Jäger Chapter Twenty-Three: Underground Part One
Sorry for the long wait! Shit got bad a while back but a lot of good has happened over the past three weeks, more below, and enjoy!
"So what do you think the boss is going to do to that little girl Perry found?"
"Not sure. Whatever happens, I hope he doesn't kill her…yet." The first speaker, a deer Faunas member of the terrorist group known as the White Fang, looks at his partner, a lion Faunus. Their squad leader, a glasses-wearing man named Perry, had taken the rest of their squad as an escort for the unarmed, red hooded-cape girl with silver eyes and black hair with red ends to headquarters for the White Fang operators stationed within the massive caverns underneath the ruined city of Mountain Glenn. Both of the male terrorists carry typical dust-powered assault rifles, and had been left behind to temporarily guard area underneath the large hole their new captive must have fallen through. With their allotted time now completed, they begin to walk back towards the camp a few stories below, near the rail yard.
"Why?" He asks, despite knowing what the answer he will receive will be, a sly smile showing through the unguarded area for the mouth of his Grimm-like mask. The lion Faunus lets out a cruel laugh.
"Oh, you know why! And don't you fucking deny it, but you are too!" The two had been convicted as rapists despite pleading their innocence…in spite of the lack of such. A White Fang raid on the prison bus, filled with plenty of bitter or aggressive Faunus convicted of major felonies being transported to death row, had seen the duo emerge with the terrorist, pro-Faunus group.
A soft thud from behind them causes the lion and deer Faunus to pause and turn around, weapons half-raised. Neither of them made any movement or noise for a few seconds. Their eyes try to see what the source of the noise, which appears to have been at the spot where the girl the duo had been talking about was found and captured, but they see nothing. Finally the lion Faunus grunts.
"Must have been just some more rubble from above, nothing else. So, you hoping that he doesn't kill the girl as much as I do?"
"Well, of course! You know I also like my girls to be young, and that one sure has a sweet-looking body! Am I right?" The first White Fang terrorist asks his companion while emitting a low chuckle. Said sound stops upon the realization that his companion is neither laughing nor responding. His lion compatriot is also no longer right beside him. He turns around, and the male deer Faunus instantly wishes he hadn't.
Two feet away, his fellow rapist/terrorist arms hang limply at his sides, one hand still clutching his now-pointless weapon in a tight, unrelenting death grip. Emerging from his now-bloodied mouth is a silvery shaft of metal. The White Fang member's numbed brain quickly realizes that whatever had pierced the back of his friend's head all the way through the mouth was a sword. "Oh shit," He whimpers, trying to ensure that his bladders don't succumb to the sudden urge to relive themselves. A part of his brain vainly attempts to remind him to either raise the alarm, or at least fire his fucking gun.
The Faunus barely sees the second, smaller metal blade as an arm clad in what appears to be blue-colored armor lunges out. The man with mini-antlers feels a brief sensation against the skin of his throat, quickly followed by what seems to be the trickling of a warm liquid. As a coppery smell assaults the terrorist's nose, he presses a trembling hand to his throat as he suddenly feels as if he is unable to breath. When his hand is removed from the front of his neck and held before his eyes, all that the White Fang member is able to do is stare dumbly at the crimson-colored substance soaking the glove.
The now-dying Faunus falls to his knees, his bladder finally releasing as sheer terror floods his systems throughout his body. The body of his now-slain partner-in-crime is thrown forward roughly, lying face down as a small puddle of his own blood begins to form. A sharp kick underneath his chin sends the Faunus onto his back as their killer steps forward. As a dark cloud slowly begins to edge into his vision, the horned helmet, dragon ornament, and half-face mask seem to be demonic. The swordsman crouches down to one knee, his blades at the ready.
"When you arrive at hell, I have a message for you to give. Tell the devil that you two were sent by the Jäger. Burn in the eternal fire, prick-fuck," The armored man snarls in a whisper. The instant he finishes uttering the last syllable, the intruder straightens upright and raises a foot over the Faunus. Then the doomed rapist feels the footwear make contact with his mask, and then…
"Waste of oxygen, food, and water, those two were," Jake Torchwick, aka the Jäger, says in disgust as he swiftly cleans both his weapons and the bottom of his shoe on the deer terrorist's uniform, swearing the sections of white fabric red. Thankful again for having activated his stealth semblance during his controlled fall, Jake decides to continue to activate his semblance, not knowing how many other Faunus terrorists he will need to dispatch as he searches for Ruby Rose, his fellow team leader, best friend, and girlfriend.
For a few minutes, not a single sound is created as Jake rapidly yet silently proceeds down the dark corridor. When he hears another group of footsteps, the Jäger merely readies his grip on his shorter sword bayonet in case of having the need to throw it, while readying Sōryū for yet another single-hand blow. A few seconds later, another pair of mask-wearing terrorists appears in the gloomy tunnels, a closed door leading to the unpaved streets of the last attempt of occupying Mountain Glenn right behind them. They raise their Dust-powered assault rifles, not knowing how futile it will be in the end.
The left Faunus stumbles backward in dumb shock as she feels something heavy slam into her chest. Her male companion raises his rifle, but it is too late for him. With a single stroke, the ancient katana slices through skin, muscle, and bone. The severed head falls backward and rolls for a bit just before the rest of the slain Faunus hits the ground. Jake swiftly turns towards the other target, readying Sōryū, blood dripping off of the metal, for a second strike as his free hand grips the hilt of the bayonet thrown into her body. The wounded White Fang feels the blade being yanked out of her.
A lack of mercy, or for that matter anything beyond a cold, controlled fury, is present on Jake's face as he swings the two weapons down diagonally across the torso, a rough X being formed as blood wells up from the deep gashes. Before falling to the floor like her other slain comrades, she manages to address her killer.
"W-who are you?" She rasps, falling to her knees. The masked being clad in armor looks down without a tinge of remorse.
"I am become Death," Jake says, though it matters not. A dead corpse has no hearing, after all.
The Jäger starts to move forward again when he suddenly hears movement directly behind him. He whirls around, ready to kill yet again, his katana racing towards the neck of…Yang Xiao Long! With a grunt, Jake barely manages to halt the progress of Sōryū, and then lowers both weapons. The buxom blonde looks startled and slightly afraid, and for good reason. Blake, Weiss, Zwei, and Oobleck are right behind, with only the corgi and Beacon teacher being unaffected by the devastation he had left behind.
"You're late."
"Hey, sorry about wanting to make sure that our rear was covered!" The blonde older sister of Ruby retorts. The green-haired Huntsman coughs into his fist as he steps forward.
"I believe that our energies as a group would be best spent by focusing on our primary objectives, which are finding Miss Rose and stopping whatever it is the White Fang is doing. Miss Xiao Long, if you would give Mister Jake his rifle back?" Not sheathing Sōryū, the Jäger swiftly shoulders his single-shot black powder rifle over his left shoulder, bayonet having been swiftly fitted back onto the front of the barrel, allowing for it to be brought to bear swiftly.
"For Ruby," Jake says in a hushed tone. The three older teammates of his girlfriend all nod in reply as they ready their weapons, stony determination plainly evident on their features and in their body language. Inside his mind, the Jäger resolves to not stop until Ruby is rescued. IF she has been hurt, there will be hell to pay, and the same is true if his father is there. With that promise in mind, Jake then steps aside, both hands gripping the leather-clad hilt of Sōryū while he gives a look with a hint of mischief towards the brawler of Team RWBY. "If you would do the honors, Yang?" Jake asks, looking towards a now-grinning Yang, who cracks her knuckles in response as she steps forward.
"Everyone, you might want to cover your ears and brace yourselves! I'm starting this party with a Yang!"
'Oh, for fuck's sake…'
And done! Sorry for the rather shortness of this chapter, but I shall be making a massive effort to have the next chapter be at least two thousand, hopefully even more, words long. Tomorrow the start is my last full week of high school, and I shall graduate after testing on June 10th, one day after my birthday! I have gotten some major good karma happen to my life, including regaining a friendship I have highly sought, and getting my driver's license! Once summer hits in full swing, I will plan on posting on a regular schedule, but fear not! I have no plan of killing this story! I also wish to dedicate this chapter, the start of a new me, to my three best, closest, and most trusted high school friends, who I am so lucky to know that each of them values her friendship with me just as much as I do them, and my little sister Arley, who introduced me to RWBY in the first place! As always, leave your thoguhts below, thank you for the support, and until next time! Next chapter: Underground, Part Two