Jäger Chapter Seven: Jake versus Roman
"Father?!"
That one word plays itself over and over in Blake's head for a few seconds. Finally, she is the first one to break the silence.
"J-Jake?"
Her voice trembles slightly, mostly in shock, but with some slight traces of fear. After all, Ruby had told her teammates about the fact that Jake and the assassin known as the Jäger are one and the same. A lot of people suspected it, but only a handful of students knew that it was the truth. The amber-eyed girl also notices the look in the teen's brown eyes. She had seen it a fair number of times near the end of her time being in the White Fang.
The look of someone who is ready to kill.
"Blake, let him go and leave. Now."
"Hello, what's this? The cowardly baby now has a spine?"
"Shut up."
"Too bad you didn't have one when your mom needed help," Roman sneers.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"
Blake gulps silently. The anger and hatred that she sees on Jake's face makes an angry Yang look mildly irked. Meanwhile, Roman Torchwick laughs, a cruel smirk gracing his features. Jake takes a deep breath, trying to not do anything rash. "Don't let him bait you so easily," He mentally scolds himself.
"Blake, Let go of Roman and move now."
"You might want to listen to what my son has to say, little lady," Sneers Torchwick.
"Jake, wha-"
"Blake, I am only going to tell you this one more time. You have five seconds to let go of that bastard and step away. Because in five seconds I am going to shoot that damn son of a bitch in the throat, and to hell with it if you get hurt. One."
Blake doesn't move, her eyes widen in horror at the implications of what is about to happen.
"Two."
Torchwick subtly nods to one of the trio of White Fang soldiers nearby. He presses a button on his wrist, activating a signal.
"Three."
Blake finally breaks out of her stunned shock. She shouts at the solo member of Team JÄGER. Desperation is thick in her voice.
"Jake! Don't do this!"
"Fou-" He never gets to finish the countdown. A loud sound is heard, the sound of jet engines. Five bullhead transports appear overhead. The two students are briefly blinded by the bright lights. As a result, they don't notice Torchwick's growing smirk as he activates the projectile system of Melodic Cudgel. A large blast goes off as he shoots directly at the ground Blake is standing on. A huge cloud of black smoke billows into the air. Blake grunts slightly as she is thrown back, landing on her side with a soft grunt.
"Fuck," Jake growls gruffly under his breath as his father is obscured in the ad hoc smokescreen. The three Faunas terrorists, however, do emerge. For the pissed off Jäger, they will do for a start of tonight's killing. He raises his beloved black powder rifle. He calmly aims the iron sight mounted at the end of the muzzle with the white mask, similar to one of a Grimm minus the glowing red eyes, of the lone dual sword-wielding Faunus in the center.
He pulls the trigger back, slightly harder than normal due to his barely-maintained anger at yet another teen interrupting his administration of ultimate justice to his damn father. Inside the gun breech, the metal striker hits the primer, setting off a small explosion that begins a chain reaction. The explosive black powder that is inside each of his bullets quickly ignites. Tremendous forces push the solid lead bullet out of the gun, spinning slightly due to the grooves inside the rifle barrel.
A half-second later, he is rewarded with a hit. The white plastic mask simply explodes as the standard-core round ignores the feeble level of facial protection and a spray of grey and red mist erupts from the head. Before the second rifle-bearing Faunas can even raise his weapon up, Jake has already inserted a fresh cartridge from his left wrist-mounted mini-ammo belt, to allow for a faster reload against a group of enemies closing in. A second pull causes the solid lead bullet to slam right into the targeted White Fang's right shoulder right at the base of the neck, sending him spinning to the ground as the bullet goes through him. Instantly blood soaks the wounded area, as the bullet has sliced through the right internal jugular vein. If it isn't treated soon, the unlucky terrorist will first go into shock, and then died from sheer blood loss.
By now the third Faunus arrives. He lets out a war cry as he tries to sink his two sword blades into Jake's chest, eager to avenge the death of three of his brethren. It is not to be. His anger (barely) under control, the Jäger's reactions are just as swift and lethal as before. He slams the wooden foregrip of his rifle (along with the steel barrel) into the bladed weapons, halting them. Before his attacker can recover, he slams the side of the butt against his right shoulder, spinning the White Fang member's arms to the side as he tries to steady himself. Jake lunges forward with the heavy butt, slamming it directly in the center of his opponent's Grimm-like mask.
The heavy impact smashes both the cheap plastic and the terrorist's nose. The Faunus is either dead or unconscious. For Jake, either will work well for him. He cocks an ear, trying to pinpoint any kind of sound that only his bastard of a father would make. A mirthless smile takes its place on his lips as he hears the distinct sound of Roman's cane going off in a rapid succession, undoubtedly having been aimed at Blake. As much as he hates her guts at the moment for intruding on his personal mission, he will admit, that girl's got talent if she isn't dead yet.
Or Roman Torchwick really, really sucks at fighting anything at or above a Hunter/Huntress-in-training. Or both.
Probably both.
The sound of one of the bullheads hovering overhead is followed by the sound of a hatch opening up. Ropes are thrown down as a ten-man squad of rifle-bearing White Fang operators rappel down to the dock. Meanwhile, Jake has moved back into the shadowy maze of the Schnee Dust Company containers. After the squad leader sends two of his men to carry the heavily-wounded swords-wielding Faunus to the bullhead for medical treatment, one of the eight remaining terrorists collapses to the ground. A split second later, a loud bang is heard.
"SNIPER!"
"Does anyone see him?!"
"It came from over there!"
The squad leader barely makes out the flutter of a brown cloak at the top of a pile of SDC crates. His squad follows his hand and readies their guns in the direction the appendage is pointing towards.
"OPEN FRIE!"
A hail of gunfire rips a series of new holes into the fabric. The squad leader holds up his hand.
"Crim, check it out," the deer Faunus orders, pointing at a cat Faunus. Said terrorist nods and begins to move up the crates when suddenly the side of his head explodes as a second report of a rifle, the same one from earlier, is heard. The limp body lands with a sickening thud at on the surface of the dock, blood leaking out.
"Shit, we gotta get out of here!"
The speaker, a female turtle Faunus, cries out in a terrified voice, breaking formation in a bid to return to the perceived safety of the bullhead that had dropped them off. The squad leader, now hiding behind a SDC container knocked over by a stray shot from Torchwick's cane, turns his head to his fleeing subordinate. "Verde, get back here!"
She doesn't respond, instead quickly closing the gap between her and their transport. The terrorist quickly begins to climb up one of the ropes still dangling from the open cargo compartment. The Faunus is halfway up when the deer terrorist hears another dreaded report of their opponent's rifle. He looks at his surely-doomed fellow terrorist, expecting her to drop limply to the ground. To his surprise, Verde continues her climb to what she believes will be safety from the hidden sniper.
Then the bullhead starts to wobble. Looking at the cockpit, the Faunus terrorist sees what the rifleman was aiming for. A bright red splotch covers the glass surrounding the cockpit. Before the co-pilot can regain control of the bullhead, another bang causes the co-pilot's head to disappear in a second gory mist. Now out of control, the bullhead suddenly moves forward, Verde hanging on to her rope for dear life, screaming bloody murder. Her screams are cut off when the out-of-control flying vehicle smashes into several of the tall yellow cranes used to unload the massive cargo ships that frequent the port of Vale. A fireball erupts, sending even more thick smoke towards the sky.
"VERDE!" screams an avian Faunus. He stands up in horror and presenting a clear view of his upper torso. Before one of the surviving squad members can pull the White Fang member back to the ground, he stumbles backwards. The terrorist's hands are clutching his throat as a bloody froth coats his lips as he starts to make disgusting gurgling sounds as he slumps to the ground. The squad leader and his three remaining subordinates crouch down even further. Yet another gunshot is heard, the round bouncing off of the metal container. This is quickly followed by a second, with eh same results. One of the rifle-bearing terrorists, a dog Faunus, speaks up.
"Sir, what do we do?"
"Good evening, boys," Says a stone-faced Jäger, who had been using his semblance to mask his running once he had shot the bird Faunus. His almost-always present cloak is absent, still tied to a box as a decoy. He crouches at the top of the container, his single-shot weapon pointed at the head of the speaker. Said Faunus barely manages to see the gun barrel before a lead bullet smashes his skull apart. Before the three remaining White Fang operators can recover, Jake throws his until-now unused sword bayonet at one of the two remaining opponents of a lower rank. It embeds itself right in the throat of one of them, sinking all the way down to the hilt. Even as the body slumps to the sound silently, a ringing of steel echoes as the forced Beacon student jumps down between the last two fighters, saber drawn.
In a blink of an eye, the squad leader watches as the throat of the last member of his squad is sliced clean open, the body falling backwards as a thin arc of blood squirts out of the wound. He raises his rifle and prepares to pull the trigger when Jake sinks the blade of his saber into his exposed gut. The assault rifle slips out of the antlered man's fingers as he falls to his knees, hands clutching at the wound once his soon-to-be-killer's weapon has been withdrawn. He lets out a gasp, his eyes wide with fear even as they begin to appear glassy behind his mask.
"Wh-who are you?"
The query draws an emotionless stare from the teen as he readies his saber to deliver the Coup de grâce. He says only three words to the dying White Fang member.
"I'm the Jäger."
Then the blade slices through the air and into the neck, not stopping for even a fraction of a second as it tears through muscle, flesh, and blood vessels until it exits through the other side. With a hollow thud, the severed head smacks onto the pier, the body falling onto its side. Jake takes a second to wipe the gore clean from both his bladed weapons on the relatively pristine white tunic of the slain squad leader, before sheathing the saber and attaching the bayonet to the muzzle of his rifle, a fresh bullet having already been chambered.
The lone wolf looks back towards where he last saw Roman Torchwick and Blake. A short ways away, the cat Faunus who is Yang's partner and a monkey-tailed Faunus teen boy are fighting a flustered Roman. He fires a shot at a SCD crate that is conveniently hanging over the two teens and causes it to fall, slamming into he ground and causing the duo to separate as they dodge in different directions. The monkey-boy looks up as Roman prepares to blow the boy's brains out with Melodic Cudgel when yet another voice both of the Torchwick recognize.
"HEY!"
"Oh, for the love of everything explosive…"
That is the first thought that pops into Jake's head as he stares at the form of his unofficial partner, her red cape flutters in the wind as she steps to the edge of the roof she is standing on, as she slams the tip of her giant scythe onto the cement said roof is made of. He can barely manage to see her silver eyes flash in determination as she gazes at the bowler hat-wearing master thief who she had met (and stopped his robbery of a dust store) on a fateful night three months ago.
Ruby Rose.
He instantly starts to run at his father, his heart pumping streams of adrenaline. He closes the gap rapidly, intent on finishing his father once and for all. "I am not going to allow someone else to interrupt me tonight!" Jake doesn't notice the freckled, orange-haired girl standing behind Ruby until he notices her turning around. Something one should never do when they have Roman's attention. Seeing that the red-and-black haired girl focus is elsewhere, Roman smirks as he fires a single shot from his cane. The hood-wearing scythe wielder is knocked onto her back, out of the Jäger's sight as he closes in on the man he has the misfortune to have for a father.
"RUBY!" He shouts, concerned about the girl who he now tolerates. He isn't sure why, though. In shouting and briefly looking at the building Ruby is on, however, Jake makes the same mistake. He turns around to see that Melodic Cudgel had been aimed at him, Torchwick's smirk now directed at him as a round is about to hit the teen. "Fuck me," He groans, his brain berating him for making such a stupid mistake. Then he is thrown backwards, slamming right into a metal cargo container. His gun lands on his lap as his head slumps forward, and Jake falls unconscious, the last sound he hears being his father's cackle.
A few minutes later…
Roman growls as he latches the hooked end of his cane to the edge of the bullhead that he had just boarded. Overall, tonight was a sheer fuck-up. And once again by a group of fucking kids. "These kids just keep getting weirder," He mutters to himself. At least he managed to piss off his son. He grins to himself, having just thought of an idea to screw with him some more. He shouts out to that annoying scythe wielding teenager.
"Hey, Red! Sorry I can't stay any longer, but I've left you with a consolation prize! Over there is my useless son! Feel free to take him in!" He taunts, pointing at the limp form of Jake. Then he closes the hatch and escapes.
Ruby frowns at the two retreating bullheads. At least she found Blake, the silver eyed 15-year-old reasons to herself. Then she realizes who the figure lying against the container is. She gasps slightly, her eyes wide. "W-what?" She stutters. Ruby quickly secures a now-folded up Crescent Rose to the back of her belt before rushing to the Jäger, a trail of rose petals behind her as she activates her speed semblance.
By the time she gets there, she notices Jake's eyelids fluttering slightly as he wakes up. "Ow, that is going to fucking hurt in the morning," He mutters gruffly, unaware of the girl standing over him.
"Jake, why didn't you tell us you were related to Roman?" She asks, still stunned by the mentioned thief's parting taunt. Ruby winces internally as she sees his body stiffen, knowing that he has just became aware of her presence.
"Don't follow me," He says, quickly standing up and gently nudging her aside, his rifle in his hand. Ruby is about to follow him when a hand gently grips her left shoulder, retraining the leader of Team RWBY. Looking back, her silver eyes meet the sad amber eyes of Blake.
"Let him go for now. Let's wait for the others before we go looking for him," She says gently. A very reluctant Ruby nods her head as Sun and Penny walk over to the duo. Police car sirens grow louder and louder as emergency responders finally begin to arrive at the now-quiet battleground. Ruby does notice the fact that Jake has left his precious cloak behind, and quickly grabs it, folding the torn fabric up so that the police don't confiscate it. She can't wait for Weiss and Yang to arrive so that the heiress and the Faunus can make up and the four of them can find and talk to Jake.
Meanwhile, Jake ducks and weaves through the shadowy labyrinth, his mind rushing to find a suitable hiding place. He knows that he will have to return o Beacon by Monday morning, and that he can't hide at either Junior's club or his former sewer-based lair. But there is one place they shouldn't expect him to go to. Besides, he has been meaning to make a stop there for some time, and tonight's conversation with his cruel father makes the visit have an even greater importance for him.
"Damn it all to hell," He harshly whispers to himself as he heads off to the local cemetery, clutching his rifle close to his chest.
And done! This might be my last chapter until school starts on Wednesday. Speaking of that day of the week starting next week I plan on trying to post one chapter every Wednesday. Of course, this is only a tentative plan as being a high school senior in the second semester really sucks. Anyways, one other reminder: E-mail Guest, I wasn't able to see your email due to not allowing the posting of online mail addresses, if you wish for more updates, you must place your email in blocks and not include the at sign so I can (hopefully) see it. Also this weekend we reached one thousand visitors! Thank you so much guys! Next chapter: Emotion Confrontation. See you guys next time! :)