Jäger Chapter Fourteen: I Really Hate Machines
MorgothII: Early post this week! Not much to say up here, some at the bottom, other than a shout-out to whoever finds the star wars reference in the battle below. Read and enjoy!
'Atlas is really pathetic in protecting its equipment,' Jake Torchwick muses to himself as he catches sight of the piloted mass of metal his 'father' had chased Blake and Sun with. Said father and suit are below him, having been slammed off of the highway above Jake by Weiss Schnee. Apparently the heiress had frozen a section of road or something to cause the heavy machine to fall this far. The rather appropriately named 'Ice Queen' may be annoying for the Jäger to put up with, but she does have skills.
Jake lines up his sights at the armored cockpit protecting his fucker of a father. With a serene expression completely at odds with the boiling hatred the Jäger really feels. The gun recoils backwards as it emits the signature trail of sparks and thick smoke. The tungsten-core bullet streaks downwards. At the last second, however, the mechanized suit takes a step forward to the now-assembled Team RWBY. Instead of killing his target, the bullet hits the corner of the right arm's upper shoulder, causing only a slight bit of damage.
"Fuck," Jake says quietly as he deftly operates the lever underneath the trigger. The still-steaming shell cartridge is spent spiraling down to the ground as Jake pushes in a fresh bullet and slams the rolling block breech shut once again. He fires again, this time aiming at a shoulder joint. The bullet hits the area it was intended for. More sparks fly out into he nighttime air, but the arm still functions. By the time the Jäger has finished chambering a third round, the former lone wolf hears his friend give an order to her teammates.
"FREEZER BURN!"
The Dust heiress slams her rapier/Dust revolver, Myrtenaster, into the ground. A thin sheet of ice forms around her. Yang jumps into the air and activates her shotgun gauntlets before slamming into the ice as Weiss quickly retreats. Instantly the newly-formed ice evaporates into a thick mist-like fog. Jake nods his head as he notes the sudden pause his father makes, unable to see in the makeshift smokescreen.
Jake holds his fire for the moment, his shooting temporarily inhibited by the same problem as his father. Jake could still see the robot. The problem was that he could only see the general outline of his target. His precious tungsten-cored Anti-Grimm rounds were hard to make and thus always in short stock for the rifle-user. Granted, his bullets would eventually bring down the robot, but he would prefer for that to be done by expending the minimum amount of bullets required, hitting joints and other critical sections on the mechanized suit.
Thankfully, that only lasts a second before he gains not just one, but several targets on the armor. The stolen Atlas tech carries a number of laser sights all over the upper torso, and a mini-turret underneath the cockpit. Jake tracks one of the lasers on the same shoulder that he had been firing. Suddenly, a brief burst of blue lasers is launched from the arm cannons on the robotic combat armor. At that moment, the Jäger squeezes the trigger of his self-built rifle.
Inside the sealed chamber, the striking pin springs forward, hitting the primer at the base of the black powder bullet. The chemical chain reaction creates the critical gases needed to propel the tungsten/lead combination bullet forward. The grooved linings inside the barrel cause the projectile to spin through the air as it exits the muzzle with a loud bang. A split-second later, the Jäger's bullet strikes home. One of the red laser beams disappears. Another split-second later, there is a second bang and a second laser instantly vanishes.
Meanwhile, Team RWBY engages Roman's weapon system. The sole member of Team JÄGER reloads his gun when he hears the sound of Crescent Rose striking metal armor. Then Jake hears Ruby's voice again, giving a second order. While the names felt a bit odd in Jake's opinion, they did make a bit of sense, and simple to remember and execute in the heat of combat, such as right now.
"CHECKMATE!"
As the Jäger knocks out a third laser, this one on the opposite shoulder, Weiss and Blake spring forward. The two 17-year olds first deliver a rapid series of strikes to the lower portion of the robot's legs. Then the SDC heiress jumps up, thrusting her thin-bladed sword directly into the sensory mini-turret underneath the armored cockpit, disabling the targeting device as the twin laser beam sights flicker out of existence. Swiftly summoning a white glyph using her semblance, Weiss back flips away from their adversary. The robotic suit stumbles back slightly before raising one of its two massive feet, intent on crushing the nearby Blake.
Weiss quickly summons a second glyph as she lands, the circular symbol appearing underneath the cat Faunus member of Team RWBY. Said teen leaps backwards just as the metal foot starts it's downwards descent. Instead of crushing the Huntress-in-training, Roman merely destroys a portion of the asphalt, sending chunks of shattered material into the air slightly. Roman then activates the missile system mounted onto the back of the robotic battle mech, sending a volley at the two unlikely friends.
A third glyph having appeared beneath their feet, Blake and Weiss perform a series of black flips. The hail of missiles fail to get a solid lock on the agile girls, slamming into the ground and detonating just seconds where they had been previously. The result is a series of bright explosions that only succeed in causing further damage to the area. Then Roman fires a single bolt of laser from each of the two arm cannons while the two girls are in mid-air. The first projectile barely manages to miss Blake. Weiss isn't so lucky, as the second bolt connects with her, sending the Dust-user flying backwards. Her Aura prevented any severe injuries to her body, but Ruby's older partner is stunned for the moment.
Before the white-haired girl hits the ground, however, Weiss summons a fourth glyph, this one having a slight golden glow to it, underneath the feet of the cat ninja. The arcane symbol looks like the face of a clock, complete with numbers and teethed cogs. Jake remembers that it is of the time-manipulation variety. Blake's body absorbs the glow as a second hail of missiles is launched. Using Gambol Shroud, the former member of the White Fang swings her weapon faster than the Jäger can keep track of. A series of violet waves slices the missiles in half, causing yet another wave of harmless explosions, this time in the air.
Jake fires a fourth shot from his gun at that moment. His tungsten-core round hits the right shoulder, this time knocking off a portion of armor. As Jake reloads, Torchwick launches a single missile towards the location of his vengeful son. His brown eyes widening at the rapidly-approaching danger, Jake leaps off of the metal framework. As the cloak-wearing teen begins his free-fall, a wave of concussive force created by the nearby explosion forces Jake's body downwards. The teen has only a moment to make an attempt to brace his body before slamming onto the ground, harder than intended. His Aura goes down slightly, a portion having been spent protecting the Jäger's body and internal organs from any series damage. His cloak is heavily shredded, however, but that can be dealt with later, Jake sub-consciously reasons.
Like Weiss just moments earlier, however, Jake is stunned for a second. His brain barely manages to register the next order Ruby gives. He looks up as he starts to weakly prop up his body, trying to regain his bearings.
"LADYBUG!" the silver-eyed scythe-wielder says as she surges forward using her speed semblance, a trail of roses fluttering in the wind. Ruby Rose fires several bullets from her beloved weapon, increasing her speed even further. The girl with black-and-red hair skirts safely between the Atlas-designed and built battle suit, swinging her scythe upwards. The curved blade briefly hooks onto the bottom of Roman's stolen weapon. Like a swing, Ruby slings her body forward as she fires yet another round from her scythe/sniper rifle weapon combination. Then the youngest student in Beacon Academy and her half-sister's partner trade positions several times in rapid procession. Crescent Rose and Gambol Shroud slice into the base of the legs of their robotic foe multiple times.
When Roman tries to gain a lock on his two female assailants for his arm cannons, the fifteen- and seventeen-year old teens leap into the air before lunging down. A loud clang of metal is heard as the weapons of Ruby and Blake slice the left limb clean off. Jake starts to stand up, his hands still clutching his rifle the entire time, as the torso of the robot spins so that the cockpit faces the severed arm. The fourth member of Team RWBY strikes at that exact moment.
Using the momentary distraction to Roman Torchwick, Yang Xiao Long charges towards the back of the robot. She jumps and slams her fists into the metal surface. The strength the blonde brawler had put behind her strike was so great that the entire body of the robotic suit containing the orange-haired criminal lurches forward slightly. Yang quickly delivers several strikes using her shotgun gauntlets, further damaging the robotic form. Then Roman slams the motion controls backwards, sending the one-armed battle mech sprinting backwards. Yang and their opponent's armored shell slam through two of the concrete supports surrounding the battleground. The back (and Yang) are stopped upon hitting a third support, but hitting it hard enough to severely crack the slab.
Yang's limp form falls towards the ground. Roman turns around and slams the battle suit's remaining hand thrusts towards the blonde bombshell before she is even halfway to the ground. The punch sends Ruby's older half-sister forward, her body slamming straight through a fourth column, before hitting the ground, hard.
YANG!" a concerned Blake shouts out, worried for her partner after taking such vicious blows. Ruby looks at the dark-haired teen, surprisingly calm considering what they had just witnessed. Meanwhile, their protected opponent approaches the downed blonde, who is trying to stand up.
"Don't worry. With each hit, she gets stronger, and she uses that energy to fight back. That's what makes her special."
At that moment Roman has the mech suit sling the only remaining arm forward. Jake is impressed when he sees the sometimes-annoying blonde actually manages to block and even stop the movement. Yang looks up, her blonde hair glowing as she stares at the mechanized armor with vibrant red eyes. With a yell, she delivers her own punch. Jake's jaw widens slightly in awe as the impact actually shatters the right hand, literally disarming the robot.
After a split-second moment of hesitation, the armless battle mech lashes out with its left foot at Yang. The kick sends the blonde powerhouse of Team RWBY flying backwards. At that moment, Jake fires a fifth bullet at the same time that Ruby gives yet another coded order.
"Bumblebee!"
Jake's bullet forms another hole just below the cockpit, sparks flying out as more damage is inflected upon the now-battered piloted robot. Blake meanwhile throws the pistol part of Gambol Shroud towards Yang, the fabric connection serving as a rope that slings the red-eyed girl in a circle. Yang starts running before jumping into the air; her speed increased by the periodic shotgun blast from Ember Celica. At the last second the robot steps backwards, narrowly missing the strike Yang tried to deliver. Weiss, Ruby, and Jake notice this.
"We have to slow it down!" Ruby says as Jake stands behind the two partners, his rifle loaded with yet another tungsten-cored round. Weiss shoots a brief look at the younger girl.
"And how do you propose we do that?"
Ruby's face takes the appearance of concentration as the silver-eyed team leader quickly tries to come up with a solution. Then her expression brightens up as she says two words. "Ice Flower!"
Ruby slams the tip of her scythe into the ground in order to fire bullets, while her partner from Atlas creates a series of glyphs, this time of the ice kind. Jake and Ruby fire their weapons at the same time. Ruby's sniper round mixes with the ice elements, before it hits the upper left torso of Roman's robot. The area becomes incased by ice. Meanwhile, Jake's bullet hits the right knee joint, lodging itself into the servo and thus jamming any motions to bend.
Ruby fires several more rounds that incase other parts of the robot, while Jake fires another round to jam the other knee joint. Now immobile, the robot and its user are helpless. Using the opportunity to the fullest, Blake once more spins her louder and party-loving partner in a circle. This time, Yang's punch makes solid contact with the front of the heavily-armored cockpit.
Just as the right arm had suffered, the entire Atlas battle mech shatters into pieces. Roman is sent flying backwards, landing in the debris field. He groans for a moment before he begins to get up.
"Just got this thing cleaned," Roman complains pathetically as he stands back up amidst the ruins of the purloined battle armor. Jake rapidly raises and aims his rifle before yanking the trigger back. At the same time, the red-eyed buxom brawler fires a shotgun round from Ember Celica. For a brief moment, it appears that both projectiles while make contact with the so-called master thief. Then a small form suddenly appears directly in front of Jake's father. Both projectiles are deflected by what appears to be a parasol made of lace. Then the newcomer moves their weapon so that it is resting on their shoulder, and Jake and Team RWBY see who it is.
The four girls are surprised at the newcomer, but Jake is beyond surprised. Rather, he is stunned as he lowers rifle slightly. His eyes widen in shock, and a slight twinge of horror.
"N-Neo?"
At long last, he has been (kinda) reunited with his beloved twin sister. Ruby shoots her friend a look of concern. After all, she remembered what the Jäger had told her when she was assisting in the creation of his blue-colored suit of armor. Blake and Weiss exchange confused expressions, once more taken aback by yet another surprise revelation involving their fellow student. Yang simply stares at Torchwick, her mind clouded with fury.
The 4'10" multicolored girl barely manages to mask her own surprise, as well as a flicker of fear as he eyes briefly turn white. Then they shift to back to brown and pink. But Jake notices a swift series of subtle motions with his sister's free hand, which are blocked from being detected by their father due to her keeping it close to her side. Jake's eyes widen and then narrow in anger as he realizes what she is 'saying' to him. Jake shifts his head slightly to give a subtle nod to her, eyes still fixed on their cocky surviving parent.
"Ladies, son, Ice Queen-"
"HEY!" an indignant Weiss interrupts with a shout. Roman merely ignores it and continues to speak.
"-always a pleasure. I have a…'friend' named Unichtozheniye who is simply dying to meet you! So, if you don't mind…" He trails off for a moment with a sinister smirk. Then the orange-haired bastard turns his head towards his mute daughter. "Neo, if you would."
Neo gives a bow to her twin brother and Team RWBY. Jake is the only one who manages to see the sad expression in her eyes as she straightens up. At the same time, Yang, eyes and hair still glowing, shouts furiously as she charges forward, her left arm prepared to swing with all her might. Jake shakes his head when he hears the sound of glass breaking. Neo had used her semblance to escape, which the other four girls realize when they hear the whine of two engines and see the Bullhead that Roman and Neopolitan have used as a getaway vehicle.
"So, I guess he got a new henchman," Yang says as her eyes return to their normal lilac hue.
"Yeah, I guess she really made our plans…"fall apart", huh?" Weiss says. Jake barely manages to slap his face. Thankfully, Blake speaks up on what the Dust heiress just did.
"No, just…no."
"What? But you do it!" the Schnee protests.
"There's a time and a place for jokes," Yang replies.
"Was this not it?"
"No, it was just not very good." A cross expression appears on the face of Ruby's older partner.
"Well, at least I'm trying!"
Before the blonde and the glyph-user can get at it any more, Ruby clears her throat. She appears slightly nervous, and for good reason.
"Um, guys…what about Torchwick's friend he mentioned?" Jake looks at her, his body tensing, ready for a fight. Was it just his imagination, or did a small stream of dust (the regular, non-elemental kind) just appear between the five teens? Then a loud whirl of electronic servos and clanking sounds are heard, causing the teens to look up. Jake gives a warning cry just as the distinct sounds of blades being drawn are heard.
"MOVE!"
The five Beacon Academy students move forward just in time as a mass of metal slams into the ground. A 7-foot humanoid-shaped, skeletal-like robot looks down at them with its single, glowing red eye that is mounted in the center of its head. A single-edged sword that has a slight forward-bulging curve to it is wielded by the mechanical being's clawed right hand. In the left hand, a duel-edged sword with a thick blade that has two spike-like edges just a few inches below the sharp tip, the result being the appearance of the letter 'T'. A cape dances in the wind as it attacks.
Jake, his saber drawn, has a sinking feeling in his gut as the upper torso of the robot begins to spin after blocking several sword strikes from Weiss and Blake. The robot pushes towards Jake, who is only just able to block the spinning blades. Then the robot stops, and makes a rapid series of slashes that Jake continues to block. Team RWBY attempts to attack the robot's back, but once again it manages to block multiple attacks with extreme skill. At one point, it even inverts its entire body in a sort of hand stand. The wicked-looking swords are held in talon-carrying feet as it continues to block with ridicules ease.
Suddenly it flips back onto its feet before leaping towards Jake. The Jäger manages to narrowly avoid the attack by jumping backwards several feet. As the two swords smash into the ground and throw up a thin cloud of dust, Jake is switching to his rifle and firing a single round. To his shock and horror, the new attacker simply leaps into the air, its feet slamming into the surface of a nearby support column. The four girls of Team RWBY also have astonished looks on their faces as they turn to face the robot. Said foe pushes itself forward in yet another leap. It lands in the center of the rough circle the four girls had formed instinctively.
Jake sees that a large cloud of dust and tiny debris is kicked up. Ruby, Weiss, and Blake are sent flying backwards. Yang simply braces herself against the shockwave created from the impact. The blonde, her eyes red once again, charges forward with a shout. She swings her fists hard several times in rapid succession, trying to land at least one hit in that damned glowing eye. With ease, the fists and shotgun blasts are deflected by the twin swords the robot has deftly used.
For a brief second, the teen brawler leaves a brief opening. The robot slams the blunt end of its right sword into her gut. Surprised, the blonde is driven to one knee as the air is expelled from the hit. A hand covers the area that had been hit as she briefly lowers her head. Using the pommel of the left sword, the robot slams the metal into the back of Yang's head. With a moan, Yang slumps forward onto her stomach as her eyes roll into the back of her head.
A stunned Ruby quickly fires a rapid series of sniper rounds from Crescent Rose at the thing that had knocked out her older half-sister. This time the robotic fiend simply knocks the rounds out of the air with the flat of its blades. The fact that the metal isn't shattering indicates to Jake that the metal is incredibly strong. As if the Jäger didn't already have enough to worry about in regards to this robot.
In the meantime, Weiss lunges forward, trying to use Myrtenaster to skewer the robot as it continues to deflect Ruby's bullets with ease. Not even turning towards the Schnee, it simply grabs the front of Weiss's shirt in one of its clawed feet. The stunned Weiss drops her weapon as her assailant slams her into the ground, knocking her out. Ruby stops firing as she stares slack-jawed at the thing decimating her teammates. Blake lunges through the air. With the other foot, the robot also grabs her as it performs a back flip. The two girls are firmly knocked out when they hit the ground hard. But at least they are alive.
Now alone, Jake, having switched back to his well-used saber, and Ruby both engage the robot. Ruby ducks down as it tries to lop her head off, while Jake is once again denied the ability of making solid contact on the metallic shell with his saber. Suddenly, yet another surprise is in store for the two unofficial partners.
Both of the metal hands belonging to the robot begin to rotate rapidly. The metal blades become blurry as both teens take a half-step backwards in surprise. For the first time in his life, Jake feels completely out-classed as he stares at the metallic circle of death. Then the two team leaders try to strike their opponent. After several hits blocked by the two rotating weapons, Jake prepares to swing his saber down in an overhead strike. Suddenly a foot slams into his chest, sending him flying backwards several yards, his saber skirting close by. Ruby is now left alone, and struggles to hold off the vicious onslaught of the robot that is now solely focused on the silver-eyed girl. Jake groans as he pushes himself upright.
"Jake! Hurry!" a panicked Ruby shouts. Jake quickly shakes his head at that, his face scrunching up in focus as he sprints forward, faster than he ever had before, saber already prepared for a horizontal strike to the torso of the robot. At that moment, The T-shaped sword slams into the shaft of Ruby's scythe, the force knocking it out of her hands. The flat of the second sword knocks her down as the robot prepares to strike her down. This time, it appears to be with the intent to kill the youngest teen of the group.
"NOOOO!" Jake roars as he moves towards Ruby, intent on blocking the descending metal blades. The stunned girl merely looks up with a shocked expression in her eyes. She closes her distinctive eyes and prepares for the nothingness to follow when she hears the sound of metal clanging and then shattering. Then she feels some shards of steel land on her chest, and Ruby opens her eyes.
At the cost of the majority of Jake's blade, the Jäger's saber had barely managed to intercept the otherwise fatal strike. Now left with only the hilt and a shattered stump of jagged steel, Jake stands protectively over his closest friend. Both Ruby and the robot notice the sudden sight of a necklace around his neck. Ruby hadn't noticed it until now, so he must have hidden it beneath his shirt. It is peculiar, a bronze-colored coin with some type of writing around the edges. In the center is a square-shaped gap, where a plain brown leather cord holds it.
To their surprise, the robot straightens its back suddenly. Then it turns and runs off, leaving behind three groaning teen girls starting to regain conscience, and panting rifle-wielder, and a stunned 15-year old girl. As Jake helps his friend up, Ruby gazes with concern at him.
"Jake-" Ruby begins to say before said teen holds up his hand, stopping her.
"We'll talk about it when we get back to Beacon. For now, let's go help the others, and then get the hell out of here."
And done! As always, thank you for taking the time to read my story, you all rock! Please feel free to leave review, though, or comment down below, or follow/favorite! Also, to TopHatGuy, I'm not giving Jake a 20mm anti-tank rifle. But that doesn't mean that we won't be seeing any such weapon at all. Until next week or sooner! Next chapter: Fallout