(AN)- Plot armor has been completely removed for this chapter, along with the next chapter. Be prepared! I hope you like the story!
editor's note: i feel that i should warn you for the end of this chapter. there is some major character death and scenes of violent and, perhaps, disturbing death. viewer discretion advised.
Ruby and the Wardens were currently stationed about half of a mile back into the treeline, with Donal currently up in the foliage, scouting the school house. Ruby bounced up and down on her toes in anxiety.
"Threats are spotted. I see four Bullheads, each with six heat signatures a piece." Donal had his eyes trained far into the distance, his high-tech helmet capturing infrared signals even at this distance. "A fifth just landed. Priority Ones are on the roof. Green light in five minutes." He let go of the tree and landed on his feet, and his billowing green cloak of the Vale sanction Wardens whipped behind him as he fell, landing almost gracefully, because of his slim but bulky armor.
"It is time to move. We must make haste. Reilly, you take point. Aidan take far left flank. We meet behind the warehouse. Synchronize timers on my mark. Mark." Paladin Bardach rattled off commands without a break in between, but yet each Warden listened and understood. "Take this, Ms. Rose. A visor with a friend-or-foe tracker, it also has a synchronized timer, as well as a transmitter for speaking with us Wardens. Reilly can't speak, so he uses a series of beeps from his helmet. The only beeps you need to know are clear, one short beep. Stop, three short beeps. Danger, a series of constant beeping. Only those three, no more will be needed. Let us move."
If the other hunters thought Ruby was fast, they had obviously never met a Warden in full armor. Each Warden dwarfed Ruby by at least a foot, but yet such large men could easily keep pace with her.
They reached the warehouse in under two minutes. Blake and her team of six Atlas Stalkers were also camped inside, awaiting their time to strike. Ruby was thankful for her visor, as each stealth soldier was hidden so well, the only reason she noticed them was because they were colored green. Blake approached Ruby and shared a small, one-armed hug of relief, glad they could speak for a short moment.
"I'm glad to see you Ruby. Yang and her squad are on the opposite side of the yard from us, and Weiss is on our right side. In a minute we will move to the left, and start climbing." Blake explained as she studied a room layout of the third floor.
"I can't believe we're actually about to do this. It's making me nervous now that I'm here. Are you sure it will be ok?" Ruby was sitting on a box, kicking her feet into the air, as if she were still the child she was when they first eyebrows were furrowed and her voice carried a wave of anxiety.
"Yes Ruby, I'm absolutely sure."
"You pinky promise?" Ruby held out her smallest finger hesitantly. Blake wrapped her own slender digit around her leader's smaller one.
"Ms. Belladonna, our time is now" A Stalker tapped on Blake's shoulder from behind. He seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.
"It will be ok, Ruby. We will see each other in a while." They embraced once more in goodbye, and Blake followed her second in command out the back door.
"I think we should head out as well. We don't want the party to start without the key players." Donal had rested his armored glove on Ruby's shoulder, and it felt like it weighed ten pounds to the red team leader. The darkness in the warehouse played tricks across his face and fooled Ruby's eyes, and made it look as if he had no scar. He was actually quite handsome.
"The main door is three-hundred feet from our current position. Ms. Xiao Long will breach with us. They are already at the door." Paladin Bardach dropped his helmet carefully back over his head, and the other Wardens followed suit. Ruby perked up at the news, excited that she got to see her sister.
The schoolhouse was larger than she would have thought at first, about the size of Signal. Exactly as Bardach said, Yang and her team of fifteen soldiers had taken positions beside the door, out of sight from any eyes inside. Yang was a flash of gold among the gray armor, a striking contrast. When she saw Ruby approaching she jumped and waved, all while remaining completely silent. The sisters embraced, only this hug was much more powerful. Ruby felt like it almost broke her back.
"This is so badass!" Yang screamed in a whisper, unable to contain her excitement. "We're gonna destroy them, Ruby!"
"If you say so, Yang. Why are you so excited?" Ruby asked.
"We've been waiting for this day for three years. And now it's finally time to take them down. We're faster and stronger than we were last time, we can't be stopped now."
"Ms. Xiao Long, are you ready to begin?" Bardach asked from beside Ruby. He seemed eager to launch the assault.
"Yep. I'm ready. Rubes, call it in." Yang replied, a wide smile on her face.
"Wait, me? What do I even say?" Ruby asked in a panic, started at this sudden moment of pressure. Her eyes darted between everyone surrounding her.
"Just say something badass."
"Uhm, ok." Ruby pressed the full broadcast button on her visor. She remembered something Donal said in the woods. "Greenlight is a go. Commence the assault."
Within an instant, shots were heard from the roof as Blake began her fight. Yang herself kicked open the front door. A few seconds later, a shot rang out from down the hallway, taking an Atlas soldier in the shoulder. The shooter was a startled White Fang grunt, who gave another few shots before turning tail and running down the opposite hallway. Yang and her soldiers ran into the building, taking cover and clearing the old classrooms.
Ruby followed Bardach up the stairs to their immediate right. The stairs followed the outline of the school, making a right-angle turn at the corner. On the platform for the second floor they encountered three White Fang, but Bardach slew two with a single movement, and the other caught Aidan's bullet right in his mask. A moment later they encountered Weiss, who was leading her squad of soldiers up the stairs to the third floor, her sword already glistening with a red sheen. They shared a quick nod, no time for hugs. As they parted ways, and Weiss began her assent, Ruby heard a scuffle from behind her. She turned around on a dime, and saw one of Weiss soldiers with a blade embedded in his chest plate. The owner of the blade was pinned to the wall by Weiss' sword through their stomach, along with three bullet wounds across their chest. Weiss barred her teeth at the dead gang member, before pulling her sword from their gut, letting them slump to the floor.
"We must hurry, Ruby." This was the first time Bardach had called her anything but Ms. Rose. "Ms. Schnee is very capable of handling herself." Bardach had positioned himself in front of Ruby, his collapsible shield raised to protect the two. Reilly and Conair had blockaded the hallway with their own shields. The twins were covering with their rifles. "This is no time to be distracted."
"I'm sorry. We should go." The shield bearers began moving, crouched, down the hallway. The Wardens carrying their rifles moved in behind them. Two White Fang gang members turned a corner, rifles in position. Donal took out one before they could fire. The remaining gang member shot once, which connected against Bardach's shield, before he was taken down by Aidan.
"Aidan and Donal, clear room left. I'll take room right. Ruby, I need you to cover this hallway." The Paladin commanded, collapsing his shield and holding his shotgun as he spoke.
"Breach." Donal said before he kicked in the door, and Aidan rushed the White Fang. Three shots were heard inside. Bardach blew the lock off of his door, before using it as cover to take out an enemy inside. He cocked his head to the side, before having a red dust explosion take him in the chest, which knocked him back a few feet. He fired once more from the hip, before walking further into the room out of sight.
Ruby turned her attention back to the hallway just in time, as another two gang members sprung from a classroom. Ruby's first shot took the White Fang in the front off his feet. He fell backwards on top of the other, pinning him to the ground. Reilly loosed a pistol from his belt, and fired a shot into the head of the downed White Fang. He gave one clear beep over the radio. By this time Donal and Aidan rejoined the group in the hallway. The door to Bardach's room had closed on it's own, but was slung back open by the Paladin himself, who was dragging a red headed man in a white suit into the hallway. The man was missing his leg from the knee down. He was still alive and struggling.
"I need a second person to confirm this man's identity as Roman Torchwick." Bardach tossed the man in front of him, and pressed his shotgun to his head.
Ruby crouched in front of the wounded man, who was creating a pool of blood from his blown off limb. She hadn't seen Roman Torchwick since the train incident, but she was sure she would remember him. "Oh. Hey Red." He said between panting breaths. His voice was heavy with pain and years of smoking. A sick smile grew on his face. Ruby nodded reluctantly.
"Donal. Dispose of him." Bardach stepped back and put his gigantic arm in front of Ruby's eyes, blocking her vision. A shot was fired before Ruby could move around the arm, but she flinched at the loud band that pierced the silence. Torchwick lay dead on the floor. A clean bullet hole was present in his forehead, just above his eyes. Bardach laid the hat he was holding over the dead criminals face. He might have been sleeping if not for the missing leg. "Let's keep moving. We've removed one, but there are still more."
"Why was he in that room instead of the conference hall?" Conair moved from the back of the group to the Paladin, and asked as the procession proceeded slowly down the hall.
"He was speaking to a White Fang officer. Our informant lay dead at his feet. I guess they found him out." Bardach replied gruffly, and he activated his shield once more. "We were lucky that a Warden went in. He blasted me with a cane, it would have killed a normal man." Bardach added.
Oh tell me about it. Ruby thought. I've been hit with that cane too. Not fun! They made it halfway down the hallway when two grunts surprised them from either doorway to their immediate left and right. The two in front tried to wrench the shields away from Reilly and Conair, but to no avail. Reilly, who still had his pistol out, shot each attacker in the knee, causing them to fall to the floor. The one directly in front of himself he finished with a headshot. The second was not so lucky. As he fell, he slumped over Conair's shield. Using the jump jets in his boots, Conair blasted himself a foot in the air, bashing the injured man towards his companions, who both dodged out of his way. The two other gang members had made it around the shield holders, and were advancing towards the other Wardens.
Before Aidan could drop his rifle, a White Fang thrusted his blade and embedded it into the gun's mechanisms, disabling it indefinitely. The Warden's armor may be strong, but it couldn't account for the inferior metals that made up their rifles. Ruby acted against the danger and morphed her scythe into blade form before Bardach could pull his sword. She sliced the remaining opponent with a diagonal slice that spilled forth rose petals as he fell. The other was in a losing grapple match against Aidan, before Ruby slammed her bladed pommel into the man's head, silencing him. Bardach tossed his own rifle to Aidan.
They made it to the conference hall before either of the other team members. "All teams, Warden Squad has reached the Conference Room. Be prepared to cease fire upon arrival." Paladin Bardach called over his microphone to the other squadrons. It replayed itself in Ruby's own ears. At exactly that time, Weiss marched down the stairs with Blake in tow. A number of their soldiers had been killed, with Weiss losing about half of her original amount, and Blake losing one Stalker.
The remaining soldiers set up a blockade on both the stairs and the hallway, as to not be surprised. Yang had arrived by then, with roughly half of her soldiers killed as well. They joined the barricade along side the other soldiers. "Atlas soldiers. No matter what you hear inside, do not leave your posts. We need no one surprising us." Paladin Bardach spoke with undoubted authority. "Reilly, breach." Reilly responded with a beep.
Reilly put his hands on the door to prepare for a kick, but as soon as he made contact the door exploded from the other side, driving it into Reilly. He held firm, keeping his feet despite an explosion, and threw the door back into the room before charging in, shield raised. Behind him, an onslaught of the other Wardens and the infamous Team RWBY, prepared to plow through the knot of White Fang officials stationed inside. However, who they found was not who they were expecting. There stood three figures that did not match the description of the priority targets.
Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai stood side by side behind one of the office chairs that had been moved to the end of the long room. Sitting in the chair was a small girl with an umbrella covering all but her legs. Despite the covering, Yang had an easy enough time recognizing the small girl.
"You!" She screamed across the room, her hair already alight. She sent a fiery blast across the room that connected with the Umbrella wielding outlaw, but she simply shattered as she had once before on the highway. Mercury and Emerald had dodged to the side. Neo came down upon the blonde huntress from the ceiling seemingly out of thin air, barely missing Yang's shoulder with her umbrella blade. Instead, it slashed open Yang's top, revealing even more of the blonde's cleavage. From the way the ice cream bandit smiled afterwards, it would seem she meant to miss. "I'll fucking kill you!" Yang screamed as she charged forward, ignoring her better senses. She punched Neo once, only for her to shatter and reappear behind her. She punched again, only for the same thing to happen. The rest of the terrorists had joined the fight by then, ignoring Yang, and bum-rushing the other fighters.
Emerald fired upon Ruby and the Wardens, the bullets being blocked by Conair. Mercury took his chances with Blake and Weiss, assisted by Donal and Aidan, each with a sword and shield. His first attack was an over head kick that smashed into Donal's shield, knocking the Warden off balance and pushing him to the floor. He aimed another kick at Blake, who parried him with her sword. Weiss lunged at him, but he rolled backwards and fired a shot from his boots while on the floor. It connected against Aidan's shield, who had jumped in front of Weiss. Mercury regained his feet and went in to attack again.
Paladin Bardach went to help Yang, who was getting angrier by the minute. Neo backflipped away from Yang, glanced at Bardach, and then winked at him. Bardach unslung his sword and came at Neo with a two handed slice that could split a tree. Neo ducked under the first chop, then the second. After the third, she rolled under his blade and tried to prick him with her blade, but it deflected off his armor. She rose between his body and his blade, making it impossible to cut her. She kissed him on his helmet's visor, before dropping between his legs and vaulting Yang, making a beeline for Ruby and the other Warden's who were currently fighting Emerald.
Emerald had no easy time fighting the hooded girl and the two Wardens. Her guns were useless, but the hooked blades gave her an advantage. She went into attack Ruby, but switched targets mid-swing and caught Conair around the shield, biting into the lightly armored area of his elbow. Emerald spun around the wounded Warden, removed his helmet, and pushed off of him back towards the leader of team RWBY.
Neo made it to the other team before Yang or Bardach could catch her. As she approached, she saw Emerald had taken the helmet off one of the Wardens. She jumped into the air towards the unhelmeted Warden Conair. He spun just in time, so she planted her feet against his chest, driving her skinny blade through his unarmored throat. She gave an unceremonious twist of her blade before removing it from the wound. She gave a wicked smile before spinning to receive a cut from the head Warden. She teleported into shards once again, but this time she reappeared at the far end of the room, holding a small black box.
Mercury kicked once more at Blake, who once again dodged his boot. Both huntresses flew at him with a flurry of thirsty metal, but he was too fast for their swords, stepping out of the way of each cut. He pushed both back with a kick, before slamming Donal to the floor once more, but this time, he kept his ground. Donal went to one knee, raised his sword, and took Mercury's leg off above the boot with a hard swipe. He went down screaming and grasping at his blooded knee. Weiss silenced him with a stab through his wide open mouth, and he twitched as his lifeblood poured from the wound in his throat. They turned their attention towards the little girl standing at the head of the room.
"Bomb!" Yelled Blake over the headset, pointing towards Neo, who had since abandoned the bomb, and was sprinting for the one door in the room.
When Emerald heard Mercury yelling over the commotion, she tried to make a run for him, but was caught in the stomach by Ruby's scythe, causing a burst of rose petals to fly into the air. She was lifted into the air, and thrown across the room against the wall, before she fell another ten feet to the ground. She didn't move.
"Everyone out, now!" Ordered Bardach, and everyone was all too eager to obey. Except for Yang, whose sole intention was to kill Neo. She intercepted the small girl with a punch, that unsurprisingly only caused another eruption of the glass from the girl. The others had already made it through the doorway, but they all turned around when they realized Yang had stopped.
Yang punched once, then twice, then again, all a miss. Neo grabbed Yang and spun around her in mid air. She dropped to the floor and slid between the brawlers legs. She came up behind her, and held her blade out in front of herself. When Yang spun and lunged, she impaled herself on the blade, entirely by her own force. Neo had used her own strength against her. She was smiling as sweet as could be as Yang stood impaled upon the blade. She turned to the others and blew a kiss.
Ruby tried to charge back in, but was stopped by Bardach, who held on to her shoulder, preventing all forward motion. As he was stopping her, Yang had regained herself, and lunged again at Neo, further impaling herself. She grabbed Neo around the arm, causing her to release her grip on the sword. She spun Neo around, before connecting her fist into the girl's face. Yang lifted her off the ground, all while a sword was embedded to the hilt within her stomach. Neo looked at Yang's red eyes with her own mismatched ones, before her head was snapped around to face the opposite direction. Yang dropped the lifeless body and fell to her knees. Her hair stopped burning, and her eyes returned to their soft shade of lilac. She looked one last time at the group. Her eyes were wide open and full of sorrow as they pierced Ruby's silver ones, tears streaming from both of the girls' eyes. In an instant, an explosion erupted in the room, blasting the team outside away from the door.
The inside of the room collapsed, blocking the doorway. There was no way to get back into the room. No way to save Yang.