the pistons so they wouldn't break.
Ruby looked at the train. Most of it seemed to be boxcars with a few flatbed cars. She looked towards the flatbeds as they were the only cars that could be seen entirely. The rest of her team did so as well. Then Ruby noticed it. She gagged and put her hand over her mouth at the sight of blood smeared across the train car. She also pinched her nose so as not to smell, (what she couldn't identify as,) the stench of death and decay.
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Well I hope you enjoyed the second chapter of RWBY: Necrophobia! (Second chapter…That's a bit of a milestone for me.) I feel the need to mention that this is primarily a RWBY fanfiction. The main Dead Space aspects will be the Marker, Necromorphs, insanity, and the atmosphere. Well, please follow, favorite, or leave a review letting me know what you thought of this chapter.
