Ch30: The Breach
(Not even a second after the end of Ch29)
I leap into the crater and landing on a roof within. I kick down a metal door nearby with an Aura-enhanced kick and see two White Fang grunts inside. "Death has come once more." I say, and Blue Death barks twice. 'On to the next room then.' I think, before my faunus-hearing picks up a strange yet familiar noise.
'That's definitely cursing. Not in any language from… Holy shit. It's Russian, an honest-to-Murphy Russian. I'm not alone.'
"HELP'S ON THE WAY IVAN!" I bellow, charging after the sound, effortlessly dropping any resistance on my way through the ruined office building the Fang had set up in.
I come across a solid-looking metal door at the end of a long hallway, behind which is an extremely pissed-off Russian. 'Now is the time for extreme subtlety and stealth.' I think, walking a few meters down the hallway I am in and taking up a sprinter's position. "LEEEEEERRRROOOOOYYYYY JEEEEEEEENNNNNKKKKINNNNSSS!" I shout. *CRASH* I plow straight through the door, taking it off its hinges and straight into what feels like a mook. I step out from behind my impromptu metal shield to see a very dead mook and a very stunned person tied to a chair and dressed in red and black clothing, tattered and scuffed and generally looking in pretty bad shape.
"C'mon Ivan, I'm getting you outta here." I say, pulling out one of my many knives and slicing through his bonds. As he stood up I took a second to look over him in further detail. he was about four or five inches taller than me, looked my age, and had jet-black hair and irises.
"Who… who are you?" He asks a bit shakily, with a noticeable Russian accent.
"I'm Kurt, I know what you're going through but you'll have to trust me. I'm going to take you to a hospital to get you checked out, you'll be safe there." I say. As he stumbles, I grab him and support him with my shoulder. "Hang on." I say.
"What?"
*bamf*
I step out of my characteristic smoke cloud in the Beacon infirmary, Ivan hunched over vomiting behind me.
"I need a doctor!" I shout, as a few nurses rush over. "He's hurt. White Fang was interrogating him when I found him. I'll be back after my mission ends." I say to them before walking over to Ivan, as I shall now call him.
"What. The. Hell." He pants, still hunched over.
"It's alright, I'll explain everything when I get back." I say to him.
*bamf*
I reappear next to the crater in Mountain Glenn, hearing a train whistle from inside the cavern.
'It appears that I'm a bit late.' I think, jumping down to the ground and performing a rolling landing. I stand up and see a rather large train pass by on a nearby set of rails. 'I think that's the 6:30 express.' I bamf onto the roof and see my teammates a couple of cars back. They are crowded around an open hatch in the car's roof.
"Sorry I'm late, I had some business to take care of." I say as I near them.
They all spin around to look at me, a bit surprised if I do say so myself.
"Kurt! You're alright!" Ruby says, running up and hugging me.
"Nice to see you too. But now's probably not the best time." I say to her.
"It's a bomb!" Oobleck shouts.
Without another word, we all decide to run.
"Blake! Detach the Caboose! He'll kill us all!" Oobleck orders.
"It detached on its own!" Blake responds a few seconds later, as we check our car: bomb, the next car:bomb, and the next couple after that: ALL FRAKKING BOMBS.
"Keep moving!" I shout, as we hop a few more cars, each releasing seconds after we clear it. Eventually we come upon one that doesn't have a bomb and we stop to catch our breath and figure out what's going on.
"We've got incoming!" I shout as White Fang mooks, in various states of armament, mass on the roof of a car about a football field's length away.
I drop down onto one knee and start cracking off single shots, picking off anybody with a firearm.
*BOOOM* We look back as the most recently detached car explodes, forming a hole to the surface through which Grimm emerge and begin to follow the train.
'They're leading Grimm to the city!" I shout, reloading "Oobleck!"
"Yes Kurt?"
"Where does this line end?" I ask, the answer already in my head.
"Why in Glenn Square, why would yo- Oh my." He says, the pieces falling into place.
"I'm going to bamf to Beacon, get as many people as I can, and head to Glenn Square. Try to evac the civvies and set up a perimeter. See you on the flip side." I say. One of my major concerns for the past year or so was how to avoid the massive civilian casualties I knew were bound to occur after The Breach. After going through the options in my head, I'd decided that alerting Ozpin and Ironwood ASAP and praying to Murphy was the best plan of action.
*bamf*
"Ozpin! We've got trouble!" I say loudly, appearing in his office.
"What is it Kurt? Your new friend that you just dropped off?" He asks, a bit concerned.
"What's going on?" Ironwood and Goodwitch both ask from somewhere behind me.
"We have a large number of White Fang and an even larger number of Grimm incoming via the old Mountain Glenn-Vale rail line. They should hit in the Glenn Square. I'd suggest sounding the emergency alarms and scrambling everyone and everything we can get. It's going to be a big one." I say succinctly.
*bamf*
I appear in hangar B-17, stepping from the smoke cloud and marshalling my forces.
"SQUADS ONE AND TWO, LOAD UP IN THE RAIDER!" I bellow, ordering the aforementioned squads into the large armored monstrosity before spotting something odd.
"IVAN! What the hell are you doing here!?" I shout, seeing the teen staring into one of the storage containers.
"They-they told me to stay here until you got back. What's happening?" He asks, a bit shocked.
"Do you know how to drive a truck?" I ask, jogging to Da Trukk, opening the door and flipping a few switches.
"Da." He says from right next to me, a bit confused.
"Good, then you can follow me. I'll be in that one." I say pointing to The Raider. "SQUAD THREE LOAD UP IN DA TRUKK!" I bellow, as the third squad of androids pile into the MRAP-type vehicle. "And before you ask: yes, everything here is some form of crazy." I say, climbing into The raider through the top hatch. The Raider is effectively a copy of a Space Marine Land Raider with an Abrams turret and main gun and point-defense miniguns slapped on for good measure. In other words, it is a mobile fortress capable of carrying two and a half squads of androids within.
I flip a few switches and take off my helmet, clipping it to my belt.
"Ivan, you getting this?" I ask.
"Da, I hear you." He says.
"Follow me." Is all I say as one of the hangar's massive doors opens to let us out. We speed out across the campus and down a rather long, winding road down from the plateau upon which Beacon rests to the city, and from there to Glenn Square.
"So, Ivan, where are you from?" I ask, sitting in the driver's seat of the Raider.
"I'm from… from…" He says, the realization dawning upon him.
"You've got a strangely specific form of amnesia." I explain. "You won't remember your name, your family or your friends. Nothing of a personal nature whatsoever, although you will remember facts and skills." I continue, prompting a look of confusion on Ivan's face. "I know because the same thing happened to me. About a year and five months ago, I woke up in a snowy forest on a small island just off the coast. All I had were the clothes on my back, an Iphone, a folding knife, a Colt M1911, five magazines and a spare round. I'll tell you the rest of the story later, but suffice to say that I got adopted by a family and I'm now enrolled in a combat academy." I say, before launching into a long explanation of Remnant and all of the various craziness going on at the moment as air-raid sirens blared in the distance.
[Five or so minutes later, nearly at Glenn Square]
"So, if I'm getting this right, the entire population of this planet is contained within four kingdoms and under almost constant siege by creatures that are effectively pure evil. The Faunus are effectively humans born with animal bits and Hunters are people trained in the use of Aura, a natural shield that all people have?" Ivan asks, getting to the main points of my exposition.
"Pretty much. But we also have semblances, which are special abilities unique to every person. Mine is teleportation. And then there's the fact that people here seem to break the laws of physics just by existing. And Dust, with a capital dee, is the primary energy source here. It is commonly found in its natural crystalline form and can be refined into a powder form which is more easily controlled but less powerful." I say. An explosion echoes and a pall of dust rises above the skyline.
"That'd be the train." I say, putting on my helmet. "Try and keep up." I press both of the control levers forwards as far as they can go, the Raider jumping forwards, Ivan keeping Da Trukk close behind. "When I tell you to, hit the brakes as hard as you can and flip the switch that reads Auto Fire. Got it?" I say, flipping a few switches on my control panel, turning off the safeties for the mounted weapons and giving the inbuilt aiming CPUs (CPUs taken from destroyed androids) full control of the weapons systems. Soon we came upon a group of Beowolves just at the edge of the square, about twenty, and a pair of Ursai. "IVAN! BRAKES! NOW!" I shout, swerving to the side and braking, flipping a few switches as I opened the exit hatch above me, unfolding Blue Death from its place at the small of my back.
"DEPLOY! DEPLOY! DEPLOY!" I bellow, ordering my androids to exit the vehicles. Soon they form up into fireteams and mow down the Beowolves. I bring Blue Death up and empty half a clip into each Ursa, just to be sure. "Stay in the truck Ivan." I say, seeing him move to open the door. "Shout if you need some help." I say, as the Raider's automated weapons open up, the main cannon roaring and blasting apart a small Deathstalker. "ALL SQUADS, FORM A GUNLINE AND FIRE AT WILL!" My androids form two lines across the road and started firing at the various weaker Grimm nearby. I, on the other hand, bamf'd up to a rooftop overlooking the Square and switched Blue Death to its sniper form, getting down on a knee and providing cover fire to my teammates, still recovering from the crash while holding back the Grimm.
I see a Beowolf jump for Ruby while her back is turned and I place a round straight through its head. She looks up, sees me and waves. I return the gesture and get back to work, quickly emptying my magazine before deciding to find some bigger targets.
And for that, I'd need a bigger gun. I collapse Blue death and reattach it to the back of my armor, under my greatcoat.
I bamf to the raider and open one of the disembarkation hatches, finding a long weapon case and a large box of ammo belt. I pick up the case and place a hand on top of the box.
*bamf*
I reappear on top of the roof holding the weapon case with the box at my side. I place the case down and open it, retrieving a rather bulky foot and a half long rifle and a foot and a half long barrel. I attached the two and opened the ammo box, pulling out the start of a belt of two hundred fifty .60 caliber magnum armor piercing/incendiary rounds. I slot them into the receiver and pull back the bolt, loading a round into the chamber. I flip down a rather sturdy-looking bipod and sight in on an Ursa Major that Yang is heading for.
*BOOM* The weapon kicks back and the Ursa's head disappears. 'That's gonna leave a mark.' I think, mentally noting that I should install more shock-absorbers when I work on it next.
Yang looks up to my rooftop perch with a look of wonderment, she sees me and the look quickly changes to a smirk as she nods in my direction before launching into the fray once more. I quickly search for more targets, each feeling the wrath of my as-of-yet unnamed weapon.
I switch comm channels.
"This is Kurt Wagner with Team-" *BOOM* An Ursa Major goes down. "RWWBY from Beacon Academy, just wondering about the ETA-" *BOOM* A Deathstalker takes a round through the faceplate and slumps down. "Of reinforcements. There's enough Grimm for everyone so don't be shy to bring along a few heavily-armed friends." I broadcast on the open channel, hopefully reaching everyone within comm range. 'This is a lot more Grimm than in the show. Gotta love a target-rich environment.' A shadow passes over me and I look up to see a small flock of fully grown Nevermores fly in. "Nevermores are in the air, repeat, Nevermores have breached Valean airspace. Air cover recommended." I say into the line before switching back to my previous channel, pulling a small box, a homemade SOFLAM, from my greatcoat and I aim it towards the Nevermores, pressing a button to designate each one. "Designating targets as Alpha One through Six." I say over my command channel. "Engage targets with all available weapons." I order, as thirty Assault Rifles and a half a dozen miniguns open up on the flock of Nevermores, bringing three down and diverting them from making a run on my teammates, still alone in the square. I look to the actual breach to see a Paladin arm jerkily rise from the rubble, Zwei and Oobleck following quickly behind, Zwei managing to headbutt a Creep to death. 'We have such an awesome dog.'
I hear the whine of Bullhead engines and look up to see a pair of Beacon Academy Bullheads swooping in and disgorging JNPR, CFVY and Professor Port. JNPR starts to take on the Grimm heading away from the square, to prevent them from wreaking havoc in the rest of the city. CFVY, on the other hand, dives into the fray to take out the bigger Grimm. Coco pulls out a minigun and mows down a small pack of Ursai before putting down a Deathstalker and the remaining three Nevermores. 'Your undeclared challenge is accepted Coco.' I think, turning my scope to the Breach itself. I see a mob of Grimm massing in the cover of the massive hole to sweep in and overwhelm the assembled students, teachers, and dog. 'That's strange, they usually just Zerg rush. They're starting to plan now. Not good.' I notice that the amassing horde is mostly comprised of Ursa Majors and Deathstalkers, with a few Creeps and a pair of King Tajitu thrown in for good measure. I press a button on the left side of my helmet, just forward of where my ear is located.
"Play Glorious Land; set external speakers to max." I say, using my suit's voice command function.
*Endless wastes, our patience runs thin* Glorious Land by Sabaton starts to play, my suit's external speakers blaring it as loud as they can. I turn my weapon upon the massing Grimm sheltering in the Breach, flip a selector on the side of my gun, brace myself, and squeeze the trigger.
The rifle spits four rounds, taking down a rather large Deathstalker. 'Oh yeah, scope.' I press a button on the side of the 10x scope and it folds down into a holographic sight, allowing me a better view of the target area.
As the Deathstalker collapses, the mass of Grimm start to move as one, charging from the Breach like a tidal wave. "Shiẞe." I quickly tighten down on the trigger, launching a fully-automatic barrage at the onrushing tide of Grimm. "ALL SQUADS! HOLD THEM BACK!" I bellow into the command channel, and they obey. The androids move as a single unit, each squad advancing alongside the others, keeping up a fusillade of fully automatic fire against the Grimm horde. I felt a good deal of pride as I watched them march on as one. As they march to their doom, I pray to Murphy that they hold off the Grimm long enough for help to arrive.
I turn my gaze from my androids back to the Breach, and continue to fire. Ursai, Creeps and the other multitude of Grimm fall, only to be replaced by ten more. As the Grimm charge on, my gun falls silent, the last shell clinking on the roof, joining the pile of spent casings and ammo chain-links. I set the weapon down, there's not enough time to reload. I pull my helmet from my head and clip it to my belt. 'Time to bring back an old friend.' I bamf back down to the Raider, walking back inside to open a rather large crate, hefting the weapon within and pulling back the bolt, loading a round into the chamber.
I bamf into the Square, seeing my androids run out of ammunition and charge the mass of Grimm, bayonets fixed.
I look around to see the three teams barely holding their own, surrounded by Grimm.
*DAKKADAKKADAKKADAKKADAKKA* The Ma Deuce spews fire.
I hold down the firing stud and slowly advance towards the Grimm, a look of determination in my eyes and a wordless battle cry on my lips.
"FFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU" The Grimm horde thins out a bit, giving the teams the break that they'd been waiting for. They break from the horde and I move to firing more controlled bursts in order to avoid hitting them. They form up on me, readying their weapons. They'd run out of ammunition so it's just melee for now. I continue firing as the horde nears until the Ma Deuce finally runs dry. I drop it and ready Blue Death, firing in controlled bursts until the magazine empties. I feel someone tap my shoulder and turn to see none other than Ivan, holding an assault rifle from Da Trukk.
"Am I late for the party?" He says with a grin, pulling back the bolt. I take a step to the side to let him join our line. The Grimm close in.
"A little." I reply. A few more yards and they'll be in.
"Then I guess you won't mind a few others showing up late as well." He says, bringing up the AR and firing three-round bursts as the whine of Dustplane engines fills the air. The Grimm line erupts in fire as a pair of Atlesian drop-ships open up with their gatling cannons. there's only one thing to do now.
"CHAAARRRGGGGEEE!" I bellow, leading the charge towards the disoriented Grimm line. They're disoriented and their charge has been broken, this is our chance to break this attack. As we bash, stab and slice our way through the horde, I catch a glimpse of Goodwitch using her telekinesis to finally repair the massive hole in the ground. Atlesian androids are falling like rain as other teams and even a handful of Hunters who must have been nearby move in and eradicate the remaining Grimm.
A few minutes later, it's all over. I walk around collecting what's left of my androids as well as the weapons that I'd dropped over the course of the fight as they ran out of ammo. As I pack up the guns and pile the broken bits of android in The Raider, I spot Mercury, Emerald, and Cinder handing off Roman Torchwick to a pair of Atlesian androids. 'And the infiltrators finally make an appearance. Probably hanging out on the fringes of the fight like a bunch of cowards. They can wait for some other time, I've got other things to deal with.' I think, turning my mind back to everything I'd have to do over the coming weeks. I'd have to bring Ivan up to speed about Remnant, I'd have to train him how to fight, I'd have to convince Ozpin to let him into Beacon, I'd have to improve my new gun, I'd have to name said gun, I'd have to scrape together a few androids from the parts they'd left behind and I'd have to do whatever else popped up. 'This is gonna be a busy month. Or two.'