Ch.7 – Crazy Train
I do not own RWBY, RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum (R.I.P.) nor do I own any media that may appear in the story. I only own the OCs, Enjoy! Remember to Favorite, Follow, and leave a Review.
Carmine walked out of the prison and ascended the stairwell with the others following behind him "What's the game plan, Onyx?" Carmine asked as they walked down the corridor, multiple armed mercenaries ran past them and descended the stairwell.
"We'll take the Venom and cut off the train, the pilot will hold altitude and we'll board the train. We go through and find Abaddon, if we see Adam Taurus, we shoot on sight." Onyx said as they stepped out into the cave, there were more mercenaries that stood guard outside of the cave. As they walked out, the Venom landed in the clearing that had two smoke grenades that spat out blue smoke.
The Wolves lowered their head as they ran and boarded the helicopter, the Venom took off into the sky and away from the bunker of horror. Grullo and Nightshade manned the side guns, the mounted guns swayed left to right as they scanned the sky for Grimm. As they flew toward Vale, two Ospreys flew by and banked right toward the local hospitals "Those poor souls." Keppel said as he shook his head.
"Up high!" Grullo yelled as he fired into the sky, a large Nevermore swooped by as Grullo fired at it. 50 Caliber bullets ripped through its wings as it flew up to the other side and received hellfire from the other gun. The Nevermore fell from the sky and exploded into black smoke in midair, Grullo laughed "Don't relax now Nightshade, where there's smoke, there's fire." Grullo said as another Nevermore swooped down from within the clouds.
Another shot up on the right side, gunfire shot out of both sides as they flew across the sky with the Nevermore's in chase. The Nevermore skimmed by the side of the helicopter and caught multiple rounds in the side, the Nevermore was split in half by the steady stream of gunfire as the other Nevermore attempted to ram the helicopter but Grullo slowed it down with his semblance and dumped round after round into the head of the flying Grimm.
The Grimm's lifeless body fell back down toward the ground "That should do it, boys. Smooth flying from here on." Onyx said. The helicopter flew over the city as it started to follow the rail line, the helicopter flew around the bend as train sped down the tracks.
"Alright boys! Show time!" Onyx said as the helicopter got closer to the train, armed insurgents climbed up to the roof and began firing at the helicopter, Grullo fired back and killed two while ripping the limbs off two others. One insurgent ran to a flatbed train car and pulled the tarp off of a ZU-23-2, the insurgent got into the seat and rotated the axis upward before it started to fire into the air. The 23mm rounds exploded in the air as the helicopter got closer.
Carmine fished a hand grenade from his bag and ripped the pin from the grenade, he counted two seconds before he threw the grenade at the flak turret. The grenade bounced onto the metal train car and exploded, the blast blew the turret up and engulfed the gunner in burning metal and gunpowder. "Alright, remember! Keep your head low, gun up, and your knife on the ready. Alright, here we go!" Onyx said as the helicopter descended more.
Two ropes were lowered from either side of the helicopter as they approached the first train car "Grullo! Nightshade! Go!" Onyx yelled, the gunner and the breacher quickly repelled down the rope onto the train car, Grullo kicked open the door and ran in with his gun blazing.
"Stop number two! Carmine! Crimson! Go!" Onyx said as Carmine grabbed the rope and quickly slid down to the roof of the train, the helicopter flew five cars ahead before Onyx and Keppel descended to their train cars.
"Get the lead out!" Crimson yelled as he kicked in the door, Carmine ran in behind him with his Scar raised. Two insurgents ran out with machetes, but Crimson drew his Ka-Bar and slit one's throat and thrusted the blade into the other's gut. Crimson pulled the knife out and sheathed it again "Hey, look at this." Crimson said as he pulled the lid off a crate, the crate was filled with giant uncut dust crystals.
"I think these are all over this train car." Crimson said as he pointed toward the other crates. Suddenly, three White Fang insurgents ran in with rifles in hand. Carmine shook his head "Alright! Let's go!" Carmine yelled before he ran toward the insurgents, Carmine raised his SCAR and popped one in the head, the insurgent dropped to the ground like a sack of rocks as the others fired at the two mercenaries.
"Woah! Woah! Woah! Stop! Are you trying to kill us all?!" Crimson yelled which caused the gunfire to stop, the insurgents looked at each other and put their weapons away as Carmine and Crimson did the same.
"There, that's better." Crimson said as the two insurgents charged at the duo, Carmine blocked hit after hit while Crimson let the insurgent work his body. Carmine countered the insurgent and threw a 1-6-3-2 combo (Jab, RIGHT UPPERCUT, left hook, right cross), he followed it with a roundhouse and a flying knee strike to the jaw. Crimson smiled at the insurgent who was now breathing heavily "You get that out of your system?" He asked sarcastically as he balled his fist up and punched the insurgent in the chest.
The punch sent the insurgent flying into the wall, the force of impact bent the metal wall outward. Just then, an explosion rocked the train as Grullo and Nightshade ran into the train car that Carmine and Crimson were standing in. "Oh fuck! Oh fuck! Oh fuck!" Nightshade yelled, Carmine looked back as five Atlesian Knight – 130s chased them from the other train car.
"No down time today." Carmine said as he pulled out his Ka-Bar and charged at the Atlesian Knight, he charged a Supernova in his fist and drove it into the robot's chest which caused it to explode. Crimson ran up to one and put the barrel of his rifle into its chest and pulled the trigger, the bullets ripped through the metal and its circuits.
Grullo kicked one in the chest and swept its legs out from under it, he took the advantage and stomped down on its chest. He stomped down on its neck and severed the circuitry, Nightshade pulled out his FAL and unloaded on the Atlesian Knight's head. He slammed the buttstock into the Atlesian Knight's chest and dropped it to the ground where it laid dead.
"Great, you two move ahead. We'll secure this part." Nightshade said to Carmine and Crimson, Carmine nodded before he led Crimson into the next train car. As he walked in, he saw a familiar silhouette and red hair of a man "Taurus!" Carmine yelled, the masked man turned around and looked at the pair "Sable." Adam said in disgust as he drew his sword, Carmine dashed forward with his rifle raised and fired at the swordsman.
Adam blocked the shots with his sword and his aura, Crimson raised his Sig 550 and joined in the barrage of gunfire. Carmine pulled a red grenade from the pouch on his side and pulled the pin out before he threw it at the swordsman. Carmine pulled out his scroll quickly and examined his team's aura levels as he was behind cover 'Alright, we're good for now.' Carmine thought to himself.
Carmine shot up and fired at Adam again, a few shots landed as his aura started to pulsate "We got you now!" Carmine said as he pulled out his PP-19 and dumped the tube mag at the swordsman, his aura shattered as Carmine got closer. Taurus blew open a hatch on the roof and leaped up onto the roof, Crimson ran over to the hatch and put his hands together "Let's go! Get him!" Crimson yelled before Carmine ran forward and placed his foot into Crimson's hand, the infantryman tossed him up as he grabbed the ledge and pulled himself upward.
A woman with black hair and a black bow stood on the roof of another train car while Adam ran toward the main engine "Sorry honey but I'm going to need to get by you." Carmine said, she shook her head "I can't let you do that." The woman said as he pulled out a pistol/sword combo, Carmine sighed as he reloaded his SCAR and pulled back the bolt on the side. The rifleman charged at the woman and fired at her, but she blocked the shots, a black ribbon wrapped around Carmine's leg and swept him off his feet but he quickly leaped back to his feet.
She swung at Carmine, but he used his aura to block the strike, he clenched his fist and charged a Supernova. He threw his fist into the woman, but she quickly dissipated, she was standing at the edge of the train as Carmine stood back up right.
Carmine's ear piece clicked on as Onyx came through "Yo Carmine! We found Abaddon hiding in a box. Ha. Get down here when you find Taurus." Onyx said, Carmine clicked his throat comms "Alright, I'm kind of busy dealing with his girlfriend." Carmine said, the ear piece clicked on "Get her, Carmine. Choke a bitch out if you got to." Onyx said as the sound of muffled screaming could be heard in the background.
Carmine raised his rifle again and switched to full auto, he squeezed the trigger and dumped the magazine at the woman who deflected the rounds and used black silhouette to absorb the other rounds. She charged at Carmine and swung downward, but he blocked her blade with his SCAR, he pushed her back, but she sliced down again and cut his SCAR in half. He stood their holding the two pieces of his rifle in disbelief.
"You fucking bitch. Now you go down it." Carmine said as he threw the two halves down and clenched his fists together as he charged both hands. Carmine heard music coming through his earpiece "Kick her ass, little bro!" Onyx said as Dragula by Rob Zombie played through his earpiece.
Superstition, fear, and jealousy
Carmine sprinted forward and threw a right hook followed by a left uppercut, but she leaped out of the way and switched her sword into a pistol and fired at Carmine. Carmine dodged the shots and closed the gap between them, he followed the right hook with a right palm strike but missed.
Dead I am the one, exterminating son
Slipping through the trees, strangling the breeze
Dead I am the sky, watching angels cry
While they slowly turn, conquering the worm
"Your armor is very inhibiting of your movement." The woman said as he raised his fists again, Carmine clocked her in the chin with a Bolo Punch, the supernova exploded when his fist connected and sent her flying, but she wrapped the ribbon around his ankle and took him with her. She stabbed her sword into the train car and stopped herself.
Dig through the ditches
And burn through the witches
I slam in the back of my Dragula.
Dig through the ditches
And burn through the witches
I slam in the back of my Dragula.
"I have had it up to here with this bullshit!" Carmine yelled as he pulled his Ka-Bar out and held it upside down. The woman ran towards him sliced sideways as he sliced upward, she cut through his IBA and Hoodie, he sliced through her shirt. Both of their auras started to pulsate as he stood across from each other. The side straps of his IBA snapped from being cut as he stood across from her, he pulled the IBA off and tossed it behind him. As the second verse started, Carmine started singing it out loud in a sort of enticing manner.
Dead I am the pool, spreading from the fool
Weak and want you need, nowhere as you bleed
Dead I am the rat, feast upon the cat
Tender is the fur, dying as you purr
The woman seemed to get angry at his singing as she dashed forward, Carmine grinned and threw another roundhouse that connected to her side. She winced in pain as her aura shattered, she sliced back upward and depleted Carmine's aura.
Dig through the ditches
And burn through the witches
I slam in the back of my Dragula.
Dig through the ditches
And burn through the witches
I slam in the back of my Dragula.
"Well, looks like we did a number on each other, huh?" Carmine said panting, she stood up and stared at him as she held her blade upside down. Carmine spun his knife around again as he readied himself one more time.
Dead I am the life, dig into the skin
Knuckle crack the bone, 21 to win.
Dead I am the dog, hound of hell, you cry
Devil on your back, I can never die.
They both ran toward each other at full speed and sliced into each other, they passed each other and stopped in their tracks. A cut appeared on her upper arm while a large slice appeared on Carmine's side that gushed with blood, Carmine dropped to his knees before he collapsed onto the metal roof. Adam leaped back onto the roof of the train car and put his sword to Carmine's neck but the woman stopped him "Adam, no! He fought well but he doesn't need to die today." The woman said, Adam scoffed "He tried to kill you." Adam said but the woman pushed him back and stood in front of Carmine "I won't let you." The woman said, Adam scoffed and sheathed his sword.
"Come on, they're waiting." Adam said before the two leaped off of the moving train, the front train engine exploded and left the train cars to slow to a stop. Crimson climbed up to the roof and found Carmine lying face down in pool of his own blood "Shit! Carmine is down!" Crimson said as he ran over to the rifleman.
*Four Hours Later*
Carmine slowly opened his eyes and found himself in a hospital bed "Oh fuck, what happened?" Carmine asked as he sat up slightly but stopped when a sharp pain shot through his body, he moved the sheet and saw a bandage wrap on his side. "Morning sunshine." Onyx said as he walked into the room, Crimson and Keppel followed in behind him and leaned against the wall.
"What happened? Where am I?" Carmine asked slowly, Onyx sat down in a chair next to the bed "You're in the hospital, seems like that chick fucked your shit up." Onyx said, Carmine chuckled lightly but winced in pain. "Yeah, it might be like that for a bit. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your rifle was destroyed but now I can introduce you to Mindaro and he can create a new rifle for you." Onyx said, Carmine nodded as he felt for his scroll, but Crimson tossed it to him.
Carmine caught it and slid it open, he saw he had a new message from Sapphire and tapped it open. 'Hey Babe, I heard what happened from Crimson. I hope you're okay, come back to me whenever you can. I Love You, Baby.' Carmine smiled as he finished reading her text message, Carmine messaged her back 'Hey Sapph, I'm doing alright. My boys got me to the hospital so I'm going to recover. I'll be there to pick you up eventually.' Carmine wrote before he sent it to his girlfriend.
He closed his scroll but opened it after he got an immediate response 'You have never called me Sapph, why did you call me Sapph? Who are you?!' Sapphire texted back, Carmine chuckled to himself as he replied 'I was just playing, babe. I love you.' Carmine replied, he got an immediate reply of 'Lol, I know sweetheart.' He rolled his eyes as he closed his scroll.
"Alright, Mr. Sable. You're recovering well, you didn't lose a lot of blood because of your team. You'll be out of here in a few hours." The doctor said as he walked into the room. "Mind lifting the sheet." The doctor asked, Carmine moved the sheet so the doctor could examine the wound. The doctor peeled the bandage back, but saw that wound was gone and all that was left was a slash scar.
"Wow, that's a nice scar you got there." Crimson said looking over the doctor's shoulder, Carmine rolled his eyes as the doctor stood up straight "Alright, well. Looks like everything is in order. When you feel ready, you may leave." The doctor said, Onyx tossed him his pants and a new shirt.
Carmine climbed out of bed and pulled on a fresh pair of black jeans and a fresh black t-shirt "Hey, where's Abaddon?" Carmine asked, Onyx chuckled "Grullo's working him over back at HQ, in the basement." Onyx said, Carmine laughed to himself "That poor bastard. Well, let's go check on his work." Carmine said as he pulled on his boots.
As they walked out of the hospital, the Gurkha pulled up out front "Really, the Gurkha?! We're leaving the hospital, not seizing a compound." Carmine said as he shook his head, Onyx looked at him "How do you know that's not what we're doing?" Onyx asked sarcastically, Carmine sighed as he climbed into the tank of a truck. Nightshade sat in the driver's seat as Carmine climbed into the passenger while Onyx, Crimson, and Keppel got into the back.
The Gurkha took off slowly as it drove through the somewhat busy street, people pointed and stared at the behemoth that rolled down the street. The engine rumbled loudly as it as they pulled up to red light, the Gurkha turned right and drove down the road until it turned right onto a dirt road. The Gurkha opened the pistons up and sped down the dirt road until it came up to a concrete wall, Nightshade pressed a button that caused the wall to separate and open.
The Gurkha pulled into a lot and back in behind the building "You know, I forget that we have a back road to the HQ." Carmine said as he got out of the Gurkha. They followed Onyx inside and down a flight of stairs to a lone room, Grullo stood by a table while he wrapped his fist in cloth and a man sat in a chair in the middle of the room with a bag over his head.
"Hello Abaddon, do you know who we are?" Onyx asked, Abaddon looked around the room "Are you the pizza guy?" Abaddon asked, Grullo walked over and decked him in the jaw. "Abaddon, we want to know where Paimon and Sabnock are. Just tell us that." Onyx said, Abaddon sighed "Alright, here's what you do. Go down to the drug store, ask the clerk for some Viagra to help you go fuck yourself." Abaddon said laughing, Grullo punched him in the jaw again. Crimson wheeled over a cart and pulled a sheet off it, he handed Grullo a pair of brass knuckles "Abaddon, as soon as you tell me what I want to know is when the pain will stop." Onyx said, Abaddon laughed "I'll never tell you shit." Abaddon said with a cackle.
Onyx sighed "I know." Onyx said as he sliced off one of his fingers, Abaddon screamed in pain before he started laughing again "That ain't shit." Abaddon said, Onyx grimaced in anger. Keppel looked at him "I think you're going to have to do your thing." Keppel said, Onyx nodded. Crimson put his hand on the Onyx's shoulder "Don't worry, we'll be here, and we'll help you through it." Crimson said.
Onyx nodded his head as he paced back and forth around the room, he silently hyped himself up as he walked back closer to Abaddon "Alright, remove it." Onyx said, Grullo ripped the hood off Abaddon as Onyx grabbed the sides of his head and stared into his eyes. Onyx's eyes started to glow red and pulsate as Abaddon's body went limp.
*Inside Abaddon's Head (This is going to get graphic.) *
Onyx fell into a dark pit that seemed to go on forever, the smell of sulfur filled his nose as he landed on the ground. The ground squished beneath him as he stood up, he looked at his hands and saw they were covered with blood and bile.
The sound of screams and cried for help echoed throughout the dark void that was lined with human epidermis and cerebrum, the bodies of children were nail to the wall with bone. Seventeen guillotines dropped at the same time and decapitated seventeen people at the same time, Onyx shook his head as the images disappeared and left him alone in a room with a file cabinet. Onyx pulled the file cabinet open and pulled out a file labeled 'Plans', he pulled it out and opened it up but only found images of dead people and people being tortured.
Onyx dug through the file cabinet until he there was nothing left, suddenly the file cabinet disappeared and was replaced by Abaddon himself who held a meat cleaver "You know how many people I've killed with this?" Abaddon asked before he licked the blade, Onyx gritted his teeth "Thousands." Onyx said as he pulled out two katanas, Abaddon pulled out a second cleaver and clanged them together.
Onyx dashed forward and sliced at the man who dodged and parried the slices, Abaddon hacked at him, but Onyx thrusted the blades into Abaddon's gut and sliced outward before he sliced the man's arms off. He pushed the man backward and put the blade to his neck "Locations, now." Onyx said, Abaddon struggled to breathe but managed to say a couple words "Warehouse in industrial district, red brick wall with one brick painted yellow for Sabnock. Mai's Bar in the red-light district for Paimon." Abaddon said as he coughed up blood.
Onyx closed his eyes tightly.
*Back in reality*
Onyx opened his eyes and backed up rapidly, Crimson pulled out his pistol and shot Abaddon in the head quickly. Keppel patted him on the shoulder as he held him close, Abaddon's body fell limp as blood dripped onto the floor. Grullo unshackled the body and lifted it up as Nightshade laid a body bag out on the floor, Grullo placed Abaddon in the bag and zipped it up. "We got our targets, call Titus and tell him to regroup here." Onyx said before he passed out, Carmine and Crimson picked Onyx up and carried him upstairs, they placed him on the couch and covered him a blanket.
Carmine pulled out his scroll and called Titus, the scroll ringed for a moment before someone answered, "Regroup at the Wolves Den when you get everything secured." Carmine said before he ended the call and closed his scroll.
Grullo and Nightshade carried Abaddon's corpse out of basement and carried him out the back door, Carmine followed them out the back door and picked up a shovel that was leaned against the wall. They reopened the concrete gate and walked out to the open field, Carmine walked ahead and started to dig a hole in the ground. After fifteen minutes, Carmine had dug a seven-foot-deep hole in the ground, Carmine grabbed Grullo's hand and climbed out of the hole in the ground.
Grullo and Nightshade tossed the corpse into the ground, Grullo pulled out a bottle of fire dust powder and dumped it on the corpse. He struck a dust match and dropped it on the body, the corpse was engulfed in flames and burned slowly in the hole. Nightshade grabbed the shovel and started to fill the hole back in, Carmine turned around and started to walk back to the HQ. "Good riddance." Nightshade said as he followed Carmine.
The trio walked back into the HQ as Onyx was waking back up "Morning sleeping beauty." Crimson said as he sat in the recliner, Onyx shook his head "Shut up, asshole." Onyx said as he rubbed his head. Carmine tossed him a can of Green Bull, Onyx popped the top and hammered it back as he stood up.
As they stood around, the sound of someone knocking on the front door. Crimson walked over to the front and opened it, he guided Titus, Aero, Grizz, and Bubba into the Wolves' Den. Onyx and Titus shook hands tightly as the others formed a circle in the room with Keppel and Crimson joining afterward.
"So, what's the plan, Onyx?" Titus asked as he shifted his weight to his left leg, Onyx guided the group to the planning room and stood in the front of the room as everyone took a seat at the crescent shape table. Carmine pulled up a map of Vale and projected it onto the wall "Gentlemen! We have our targets, the lower-class side of the residential district in the red-light district, a place called Mai's Bar. This is where we'll find Paimon." Onyx said as he projected the image of a run-down bar with a flickering red neon sign.
He projected the image of a giant red brick warehouse with a yellow brick in the middle of the red wall "This is where we'll find Sabnock, he is scoping out an orphanage and we'll find him in this warehouse." Onyx said as he instructed the Joint Task Force.
Aero raised his hand "I got some info to add." Aero said, as he stood up and walked over to the projected wall "I pulled up some more information on Sabnock's mission, and apparently he's meeting with his Grimm Reaper insurgents at this warehouse, so you can expect a firefight." Aero said, Onyx moved back to the center of the room and let the screen go back up which revealed a white board.
"So, we'll separate into two teams: Alpha which consists of Carmine, Aero, Crimson, Bubba, and Keppel. Bravo will be myself, Titus, Nightshade, Grullo, and Grizz. Alpha will take care of Sabnock and Bravo will take care of Paimon. We'll need to identify and execute, so we clean up this mess a little bit tonight." Onyx said as he wrote on the board. Carmine looked at the other mercenaries in the room.
"Have you guys ever seen a firearm combined with a melee weapon? Like a sword but the hilt is a pistol." Carmine said, Onyx and Titus nodded to each other "Yeah, people sometimes make their own weapons that are a melee/ranged combo, so it makes close quarters combat easier. This was mine, Crimson grab that Thompson from the case." Onyx said, Crimson stood up and pulled a M1a1 Thompson with a drum mag from a case on the wall, he walked over and handed it to Onyx.
Onyx pressed a button, and everyone watched as the submachine gun transformed into a double-headed battle-axe "I used to use this, but I stopped when I dropped out of Beacon, it was so clunky that I couldn't really use it. That's why I prefer to use my AK-103. Why do you ask?" Onyx asked as he transformed it back to its Submachine Gun form. Carmine scratched the back of his head.
"That girl I fought earlier had a sword that had a pistol as a hilt, and her sword sliced right through my rifle. I think I need to get one of those custom weapons made, so I can have weapons on demand." Carmine said, Onyx nodded and pulled out his scroll "I'll send him a message to Mindaro to let him know that we'll be by in a couple days." Onyx said as he typed on his scroll.
"Alright, let's load up and get these mother fuckers!" Carmine exclaimed as he stood up and slammed his fist down on the table. Everyone stood up and walked out of the room, but Carmine stopped and grabbed Grullo by the arm "Yo, let's grab the M134." Carmine said as he led Grullo down to the basement. They passed the interrogation room and walked to a large steel door at the end of the hall. Carmine punched in a number on the keypad and unlocked the doors, Grullo pushed them open and flipped a light on the illuminated the room filled with crates and boxes.
"So how much did you take from the train?" Carmine asked as they walked down a makeshift hall of boxes and crates, Grullo laughed "Well, at least half of the train." Grullo said which caused Carmine to stumble "Excuse me!?" Carmine asked dumbfounded, Grullo laughed harder.
"We told Ironwood that the stuff was destroyed in combat and that they could write off as payment for your injury." Grullo said, Carmine stopped as he did air math "Wait, we never did anything with a train though." Carmine said, Grullo pulled out his scroll and showed him the picture of a contract 'Train escort to Vega for Atlas.' "You remember our two options of going on a train or checking out a village?" Grullo asked, Carmine nodded confused.
"Well that was this contract, we told them that we never confirmed it because we thought someone was listening to our conversations. They bought that shit like discount wine." Grullo said as they walked up to a medium sized box, Carmine pried the lid off and let it fall to the ground.
Grullo picked the multi-barrel mounted gun and carried it on his shoulder as they left the armory, Carmine locked the door behind them and they left the basement as everyone was gearing up. "Go mount that on the Gurkha and mount the M2 on the Humvee." Carmine said, Grullo nodded and made his way to the where the vehicles were parked.
"I got you another Heavy IBA from the train, but I couldn't find a SCAR-H for you." Onyx said as he sat the heavy vest on the table, Carmine beamed with light "Wait, do you still have my old one?" Carmine asked, Onyx placed as beaten and battered vest on the table that was held together by mere threads along with rest of his gear. "Damn, she did a number on me." Carmine said as he emptied the pouches and filled the new pouches, he placed Sapphire's delicates in his front pouch.
He slipped his harness on around his waist and secured the clips around his legs, he pulled on a fresh black hoodie and the new vest. He adjusted the shoulder pads as Onyx fastened the side straps for him, he attached his Ka-Bar to his upper shoulder and transferred the patches and markers to the new vest. He walked into the armory and started load up on his gear, he grabbed his P226 from the holster and placed in back in the drawer in exchange for a Berretta 92fs that he placed into his holster and clicked the strap closed.
He opened a cabinet and pulled out a G36c, he checked the magazine and slapped it back into the receiver before he pulled the bolt back and chambered a round. He placed the carbine on the table and opened another cabinet in which he pulled out an ACOG sight and an ERGO grip. He slid the sight onto the top rail and tightened the mount before he attached the ERGO grip to the carbine.
"Yo Onyx, throw some music on!" Carmine yelled, Onyx nodded and pulled out his scroll, he scrolled through and tapped on a song. "I think this is appropriate." Onyx said with a chuckle.
*All Nightmare Long – Metallica*
Carmine nodded his head as the heavy metal riffs came on through the speakers, Carmine pulled on his gloves and fastened the wrists tightly.
Luck. Runs. Out
Crawl from the wreckage one more time
Horrific memory twists the mind
Dark, rutted, cold and hard to turn
Path of destruction feel it burn
Still life, Incarnation
Still life, Infamy
Hallucination, Heresy
Still you run, what's to come?
What's to be?
Carmine pulled a black gas mask from the cabinet; the mask had a double filter system and black visor that was reflective. He pulled the mask on and tightened the back of it before he pulled his hood over his head.
'Cause we hunt you down without mercy!
Hunt you down all nightmare long!
Feel us breathe upon your face!
Feel us shift, every move we trace!
Hunt you down without mercy!
Hunt you down all nightmare long, yeah!
Luck. Runs. Out.
Carmine pulled a Bowie Knife from a drawer of knives and placed the sheathed blade on his hip, Onyx stared at his little brother "Got enough gear?" Onyx asked sarcastically, Carmine flipped him off as his breath exhaled through the filter.
The light that is not light is here
To flush you out with your own fear
You hide, you hide, but will be found
Release your grip without a sound
Still life, Incarnation
Still life, Infamy
Hallucination, Heresy
Still you run, what's to come?
What's to be?
"Alright boys! We ready to do this?!" Onyx asked as he hyped up the joint operation, the mercenaries cheered and raised their rifles in the air while the safeties were on. Onyx led the two teams out and they climbed into their vehicles as the sun was setting below the horizon.
Carmine clicked a button and opened the rear gate as he started the Gurkha, the armored vehicle rumbled to life as everyone got into place. "Alpha come in. Mic check one two." Onyx said through the CB radio in the center console, Carmine picked up the handset "Excuse me sir, you must have the wrong channel." Carmine said as he laughed to himself. Onyx sighed through the radio "You cheeky cunt, just move out." Onyx said, Carmine shifted into first and drove down the driveway slowly.
Carmine clicked on his scroll and tapped on a song as they turned onto a main road, heavy metal came through the speakers as they picked up speed.
*Bullet With A Name – Non-Point*
My disposition is in a position for all to see.
Regretless for how it feels.
I got a bullet with a name on it.
Bullet with a name.
Because the cause for all, the pause you think you see
is really concentration on the steel.
I got a bullet with a name on it.
Bullet with a name.
The Gurkha sped up more as it drove down the road toward the industrial district, Carmine turned the music down a lot as he grabbed the handset.
See everybody watching and passing judgment
on every little move and decision, I make.
How can I be an individual with the weight of the world
with 8 other planets to take?
and with everything happening
gunshots clapping and people all
running in every direction
with their hands up praying for the drama to end,
I got my hand out looking for some money to spend.
The price tags on the things I need are getting bigger by the day
I got a bullet with a name on it.
Bullet with a name.
The way I work so hard for things they just take away from me.
I got a bullet with a name on it.
Bullet with a name.
"Alright Bravo, good luck and radio in when you're done." Carmine said, the radio clicked as Bravo came through "Alright Alpha, good luck brothers." Onyx said as the Humvee took a left into the lower-class side of Vale and the Gurkha sped toward factories and warehouses.
I'm working harder than a hundred black mules down in Vacuo.
No water, no clouds, no cover,
from the hotter than Hell no dinner bell,
empty oven again from another bad opinion.
I mean who doesn't want the cars,
money, fame, attention, bars, honeys,
games, attention, stars?
Funny how we say we don't need it
then turn around and try to achieve it.
Carmine turned the music off as they pulled onto a stretch of road surrounded by warehouses, most of the warehouses were metal except for one at the end of the road that was red brick with a single yellow brick above the door "There it is boys." Carmine said as they slowly approached, Crimson looked at Carmine "So what's the game plan?" Crimson asked, Carmine looked at the steering wheel for a couple seconds.
"Alright, I'll go in and when you hear me say 'Broken Fang', open fire." Carmine said as he grabbed his G36C, Crimson pushed the hatch up and connected the ammo belt to the M134. Carmine placed his rifle on his back and walked toward the side door, he opened the door and walked into the warehouse that was filled with approximately one hundred Grimm Reaper insurgents, they all turned and stared at Carmine while a man dressed in black stood on stage. He had a silver skull mask on with glowing red eyes "And you are?" The man asked in a deep demonic voice.
"Yeah, the name is Danny. I come from the Devil's Disciples, they wouldn't take me, and a woman named Loki referred me to someone named Sabnock, is that you?" Carmine asked, the man stared at him "I might be, tell me this though. What's my real name then?" The man asked, Carmine thought rapidly until he remembered Thomas's story "Gundy Lilo." Carmine said confidently, the man's red eyes turned green "Alright, get up here." Sabnock said.
Carmine ran up the stairs and walked over to the man, his heart was beating rapidly as he stood there, Carmine reached into his pocket and pulled out his scroll "Sorry sir, I was silencing my scroll. My lady might try to call me." Carmine said as he turned the volume off and turned on the voice recorder, he stuck the scroll back into his pocket.
"Like I was saying, the Iron Hammer will move into place in three weeks' time and we'll shell the fuck out of Beacon and Vale, this mother fuckers will finally meet their maker and fall at our feet." Sabnock said which caused the crowd to cheer, Carmine tapped him on the shoulder while he covertly pressed his throat comm piece "Might I suggest calling it 'Broken Fang'." Carmine said, Sabnock looked at him for a moment "Wait, I know who you are!" Sabnock said before bullets started to rip through the metal door and shred the Grimm Reaper insurgents from left to right. Sabnock turned his attention to the gunfire.
Carmine pulled the bowie knife out quickly and thrusted it into Sabnock's gut "That's for the children you son of a bitch, and this is for Thomas." Carmine said as he pulled out his pistol and placed it under his chin and pulled the trigger. The bullet ripped through his head and killed him instantly, Carmine pulled the blade from his gut and sheathed it, he drew his G36c and fired into the crowd.
After a minute, the gunfire stopped, and Alpha team stormed into the building, they walked through the sea of bodies and executed any stragglers. *Bang* "Aero come here!" Carmine yelled to Aero *Bang*. Aero ran up the stairs and stopped in front of Carmine "Apparently they have Iron Hammer and it's on its way here. We need to find it because I have a feeling we'll find another Prince there." Carmine said *Bang* as he watched his team go to work.
*Boom* A loud gunshot echoed throughout the warehouse, Carmine looked over the area to see Keppel covered in blood while he held 'Charon' as its barrel smoked. "I forget you're an idiot sometimes." Carmine said as Keppel wiped the blood off his face with the shirt of a dead Grimm Reaper.
"Aero, did you ever find out how big force size is?" Carmine asked the militant, Aero pulled out his scroll and showed him a number "Good god! Seven hundred strong?!" Carmine exclaimed, Aero nodded "Yeah, this was just one of seven." Aero said as Carmine pulled out his scroll and hit stop on the digital recorder on his scroll.
"Here, I managed to record some of the plan before he figured out who I was." Carmine said as he handed Aero his scroll, Aero took the scroll and listened to it while Carmine looked over the sea of corpses. Crimson walked through and shot anybody that was still alive "No mercy for the evil." Crimson said as one of the Reapers reached up toward him, Crimson squeezed the trigger and put one between his eyes.
Aero walked back over to Carmine "Alright, so I can think of three possible locations that the Iron Hammer could be; Vacuo, Mount Glenn, or somewhere in Forever Fall. I'll contact Harlequin of Viper Legion to see if they can do air recon for us." Aero said as he handed the scroll back to Carmine.
"So, this thing is huge, so it shouldn't be hard to find, so maybe air recon will find it." Carmine said as he texted Onyx 'HVT has been eliminated.' Carmine typed into his scroll before he hit send and turned his scroll volume back on. After a couple minutes, his scroll went off and he opened his scroll and read the message 'Cool, you guys can head this way. We could use the backup since we haven't moved in yet'.
"Yo! Look at this!" Crimson yelled, Carmine, Aero, and Bubba ran to the back where Crimson stood by multiple trailers hooked to semis. He lifted the latch and swung the door open, Carmine turned his flashlight on and shown it into the trailer, children sat against the wall with shackles around their ankles and wrists. "Get those doors open, now!" Carmine yelled as he ran to the next trailer and unlatched the bar.
He swung the door open and found more children bound and shackled, Aero ran over to Sabnock's body and patted down his sides "Keys? Keys? Keys? Scroll, I'll take that. Lien, thank you. Ahh Keys!" Aero said to himself as he pulled a key ring out of Sabnock's pockets. He ran back over with the keys and started to unlock the shackles, the children were unshackled but didn't move "Bubba! Call the police." Carmine said as he knelt in front of the children.
"You're safe now, kids. The police will be here shortly. You can relax and don't worry." Carmine said, the children stared at the rifleman who stood up and walked out of the trailer, he walked over to Sabnock's body and pulled the skull mask off. He opened his scroll and took a picture of Sabnock's face, he sent it to Onyx before he put the scroll back into his pocket.
"Alright guys, we got to go! The police are on their way." Bubba said as he ran down the steps, Carmine jumped off the stage and ran out the door as sirens were heard in the distance. He hopped into the driver seat and started the engine up as Crimson, Aero, and Keppel climbed into the Gurkha. He threw the truck into reverse and backed down the road fast, he jerked the wheel and spun the truck around before he threw it into first gear. He stepped on the pedal and sped down the road, he hit the clutch and switched to second gear.
They turned down a road to lower side of Vale as five police cars sped by followed by four ambulances, the Gurkha drove down a barren street that was lined with houses and buildings, some buildings were boarded up and others had broken windows.
The Gurkha pulled up next to the Humvee that was parked around the corner, Carmine shut the engine off and hopped out of the Gurkha, Carmine looked around the barren street as the rest of Alpha regrouped behind him. Bravo moved out of the shadows and formed up in front of Alpha "You haven't moved in yet?" Carmine asked as Keppel stared into the darkness, Carmine noticed it and nudged him "Hey man, everything alright?" Carmine asked the sniper, Keppel shook his head "He's here." Keppel said, everyone turned around to see a man standing under a street light.
"Well hello boys, nice for you to join us." Paimon said, he wore another black skull mask with glowing red eyes, both Alpha and Bravo drew their weapons and aimed them at Paimon "Surrender Livi, we have you outgunned!" Aero yelled, Paimon started to laugh uncontrollably, he bent over with his hands on his knees. He stood back up straight and sighed after laughing, he snapped his fingers which caused dozens of people to storm out with weapons raised.
"No, I think I have you surrounded." Paimon said with a chuckle as he withdrew a katana from his back, Alpha and Bravo stood back to back as they counted the Reaper insurgents "I count thirty on our side." Carmine said as he moved his weapon back and forth as he maintained the stand still. "We got thirty as well, thirty-one including fuck face over there." Onyx said as he also maintained the stand still.
"What's the game plan now?" Crimson asked, Carmine and Onyx said at the same time "I'm not sure." Crimson thought to himself "Shoot our way out?" Crimson asked, Nightshade chuckled "I mean maybe if we use everything at our fingertips; weapons, explosives, semblances. Everything." Nightshade said, Carmine thought to himself for a moment "Wait, if Grullo uses his Time Dilation, my Supernova, Aero's thermal sight, and Bubba's healing touch. What else we got?" Carmine asked as they planned.
"Well, I got something that will be here in a couple minutes, we just need to stall them a little more." Titus said, Alpha and Bravo nodded in agreement. "Where did all these people come from?!" Carmine asked, a masked man laughed "Oh you should know, mother fucker." A masked man said, Carmine looked at the masked man for moment but realized who the voice belonged to.
"Well, Officer Pine. Nice to see you again." Carmine said sarcastically, Pine raised his rifle and pointed it at Carmine "You made me lose my job, you made my wife leave me, you ruined my life." Pine said, Carmine laughed "I didn't force you to become the Vale Violator, dick nose." Carmine said, Pine got irritated "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Pine yelled as he charged toward Carmine.
Carmine unsheathed his Bowie knife and thrusted it into Pine's chest, he covered his mouth as he watched the life fade from his eyes. He pulled the blade from his chest and put it back into its sheath, he pushed the lifeless corpse to the ground. "Well, shit." Carmine said as bullets started to fly from every direction. Crimson jumped back into the Gurkha as the others ran and took cover behind buildings.
"Back-up will be here in two minutes." Titus said as bullets bounced off the walls, Carmine peaked around the corner and dumped into two people. They dropped to the ground in pools of blood, Paimon seemed to disappear into the darkness, but reappeared out of the shadows near a building. He kept disappearing and reappearing in the shadows until he popped up near the Joint Ops, he ran forward and slashed downward at Carmine's feet. Crimson popped out the top of the Gurkha and activated the M134, he turned the turret as he ripped into the Reapers that fired at him, his aura took a brunt of the bullets as he sprayed the 7.62mm bullets out of the M134.
"Here they come!" Titus said as he shot another Reaper and slammed his buttstock into another's throat. A Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk flew in over the city and circled around, .50 Cal bullets rained down from either side and ripped through the Reapers, insurgents were ripped apart as the bullets rained down. Paimon turned around and looked up at the helicopter, Carmine leaped up and pulled out his Ka-Bar from the sheath and plunged it into his chest "You will never hurt those girls again, you son of a bitch. Burn in hell forever!" Carmine yelled as he pulled the knife out and slit his throat.
The Joint Operation cleaned up the Grimm Reapers quickly, they gunned down the felons with extreme prejudice. Carmine reached into Paimon's pockets and pulled out his scroll that he tossed to Aero "Get those open and pull all the information you can." Carmine said, the Black Hawk slowly landed in the middle of the plaza, multiple armed militants ran out of the transport with their rifles raised "Well, you know when to show up on perfect time." Titus said as a woman stepped out of the helicopter.
"You called us and had us on standby, we didn't head this way until you sent the text." The woman said, Titus chuckled "Yeah, that was my bad, Quinn." He said as he hugged her, Carmine and Onyx walked up to greet the woman "Carmine and Onyx Sable, this is Harlequin Flae or Quinn." Titus said as she extended her hand, Carmine shook her hand followed by Onyx.
"It's nice to meet you guys, the legendary Sable Brothers of The Wolf Pack. You guys are talked about a lot over at Viper Legion, you guys ever need air support, don't be afraid to give us a call. It's free amongst mercenary groups like us, Titus calls us all the time." She said, glaring at Titus. The woman had long strawberry red hair, pale milky skin, heterochromatic eyes, and a pair of red cat ears that flicked when the air hit it.
As they talked, two Mi–35 Hinds flew over and circled the city as they conversed "Damn Quinn, how much firepower did you bring?" Carmine asked, Quinn laughed as she brushed the hair out of her face and looked up "About this much." She said as two AH–6 Little Birds flew over followed by Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche. "I only needed a Black Hawk, but you sent a whole armada." Titus said as he shook his head. She stood proud "Send them running with their tails between their legs when they see this armada show up." Harlequin said, Grullo dragged Paimon's body over to where the leaders were talking "Hey, what should we do with this?" Grullo asked, Keppel ran over and swabbed the inside of Paimon's mouth with a Q-Tip before he activated his Bloodhound.
Keppel stared at the Q-Tip with his glowing Cyan colored eyes, he pulled out his scroll and typed in the raw information that was running through his head "I designed this program to analyze DNA components and it'll let me know the entire double helix of the DNA, I can break apart the strands and analyze each chromosome." Keppel said as he pulled up the information on his scroll.
"His semblance was Shadow Step, it allowed him to move from shadow to shadow." Keppel said, Grullo picked the body up and threw it in a dumpster, covered it in fire dust, and set the corpse ablaze in the dumpster. "There, he's been dealt with." Grullo said as he rejoined the group.
"So that just leaves Cerberus, Leviathan, Astaroth, Alastor, Loki, and Diablo." Carmine said as he crossed names off a paper list, Keppel looked at Carmine "But Alastor was arrested." Keppel said confused, Carmine looked at him "Exactly, this won't end until he is dead." Carmine said as he clicked a pen closed and put back into his pouch along with the tiny notebook.
"Hey Harlequin, you think one of your boys could give me a ride to Beacon? I want to see my girlfriend." Carmine asked, she smiled "Yeah, hop in the Black Hawk." Quinn said, Carmine climbed into the side of the helicopter as the engine started up.
The Black Hawk took off into the night sky as it circled around Vale and flew toward Beacon, Carmine pulled out his scroll and called Sapphire, the scroll rang twice before she answered. "Hello?" She answered sleepily, Carmine chuckled lightly "Hey sweetheart, I got enough things squared away, so I can come see you at Beacon." Carmine said, he heard shuffling and stuff being knocked over through Sapphire's end "I'll be outside in two minutes." Sapphire said before she ended the call.
The Black Hawk flew over the water as it approached the giant school, Carmine could see Sapphire outside jumping up and down happily with a grey-haired man next to her. The Black Hawk flew over and hovered as it rotated slowly. He looked down and smiled at the love of his life who looked so giddy to see him which caused a big smile to grow across his face, Carmine looked over as he saw something out of the left corner of his eye. A man stood on a boat in the middle of the lake and aimed something into the air.
"Shit! RPG!" Carmine yelled as a rocket leapt from the tube of an RPG-7.
A/N: Aren't cliffhangers fun!? Hope you liked Chapter 7 and the saga of The Wolf Pack and the World of Remnant. I'm working on Ch. 16 of Titan Rising and will resume that one when the season picks back up. In the meantime, check out Team BAWM that I'm writing with my good friends, The Burning Ruler and RebelKira. Remember to Favorite, Follow, and Review, and as always, this is Nightmare 6-4, signing off.