Act 1: Insertion
Around 0600, Gravestone was awoke by their alarm and shot out of their bunks. John looked at his men as he pulled on his desert combat uniform. Everyone was tense and silent, being the fact that they were going on the most important mission in their lives. The one that could end the chaos globally across Remnant. And yet, at the same time, they would still never receive any recognition for their hard work due to Team RWBY being with them to "raise the public morale and reinstate hope in Hunters and Huntresses". The feeling of being neglected was shared with all of the VMC.
Al, instead of his long sleeved shirt, chose to go with a black air-breathing shirt under his vest and a smaller pack over his usual heavy backpack. Tiger put on a desert camouflage bush cap and readied his silenced M35A2 Assault Rifle. This variant was used by the entire VMCSOC units for its reliability and the fact a silencer could be added to the barrel, unlike the standard issue M41A Dust Pulse Rifle. (The M35A2 is the Assault Rifle version of an M27 with a silencer, EoT Holographic Sight, a vertical grip, and a laser sight.) Charlie still kept his "Remember Beacon Academy" baseball cap on as he geared up in his own desert equipment. John pulled on his combat gloves and picked up his own M35A2 Assault Rifle, his having the dual switch sights of red dot and a scope instead of the Holographic sight.
Everyone then proceed out the room, moving quietly down the hall to the airship pads. Even though they were in no hurry, they grabbed breakfast to go and sat in the hold of a parked Bullhead for now. They eat their breakfast before breaking the silence by talking about various things involving what to do in the mission.
"Hey, John. If I see Cinder Fall in my scope, do you want me to save her for you or what?" Charlie asked, munching on his plate of SOS. John thought about for a quick second, eating his own plate of SOS.
"If you see her, plug one in her leg or try to guide us to her. Either way, if needed, just shoot her in the chest. We need to be able to snap a picture of the body to confirm if it was Cinder Fall or not." John replied, setting down his plate for a second. Charlie shook his head to this answer, understanding the ROE on Fall. Meanwhile, Al and Tiger were discussing books and their authors.
"Look. All I'm saying is Mark Dwayne wrote some interesting classics, but they are nothing compared to the books about the VMC and the conflicts they fought written by our buddies that are no longer with us." Al pointed out to Tiger, the Faunus speaking in return.
"I know what you are getting at and I agree with you completely. However Dwayne focused more of the time right after the Great War and before the Faunus-Human conflicts. It had to been interesting to see entire towns able to work together without prejudice separating it up. Like how Calm Waters is today. It's the only known popular town that humans and Faunus live in harmony."
"Yeah. Even though it almost came close to getting razed to the ground by the White Fang." Al replied, leaning back into a seat. Calm Waters was the target of a massive terrorist take over by the White Fang. They were going to seize the town and then make examples of the Faunus they called 'traitors to their own kind'. They would have if the VMC units at the nearby desert outpost hadn't caught wind of this attack. The VMC instantly placed themselves in the path of danger and fought off the White Fang, driving them off in a Pyrrhic Victory. Out of the 300 Marines that defended the town, only 73 were still alive from the battle. However the White Fang, with 1000 members sent to attack the town, lost 798 of its own members and were forced to give up the takeover. The Marines had saved the town only to have a team of Hunters show up and start cleaning up the remaining White Fang members. The media (With the Council's help) twisted it and claimed that the unit was almost overran until a team of Hunters, Team CRDL in fact, showed up and saved the day. Gravestone was at that battle and knew it was fucking Minotaurus-shit. In fact, the people of Calm Waters knew it and that was why the statue of three Marines in combat positions firing in the same direction was built in the town square in honor of the sacrifice of the Marines.
"Yeah...yeah..." Tiger trailed off, remembering the battle himself. His face went downfallen and shook his head. "It's a shame that our honor was tarnished by those Hunters though. They were never there when we were first attacked and nor did they even show up until after the White Fang retreated." At this disgruntlement, Tiger threw his empty water bottle at a nearby trashcan, landing it inside the trash. The truth was every time the VMC was the real heroes of the battle, the credit was given to someone else instead of them. In fact, there had been a general consensus to protest against this disgrace by protesting in front of the Council Building if it happens again one more time.
Two hours had passed when Team RWBY finally showed up in their same combat gear as the day before with the exception of backpacks on their backs. Charlie noticed this and started laughing. "What are you girls thinking? Are you that stupid?"
Yang walked over to Charlie with her fist raised. "No, grunt. We just don't need to be dressed like you guys. Huntresses show no fear so why wear what you guys are wearing?"
"Because in the desert, it gets over one hundred degrees in temperature with no clouds or water. That and the enemy can see you first if you are dressed up like that." Charlie snarked back, getting up to face her. Both Yang and Charlie were the same height so they could make eye contact with each other easily. "Now why don't you, Snow White, Red Riding Hood and the Black Cat head back and find some real combat clothing to change into, eh Goldilocks?"
This earned a series of "ohs" and "Oh. You got roasted" from John, Tiger and Al. Yang's eye twitched at this but she simply stood down when Ruby gave her a glare that told her no. Ruby walked into the bullhead and sat down across from John as everyone loaded up on the aircraft. The two pilots climbed up front into the cockpit, everyone buckled up in the back. Gravestone and Team RWBY sat on opposite sides, silently glaring at each other for a while. John was currently reading over the mission file once more before turning on his earpiece. "Alright. We will be at the dropzone in two hours so for now, use that time to get acquainted with us, Huntresses. We are your best hope for surviving the hellhole called Sahara."
"I guess it's you Marines have experience from your own fuck ups then. Especially when you guys could barely defend yourselves from a White Fang attack." Weiss coldly replied, earning a glare from the unit. Instantly Tiger jumped from his seat and tried to attack the Schnee while John and Al held him back.
"The fuck did you say about Calm Waters, bitch!?" Tiger shouted, being pulled back into your seat. "Over two hundred men and women gave up their lives to save that town and now you spit on their sacrifices! We saved that town and forced the White Fang to retreat before they could make one step into Calm Waters! The media is a fucking liar!"
"Tiger! Get your shit together and calm down!" John ordered, earning a glance from the tiger Faunus. The man remained silent for a while before nodding his head. "Understood, Master Sergeant."
"Good." John started, nodding his head at Tiger. Then he turned to Weiss and gave her the most darkest glare of a lifetime with his fist raised. "As for you, Schnee, you will not insult our honor or sacrifices we make. We may be not talked about in the media, but we did save Calm Waters and various other events that Hunters end up taking false credit for. So do yourself a favor and shut your mouth before I shut it for you with my fist. Understood?"
If Weiss thought Jaune would still be the same person from long ago, she was dead wrong now. There was no sign of the optimistic, annoying dork in this new version of Jaune. In fact, he seemed the exact opposite of the original Jaune she once remembered. Shaking in fear, she instantly nodded her head, unable to respond visibly. Satisfied by this, John sat back down and returned to his briefing.
"As I was saying, listen to us and you will stay alive through this ordeal. I do not care if you are Huntresses. This White Fang, the sand, the terrain, the storm, anything in this place will kill you if you do not be careful or listen to our advice. Now, stay alert for now. Anything can go wrong even before the insertion so stay focused." John finished up, handing the mission file back to the copilot. He sat back down again and prepared his assault rifle. He doubled checked his magazines before pulling one off his chest rig. He slammed it into the magazine slot of the rifle and chambered a round into it. Ruby looked at him and decided to speak.
"Jaune. I'm really sorry about Pyrrha-" "I know you are, Ruby. However it isn't your fault that she got captured." John cut her off, looking up at her. His eyes, while still dulled in brightness, we're not as cold as they were before. "You didn't expect it and I failed to be strong enough to save her. However, in this mission, we are getting her back. After I put a bullet through that Fall bitch's head."
"Amen, John." Charlie muttered a reply, adjusting his ballcap again. The unit went back to their silence, deep in thought about the mission ahead. Two hours later as they approached the drop point, John decided to have the unit say some sort of pray because Team RWBY heard them saying something together with their heads bowed and caps and helmets off.
"Heavenly Oum. We pray for you to give us our constant strength and resolve as we head down into the valley of death. Let no Marine be abandoned but for all us as brothers in arms to go down together should our time come. Let us be able to cover each other's sixes and all around. Let us have the power to kill our enemies before they shall kill us. Leads safely through the gates of Hell and out of it as we bring down those who threaten peace and prosperity of our Kingdom and its people. In the name of the powerful Monty Oum. Amen."
Suddenly the two teams felt the Bullhead drop down slowly and John opened the side door on his left. Outside was a sea of sand and a massive sandstorm separating them from the ruins of Sahara. Once the aircraft got close enough to the ground, Gravestone was already out of the aircraft and securing the area. Team RWBY casually walked out of the Bullhead and looked around at the desert. The Bullhead took off as Gravestone Squad pull on goggles and their shemaghs over their faces to prevent the sand from hurting their eyes and lungs. Team RWBY had to stop and do the same, now regretting to listen to their advice regarding clothing.
"Alright. Let's move out." John shouted over the howling winds of the storm. The group slowly trudged their way into the storm and kept walking, staying close to each other to avoid getting lost in the rolling winds of sand. They disappeared into the storm, unaware that some of them would not return out of their alive. The ruins of Sahara had claimed over thousands of lives in the past and present and would certainly claim some of their lives if not all of them.
1036 Hours
The group so far had spent thirty minutes pushing through the storm, seemingly no end to the wind and sand. Team RWBY officially regretted their decision of clothing now, but there was nothing they could do about it at this rate. In a few minutes, they emerged from the sandstorm, seeing the large towers of the ruins of Sahara in the distance. They were on the outskirts of the city ruins, in front of a highway full of half buried cars littering both sides. Everyone removed or lifted up their goggles as John pulled his shemagh back down to his neck. "There it is. The former Jewel of the Dune Desert. Sahara."
"Man. Even if it's in ruins, it still is pretty impressive from here." Charlie commented, lifting the brim of his cap up slightly. Despite its state of ruin, Sahara was a unique city like no other. It had been free of Grimm like the town of Calm Waters so no walls were ever needed to defend it. It had soaring skyscrapers that were something that Mistral and Atlas helped out with, giving the city more cultural diversity. The largest tower was a specialized CCT tower that was a unique glass Vacuian styled building, making it the world's most beautiful tower until the sandstorm.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, take your safeties off and stay on high alert. Anything that wears Grimm masks is considered as a hostile and to be killed on sight." John ordered, flicking the safety off on his M35A2 Assault Rifle. The rest of his unit did the same while Team RWBY drew their own weapons out. As they moved down the road, Team RWBY grimaced at the many skeletal remains of the city's former inhabitants in their cars or on the ground partially mummified. Al walked over to one of the bodies and pulled out a small beaker tube and tweezers to peel off a piece of skin off of it. Weiss grimaced at this and almost would have berated him for disturbing the dead when Tiger spoke up.
"In case you hadn't noticed but these people were killed during the failed evacuations for reasons unknown during a sandstorm. A sandstorm wouldn't kill people inside their own cars. So the AOV wanted us to collect samples of the deceased to study and determine the cause of death." Tiger explained, just as Al closed the tube and gently stored it inside a impact protective steel kit hanging on his pack. Ruby looked around as they walked, her long hair and cloak blowing in the wind. She felt saddened at the sight of the bodies, but could do nothing for them.
"So why didn't the Commandant mention this in the briefing, Jaune?" Ruby asked, earning a grunt from John.
"Simple. You are here just to be a cover for the media since the Council wants Huntresses to be the real heroes instead of our own Marines." John answered, walking over to an old VMC Humvee. He rubbed some sand that was caked onto the side of the vehicle, revealing a skull emblem with "33rd" printed below it. This was the emblem of the "Damned" 33rd Valean Marine Corps Battalion, the unit that voluntarily went to Sahara to try and rescue the survivors, but instead, got branded as deserters and traitors for it. "For now, your orders are to listen to me for now and no shooting any survivors or remnants of the 33rd Battalion."
"Wait. Why are we sparing turncoats instead of killing them like the White Fang here? They are traitors of the Kingdom of Vale." Yang commented, rubbing some sand out of her robotic arm. Charlie looked at her and shook his head.
"Come on. You really think that unit would have gone rogue if they were heading into a shitstorm? Surely you would have remembered your history about the unit going into Sahara to evacuate those that couldn't get out in time." Charlie told her, flicking her on the forehead as he walked by. Yang glared at this but restrained herself since they were working together with Gravestone Squad. As they moved on, they reached a small area that had several Humvees and buses, one of which was full of sand and leaning over another. Mounted to the roof of one of the Humvees was a speaker hooked up to a laptop that was currently giving a static sound. Tiger, being the radio technician, walked over to it and began to tinker with it. The rest of Gravestone and Team RWBY covered the area, looking for various clues that could give them a new location to search.
"Well I'll be damned..." Tiger commented, his voice revealing interest and intrigue as he typed on the aging laptop. "Whoever made this speaker built at least two hundred more all over the city. All of them receive power by makeshift solar panels while a second battery is charged during the day to power it at night. And all are contact by an even more impressive landline system buried in the sand. Whoever built this system must have been one hell of a radio technician."
"Must have been either the city's technicians or maybe some of the tech heads from the old 33rd." Al commented, glancing around the area. Suddenly several armed figures popped out of their hiding places and aimed their weapons at the two teams down below. The Marines and Huntresses aimed their weapons back at them while the newcomers began to speak at them.
"Who are you and why are you here!?" One man demanded, gripping onto an aged Atlesian assault rifle. Most of the newcomers were clad in various clothing mixed with old military gear and hardware. Some even wore their own desert ghillies which aided with blending in with the terrain. The Marines turned to their squad leader who spoke up first.
"We're not here to fight you! We're members of the Valean Marine Corps! Can you tell us who you are and what happened here?" John shouted back, earning more shouts and the weapons aimed directly at him. Most of them were accusing them of being members of the Damned while some seemed a bit hesitant on what to do. John slowly put his weapon down next to the large piece of cover he was standing by and kept shouting at them that they were not hostile with his hands empty as a gesture. "Look! We're Valean Marine Corps Special Operations! We're not from the 33rd if that's what you are wondering! We are not your enemy!"
While the two sides were shouting at each other and simply pointing weapons, Team RWBY was thinking of a way to quickly solve the conflict. Ruby took notice that a few of the heavily armed newcomers were underneath the sand filled windows and that if the glass was broken would be buried underneath the sand, unable to attack the group and the Marines. Ruby carefully motioned for her teammates about her plan silently, earning nods from the other three. Ruby carefully aimed her sniper-scythe at the window and prepared to fire.
With John, he was slowly starting to talk down the tensions as he carefully examined the armed men's faces. Most of them were clearly not experienced combatants and some of them looked very nervous to be even considered combatants. It slowly dawned on John that none of them were even former soldiers. They were all civilians with guns. Scared civilians who had no idea what they were doing but just terrified. With this new information in mind, John motioned for his squad to stay in cover but to lower their weapons for now.
"Look. Just calm down. We are not here to harm you. We are lowering our weapons slowly. There is no need to fig-NO, RUBY! STOP!" John was too late when he got cut off by the familiar and unwelcomed sound of a sniper-scythe unfolding, followed instantly by the crack of a bullet. The glass above a few of the locals shattered, leaving no time for them to run or scream as the massive build up of sand above crushed them alive instantly in their new grave. John ducked into cover as the remaining locals panicked and fired wildly at them. The Marines kept in cover for now while the Huntresses instantly went upon the locals like Grimm themselves. "STOP IT! DAMMIT! STOP!"
John's shout were unheeded as Team RWBY swiftly dealt with the locals. Ruby was darting rapidly all over the battlefield, leaving traces of rose petals while unaware that the opponents she was 'knocking down' were slowly bleeding out with massive cuts across their torsos or chests. Weiss, using her glyphs and dust, froze some of the 'attackers' in place in full ice, leaving them to die from suffocation or instantly freeze to death. Blake cut down a few of her opponents with Gambol Shroud. However she was a bit shocked to see her blade covered in blood instead of being clean. As for Yang, she was frozen in shock upon striking her first opponent with Ember Cecilia only for his head to explode and cover her in blood and brain matter.
Within less than three minutes, the entire group of locals were killed or slowly dying from the Huntresses. Team RWBY, after finally stopping, suddenly realized that they and their weapons were covered in blood save for Weiss. Ruby slowly glanced down at Crescent Rose and her hands, slowly starting hyperventilate at the sight of the blood on her. Weiss was a bit shocked by the bodies littered all over the place as well as the sounds of the dying. Blake slowly rubbed her weapon with a rag, trying to take in the fact she killed a few people. Yang was still staring at her hands, not even getting angry over the fact her hair was covered in blood or brain matter.
Gravestone rushed over to one of the dying locals with some hope that they could save one of them at least from death. Al tore the man's shirt open while Tiger pulled out an aid kit from his vest. Charlie watched over the area along with John, making sure there were no more shooters. Al grimaced at the large slash across the man's chest and turned to John. The squad leader looked over and Al shook his head negatively at him. The poor local was fatally injured and was gonna die either way.
"W...why?" The dying man weakly asked with his arm stretched out towards Tiger. Tiger carefully grabbed the man's hand with his own and gently held it.
"I'm sorry, sir. We didn't mean for this to be the outcome." Tiger weakly apologized, feeling guilty about the entire situation and outcome. There was no way an apology would make this any better for the dying man and the entire fireteam knew it. The man slowly laid his head back against the sand and his hand went slack in Tiger's hand. Gently, the Marine laid the man's hand down before carefully closing the man's eyes. "God. I hate this mission already."
John slowly turned over to Team RWBY who were still comprehending their actions. The Marine leader walked over to them with a glare in his eyes. "Get it together and let's keep moving. Most likely we might have to fight more of these insurgents now thanks to this fucked up incident."
"How...How can you still be focused on the mission instead of the people you killed?" Ruby sobbed, tears slowly rolling down her face. Seeing no movement from her, John pulled her to her feet and backhanded her across the face. The slap snapped all of Team RWBY out of their trances, witnessing their leader on her knees while holding her tender cheek. John stood over her, holding his assault rifle in his hands as he spoke.
"I didn't kill these people. Team RWBY did. You're a team. Take responsibility of your actions and their consequences. Now grab your damn weapons and let's keep moving. This mission doesn't stop because you killed someone." John roughly spoke, picking up Crescent Rose off the sand and handing it to Ruby. The young woman slowly stared at her weapon before accepting it. She slowly got to her feet and weakly wiped the tears out of her eyes. She looked up at John who simply glanced at her for a moment. The Marine then walked back to his unit, clearing his throat. "Alright! Despite this setback, we are still continuing this mission. The current ROE is fire if fired upon. So if they shoot first, shoot to kill."
Team RWBY glanced at each other before slowly following Gravestone along the sand covered highway to the city. Unaware that they were slowly on a dark path that no ordinary person should ever walk on.
I decided to change the 2nd Chapter to this. I figured it would be better this way than the original 2nd Chapter. Tell me what you think in the reviews.