RWBY: Light Extinguished

Chapter 16

oxoxoxo

Caroline Leon paced her office, her rifle leaning against her desk. She growled under her breath in frustration as she paced the room. Micca and Wun had reported back to her about twenty minutes ago, reporting that there were seven intruders on the island, and considering that Blanch's men didn't obey her, she was forced to send her own men into those darkened trees to track down their uninvited guest. However, considering what she had found out from reading the reports on the Abyss, perhaps her men might actually be safer out there. After all, they weren't locked in here with a dead man.

Reading the reports Wun had stolen, the lioness had found out something rather disturbing: Derek Blanch was dead. The report gave a disturbing amount of detail to the fact that Blanch had been killed, dragged screaming into a horde of ghouls. On one hand, this Fantine guy who wrote the report was possibly deranged, and on the other, the man who had been giving her orders for the past week was either an imposter or a dead man walking.

The stress only continued to build as she worried for the safety of the rest of her men, both the ones out searching the forest and the ones locked in here with Blanch.

So caught up in her thoughts was she that when the door to her office opened she nearly fell over in mid step. "What is it?" She demanded. "Have they been found?"

The Carolean at the door snapped off a salute. "Yes ma'am, a unit of our soldiers is at the gates with one of the intruders."

Caroline nodded, pulling out her scroll and typing out a message. She replaced the scroll in her coat pocket and turned to her soldier. "Good, take me to them." She ordered.

"Yes ma'am!" The soldier said with another salute. He stepped out of the office, Caroline falling in step behind him.

"You said they managed to capture one of the intruders," the commander began. "What happened to the other ones?"

"We're not sure yet." The soldier replied as they made their way through the base. "When they got here the prisoner demanded to speak to you, personally, some kind of noble, apparently."

"A noble?" Caroline commented. "Wun will certainly be pleased." She said, remembering the description Wun gave of the boy she had duelled at the docks of Vale.

"What will I be pleased about?" Wun asked, falling into step next to her commander.

"Right on schedule, Wun." Caroline commended. "Is your sister still down at the airstrip watching over the mercenaries?"

"I pride myself on my promptness. And yes, Micca is down at the airstrip watching those... humans" Wun said with a nod. "Now, why did you call me and why will I be pleased?"

"We captured one of the intruders." Caroline said as they followed the Carolean. "Your crush."

Wun kicked at the ground and grumbled to herself. "You're just as bad as Micca..."

"Enough chatter, we're here." Caroline said as the front door to the base opened before her, seven White Fang operatives entering the Firebase, a badly beaten blonde boy being shoved in ahead of them by one of the members, a man with a pair of swords. The nobleman looked up at his captors and spat in the face of the one who pushed him in, snarling as he did. The captor responded with a pommel strike that sent the huntsman sprawling to the floor. Caroline looked the prisoner over. While she was sure he had once been a handsome young man, it was clear that his pretty face would need some time to recover. One of his eyes was now blackened and at least one tooth had been knocked out by repeated blows to the face, there was a cut running down his left cheek, and a steady but slow trickle of blood was coming from his nose. Then there were his clothes, the blue tabard he wore was likely once a thing of beauty, though it now bore countless scars and cuts and the hat perched on his head looked like it had been stomped on during the fight before being placed back on his head. "Well, well, well." The commander said, hauling the nobleman back up to his knees, taking his head in her hand. "Look what the pack found."

The nobleman snarled some very choice French curses as he roughly jerked his head out of her hands.

"Charming." Caroline replied, turning to Wun. "You think you can get a few answers out of him?"

"With pleasure." The Cobra said, stepping forward and looking the nobleman in the eye. "Where are the rest of your friends?"

Francois glared up into her eyes, his blue orbs glowing gold around the edges. With another snarled curse in French he spat a glob of blood in her face.

"I forgot he can block me out with his semblance." Wun muttered. "No matter, I think I know how to break him. Mind if I borrow this one, commander?"

Caroline stepped back and gestured further into the base. "He's all yours. I'll have the others warm up the interrogation chambers." Wun smirked and snapped off a salute. Her commander returned it. "When you're done with him, come to my office. There's something we need to discuss." She said, her tone growing darker as she spoke.

Wun nodded before turning to the operatives who brought the nobleman in. "Get him on his feet and follow me."

The operative who threw the noble to the ground sheathed one of his swords before roughly hauling the noble to his feet. "Daddy's money can't save you now, pretty boy." He hissed.

"Enfoire!" The huntsman spat back, spitting in his face again.

The terrorist smirked cruelly. "The Cobra's gonna enjoy breaking you."

"Get him on his feet." Wun ordered. "We'll be having a chat in my office."

The nobleman glared at every faunus in range as he got to his feet, Wun leading the way into the Firebase as the White Fang squad escorted the new prisoner. The Cobra led them deeper into the base before turning to face her new captive. "So, let's try and make this a little easier, maybe not make a mess of that pretty face of yours. Where are the rest of your teammates?"

Francois gave a broken smile. "Right now, plotting your demise from a safe distance."

"While leaving you behind, of course." Wun replied, turning to lead the way again. "No matter, you'll tell us sooner or later."

Francois cast his eyes about the hallway they were in. It was a long, featureless hallway, the walls shining white as they made their way through, leading to what he could only assume was where the commanders of the old fort would lead prisoners they wanted a 'chat' with. Needless to say, few people wanted to be down here, and the lengthy, featureless hallway with a low ceiling that led down to the interrogation chambers really showed that. By the fact that they hadn't gone down any stairs, Francois could guess they were still on the first floor, making him guess that the prisoners' quarters were towards the middle of the base, making escape much less likely.

However, one thing that caught Francois' eyes was the fact that this seemed to carry over to the base's current owners: there were very few soldiers around. The nobleman turned to the terrorist that had dragged him in. "Did you have to hit me so hard?"

"Quit your wining, Noble Boy." The extremist replied, an accent revealed in his speech. "We're here, aren't we?"

Wun, understandably confused, turned to face the two of them. "What are you two on about?"

"It's simple, really:" Said one of the soldiers, stepping forward, an icy blue glow coming from behind his mask. Before Wun's eyes, the air around the soldiers and their captive began to shimmer and shift. Her eyes widened as the nobleman's wounds sealed and worse, the soldiers who brought him in shimmered and changed shape, each one becoming an enemy, four of them his teammates, one the lunatic who fought her sister in Vale, one the professor who she ran into at Beacon, and the final one a wild haired man with a halberd who she didn't recognize. The professor stepped forward and gave a wicked smirk. "We tricked you."

"What? How? Explain yourselves!" the snake demanded, her wrist crossbows aiming at each one in turn.

"Illusion." The professor explained, speaking as though he were talking to a simpleton. "It's my semblance. Now, why don't you make this easy on us all and drop your weapons, we'll let you go if you do."

Wun grit her teeth. "Not on your life." She hissed, hitting a button on one of her crossbows. "Intruder alert! Intruders!"

Within seconds, sirens were blaring, the sounds of running feet were heard across the base. "Well," Vlad said, stepping forward, halberd in hand. "I thought we might have to do this the hard way."

"Stay back." Francois warned, drawing his blade, eyes glowing gold. "She can be rather persuasive. I can resist her, the rest of you run, I'll handle her."

Thatch stepped forward to meet his partner. "Just remember who's back in Vale waiting for you, Noble Boy."

"I will." He said, nodding grimly. "Now run."

Thatch nodded and Team EMAD and their allies took off. They had plans to derail and an escape to find.

oxoxoxo

Caroline sat in her office, reading over the Abyss reports Wun had stolen when the alarms began to go off and Wun's intruder alert went out over the PA. The lioness growled and rose to her feet, producing her scroll and linking it to the PA system. "All units, make for Wun's last location and capture the intruders, lethal force is authorized, I repeat, lethal force is authorized."

As the commander finished giving her orders, a new call came on over her scroll. "What!?" she demanded.

"Hey there kitty, it's me." Torchwick said, though she could hear the frustration in his voice.

"Torchwick, what are you doing?" The commander demanded.

"Change of plans, big kitty, the plan is going ahead right now, get your end in gear and let's go."

"WHAT?! What are you talking about?"

"Mountain Glenn has a few uninvited guests, and they might have found my little hideout." Torchwick admitted, something exploding in the background of the call. "We've had to move things ahead, you understand right?"

"My base is under attack and you want me to advance the plans?" Caroline asked, incredulous.

"If you could just do that, that'd be great. Gotta go, got some ass to kick."

With that, the line went dead, and another call came through. "What do you want?"

"Miss Leon," Came the voice of Derek Blanch. "I understand we have some intruders?"

"We'll handle them." Caroline growled.

"Perhaps you can, but I believe Mister Torchwick is correct, we need to proceed with the plans. My men will finish loading the dustplanes, yours will fly them, understand?"

"Not a chance, my men are fighting off the intruders under my command, get yours to fly the planes." Caroline shot back. There was more than that to her unwillingness to allow Derek to order her men about, like the fact that he was a corpse, but one thing would be dealt with at a time. Deciding not to let Derek have the last word, Caroline shut off the line, making a call herself before grabbing her rifle. "Micca, it's Caroline, keep an eye on the airfield, Derek's kicking the plan into early action."

"What do you want me to do?" Micca asked.

"For now, keep an eye on the mercenaries." Caroline ordered. "I'm taking a squad to deal with the intruders."

Micca gave a quick salute over the call. "Yes ma'am!"

As the call ended, Caroline loaded a fresh clip into Shining Roar and walked out of her office, eight Caroleans were waiting for her outside. "Alright men, we've got our targets. With the mercs out on the airfield, anything not in White Fang attire is a target. Lock and load, men."

The soldiers presented their arms and cocked the rifles as one. A quick flash from Caroline's eyes and the men's expressions turned stone cold.

"We fire as one, we march as one, we fight as one, we die as one." Caroline declad.

"We are the Caroleans." Her soldiers replied as one. The commander nodded and led the men down the path Wun had taken. The intruders were as good as caught.

oxoxoxo

Derek shook his head as Caroline ended the call with him. He turned to Bartholomew, the hooded mercenary rising from the seat he had taken. "That girl is very impulsive, isn't she?"

"Indeed she is." Bartholomew replied, a cruel grin visible under his hood. "You want me to go with her?"

"No, I have a very specific job for you, my friend." Blanch replied. "Head out to the airfield and watch over the men. As strong as our commander is, some of the intruders are bound to make it past her. Be ready to meet them outside when they do."

Bartholomew's grin grew ever wider as he began to pick up his weapons, sheathing his scimitar at his belt and placing his twin hand axes in on either side of his hips. "You seem awfully calm about all this." He noted as he prepared for battle. "What happened to all that stress? You find a nice lady as creepy as you are?"

Derek merely smiled, a hint of madness hidden in his eyes. "This has given me an excuse to go over the head of our host and push my plans into action. Of course I'm enjoying this."

"Don't get too happy about it," Bartholomew warned, strapping his LMG to his back. "Save some for when I bring you some hunter heads."

"I'm not paying you extra for theatrics." Blanch said with a chuckle.

"Then forget the heads. You're no fun." The mercenary grumbled as he walked out of the room.

As the door closed behind him, Blanch's smirk only grew. "Don't you worry, there will be plenty of fun for me later."

oxoxoxo

The hunters, having left Francois to deal with Wun, ran around a corner in the hallway, only to come face to face with Caroline's firing line.

As the faunus raised their weapons to fire, Thatch gave the command on all their minds: "Retreat!"

None of them needed to be told twice, all of them fleeing back around the corner, just barely dodging the onslaught of semi auto fire that slammed into the wall that had just been behind them.

From behind the wall, they could hear the sound of approaching footsteps, the Caroleans were growing closer. "Well," Vlad shouted, struggling to be heard over the sound of gunfire. "Anyone have any bright ideas?"

"Just one," Fantine answered. "The two of us will hold her attention, the rest of you run."

"Not a chance." Maria replied. "I've already left one teammate behind, I'm not letting the two of you fight an entire firing line while we run."

"I'm not asking." Fantine declared. "I'm ordering you as your professor and the leader of this mission. Now go."

"And what are we supposed to do?" Vlad demanded.

Fantine grinned. "First, we break their lines. Remind me, what does your semblance do, Mister Paler?"

Vlad's face soon bore a grin as evil as that of the phantom as his idea wormed its way into his mind. "I like the way you think."

Meanwhile, around the corner, Caroline and her men were drawing ever closer, rifles raised and fingers on the triggers. Their concentration was shattered, however, as Vlad tore around the corner, halberd raised and eyes a deep shade of red as he screamed bloody murder, the sound tearing through their minds.

However, the emotionally repressed Caroleans were unable to feel the fear one would feel when confronted with this berserker rage. Caroline and her men raised their weapons. "Open fire." The lioness ordered.

The rifles roared to life, but Vlad seemed to ignore any round that struck him, even the powerful rounds of Caroline's rifle doing little more than making him stumble. As he drew closer, the mad former general brought his halberd back for a wide swing. Caroline, seeing the strike coming, gave her men another order: "Scatter."

The Caroleans leapt back, though the second they did, Vlad flew into a rage, his wild black hair and beard flying about as he swung his halberd in seemingly random directions, firing off blasts of buckshot as he did. "If you're gonna move," He yelled "Now would be a great time!"

Before Caroline could demand an explanation, Maria, Alison, Thatch and Ben charged from around the corner, the soldier, centurion and renegade sprating full auto fire as they charged, forcing Caroline and her men back as they broke their lines.

"Stop them!" Caroline ordered. She raised her rifle to fire on the students, but a rope wrapped itself around her neck, throwing off her aim as she fired, a high calibre round soaring over Maria's helmeted head as she rounded another corner at the end of the hallway. A swing of Caroline's rifle's bayonet severed the rope as she turned to face her attacker.

"Now, now." Fantine chided. "It's rather rude to turn your back on a pair of perfectly willing opponents to chase children."

"And how willing we are." Vlad declared, standing back to back with the professor as the blue coated faunus closed in on them. "You all look different form the other faunus I've killed here. I wonder if you'll scream like they did."

Caroline's eyes narrowed as she and her men aimed down the sights of their rifles at the two men who faced them. "What are you talking about?" she demanded.

"Oh, I'm sure by now you've run into those poor sods who were impaled on stakes?" Vlad said, a sense of pride in his work. "That was me, all me."

Caroline glanced over all the soldiers she had brought with her. "The lot of you, take the masked one." She said, flicking a switch on her weapon. Shining Roar split horizontally down the middle, the massive carbine unfolding to become a full sized cavalry lance, the bayonet forming the head of the weapon while the barrel of the rifle became the butt of the spear. "The psycho is mine."

"Alright," Vlad taunted, levelling his halberd at the commander with an insane grin plastered on his face, wild black hair hanging over his eyes. "I'm all yours."

oxoxoxo

Wun and Francois stared each other down, both training their weapon on the other, Francois' carbine and Wun's crossbows. Neither one seemed to want to make the first move. "You know," Francois said, never taking his eyes off his opponent. "If we keep meeting like this, people will talk."

Wun scoffed. "In your dreams, pretty boy."

"Perhaps in yours, since I already have une petite amoure at home." Francois said.

Wun narrowed her eyes. "I'll be sure to send her your corpse." She spat, firing off one of her crossbows.

Francois leapt to the side, the bolt sticking in the wall. Upon landing, the nobleman opened fire, the snake dodging each shot he took as she closed in on him, her blades emerging for a fight up close. As she leapt at him, the nobleman jumped back from her strike, stabbing out with his bayonet and forcing her back. As Wun leapt back from the stab, Francois shifted the form of his weapon, the sword revealed from the heart of his rifle. The second the blade was revealed, the noble went on the offensive, making a series of quick stabs that forced Wun into a retreat, only able to block his strikes as the nobleman slowly forced her back.

However, this snake wasn't out of tricks yet.

Leaping back from a stab by the nobleman, Wun fired off her other crossbow, aiming for the noble's head. Francois jumped out of the way of the projectile, the distraction, giving Wun time to spit a glob of venom at the noble's face, Francois pulling his hat down to cover his face and block the venom from his eyes. However, this left him open for an attack as Wun surged ahead and kicked him in the head before he could regain his bearings. The nobleman fell to the floor with a cry of pain, the world spinning in his eyes as Cobra closed in for the kill.

Francois managed to make the world stop spinning, just in time to see Wun leaping for him, blades out. Eyes widening, he rolled out of the way of her strike, Wun's blades hitting the floor where his head and chest were less than a second before. Scrambling to his feet, Francois just managed to block a series of quick strikes by Wun's blades, managing to parry each one with his rapier, but only just so as the snake pushed ever closer.

oxoxoxo

The remains of Team EMAD along with the Axman quietly crept out of the base and onto the airfield, taking cover behind a large pile of wooden crates. "Maria," Alison whispered. "Are you sure their plan involves the airfield?"

"No idea." Maria replied. "But if we're going to get off this island, those airships seem like the best way off. Thatch, you know more about these things than the rest of us, which one would get us back to Vale the quickest?"

The renegade peered across the lit up sections of the airstrip. A massive area next to the firebase had been cleared out and fenced off, likely during the war and was used for airship storage. Several ships rested in the cleared section and of these ships, most were were massive dustplanes, and looking at each one, he could see several men moving enormous containers into their cargo holds, each box the size of a bullhead, engines included. "Who are those guys?" He mused.

"We can worry about them later." Ben said, casting his eyes about the darkened airstrip. "We need a way out of here and quickly.

"Ben's got a point," Maria admitted. "We need a way out of here and we won't find one while you're looking at those guys." The centurion ordered. "That said, I would like to know what they're up to. Alison, you've got better eyes than the rest of us, have a look, see what you can see."

The artist nodded and focused her gaze on the men working the ships. Her first reaction was one of confusion. "They're not White Fang." She said. "They're... human?"

"Human?" Maria repeated.

"Their uniforms don't match the White Fang's and I can't see any animal features on any of them." Alison explained. "Mercenaries, maybe, but definitely not the White Fang's regulars."

"Can you tell what they're doing?" Asked the Axman, clutching his axe as he watched for anyone getting too close.

Alison shook her head. "I don't see any markers on those crates, they might just be retreating or taking what isn't nailed down."

"Doesn't matter right now." Thatch interrupted. "I found our way out." He said, pointing towards a solitary ship. It was the size of a large house and slightly birdlike in appearance, the cockpit extending outward from the ship on what looked like a neck while a large turbine style engine stuck out from both sides. The rear of the ship was dominated by what looked like a third engine. Other than that, the ship was nothing special to look at, the hull looking rugged and worn out, as though it were ancient. "I know it don't look like much, but trust me, that one is what we want."

"What the hell is that junk pile?" Ben demanded, resisting the urge to smack the swordsman upside the head. "That thing looks like it won't survive takeoff!" He hissed.

"Watch your mouth, big man, that thing is a classic." Thatch shot back. "It's a Vale ship, it's called a Serenity. It's reliable, powerful, and most importantly, fast. You see those engines? That'll get us back to Vale before you know it."

Maria looked from the ship to her teammate and frowned. "You're sure you can get us out of here on that thing?" Maria asked. "Ben was right about one thing, it doesn't look too stable."

"Get me behind the wheel." Thatch replied. "I can get us back to Vale before they get off the ground."

"Leaving, so soon?" Asked a new voice. Team EMAD and the Axman turned as one to see a tall man in a black, hooded coat, a pair of hand axes and a scimitar sheathed at his belt and a light machine gun in his hands aimed at them. "How rude."

"Duck and cover!" Maria ordered.

The order came not a moment too soon as Bartholomew jammed his finger down on the trigger, his gun spewing lead at the hunters as they scattered. "Come on, you lot!" Bartholomew yelled. "You want that ship, you can take it from my cold, dead hands!"

As the mercenary taunted the team, a blast of lightning flew from behind a crate and slammed into his gun, knocking the firearm out of his hands. The hooded mercenary chuckled. "Well well well, seems there's one of you with a stomach."

Before anyone else could speak, Thatch leapt off the pile of crates, slamming his boot right into the mercenary's jaw and sending him stumbling back. "You'll find we all do." The renegade said, drawing both his swords. "Maria, take the rest of the team and fire up the Serenity, I'll handle this one until you're done."

"I don't think so." Alison said, stepping forward, the blade of her jian still sparking with electricity. "Maria, take Ben and the Axman and start up the ship, I'm staying with Thatch."

Maria nodded. "Let's go, team, they've definitely heard us at this point."

With a collective nod, Ben and the Axman fell in step behind the centurion as they all broke into a run for the Serenity, Thatch and Alison staring down the mercenary as he drew his sword and one of his two axes. "Alright you two." He said, smirking under his hood. "Let's see what you can do."

oxoxoxo

Vlad and Caroline circled one another, training their weapons on one another, Vlad chuckling insanely under his breath while Caroline merely stared emotionlessly from behind her mask as the mimicked the steps of the madman. This was the man who had killed her soldiers, who turned them into his own sick trophies. The thought motivated her to fight, but it did not anger her, as her fury was restrained by her abilities.

As the former general and the commander prepared for their fight, the eight Caroleans who accompanied her began to close in on Fantine, the masked professor remaining motionless as the armed terrorists closed in on him, rifles trained on his vitals. Aside from the footsteps and the insane chuckles of Vlad, the room was eerily quiet. Cautiously, the Caroleans moved closer to Fantine, the professor still not moving. In fact, he shut his eyes with a slight smirk.

The two lead Caroleans locked eyes before nodded, as one, they raised their weapons. Just before their fingers hit the triggers, Fantine's eyes opened, his unmasked eye glowing electric blue as a mental push plunged the room into darkness.

"Open fire!" The lead Carolean ordered. The eight men all raised their guns and slammed down on the triggers, spraying a storm of metal into the shadows. However, when the gunfire ceased and the shadows lifted, Fantine was gone. "Where did he go?" Demanded the leader. He turned to face his eight followers. "He couldn't have escaped, we had him cornered.

He only realized too late that he had one man too many. One of his men shimmered and shifted into Fantine, the phantom charging forward and wrapping a noose from his right sleeve around the neck of one of the soldiers, using him as a shield, he fired another noose from his other sleeve , strangling another man. When the soldiers drew blades and charged, he set the two men free, each one falling to the ground, gasping for breath before the phantom gave each one a hard kick in the head, knocking them out cold. As two of the soldiers drew closer, Fantine draw his rapier from his belt and a dagger from his coat, using it to block one man's sword while using his rapier to disarm the second, a pommel strike to the head knocking the poor man unconscious.

The second Fantine and the Caroleans launched into battle, Vlad fired the first shots against Caroline, his halberd/shotgun firing a blast of buckshot at the commander who ducked out of the way before stabbing at the madman with her spear, Vlad blocking the shot with the shaft of his halberd before moving in and slashing at her with its axe head. Caroline managed to block the blow, kneeing the lunatic in the groin and doubling him over in pain before slamming the shaft of her lance into his head, knocking him to the ground. A savage kick to the ribs sent Vlad sprawling as he tried to rise. With the madman on his knees, Caroline levelled the head of her lance at his head. "How many of my men did you kill?" She asked, her voice cold.

Vlad could only chuckle in response. "Maybe a dozen or two." He said, slowly rising off the ground. "Had to be careful not to leave too much meat lying around, it attracts the Inferri, don't you know."

Caroline didn't even snarl as she gave the madman another kick, harder this time, knocking him onto his back. Without blinking, the lioness planted her boot on his neck and shifted Shining Roar back into its rifle form, levelling the bayonet against Vlad's throat and the barrel against his head. "If I can't get a real answer, I don't need one. I just need to know my men have their justice."

Faster than the eye could track, Vlad surged to life, eyes glowing with power. He grabbed the barrel of Caroline's rifle and threw it out of his face before jamming the spike of his halberd into her leg. Caroline roared in pain as she stumbled back, Vlad rising to his feet, the mad smile that once marred his face replaced by a furious sneer. "You want to talk about justice?" He asked, slamming his halberd's head down at Caroline, the lion just managing to block it. "Let's talk about justice. Let's talk about the entire army you disgusting faunus massacred here!" He roared, stabbing at Caroline's guts, only for her to dodge. "Where's their justice? Where's the justice for the families who will never get their children back? Where's the justice for the men you doomed to death at the hands of the Inferri? I was sent out here with my best friend and an army of one thousand men to kill these undead bastards, and you faunus killed every last one of them!"

"What are you blathering about?" Caroline demanded, blocking the enraged attacks Vlad threw at her. "We've only been here for a few weeks?"

"You lying bitch!" Vlad screamed. "You killed them all! You killed Erwin! You killed our men! You killed thousands more by letting these monsters live! Where is your justice now? He's right here!" Vlad roared, slamming the shaft of his halberd into Caroline's head.

The lioness stumbled back, her tricorne hat knocked off her head. Her leg burned where Vlad had stabbed her, and though her aura was beginning to heal her, it would take careful fighting to survive this fight. Even worse, it looked like her opponent hadn't taken a single wound the entire fight, in spite of how many times he had been hit.

oxoxoxo

Francois kicked out at Wun, sending the snake girl stumbling back a few feet before pointing his sword at her. The two of them had been locked in combat ever since they began, and both were now panting with exertion, both mental and physical, as each one attempted to deduce their opponent's moves before they could even be made. "Why do this?" Asked Francois. "I don't know what you're doing here, but meddling with forces as dangerous as these creatures will not bring the faunus any closer to equality."

"I trust in the commander." Cobra answered simply. "She knows what she's doing."

"Does she really?" the nobleman asked. "Does she know what this place is? What those creatures are?"

"She knows enough, I ensured that."

Francois only growled as he raised his blade again, both combatants glaring into the eyes of the other. A silence fell over the hall, as once again, neither one seemed to want to strike first.

That was when the silence was broken by Francois' scroll, the communicator ringing to signal he had been sent a message.

That set it off, Wun lunged forward, blades raised for the kill. Francois parried one strike, the other impacting his armour, the block giving him enough time to shove his foe away and roll to the side. Reaching into his pocket, the nobleman produced a bright red dust crystal. If what the Axman said was true, this should do just enough to get him out of here. Shifting Mademoiselle to rifle form, Francois hurled the crystal at the ceiling, firing a single shot it at as the gem reached the apex of his throw.

The explosion that followed hurled both combatants about like ragdolls and ripped open a hole in the ceiling large enough to fit a Beowolf through. When Francois rose to his feet, he thanked any deity he could think of that he threw the stone hard enough since had it been any closer it could have killed him. He really needed to have a chat with the Axman about this later, but for now he needed to escape. Making a running jump, Francois leapt up through the hole in the ceiling, escaping onto the next floor, a floor that thankfully had windows.

He was about to shoot out one of the windows and run for it when a bolt flew past his head and embedded itself in the wall. "You're not getting away that easily." Cobra declared as she clambered up through the hole in the floor. "Now, where were we?"

oxoxoxo

Alison stabbed at the hooded mercenary with her blade, but the man managed to dodge, firing the shotgun hidden in his hand axe at Thatch, the renegade's aura absorbing the shot, but throwing him back as he tried to attack with his blades. The man then swung his scimitar at Alison, the blade whistling through the air and forcing her onto the defensive. "So this is what Vale has to offer for hunters these days, is it?" He asked as he swept Alison's legs out from under her. "I'm not impressed."

"Then how's this?" Thatch demanded, firing the SMGs in his swords at the mercenary. Bartholomew took the sting of many shots, but soon dove to the side and returned fire with the machine pistol in his own blade, Thatch ducking and dodging to avoid the shots. The confusion allowed Alison to rise to her feet and fire another bolt of lightning from her sword at the mercenary, the man barely rolling out of the way in time and just managing to get back on the defensive as Thatch struck at him with a flurry of slashes, Alison soon joining him, using her blade to stab at their opponent and forcing him into a full on retreat.

"Not bad." The hooded mercenary said as he blocked their strikes. "However, I think I prefer a one on one fight, if you don't mind." With that, Bartholomew leapt back and threw a glare at Alison, a red glow coming from under his hood as he did. Suddenly, the artist stopped moving, her eyes going wide as she stood stock still, staring vacantly into the distance. "Now, young man, where were we?"

Thatch snarled as he attacked again, opening fire with his swords, but Bartholomew dodged around his fire and was soon right in the renegade's face, hacking and slashing away with his sword and axe. "Having fun yet?" the mercenary asked, a cruel smile visible under his hood.

"I don't know, are you?" Thatch asked, pouring some of his semblance into a strike, sending a wave of dread out with the slash. Though the attack was blocked, the fear stopped Bartholomew in his tracks, sending a shiver up his spine. He was broken out of his shock when Thatch hooked him in the face with the hilt of his cutlass and kicked him in the chest.

Bartholomew stumbled back before standing tall and smirking at the renegade again. "Impressive, you can use fear too." A wave of pure terror burst forth from the mercenary and slammed into Thatch. He could feel the temperature plunge several degrees the second he was hit, several unwilling shudders wracking his form as the airfield was plunged into shadow. Bartholomew's chuckles could be heard every so often, but there was no sign of the mercenary anywhere. The air around him was pitch dark, it felt thick and he could feel it shifting around him as his heart rate quickened.

"Where are you?" Thatch growled.

"Here." Whispered a voice behind him.

In a split second, Thatch spun around, blades out, but only cut through a shadow of his opponent, his remains dissipating as he fell apart.

"Good try." Whispered the same voice from somewhere in the shadows around him. "But we both know you don't really fear me." He could hear footsteps approaching from behind him. It was when he spun around to face the steps that he saw what was approaching. Bartholomew slowly walked towards him, sword at the ready. "So, what is it exactly that you fear? I know you're seeing it, the look in your eyes says it all, but I can't see it. Why don't you tell me?"

If only it were that simple. Thatch wracked his brain for any clue as to what he was seeing, but nothing came up. This made no sense. He was supposed to be the one to make others fear, he was fear, he made his enemies shudder and scream in terror by looking at them. Why was he so scared right now?

It suddenly dawned on him. That was it, his fear was literally fear itself. The very idea of his own nightmare was a nightmare to him.

Alison managed to shake herself out of her fear just in time to see Bartholomew advancing on Thatch. Gripping her sword tightly, she moved to advance, only to hit what could only be described as a physical barrier of dread. She wanted to move forward, to help him, but she couldn't will her body to move forward. As she tried to move, visions filled her mind of just what could happen if she made just the slightest mistake. She would trip as she moved to fight the mercenary and stab Thatch through the throat herself. She would fire lightning from her sword, but miss and hit Thatch. No matter what she tried, Thatch died.

Then again, if she didn't save him, Bartholomew would kill him. She could see the mercenary raising his blade, ready to end it all. This was one moment where she could not afford to miss, but the fear of missing her target and hitting Thatch was just unbearable to her. He was her friend, her teammate, and after the dance, even more than that, but the thought that she might miss her target and hit him...

Alison's eyes widened as she spoke three words in the quietest whisper possible, though to her it may as well have been a scream: "I never miss..."

Thatch looked up with wide eyes as Bartholomew raised his blade to end it all. "I must say, I did have fun at some points, but all good things must come to an end." Bartholomew said, his voice seeming to echo through the shadows around him. "Don't worry, I'll send your friend up to see you when I'm done with you."

The mercenary raised his blade to finish the renegade off, but before he could swing, a bolt of lightning slammed into him and blew him into one of the many crates that surrounded the fight.

Thatch shook his head and threw his gaze in the direction of the lightning. Alison stood there, sword pointed and sparks still dancing along the blade. The renegade could only shake his head as he looked towards her. "You just became so much more attractive in my eyes."

oxoxoxo

The second Maria managed to open the hatch to the Serenity, she knew this seemed too easy.

She, Ben and the Axman had managed to arrive at the ship with little difficulty, the mercenaries retreating under her and Ben's combined fire, and upon arriving they managed to find the exterior door controls with relative ease, opening the entrance beneath the cockpit. It was when the door opened that she realized just why it was so easy. Standing in the doorway, axe drawn, was the White Fang assassin Taipan. "I'm sorry, but I can't let you take this ship."

"Oh, it's my old sparring buddy." Said the Axman, stepping forward, brandishing his own axe. "Haven't had a proper fight with you in a while."

"It seems you still won't have one." Taipan commented. "After all, you brought friends."

Maria looked to the Axman, though her weapons were still trained on the snake in front of her. "You think you can take her?"

The Axman gave a snort of laughter. "Ye of so little faith, of course I can. I've been itching for a rematch with her for a while now."

"I know the feeling, but the question still stands." The centurion replied.

"I've got this, you two go start up the ship." The Axman said, hefting his weapon.

"Alright," Maria agreed, hefting her shield as she prepared to charge. "Ben, let's go."

"Uh, Maria I don't think that's a good idea." Ben replied, gesturing to their right across the airfield. Maria followed his gaze, the sight confusing her. The mercenaries had returned and they brought one of the massive crates with them.

The one who seemed to be leading them gave a single order to his men that echoed through the airfield: "Break the lock!"

Maria looked up at the top of the crate where a man with an axe stood. "Ben, shoot him down!"

Ben raised his sword and shifted it to its gun form as the man raised his axe for his strike. The soldier opened fire, but not before the man swung his axe, cutting the lock on the crate in half. The box opened, the door slamming to the ground with the sound of thunder, the hissing and moaning of the box's contents told Maria exactly what was in them. "They've released the Inferri!" She cried.

Things didn't get better form there. The sound of countless engines starting caught the attention of the centurion and her teammates as the countless dustplanes roared to life and lifted off. Based only on the direction they were taking, she knew just where they were heading. "They're bringing the monsters to Vale!"

"Head inside and get the ship started!" Ben called, taking aim at the shambling hordes emerging from the box. "I'll deal with this!"

Maria looked like the wanted to argue, but inside, she knew this had to be done. "If they didn't get this ship started, they'd never got off this island and back to Vale. The kingdom would never survive the onslaught of monsters crammed onto those ships, and at least five of the massive craft were headed for the kingdom. With a nod to Ben, Maria turned to face the Axman. "I'm ready when you are."

The Axman smirked and raised his axe. "Alright, let's go!" With that, he charged at an impossible speed, his axe slamming into Taipan's as a struggle of might began.

Maria knew she wasn't going to get another distraction so the charged, using her shield to barrel through Taipan as she ran into the depths of the Serenity.

Meanwhile, Ben opened fire on the oncoming hordes of monsters, the rapid fire rounds of his weapon tearing the creatures to pieces, though at the back of the horde he could see the real threat: a massive, hulking Behemoth. The monster bellowed at him before charging, one of its massive arms bulldozing through any of its weaker brethren as it attacked. Ben grimaced as he kept firing, slamming his finger down on the trigger, mowing down countless ghouls before hearing the sound he normally dreaded, though tonight looked forward to:

*Click*

The second his weapon was empty, he shifted it to its sword form and charged, bellowing a war cry of his own.

As Ben charged, the Axman fought with Taipan, his axe a blur of motion as he struck at her, blocking any attacks she made as he did. Their weapons once again clashed in a deadlock. "Why do this?" He asked as he pressed with all his might.

To her credit, Taipan pushed back just as hard. "You don't understand what it's like to be a faunus, being hated and feared for nothing more than your race!" She declared, kicking the Axman in the knee and slamming into his head with the pommel of her axe, sending the vigilante crashing to the ground. "If the humans won't respect us for who we are, then we'll make them respect." She said, raising her axe to finish the job, but as she swung down, the Axman rolled out of the way, retreating into the ship as he did.

"You won't win respect by doing this, you'll just get a slaughter!" The Axman replied. "Your boss is dumping ghouls into a highly populated city! Humans and faunus alike will die or worse!"

Taipan growled. As much as she hated to admit it, she knew that the Axman was partially right. This plan of the commander's was going to kill thousands if it succeeded. That's when a thought occurred to her: this wasn't her commander's plan. It was Blanch and Cinder's idea. Now that she thought of it, the White Fang on the island had been largely kept in the dark about exactly what they were working for was. Even Caroline was kept ignorant of what lived on this island until shortly after they arrived.

This wasn't the plan of the White Fang. They were just going to take the blame for the outcome.

oxoxoxo

The lightning might have knocked Bartholomew down, but the mercenary wasn't taking the hint. He had gotten up, bruised but incredibly angry and launched into an all out onslaught of blades and bullets. To make matters worse, a horde of Inferri had stumbled onto the battlefield, forcing Alison to deal with them while Thatch fought the hooded mercenary. The renegade blocked an axe strike with his sword, but was forced to dodge out of the way of Bartholomew's scimitar. "I could do this all day, old timer, what about you?"

"Don't taunt me, kid." Bartholomew spat back, punctuating his sentence with a spray of buckshot from his axe, a shot Thatch barely dodged. "I've been at this a lot longer than you."

"Then how come you can't seem to hit me?" Thatch replied, slashing at the elder swordsman. Their blades locked in a spray of sparks, but Thatch had a second blade, and with a powerful swing he let it fly, cutting through Bartholomew's coat and drawing blood from his arm. The mercenary cried out in pain before kicking Thatch in the chest, knocking the wind out of the renegade as they both stumbled back.

Bartholomew recovered first and charged, sword aiming for Thatch's neck. The renegade sidestepped the attack, but the strike managed to knock the hat from his head, his black hair tumbling out from beneath it. "You're a slippery one, kid." Bartholomew commented, his aura healing the wound in his arm. "But slipperiness will only get you so far against age and experience."

"You'd be very surprised just what a bit of slipperiness can do for you, old timer." Thatch replied, panting in between words.

"Really now?" Bartholomew said, cocking his head as he looked down to the younger fighter. "Let's see what you can do."

Thatch smirked before letting out a war cry and charging, swords out. As expected, Bartholomew blocked the renegade's first slash from the left, and parried his second strike with his axe, using the weapon to yank Anne form Thatch's grasp. With a now free right hand, Thatch hooked the mercenary in the jaw, Bartholomew responding by kneeing him in the gut, making the renegade double over in pain. Thatch reached a hand out and grabbed Bartholomew by the belt, but the hooded mercenary kicked him in the head, knocking the renegade onto his back, groaning in pain. "What was that about youth and slipperiness winning the day?" Bartholomew taunted. "I think I've shown that experience is more valuable here."

Thatch looked up at the mercenary with a grimace of pain, but as he grew closer to the downed renegade, his grimace turned into a grin. Before Bartholomew could demand an explanation, Thatch pulled the axe he had stolen from the mercenary's belt, firing its shotgun into Bartholomew's chest, draining the remainder of his aura and sending him falling back into a stack of crates. Thatch hauled himself to his feet and sheathed the axe at his belt. As he collected his sword, he turned to where Bartholomew had fallen. "Next time, watch your weapons. Someone might just decide to borrow one." Thatch replaced his tricorne hat atop his head. "I think I'll keep this one." He said, patting the axe at his belt. He turned to face Alison, seeing that the girl was still facing down a horde of the dead. "Alison, Time to go!"

The artist turned to him and nodded, firing a red bolt from her zhua into the ranks of the dead. In two seconds, the bolt burst in a massive explosion of fire, sending ghouls flying in every direction. "Now's our chance." The artist said. "Let's go!"

oxoxoxo

One shot from Mademoiselle was all it took to shatter one of the windows near Francois, the nobleman leaping out shortly after the bullet, Cobra hot on his heels. "You coward, get back here!" the snake spat.

"I thought it might be nice to get some fresh air." The noble said, turning and opening fire on the snake.

The serpent dodged the shots he fired and closed in, but Francois leapt back from her strike, switching his rifle to blade form and returning a few shots, all of which were either dodged or parried.

The two continued their strikes and blocks, steel glinting and sparks flying in the dim light of the moon. Francois' elegant fencing was an equal match to Wun's serpentine savagery, but both were growing fatigued after all the time they spent fighting. However, until his new foe was beaten, there was little he could do but wait until his team found a way off the island. "Any day now would be tres fantastique..." Francois muttered to himself.

oxoxoxo

Ben swung his massive blade at the Behemoth, but the monster stopped his attack cold, grabbing the blade and holding it in place as it tried to force him back. Ben, however, wasn't going anywhere, and with his semblance of strength he matched the beast pound for pound. And he hadn't even used his secret weapon.

Flicking a switch on his sword's hilt, the blade began to glow. The Behemoth screamed in pain as its hands burned on contact, the sword burning white hot. His opponent distracted, Ben reared back and hooked the monster in the jaw. As the beast stumbled back, losing its grip on his sword, Ben swung the weapon in a mighty arc, severing the Behemoth's left hand.

Roaring in pain after the attack, the Behemoth charged, slamming into Ben and throwing him to the ground. The Behemoth raised its massive fist in the air to finish the downed soldier off, bringing it down with a bellow of rage. Before the attack could connect, however, it was stopped, Ben had reached up and caught the monster's fist. And he wasn't prepared to let go.

His opponent in reach, Ben took his sword in one hand, the blade still glowing white hot, and jammed it into the monster's chest. The beast roared in agony, but the soldier wasn't done yet. Summoning his massive strength, Ben tore the blade up through the body, cutting from its chest through its skull. The beast ceased its roaring.

Ben shoved the now disintegrating corpse off him and turned back to the ship. The Inferri released from the crate were beginning to thin out with only the occasional shambling corpse remaining on the airfield. The soldier kept his weapon in sword mode, he had spent enough ammo killing the hordes of monsters, so he resolved to simply cut down any who got too close.

At that moment, however, his spirits were lifted. The engines of the Serenity slowly groaned to life, the port and starboard engines spinning while the rear engine gave off a soft glow.

"Team EMAD, the ship is running." Maria announced over their scrolls. "We'll be taking off as soon as you all arrive."

The Axman grinned as the voice of Maria came from his scroll. "We'll be taking off soon, Taipan." He said, circling his opponent. "Last chance to surrender."

"No." The snake declared. "I can't just abandon the commander, my family!" The belted out. Though one thing was easy to tell, even for the madman who faced her: she wasn't trying to convince him, just herself. "I have to beat you! I have to stop you! I-"

And that was as far as Taipan got before Maria snuck up behind her and slammed her shield into the top of her head. The serpent crumpled to the floor. "Oh, look at that, I stopped her." Maria commented.

"So, what do we do with her now?" The Axman asked.

"Find a place to tie her up." Maria ordered. "There are a few rooms for crew members on this ship, use one of them. Oh, and search her mouth for a cyanide capsule, I'd like a chat with her, and that's much easier if she's still alive."

"Aye aye capn'." The Axman joked, giving a salute and scooping up the unconscious extremist.

"Wait a minute." The centurion ordered as Ben entered the ship. "Take Ben with you. He'll make sure you don't try anything... inappropriate with her."

"You really don't trust me, do you?" The vigilante asked.

"I just met you."

"Touche."

oxoxoxo

"Team EMAD, the ship is running." The voice of Maria announced over Francois' scroll. "We'll be taking off as soon as you all arrive."

The nobleman turned to his serpentine opponent. "Well, it seems this is where I bit you bonne nuit, madame." He said. With those words, Francois gave a running start and leapt off the building. The low roof, his aura and rolling as he landed prevented him from too much bruising. He took off running, ignoring the hurled insults from Wun as she called for his head.

Wun groaned in exhaustion as the noble fled their duel. As much as she wanted him dead, after that much fighting, her adrenaline was beginning to wear off, and she wanted nothing more than to collapse in exhaustion. She took one last look at the noble, watching him join with two more of his teammates as they made their way to one of the last ships on the airfield. Inside, three of their comrades waited and... wait. There was someone else in the ship.

Her eyes widening in horror, Wun watched as one of them picked up Micca and slung her over his shoulder. She felt a tear well up in her eye as she watched. They had beaten her sister, she was in their hands now. Wun knew what that meant. Every White Fang assassin had a contingency plan in case they were ever captured. Knowing Micca's determination, she would use it.

The death of her sister all but certain at this point, Wun let loose her rage, screaming to the heavens as she leapt off the roof and gave chase after the humans who dared lay a hand on her beloved sister.

oxoxoxo

Maria could not have been more relieved when the rest of her teammates arrived.

Thatch, Alison and Francois all arrived at the Serenity at once, with the renegade immediately making for the cockpit, Francois agreeing to be his co-pilot and Alison joining her in waiting for Fantine and Vlad.

They needed to arrive soon, otherwise they'd never be able to catch up to the other ships.

Growing frustrated, Maria pulled out her scroll and dialled the professor. "Professor Fantine, we have our way off the island, we're just waiting on you, sir."

"I'm afraid we have a problem, Miss Gaia." Fantine responded.

"What do you mean, sir?" Maria demanded.

Fantine looked up from his call at the forty White Fang soldiers that now surrounded him as Vlad continued his duel with Caroline. "I've run into some... trouble. It will take too long to get out of this, and if you wait for me you won't make it back to Vale in time."

"Professor-"

"No arguing, Miss Gaia." Fantine said. "Now go, and once you get back, tell Ironwood that I was right. We need more troops in this place."

Silence dominated the call, neither side saying a word. Fantine looked out over the soldiers surrounding him, the sounds of Vlad and Caroline as they struck at one another with their weapons, the sounds of contact and painful strikes filled the air. Finally, Maria responded. "Yes sir."

Fantine said nothing more, ending the call at those words. He dared not move, lest one of the many men who surrounded him start firing. He could only watch Vlad's fight and hope the former general survived.

And watching the fight now, that seemed unlikely.

The phantom knew Vlad when he was in the army, knowing the man's semblance allowed him near total invulnerability and accelerated healing, but the amount of strain it put on his body was incredibly taxing, and he could see him beginning to fade. His strikes were less furious and he was panting much more in between each blow. Caroline wasn't faring much better. Though she wasn't as strained by her abilities, she lacked Vlad's regenerative abilities, so the many bruises and cuts she'd received during the fight were highly visible.

The end was near, and no matter who won, he wasn't willing to risk putting the students through the interrogation tactics of the White Fang.

Maria placed her scroll back in her pocket. Alison was quick to notice the look of grim determination mixed with crushing regret that dominated her features. "What did he say?" She asked.

Maria grimaced. "We're leaving." She said, the words weighing heavily on her. "Get up to the cockpit, tell Thatch to take off and get us on a course for Vale. I'm calling a meeting once we're on course and he can activate the auto pilot."

"But what about the professor?" Alison asked.

Maria grimaced. "He's staying behind."

"What, why is he-"

"Those were his orders, and I'm going to follow them." The centurion barked. Noticing the shock on Alison's face, she dropped her voice to a softer tone. "If we don't leave now, they're going to drop these monsters in Vale. It'll be a massacre, and we need to prevent it."

Maria watched as Alison's face went from shock and despair to reluctant acceptance. This looked like it was physically painful to her, but they needed to do this. "I'll tell Thatch to take off."

The centurion nodded. "Thank you."

Alison turned and ran towards the cockpit while Maria moved to shut the door. As the door closed, she took one last look at the Firebase. Part of her wanted nothing more than to leap off the ship, insisting that no one be left behind and stage a daring rescue of the professor, but she knew just what would happen if she did. While she might be able to save him, they'd be condemning scores of civilians to death. So, it was with a heavy heart that Maria turned from the door, not wanting to look as it closed behind her. The sounds of her boots echoed through the cargo bay as she made her way to the crew deck. Her first mission with her team, and their field leader had been left behind. She felt the ship taking off under her feet, and though the whole team was aboard, it felt as though a piece of her had been left behind to die with the professor.

oxoxoxo

Wun reached the ship just as it left the ground, carrying her sister off into the sky. She made a running leap, fuelled by all the aura she had left, but just as she got within reach of the ship, she hit the peak of her jump, missing the craft by less than a centimetre.

Time seemed to slow as she realized just what had happened. Her sister's sepulchre flew off as she plummeted towards the ground, her mouth open as a scream of absolute anguish tore itself from her throat.

The pain of her impact with the airfield ground was ignored, her screams of pain mixing in with the anguish as the ship became little more than the three bright points of its engines in the night sky. In her pain, Wun swore that she would hunt down the humans who took her sister from her if it was the last thing she ever did.

oxoxoxo

With a groan of pain and a light yet steady stream of blood, Bartholomew hauled himself up from the wooden crates he had been shot into, rising just in time to watch Team EMAD take off in the Serenity. "Having troubles, my friend?" said a voice behind him.

The mercenary turned to see Derek Blanch standing behind him, the black haired man wearing his trademark black suit and sinister smirk as he watched the ship taking off. "I'm sorry sir, they got away." Bartholomew said, clearly in pain.

Derek's smile became almost friendly as he put a hand on Bartholomew's shoulder. "Relax, my good man. This is far from a failure, my friend. This is all but a perfect success." At the mercenary's confused look, Derek gestured inside the base. "Please, come in, allow me to explain."

oxoxoxo

Hoo boy that took a while to type, been at that for a while now and I think that's the longest chapter so far. Here's hoping it's as awesome for you guys to read as it was for me to write.

So, will Team EMAD make it back to Vale in time? How will they stop the dustplanes?

You'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out, as Team EMAD race back to Vale to rally the city's defenders against the ranks of the undead dropped into their midst.

As always, please leave a review, especially for this chapter. I worked hard on this one, and I hope you all love it.