Setting Plans In Motion

Hello everyone and welcome to the latest chapter of the Adventures of Team WA! First off, mild apology for getting this out a day later than intended, I was focusing heavily on the chapter of the other fic and then got busy at home. But, hopefully you'll all still enjoy what I've managed to write up. And as always I'd like to give a shout out to all of you my fellow readers for your continued support and input in this story. And to DCDGojira, my condolences as well as my prayers to you and your family during this difficult time. Now then, shall we read the latest chapter, I think we shall.

The City of Mantle

"This is the Atlas Eye," said the Blond Reporter on the television screen, "currently, there is still no word from General Ironwood about the halting of the evacuation of Mantle and the withdrawal of Atlesian personnel. Citizens are frightened and confused by this turn of events, especially given the recently spotted massive horde of Grimm circling outside of the kingdom." The camera panned out to reveal the scene of the streets of Mantle where numerous civilians, all carrying essentials of one kind or another, were vacating their homes and being directed down one street or another by the Happy Huntresses member, Joanna.

"In all my years of reporting," continued the Blond Man on screen, "I've never seen anything quite like this. It feels almost like the end of days is upon us. But the Atlas Eye is committed to updating the public, even to our dying-huh?" He was interrupted in his speech by Joanna walking up to the camera crew and snatching the mike out of the Reporter's hand. When said man tried to protest, he was met with an angry look and the planting of her weapon near his foot.

"Citizens of Mantle," said Joanna to the camera, "General Ironwood will not be making any more efforts to evacuate you because he has abandoned this city! But we, the Happy Huntresses, have not! If you can hear this broadcast right now, gather any food and supplies you need to keep warm, then head to the Mantle Crater. The Grimm have begun making their way back into the city, but we can hold the line so long as we all come together. You've all seen what's out there waiting for us in the storm if we can't. It's time to show your teeth Mantle!"

Joanna roughly handed the microphone back to the Reporter as she made her way off camera. While this was all happening, Yang, Aegis, Jaune, Ren and Oscar had just returned to Pietro's pharmacy. It took only a second for Yang to deal with the androids which had apparently been stationed there in case he returned before the group spread out to look for the equipment the good doctor had mentioned. Yang was the first to find something as she pushed open the door to a storage area with Jaune quickly flipping on the light for the room.

Yang's eyes lit up as she let out an excited 'oh' at their discovery. "Oh yeah, the others are definitely missing out," she said with a hand on her hip. The other three looked in, two of whom gave mildly worried expressions while Aegis smirked. 'Oh yeah, definitely missing out,' he thought in agreement.

A few minutes later, the group of five was driving down the street on four bulbous hover-bikes with rectangular shaped bodies and two rocket-like engines beneath their seats. They had apparently been dubbed 'HVB RHINO' by their creator. But Yang didn't care so much what they were called, she was just happy to be riding on a vehicle like bumblebee again. So happy, in fact, that she sped up and used an overturned car as a ramp to get airborne, despite Oscar's protests.

She then fired off a shot from her gauntlet to roll in midair before landing back on the ground upright. "Gentlemen," said Aegis as he glanced back at Jaune and Ren, "I do believe our day is improving." Jaune was about to comment on that, until his hoverbike went over a crate, shaking him up like he'd just hit a bump. Few more attempts were made at conversation after that as they proceeded to the nearest sector that needed help with evacuating.

Upon their arrival in the area dubbed 'Sector 7' by the city map, the group of five had to temporarily park the new Rhinos, much to Yang's disappointment, as they each split up and did what they could. Ren busied himself with taking out any still functioning cameras and drones that were flying around while Oscar and Jaune went door to door, telling the people that it was time to evacuate and what they'd need to bring. Yang worked on keeping the crowd organized while also answering any questions, making especially sure to stress that the crater was safe. As for Aegis, he patrolled the nearby streets in search of Grimm as his senses, while not as honed as his older brother's, were still better at picking up the monsters than anyone else's.

He did run into on bit of trouble, however, when two Sabyrs broke away from a pack of six he was busy taking down. "Crap, you guys got two Sabyrs incoming!" Said the Half Faunus over his earpiece as he cut through the last Grimm with a glass half ax before pursuing the other two.

"Already on it," replied Jaune over his comm as Aegis turned a corner where the crowd and his friends were at. The blond huntsman pulled out a white, disc-like device they'd also gotten from Pietro's pharmacy upon sighting the incoming threat and threw it on the ground in front of the two Grimm as they charged towards the frightened civilians. As soon as the tiger-like beasts were about to run over the disc, it lit up with a white light that sent the both of them flying into the air. Aegis was quick to jump towards the one on the left while Ren came flying out of seemingly nowhere and cut through the one on the right.

The two huntsmen landed at about the same time with both nodding at a job well done before Ren kicked the little device up and back towards Jaune, who used the new magnet feature on his shield to attract it before pulling it off. "Definitely better than a hoverbike," Aegis heard him comment as the group gathered.

"The Grimm haven't pushed this far in already, have they?" Questioned Oscar.

"I don't think so," said Yang as she put her mechanical hand to her chin, "those were probably more that got in last night. Still, there are a lot of Grimm and only five of us, wait. Ren!" The quiet huntsman turned to acknowledge Yang's call, "if Jaune hits you with his aura amp, do you think you can mask everyone?" Ren considered the blond brawler's suggestion for a moment before answering.

"We can give it a shot," Ren finally said with a mild shrug, "but it is a lengthy trip through Mantle." And it really was, but it'd be just the slightest bit faster if they weren't fighting Grimm every step of the way. Everyone more or less realized this as Jaune was the first to jump on board with the suggestion.

"That's a great idea actually," he said with his hands in the air, "we could have a Grimm free journey all the way to the crater!"

"But do we really have to share space with those animals down in the slums?" Questioned an old woman with a large brown coat and blue bandana on her head suddenly, "I'd feel a lot safer in Atlas."

"I'm afraid the General isn't feeling that accommodating right now," Aegis pointed out while also raising an eyebrow at how she referred to the Faunus in the crater. Though Yang took even more offense at the first part of her statement than even Aegis did and decided to really back up his statement.

"Yeah, him and the rest of the people up in that floating city have decided none of you are worth the trouble. But the Faunus, despite everything they've had to put up with, are still willing to lend all the help they can, even if some of you don't deserve it." This was enough to make the woman back down as another blond woman nervously mentioned that she'd go get their things. Jaune and Oscar proceeded to get the crowd organized while Aegis turned to Yang.

"I do appreciate it," said Aegis, "but you didn't need to do that."

"Someone had to say it," said Yang as she put a hand on Aegis's shoulder, "you and Blake and every other Faunus and Half Faunus have had enough to deal with already and now is definitely not the time to be letting something like prejudice get in the way of helping people."

"That's why I can brush it off better than usual right now," said Aegis as he covered her hand with his, "I've put up with it almost my whole life. And if ever there was a time to not let my temper get the better of me, this would be it."

"I know," said Yang, "I would've thought people would be able to forget about things like that right now, that's all."

"Hey, we'll work through it," said Aegis as he put a hand on her shoulder, "Mom would say the best thing we can do right now, is set a good example."

"I guess I can get behind that," said Yang before poking Aegis's nose, "so come on, let's keep doing what we can." The Half Bear Faunus gave a smile and a nod as they headed for their respective hover bikes.

About the Same Time: Mantle Dust Factory

'Amazing that some of these places are still running with everything going on,' thought Wayne as he looked up at the still functioning smokestacks. Understandably, he'd rather glance at those than the mass of people behind him migrating into the slums down below. It was a depressing sight, but he knew that it was better for them here than out in the Grimm-infested city. "Alright, through here kids," said the blue-haired happy huntress, May, as she opened the fenced gate to the factory.

"Thanks again for coming along," said Nora as they passed through the gate.

"Don't mention it," replied May, "once Robyn heard about Amity Tower, she wouldn't shut up about it. Wherever she is right now I'm sure she'd want us doing what we can to get it airborne and get the world talking again. Besides, Fiona's got your friends working in my stead."

"Yeah, they are, aren't they," said Nora, somewhat downtrodden from the reminder as the group entered the red bricked building that functioned as a dust factory.

"So, are you sure this is exactly, safe?" Questioned Ruby as they took a look around the circular room. Several control panels and terminals where scattered about while the center of the room was dominated by large, metallic tubes that went up into the ceiling and likely high into the air. Though what was most concerning were the Atlesian androids walking around the factory.

"Snowshoe Shipping is a subsidiary of the SDC," replied Weiss, "meaning all the drones here report to the company and not to General Ironwood. Now, how everything works is the pneumatic tubes allow for the Dust refined in the crater to be sent straight up to Atlas. So, all we need to do is find the one for the military base."

"Are there any buildings in Atlas that your family doesn't own?" Quipped Blake.

"A little burger joint on fifth and main," commented Wayne, causing Nora to chuckle, "what, I'm serious."

"That is, hardly relevant at the moment," huffed Weiss, merely getting Blake to chuckle more as the group spread out and looked for the correct terminal. Though Penny seemed a little downtrodden, which Ruby was quick to address with a few words and a quick hug.

"By the way Wayne," said Weiss, "are you sure you're okay, being here I mean? The rest of your family is working on the evacuation, if you-."

"It's because the rest of my family is working on the evacuation that I'm okay being here," said Wayne, "Mom and Dad have experience dealing with stuff like this and you know how strong Aegis is. But even they can only hold out so long against this, that's why we have to at least try calling for help and getting the world prepared for what's in store."

"Well, I guess that is why we're here, but-," Weiss started to say before Nora interrupted with a quick 'I found it!'

"I suppose there's no turning back now," commented Blake as everyone gathered around the terminal in front of the desired pneumatic tube.

"I don't think there's anything to worry about," said May as she indicated Penny, "between our secret weapon and my semblance," she turned invisible to emphasize her point real fast, "you all couldn't be in better hands."

"So how are we going to use this thing anyway?" Questioned Nora as she turned to Weiss.

"It should be relatively simple," responded the white-haired girl as she went and sat at the opening of the tube, "just lie back in the tube and press launc-HAAAAAAAAHHH!" The ex-heiress didn't get a chance to finish her explanation as said button had been pressed and sent her up through the tube, rather quickly. A gasp of wonder then laughter sounded shortly afterwards as all eyes turned to the perpetrator.

"Nora," said Wayne, "I thought we were past the point where you pushed buttons before knowing what they did?"

"I mean, she said it was the launch button," said Nora with an awkward smile and a weak shrug, "So I kinda knew what it did. Oh I know, me next!" Everyone else simply sighed at this. Ren or no Ren, Nora Valkyrie was simply incorrigible sometimes.

Camp at the Crater: A Short Time Later

Despite the depressing atmosphere which had occurred at the start of their mission, the feeling of success at finally getting their group of civilians to the crater was enough to get everybody back into a somewhat better mood. Currently, a number of tents were set up around the less developed, more shanty-like buildings that dotted the crater. It was from one of those tents that Fiona and Joanna emerged. "Where's this group coming in from," questioned the taller, tan-skinned huntress.

"This would be the folks from Sector 7," answered Yang as she and the rest of the group stopped in front of the Happy Huntress members.

"You already cleared Sector 7?!" Questioned Fiona as she hopped up excitedly, "that's great! To be honest, I wasn't sure if we could coordinate it without the rest of your teammates." And just like that, the more optimistic atmosphere was gone as Ren turned and began to walk away.

"Well as you can see, we're doing just fine with only the five of us here," said Yang as she crossed her arms in a huff. Aegis was quick to mouth, 'don't mention it right now' as he did a mild slicing gesture across his throat to indicate it was a taboo subject at the moment.

"Where are you putting everyone, exactly?" Questioned Oscar in hopes of changing the topic.

"Well," said Fiona, "we're working to get everyone settled in houses or some of the other shelters around here. A large portion of the community is also trying to get old mine shafts into a livable condition."

"As you can imagine, we've got a lot of people to keep warm," continued Joanna, "right now, looting the SDC refineries is our best source of dust. One of the upsides of an apocalypse, no one's really getting arrested right now. But I still can't figure out what those Grimm are waiting for while they circle around out there." Aegis was about to offer his own thoughts on the matter when a man in a brown coat and hat with glasses, a mustache and some mole paws came rushing over to them.

"Fi," said the man breathlessly, "we got another fight breaking out."

"Crap," said Fiona before waving, "thanks Uncle, we'll handle it." She deflated a bit at the last part of her sentence.

"I'll handle it," said Joanna with a hand on Fiona's shoulder, "you've got enough to worry about." Joanna proceeded to crack her neck as she followed after Fiona's Uncle.

"What a day," said the sheep Faunus as she turned back to them.

"By the way," asked Aegis, "any word on how my parents are doing in their part of the evacuation?" Fiona actually laughed a bit at that before answering.

"They're doing alright," she said as a couple images of a street covered in blue flames and the sight of multiple Beringel Grimm getting their faces broken in quick succession flashed across her mind, "I don't know how they're doing it, but the nearby Grimm just seem to flock to them before getting torn apart. The way they move and fight, it's more than a little different from how I learned to fight here."

"Well, my Mother did spend some of her early years in Atlas before moving to Vale," said Aegis, "as for Dad, he was hunting Grimm before even going to a huntsman academy, so I guess you could call them, experienced." 'I'll say,' thought Fiona before the sound of her earpiece buzzing caught her attention.

"Fi, it's Crimson again," said the voice on the other end of the line, "we spotted a decent size group of Grimm moving in from the East. We can't take them all on while protecting the civvies." Fiona used her semblance to reform the map she'd stored of the city to take a look at the mentioned area.

"Oh for crying out loud," groaned the sheep girl as she looked like she was trying to come up with an idea. Yang, fortunately, was one step ahead of her as she flashed a knowing smile at Aegis and Jaune.

"You said they were in the East?" Asked Yang as she cocked her mechanical arm and loaded a shell into it, "I might know a few people who just got some free time on their hands."

Eastern Section of the City: A Short Time Later

'Oh yeah!' Thought Aegis as he flew around on his new Rhino hover bike and cut the heads off of a couple of sabyrs before taking a sharp turn around a corner, 'now this is just therapeutic right here!' A beowulf attempted to charge him upon catching sight of the huntsman, but Aegis was quick to form a glass wall over his hover bike's front, causing it to stumble and get stuck on the front after shattering the glass barrier. Aegis was quick to destroy the head of this Grimm as well with a glass Morningstar before making another turn down a nearby street where the smell of Grimm was relatively strong.

It turned out to be another Teryx Grimm that he encountered, part of a duo with the other being handled by Yang and the rest of the group. 'Let's try a trick I've seen Ruby use,' thought Aegis as he carefully stood up on his still moving bike, reforming his ax blade into the kukri like blade of a bardiche weapon. As they were about to collide, Aegis leapt up and fired a small bit of fire dust out the back of his weapon, allowing him to sail over the Grimm's snapping jaws where he spun and decapitated the flying reptile monster before landing back on his hover bike.

Though in hindsight, perhaps landing ball first on the seat wasn't his best plan. "Ow," groaned Aegis in a slightly higher voice, "this is about the time I remember that finesse is not my strong suit." Thankfully, he was distracted from his thoughts of pain by the sound of Yang's voice over his earpiece.

"Aegis," she said, "the others have met back up over here and we just cleared out the last Grimm. Are you good?"

"I'm set over here," replied Aegis as he engaged his vehicle and started heading towards the others, "I should be back with you in a minute."

"Ya hear that Fiona," said Yang over their comms, "one more problem taken care of over on this end."

"Good, because I just got some reports in about Grimm attacking in the west," replied Fiona over their earpieces, "We've got huntsmen there but they could really use some backup." Even if he didn't hear it over the radio line, he knew Yang was sighing before answering.

"Okay, we're on our way," said Yang, "Aegis, meet up with us on the ride over and-ah hold on, some sabyrs just showed up."

"Guess I'll meet you guys in a sec," said Aegis as he rounded another corner. That was when something more than a little unexpected occurred. He was only riding for a minute or so before the sound of Jaune's frantic voice rang out over his comm.

"Aegis, hurry up and get back here we've got a problem!" Exclaimed the Blond Knight.

"Shit, I hear you and I'm hurrying," said the Half-Bear Faunus as he gunned his engines and made a few more turns before showing up where the others were. It was then that he saw what all the concern in Jaune's voice was about. A Grimm with the body of a Beowulf but with a flatter, more deformed face was in the middle of the street, with an unconscious Oscar in his right hand. Yang was also on the ground next to a wall that had a crater in it from where she'd been slammed.

Ren was firing at it, but his bullets weren't having any effect on its back, so instead he fired his blades which managed to stick into the Grimm's chest and reeled himself in with a double kick aimed for the Grimm's midsection. But the odd creature responded surprisingly quickly and stretched its arm out like a whip, knocking Ren into a nearby fence. Jaune had just drawn his sword but Yang held up a hand to stop him. "Wait, it's using Oscar as a shield!" She exclaimed.

'That explains it. This thing's smarter than the average Grimm,' realized Aegis as he gunned his engine and sped towards the Grimm. Expectedly, it noticed him and stopped the bike with its other hand, but that gave Aegis the opening he needed as he leapt up and swung downward at the Grimm's head. The creature was quick, however, and moved its head to the side with the blade only grazing its ear. Aegis turned around as the Grimm held up Oscar as a meat shield once again, but Yang's warning didn't go unheeded as he reformed his ax blade into a spear point, mid attack, and jammed it underneath Oscar's arm.

"I'll be needing you to give our friend back now," said Aegis as he shoved his weapon a bit further into the creature's chest, only to realize that it's skin wasn't like the typical skin of a Grimm. It was more like bubbling tar, and surprisingly thick tar at that. 'What the heck is up with this?' He thought as he heard the sound of bones cracking on the Grimm's back.

It looked at him then with its eyeless face before uttering a single word. "No," it growled. To say Aegis was surprised was an understatement. Grimm weren't supposed to speak, they've never ever been known to speak. But this one just did, and it used his moment of hesitation to grab his leg and begin slamming him on the street over and over again before pitching him into a nearby wall which cratered from the impact.

The strange Grimm let out a roar then as two, red and black bat wings emerged from its back. Then, apparently taking a moment to collect itself, the Grimm picked up Oscar in its mouth and climbed up a nearby building before leaping into the air and flying down the street. "Shit!" Aegis cursed as he finally came to his senses and raced towards his hover bike. The others did likewise as Fiona's voice came over their earpieces once again.

"Guys, what's your status," she asked, "the West side's taking damage."

"What do we do?" Questioned Ren as he looked to Yang, who'd become something of the de facto leader of the group.

"We've got an emergency," Yang finally replied to Fiona as she leapt onto her own bike while Ren took over Oscar's, "we're not gonna make it over there in time!"

"A What?" Questioned a confused Fiona, "what kind of emergency?"

"The kind I'd doubt you'd believe unless you saw it yourself," replied Yang as they raced after the mysterious Grimm. It would prove to be a long chase.

And so, one group of heroes is on their way back to Atlas via unorthodox transport while the other group is now in pursuit of Salem's newest beast, The Hound. And once again, sorry if this was a little later than intended. With luck, the next chapter will be out just a bit sooner. In the meantime, feel free to leave a comment or review about what you liked/disliked or if you've got any neat ideas for future chapters. Be sure to stop in next time as our heroes square off against the Ace Ops! 'Til then.