Chapter 44: Posse
In which Yang, Blake, Weiss, and Ruby can't outrun life, death, and truth any longer.
The Faunus that Blake had subdued woke up and found himself facing up the barrel of Sheriff Gretchen's rifle, Peppermint. It turns out he wasn't so courageous when not protected by a giant robotic exoskeleton.
"Don't hurt me!"
"You're going to prison for a long time, pal. But tell us what we need to know, and you might just make it to your day in court without a few extra holes."
"I-I'll talk. We were mining raw–"
"We know about the raw Dust vein. Where're you keeping it?"
The trembling Faunus gestured to a door in the back corner of the warehouse.
"Why do it?"
"They did it to us first!"
"I don't recall the humans ever dropping Dust bombs on Gravel Lane. Do you know what raw, elemental Dust will do to a person when it ignites? People, children will be burned alive!"
"W-What?"
"The Dust bombs! The raw Dust you're mining to blow up Platinum Lane! We know you planned to use the raw Dust to wreak havoc amongst the humans and finish off the survivors with all these weapons."
A laugh escaped the Faunus' lips, but Peppermint poking into his nose helped him realize that this was no laughing matter. "The Dust bombs aren't for Platinum Lane, nor are the weapons."
"Oh, aye? And I suppose we're meant to believe you're making fireworks to celebrate when peaceful protests end Faunus disenfranchisement. Lemme guess, the robots are for a dance party."
"We were going to ship the robots and refined Dust to Greengrocer Lane before you attacked us. They're for defense, I swear!"
"Defense against what?"
"The Breach."
Descending deep into Remnant in a rickety elevator surrounded by musty fumes from pockets of gas and the sweaty aroma of her colleagues should not have been a pleasant experience. However, Weiss was crammed right up next to a certain sweaty catgirl, so it wasn't all bad.
The other Faunus, now handcuffed and awaiting pickup by the hunter barracks, had directed them to a room in the back of the warehouse with a single elevator that apparently led to what they were looking for. He seemed to be more afraid of what would happen if he snitched further and refused to elaborate beyond saying 'all the way that way.' Gretchen wanted to pump him full of Dust and lead, but Hazel had held her back.
"Hey, Blake," Weiss whispered.
"Girl, we can all hear you," said Gretchen. "We're all so close I can feel your boner for the cat poking into my leg. Why bother whispering?"
Weiss wilted with embarrassment and – actually, no. Fuck that. Weiss wasn't going to let this vile Sheriff bring her down. Gretchen had been nothing but trouble for Team Rainbow since they'd arrived in Mountain Glenn for an 'easy mission.'
"Blake," Weiss whispered even harder, just to spite Gretchen. "I wanted to ask you about the White Fang."
"Weiss, I know you must see me as nothing but a terrorist, but I promise it's not like that."
Weiss spoke in a voice so soft you could use it as a pillow. "I wanted to let you know that it doesn't matter to me."
"It…doesn't? Aren't you mad?"
Not even a butterfly's heartbeat was more hushed than Weiss' tone. "It's hard to get emotional about it when I only learned about the White Fang a few weeks back. Dust, you were the one to tell me about them and how evil they are. I wanted to ask what happened? Why did you leave?"
"I left because the White Fang had fallen so low I could no longer recognize it. I was a child when I joined, so you might even say I was born into it. I went to every rally. I stood at the front of the picket line. I lived and breathed protest. And I saw just how ineffectual that was. Peace got us nowhere, so when Adam – my mentor and my…my companion – suggested we take a more aggressive stance, nobody disagreed. It was a slow change, like a poison spreading through the Fang's veins. We were intoxicated by and addicted to the respect that came through fear when compassion had only bred disdain. Every victory we achieved served to embolden both our leadership and the rank and file. Peaceful commanders like the founders of the Fang stepped down, publicly by choice and privately because Faunus were choosing to ignore their orders. The founders…were my parents."
"And you left with them?"
"No. I wish every day that I had, but I chose to stay. I told myself it was necessary. Nothing was too extreme to bring an end to intolerance since intolerance continued to harm and kill innocent Faunus. It escalated to rioting, then revenge attacks on violent humans, then Dust theft, until one day I found myself with orders from Adam to kill a train full of innocent people – civilians who had nothing to do with the Faunus or the work camps or the killing. I asked myself why their blood had to be spilled, and I found no answer. I left for Beacon shortly after, because there, I could make a real difference."
Weiss placed a hand on Blake's shoulder. "I'm so sorry."
Kachunk!
They arrived at their destination, the bottom level, with a thud. It was quite the familiar sight for Weiss.
"A Dust vein…"
The elevator was not an elevator – it was a mine shaft. The walls of the Dust vein were lined with rich colors that swirled together in a vibrant rainbow as far as they eye could see. It was like a sunset, just before the shattered moon consumed the sky. Razor edged shards jutted out of the walls at every angle, interspersed between smooth geometric patterns that came from Dust's natural crystalline lattice. Bright reds, blues, oranges, yellows – every type of Dust could be found down here. Weak lanterns tacked along the walls of the mineral trove illuminated the tunnel, making shadows dance as they flickered. On the rocky floor below, several mine cart tracks ran through the tunnel, some empty and other half full of jagged clumps of raw Dust. Father would have a heart attack if he ever caught a glimpse of the equipment's crudity.
"This must be where they get the raw Dust," Hazel stated.
"Where are the miners?" asked Weiss. "This Dust must be worth a fortune, and its practically untapped. There should be tons of White Fang laborers collecting Dust…"
"…unless they already have all they need," finished Ruby. "We need to move!"
Gretchen grabbed an empty cart. "Hop in."
"Too slow," said Ruby. "My semblance will be faster. Everybody, chain hands."
"You do realize that this is raw Dust, right? If we even caught a spark, we and all of Ore Lane will go up in flames." Weiss frowned. "And I seem to recall you have a proclivity for igniting raw Dust, Ruby."
"It won't matter, not with my semblance. Rooster Teeth kinda weirded it up, so we're starting from scratch here. I'm not actually running at super speed or breaking down my molecules into even smaller molecules. When I use my semblance, everything in the world but me slows down. I just run at very fast speed from my perspective, and you all see it as super mega fast since you're bad at being not slow."
"How will we keep up?"
"Oh, it's actually me and anything I'm touching, if I choose to include it. It's like a, I dunno, a time bubble extends around all of it based on what I choose. It's instinctively in my control. I just sort of know how to do it, even if I can't really explain why. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to keep my hood with me. Or my baby." Ruby hugged Crescent Rose to her chest. "Don't let go, and you'll be able to run with me."
Yang, Blake, and Weiss formed a chain on Ruby's left hand, while Hazel and Gretchen took her right. No sooner had everyone made a chain than Ruby took off like a cheetah. Oddly enough, her semblance didn't seem to have any effect. Nothing seemed to be any different than normWOAHOHOHOTOOFASTTOOFASTTOOFUCKINGFAST!
The walls blurred around her in a kaleidoscope of rainbow hues, zooming past her as she continued to jog at a normal pace. She didn't speed up her steps, but it was like the world was moving on its own in the opposite direction. Weiss tried to inhale, but the air felt thin, like she was at the top of Mount Tritos back in Atlas. Weirdly enough, her hair seemed to be floating behind her as though she were in water. She brushed it with free hand, and it went back down.
"II ffoorrggoott ttoo mmeennttiioonn," Ruby intoned."BBeeccaauussee ttiimmee sslloowwss ddoowwnn, pphhyyssiiccss ccaann ggeett aa lliittttllee wwoonnkkyy. GGrraavviittyy, aaiirrvviissccoossiittyy, ssoouunndd wwaavvee pprrooppaaggaattiioonn – aannyytthhiinngg tthhaatt hhaass aa ttiimmee ddeeppeennddeennccee cchhaannggeess. IItt ttaakkeess aa lliittttllee ggeettttiinngg uusseedd ttoo."
"HHooww aarree wwee ssttiillll rruunnnniinngg, tthheenn?"
"FFrriiccttiioonn oonnllyy ddeeppeennddss oonn nnoorrmmaall ffoorrccee,nnoott ttiimmee. MMyy lleeggss'rree iinnssiiddee tthhee ttiimmee bbuubbbbllee, ssoo tthhee ffoorrccee tthheeyy eexxeerrtt iiss uunncchhaannggeedd."
Weiss felt dizzy as the world tilted sideways. A moment later, she realized they were running vertically up the face of a cliff. Their speed was faster than gravity pulling them down. Rather, gravity was so slow that it didn't affect them compared to their legs pulling them upwards.
Logically, it made sense to her; one second inside of Ruby's time bubble was much larger than one seconds outside. Thus, constants like gravity which depended inversely on time were smaller for mass inside the bubble.
Logic aside, Weiss understood how Jaune Arc felt when he stepped aboard a bullhead.
Welp, now was a good a time as any. Actually, now was the worst time, but Weiss didn't want to delay any longer. This was going to be tough but finding out Blake was a terrorist made this a lot easier.
"Yaanngg!"
"WWhhaatt?"
"II ffoorrggiivvee yyoouu!"
"WWhhaatt? WWeeiissss, II ccaann bbaarreellyy hheeaarr yyoouu."
"II ffoorrggiivvee yyoouu ffoorr iiggnnoorriinngg mmyy ffeeeelliinnggss ffoorr BBllaakkee!"
Gretchen scowled. "SSeerriioouussllyy? TTaallkkiinngg aabboouutt yyoouurr ffeeeelliinnggss nnooww?"
"SShhuutt iitt, yyoouu. AAnndd, BBllaakkee, II tthhiinnkk yyoouu sshhoouulldd ffoorrggiivvee hheerr ttoo!"
"WWhhyy? WWeeiissss, sshhee–"
"II kknnooww. SShhee kkiisssseedd yyoouu wwiitthhoouutt aasskkiinngg. IItt'ss bbaadd, aanndd nnoo oonnee sshhoouulldd eevveerr ddoo tthhaatt, bbuutt wwee'vvee aallll mmaaddee mmiissttaakkeess! AAllll tthhrreeee ooff uuss. II wwaass bbiiggootteedd, YYaanngg kkiisssseedd BBllaakkee, aanndd BBllaakkee ccoommmmiitttteedd vvaarriioouuss ccrriimmeess aaggaaiinnsstt hhuummaanniittyy aass aa tteerrrroorriisstt. BBuutt wwee'rree aa tteeaamm, aanndd tteeaammss ffoorrggiivvee eeaacchh ootthheerr. IIff wwee ddoonn'tt mmoovvee ppaasstt tthhiiss, wwee hhaavvee nnoo cchhaannccee. BBuutt II bbeelliieevvee iinn uuss."
"TThhrreeeessoommee!"
"SShhuutt uupp, RRuubbyy! BBllaakkee. II lloovvee yyoouu. YYaanngg. II'mm wwiilllliinngg ttoo ccoommppeettee ffoorr BBllaakkee'ss aaffffeeccttiioonnss wwiitthh yyoouu, bbuutt iitt hhaass ttoo bbee hheerr cchhooiiccee iinn tthhee eenndd. YYoouu gguuyyss – wwee'rree mmoorree tthhaann jjuusstt tthhrreeee ggiirrllss. WWee'rree TTeeaamm RRaaiinnbbooww! WWhhaatt ddoo yyoouu ssaayy?"
The world snapped back to normal. "We're here." Weiss spat out a mouthful of petals and the six of them stumbled toward another elevator. I forgot about those darned flowers. Bleh.
Ruby smirked. "I think I figured out why you three were acting so weird after the ball. Now, you all gonna -snrk- kiss and make up?"
"Not cool!"
"Too soon, sis!"
"Umm…" Blake looked Yang dead in the eyes. "Yang. You and the others didn't hesitate to spring me when the Rainarts tried to arrest me. You trusted me, so I'll choose trust you. I…I think I can forgive you."
She held out her arms, and the two hugged.
"Weiss. After all this, I think I owe you a date."
"Nope."
Blake looked confused. "Don't you want–"
"I do. But I want to win your love, not be owed it. Give me a chance to woo you, and then decide if you like me. Or Yang, I guess, but hopefully me."
"I – okay. If that's how you both feel. But I won't string either of you along. I'll make a decision. That's a promise. One or the other or neither–"
"–or both–"
Weiss slapped a hand over her interrupting leader's mouth. "Shut up, Ruby. The Vytal Festival is in a few weeks. How about you choose by then?"
Blake smiled warmly at Weiss. "That sounds like just enough time."
Yang wrapped an arm around Blake's shoulder. "I should warn you, bad puns are back on the menu, and this does include romantic puns. I'll do anything to win this contest of puppy love – or should I say kitty love?"
They were in a mine, so Weiss felt it only fitting to give Yang and her stupid face a firsthand demonstration of how a pickaxe worked.
One question lingered for Yang.
"Hey, Rubik's Cube. Where'd you hear the word threesome?"
"Vice gubernatorial debate on V-Span. So, you and Blake?" Ruby's elbow nudged her ribs.
"Can it, Rhubarb."
Ruby froze up. "Not in front of the sheriffs! We had to literally flee the kingdom to find people who don't know my full name."
This elevator was a bit more spacious, so the unwelcome duo was on the other side, just out of hearing range for the newly mended Team Rainbow's conversations.
Yang smiled. "Then it seems we have an accord. No teasing me about Blake, no full name."
"Okay," pouted Ruby. "But I can tease Blake, right?"
Yang patted Ruby's head. "I'd be disappointed if you didn't."
"Hey! Yang, blackmail your sister to leave me alone."
"No can do. I've already spent my only blackmail material. No blackmail to spare for a blackcat."
"That's derogatory. Also, I just want to check – Ruby, you aren't secretly in love with me?"
Yang snickered. "One more teammate and Blake gets a free sundae at McShopkeep's."
"Nope." Ruby shook her head. "My momma may have raised a useless waste of space, but she didn't raise no furry."
Weiss cupped Ruby's cheek. "Oh, Ruby! You aren't a useless waste of space."
"Oh, not me. I was referring to Yang."
Weiss scratched her head. "But…doesn't that mean your mother did raise a furry?"
Blake rose. "That's it, I'm going to sit with the whoremongering sheriff. You're all racist."
Weiss scratched her head. "But…aren't you a whoremonger?"
"Not for my own personal use! I simply handled payment when the White Fang came here!"
"So, you did know they were operating in Mountain Glenn?"
Yang recognized her sister's tone. The fun and games were over. The team leader was speaking.
"Yes."
"I was wondering how you knew so much about Mountain Glenn despite not being a local. So, you didn't think to tell us?"
"No."
Ruby waited. She wasn't going to let Blake make her ask why.
Eventually, Blake caved. "I didn't tell you because how could I? Once you knew I was a Faunus, saying anything about Mountain Glenn would be as good as confessing I was a member."
"Blake, people's lives are at stake."
"I know. That's why I gave the police an anonymous tip."
"Tip?"
"I called a police hotline and told them about the White Fang. I didn't have any details about their plans, but I could provide them with the last known location of our – of their operatives."
Yang patted her shoulder. "It's okay. You're not one of them anymore."
"I grew up alongside these people. Yuma, Perry, Ilia – they were my family for so long. I sold them out so I could become a huntress at Beacon, and I now have blood on my hands to show for it." Realization flashed over Blake's face. "Beacon must have sent the huntsman teacher whose death we're investigating, and the White Fang killed him. If I'd stayed and tried to change them…"
"Then you'd be dead too."
The four looked over to Gretchen as she chewed on her tobacco. "I've heard about the Fang. If they're even afraid someone's going soft, police find the body the next day. But I guess I don't know everything – Beacon and Vale knew about the Fang, and they declined to tell me."
Hazel frowned. "The councils want this city to rot, and they're hoping it eats the White Fang with it."
"They're not bad people," Blake said. "At least most of them aren't. They're just misled. The man in charge them…he can't even be called a man, and not because he's a Faunus. He's a monster. He'd burn down the entire world if he thought a single human might choke on the smoke. I left because it was the right thing to do, but I can't say that I'm upset to get away from him personally. His name is–"
The elevator door opened.
Waiting for them at the ground floor was a small room. The six of them spread out across the empty space.
"Shit! Still no raw Dust! You're sure they were mining it here, Hazel?"
"Maybe our informant was–"
The door opened. A man walked in.
"B-Blake?" he asked, his voice weak.
Yang recognized him immediately. The red hair, the bull Faunus horns, the ornately carved Grimm mask, the black uniform and katana…there was no mistaking him. He even knew her teammate. Only a fool wouldn't be able to tell who this was.
This man was none other than a member of the White Fang.
Yang raised her fists. "Halt, evildoer! You're under–"
A bullet from Peppermint struck in between his eyes. The stranger's aura protected him from any harm, but his bone mask crumbled into shards, revealing a seriously hardcore tattoo.
Yang couldn't help but give him a whistle, if only for his dedication to the ink. "Dude, you must be really into the SDC if you go and tattoo their logo over your eye. That's pretty metal."
The man screamed in fury and raised his sword, but Gretchen kept shooting. "Taurus! It's fucking Adam Taurus! Girls, he's dangerous! No arrests anymore – we kill on sight!"
The Taurus guy retreated out the doors he came in from, whirling his sword like a marching band baton as he knocked bullets out of the air. Team Rainbow, the sheriff, and the deputy chased after him, only to find themselves surrounded by three heavy transports. Brightly colored Dust bombs were being loaded into them by a medium sized group of White Fang soldiers, probably no more than thirty in all.
"Move! Move now!" Taurus shouted, jumping into the driver's seat of a truck.
Scattered cries broke out from among the vehicles.
"Hunters!"
"It's the sheriff!"
"Get these trucks to the wall! Now!"
The wall. The breach. Weapons to defend the Faunus' lane. Everything fell into place.
They weren't going to blow up Platinum Lane. They were going to breach the wall and let Grimm pour into the city. The human side of Mountain Glenn was going to be paid back for everything they'd let Greengrocer Lane suffer through, a hundredfold.
"Yang!"
Oh shit, Ruby was saying something.
"What?"
"The trucks!"
"On it!"
All three trucks had split off in different directions. Ruby and Weiss, enhanced by Glyphs, were chasing after the furthest vehicle at unfathomable speeds. Yang and Blake made go after the other, but Gretchen stopped them.
"It's too dangerous for you kids go out alone. We're your guardian hunters, for better or for worse, and we're not letting you die. Hazel, take Blake. Yang 'n' I'll go after Taurus."
"No! You can't! He's–"
It was too late to catch whatever Blake was saying. Gretchen's gun had shot some sort of grappling hook that snagged the truck. She grabbed Yang, and the two were pulled onto the back of the moving vehicle.
The back of the truck was open, so the pair was able to land inside. Between them and the bomb was about five White Fang grunts. Easy as pie. Yang dodged the clumsy stab of the closest one as she backhanded another. A quick kick to the knee broke the first guy's leg, disabling him for the fight. These kinds of hits would only scratch a hunter, but against normies with no aura, they were enough for a knockout. Honestly, the hardest part was not overdoing it and seriously hurting someone.
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
The remaining three grunts fell to the ground, dead.
Yang stared dumbfounded at her temporary partner, but Gretchen shrugged. "You've got fists. I've got a gun."
It didn't seem right. Even if the White Fang was trying to kill them, their simple weapons and weak attacks were about as threatening as papercuts. Taking a life was not something to be done out of convenience or to speed up a mission – it was only meant to be when your life was in peril, or when the opponent was too dangerous to be brought in alive.
For now, though, Yang let it go. They needed to focus on the bomb.
"Can you disarm it?"
"No. Can you?"
Shit. The truck was still driving to wherever they'd decided its final destination to be, most likely a weak point in the wall. There was no telling how far that was, and every second they spent was another hundred feet closer to the spot.
The door from the front of the truck to the back slid open. Gretchen raised her gun, but a bright red katana carved it in half. Crap, it was that Taurus guy. Yang peeled her attention from the bomb and threw a punch at the guy. As he blocked the hit with his sword, the blade began to grow red. It didn't matter. If this was some kind of attack or semblance or something, Yang would just take the hit and give it right back to him with her own. She kept throwing her fists at the guy, hoping to tire him out and maybe dish out a little damage before he countered, but he kept blocking with his sword. The bright glow was joined by a faint but steadily growing hum.
When the hum reached its zenith, Taurus raised his sword upwards, clearly intending to swing it down at Yang. Yang fired Ember Celica and used the momentum to fly backwards, but he swung down anyways.
Not at Yang, though. At Gretchen.
A roaring swath of light arced through the air. Gretchen had managed to get some distance between her and Taurus by that point, and she raised both arms and flared her aura to her front to block the attack. Electricity crackled as it connected with the Sheriff, and the destructive force of the attack tore open the roof of the truck. No wonder Blake had been wary of this guy; with a semblance that powerful, he would've cut right through juvenile huntresses.
It wasn't over yet. Gretchen was still standing. Down a weapon, sure, but standing nonetheless. And they didn't need to beat Adam. Their objective was to save this city. Anything else was just the gravy on the ice cream.
"I'll hold him off," Yang called to the sheriff. "Focus on the bomb. See if you can remove the Dust." She turned to Adam. "Alright, big boy. You got some moves. Let's see if you can tango with the Yango. I can go all night Xiao-Long."
Gretchen's leaned forward slightly. Then, both of her hands fell off of her arms to the floor. Then, the right half and the left half of her body slid in opposite directions.
Yang recoiled in terror at the gruesome and unexpected death of the Sheriff. With one attack, one single swipe of his sword that Gretchen – a professionally trained huntress – had blocked at full aura, this guy sliced both her fists off and cut her in two.
Taurus smiled. "You mess with the bull, you get the horns, Yang. Still care to dance?"
Yang screamed and fired Dust round after Dust round at the man, but he deflected all of them with his sword. The glow and hum returned, and this time Taurus' hair began to shine as well. He raised his sword for a horizontal swing.
The truck was still driving, so they weren't at the wall yet. Yang would only get one shot at this.
If she failed, she died.
If she succeeded, she died. But hey, so did Adam.
Taurus launched his attack at where she'd just been standing, straight at the Dust bomb. Yang jumped upwards, her movement enhanced by two downward shots from her gauntlets. Taurus' eyes widened.
Even if the bomb went off here and destroyed some buildings, it was far better than letting waves of Grimm into the city. Besides, the roads they were on were pretty much empty this late at night.
At the last second, the kerchief Yang tied around her left boot snagged a screw on the bomb and went taught. The cloth ripped off, but it was too late. Her momentum was gone, and gravity took back its hold on her. Yang lost her balance and tumbled straight into the burning red bolt.
Taurus smirked as she howled in agony, but her aura miraculously held. It didn't matter, though. She would never win against this guy, and he wasn't going to fall for the same trick twice. Suddenly, Yang's hair burned a brilliant yellowish-orange, and she felt power surge throughout her body. Her semblance came to life, and fire consumed her.
Unfortunately, so did dizziness. She could barely keep herself standing, both from the attack and the violent wave of energy that she suddenly felt. It was unlike anything she'd ever felt before – no primary combat school student could dish out that kind of damage to Yang – but that meant she was unaccustomed to the level of heat and exhaustion it brought.
Unconsciousness was about to claim her, but before it did, she made one final choice. Instead of falling forwards, she fell backwards. With her last movement, she slammed the back of her head into the glass, exposing the raw Dust to her fiery locks of hair.
Her eyes closed as the sound of crackling Dust intensified. Someone grabbed her head and pulled, but her hair was now tangled inside the bomb's inner mechanisms. The yanking pinched her head, and she winced audibly.
A whoosh of air breeze past her face, and her head suddenly felt lighter. She weakly pried her eyes open to see Taurus sheathing his katana. The bull Faunus wrapped his arms around her and lifted her away from the now sparking Dust bomb. A glance downward revealed that her flaming hair was still inside the Dust, even if she wasn't.
He…cut my hair?
Taurus vaulted out of the back of the truck with Yang in his arms, and not a moment too soon. The vehicle, still driving on the deserted street, exploded with a thunderous noise. Smoke erupted from the wreck, and shrapnel rained down onto the street. Some people came out of the nearby buildings to see what had happened, but Yang wasn't focused on them.
"Whatever inane reasoning you people use to justify throwing your lives away in every conflict we have, I shall never know."
"W-Why?" she wheezed.
"The sheriff, I had to get rid of." Taurus placed her on the ground and stood. "If it were up to me, you'd have perished in that blast alongside her remains, human. But she says that Team Rainbow mustn't die yet, and I cannot simply say no to her. Goodbye, Yang Xiao-Long."
An explosion rang in the distance. Blake looked up and saw that it was nowhere near the wall. That was good. Well, not good that a bomb had gone off, but good that the devastation wasn't going to be compounded by a Grimm incursion. Blake shuddered at the thought. The White Fang had truly fallen low if they thought that this was the way. Humans would die, and for what? How would the Faunus gain anything? Adam was beyond salvation.
The White Fang were swarming them. Apparently, Adam had felt that he could handle his truck with a skeleton crew and had sent the majority of his forces to defend the other payloads. Blake and Hazel had followed the truck to the wall and dispatched the White Fang grunts that were carrying the bomb, but the rest of their army was trying to reclaim the Dust.
Hazel was a wrecking ball. Blake understood just how he and his sister were able to command so much respect in the Mistral Triangle. Four Dust crystals were protruding from his arms, the giant apparently immune to the pain they must have brought as blood dripped down from his biceps. The White Fang fell like flies as Hazel steamrolled through their forces. Blake held back and stayed closer to the bomb, intent on stopping anyone trying to get too close and steal back the weapon while the deputy cleared out the grunts.
A loud thud came from Blake's left. A paladin, the Atlesian mechanical war armor, dashed towards her. The White Fang must have been saving a few of them and diverted the robots to the fight when Team Rainbow interrupted them.
Blake loaded Gambol Shroud with some armor piercing rounds she'd been saving and aimed the barrel of it at the glass window where the Faunus inside piloted it. She didn't recognize the woman through her mask, but she could see enough of her face. Orange hair fell down to her neck, and deer antlers stuck out of her head. This was a Faunus. A person. Someone who had hopes and dreams of equality and probably joined the White Fang to see those realized. Could Blake pull the trigger and snuff out her light? Could she really kill someone just for the crime of being idealistic and thinking that this was the right way forward?
Apparently, she could.
Blake didn't even feel her hand pull the trigger, and Gambol slipped out of her grasp as she jumped back in surprise at her own actions. The glass shattered as a hailstorm of bullets ripped a hole in the woman's chest. The robot collapsed and slumped to the floor, sparking against the ground as it slid towards Blake.
Blake bolted to the woman and pulled her out of the robot. Removing her jacket and pressing it against the woman's bleeding wounds, Blake tried her best to stop the flow of blood. The woman took off her mask and stared into Blake's eyes as the lifeblood drained out of her. Recognition flooded her face as she saw Blake's second set of ears.
"T-T-T…"
"What is it?"
"T-Traitor. You-You killed me."
"I'm so sorry! You wouldn't stop!"
"You're one of us and you killed me!"
"I didn't mean to! You were going to kill me!"
The deer Faunus had no response. Her eyes were empty. She'd never have a response again.
Hazel's roar broke Blake out of her stupor. He'd stuck three new Dust crystals into his arms, increasing the total count to seven. Was there a limit to what this monster could take?
The White Fang grunts were falling back, but the moment of tranquility was broken when eight more paladins rounded a corner and marched in formation on the two of them. Blake dove for cover behind the downed paladin, but Hazel ran towards the bomb.
"Hazel!"
The giant nodded at her imperceptibly. "Go."
"I'm not leaving you!"
"I can't let those robots walk out of here. If we stop the breach, they'll turn them on the people as a last ditch attempt to strike at the humans in the city."
Blake began to cry from behind her cover. She couldn't help herself. This was all going wrong. She was supposed to come to Beacon, make things better for the Faunus, and never have to deal with the White Fang again. Why did Adam have to do this?
Hazel lifted the bomb into the air and smashed it down. Raw, unstable Dust poured out onto the floor, but Hazel scooped up the fragments and slammed them into his arm. He winced in pain as they pierced his skin but stood firm. Red and blue veins pulsed across his body. The Dust fragments were smaller than those Hazel normally carried, but there were far more of them.
Hazel pounded his fists together and streaked forward. The paladins didn't stand a snowball's chance in Vacuo. Fire erupted from the deputy's mouth in place of breath as he tore them apart. All the while, those unnatural colored veins spread out further along his skin.
Hazel clapped his hands together and produced an enormous sphere of solid rock as he pulled them apart. The ball blasted down into one of the robots. Whoever the pilot was, they must've been crushed into a paste instantly. Another paladin tried to shoot Hazel while his back was turned, but Blake broke out from her hiding spot threw Gambol Shroud's ribbon and sickle over its head. The sickle caught one of the guns, and Blake yanked herself towards the mech. When she landed atop the paladin, she switched it back into sword form and stabbed through the glass at the pilot. There was no hesitation this time, but she didn't feel the telltale shame of ending a life that normally came with such action.
I'm getting far too comfortable with killing.
Hazel karate-chopped the last robot's arm with an open hand and kicked it with all his might. The machine powered down as the pilot clambered out and ran off. Blake tagged him, just to be sure. So many people were dead, and she refused to risk letting it all be for nothing.
The battle was over, and they had won.
The deputy fell to one knee and clutched at his chest. Blake ran over to assist him, but he flopped to the floor. The colorful veins under his skin were now retracting back. The Dust crystals sticking out of him were gray and empty.
"Hazel! Hazel, no!"
"It was too much. I've never used raw before, nor anything in such great volumes."
"Your semblance…"
"It numbs pain, not damage. There's nothing you can do, girl."
"I should've helped! I should have–"
"It's okay."
"It's not okay! I – I helped them steal the Dust! When I was still with them!" Blake sobbed into her hands. "I lied about it before, but this is all my fault."
"Why help them, if only to turn on them?"
"I didn't want to help them steal, but Adam ordered me to. I didn't want to kill anyone either. I didn't want any of this."
"But you came back. You took responsibility for your mistake and came here to fix it. Perhaps you waited, but you came here nonetheless and faced your fears. If there's one thing I know in this life, it's that everyone deserves a second chance."
"It's all my fault. I helped them for so long…"
"Truly, child? Does the White Fang rely so heavily on one teenage girl that its plans would've fallen apart without your aid? You made a mistake, and you did your best to fix it. Gretchen was wrong about you."
Hazel's eyes closed, and his head fell back.
"Hazel? Sir? HAZEL?!"
Blake checked his pulse but couldn't find it.
Another death. All I bring is death. If I hadn't hidden who I was and what I knew for so long, this might not have happened. This is my fault as much as it is Adam's.
I killed Hazel.
No.
No more.
Blake refused to accept another death on her soul. Grabbing the colorless Dust crystals and pulling them out of Hazel's lifeless body, she placed both her hands above his heart and pressed down rhythmically in an attempt to resuscitate him.
C'mon, big guy. Don't you leave me here.
Blake pressed her lips against Hazel's and blew into his mouth. His chest rose and fell, but he did not wake up.
No more death.
Blake kept alternating the chest compressions with artificial breathing. She wasn't giving up. She'd either revive the deputy or collapse from exhaustion trying.
Please, no more Ilia's. Please.
After the third round of chest compressions failed to bring him back, Blake noticed a raw chunk of Lightning Dust that still had its color rolling around of the floor. She had no idea if it was going to work, but Hazel was already dead. If there was even a chance…
Drawing the crystal into her hands, she stabbed it down directly into his chest. Hazel's body convulsed as small arcs of yellow lightning flickered. It burned, but Blake ignored the pain and held the crystal in place.
C'mon, Hazel. C'mon…
When the yellow sparks faded, Blake pressed two fingers against Hazel's throat and felt for a pulse.
Nothing.
Armed men and women descended upon the scene, but none bore the trademark masks or insignias of the White Fang. Blake wept over Hazel's empty corpse as the hunters of Mountain Glenn finally arrived.
Ruby didn't have time to worry about the explosion going off behind her as she and Weiss chased after their truck. The vehicle had a significant head start on the two of them, and they'd followed it all the way to the wall where a large group of White Fang soldiers were waiting. The driver of the vehicle and one other very large grunt were carrying the bomb up to the catwalk to the top of the wall, and Weiss and Ruby were knocking through wave after wave of terrorist as they pursued the pair.
Ruby shot Crescent Rose behind her and body slammed through a line of enemies as they fired their machine guns at her wildly. She'd taken the front while Weiss covered their rear. Ruby was vaguely aware of ice projectiles whizzing past her and Glyphs being summoned left and right, but she trusted Weiss to have her back without needing any help.
A brief opening appeared, and Ruby lined up a shot at the driver. Her baby took that baddie straight down to Mistral town, and the side of the bomb he was carrying dropped. Ruby had hoped that the big guy carrying the other half would lose his grip, but to her great surprise, he hoisted the bomb above his head with both arms and continued to trudge up the stairs. Dust, he must've been strong.
They were almost at the top now. The fiendish fiends must have been planning to detonate it at the top to let in flying Grimm like Nevermores and Griffons. It didn't matter, though. Ruby had the brute in her crosshairs, and she'd stop him.
Ruby swept her scythe under the feet of the last remaining grunt in front of her. Weiss stepped forward alongside her. The two shared a nod and cautiously approached the bomb-carrying bad guy. The Faunus was taller than her by a large margin. She probably would have been intimidated by him if she hadn't spent the past few days with the even bigger Hazel. He unclipped a weapon of some sort from his belt. Ruby couldn't tell exactly what it was until he flipped a switch, and the chainsaw whirred to life.
"Finally, I get to kill a Schnee."
Weiss frowned. "What have I ever done to you?"
"You humans killed my family."
"I've never killed anyone."
He pointed the chainsaw toward her and grinned. "I have," he muttered ominously.
Weiss switched Schachmatt to boomerang form and hurled it at their foe. As he swatted it out of the air, Ruby sped towards him and fell to the ground at the last minute. She slid between his legs and raised Crescent Rose behind her. The scythe end caught him right between his legs and cut his uniform, but Ruby saw that his skin was protected by aura. Ugh, this was supposed to be an easy fight. This was supposed to be an easy mission!
Weiss summoned Glyphs all around the White Fang goon, each taking the shape of a ticking clock. As her boomerang returned to her, she switched it back to a pickaxe and zoomed forward. Ruby had to activate her own semblance just to keep up with the flurry of blows that rained down upon the enemy. Weiss' weapon was scoring hit after hit against his aura, and he was wildly swinging his chainsaw as the heiress dodged every blow.
Every blow except the last.
The man dropped his chainsaw entirely and wrapped a meaty fist around Weiss' neck before thrashing her with the other. He was strong, she'd give him that, but his aura had to be low. Ruby lined up Crescent Rose to finish it off, but he threw Weiss' semi-conscious body at Ruby. She impulsively dropped her baby to catch the other, bigger baby, but Weiss was heavier than she'd expected (er, no offense). Ruby stumbled backwards with the heiress in her arms and felt her butt hit the railing behind her. She steadied herself against the support, but Weiss decided that now of all times was a great moment to wake up. Her suddenly flailing arms and legs offset Ruby's careful balance, and the two tumbled over the edge of the catwalk. Ruby grabbed the ledge with one hand and Weiss' ponytail with her other.
"OW OW OW! Let go!"
"Really?"
Weiss looked down to the multi-story drop beneath them. Her aura might protect her, but neither of them had had a chance to check their scrolls and didn't want to risk it.
"Don't let go!"
"Hold still. I'm going to try to swing you up! Can you cast a Glyph to help?"
"I–"
"Well, looky here. Seems like the little humans are all out of options." The White Fang lieutenant brandished his chainsaw dangerously, swinging it down at the railing to rain sparks down on Ruby and Weiss.
"Why do this?" asked Ruby. "There are innocent people in Mountain Glenn."
"My husband and our son died when Gravel Lane fell to the Grimm."
"So you'll do the same to others? To innocents?"
"Tell me, little huntress. Did these innocents let the dirty Faunus into their private hospitals when my boy was bleeding to death after a Creep bit off his leg? Did they send in hunters to stem the flow of Grimm? Did they share their precious money so we could rebuild our homes? Did they even lift a damn finger as they watched us starve in the cold for weeks? Never. Not one human from Platinum Lane sent aid. As far as they were concerned, the fewer Faunus in Remnant, the better."
"I guess you're right."
"I know I am."
"They didn't do anything, and they're horrible people for that. But there are children in that city who have nothing to do with that. Who's going to save them when they're legs are bitten off or they starve?"
The White Fang lieutenant regarded them for a moment before taking off his mask. To Ruby's surprise, he had a completely ordinary face. She hadn't been expecting to see a Grimm with glowing red orbs and bloodstained teeth or something else crazy underneath, but she'd always pictured the White Fang to be gross, scowling terrorists with cold, dead eyes. This Faunus was just a man with a weary look across his face.
"There's no other way forward. Faunus die every day we wait. When the human kingdoms see that the Faunus can give them a taste of their own medicine, they'll fear us."
Weiss spoke up, still dangling from her ponytail. "The more they fear you, the less they'll understand you. They'll only grow to hate you more."
"Do you think your family would want this?" asked Ruby.
"No. They would be disappointed in me for what I've done. And they'd despise me for what I'm about to do."
Ruby braced herself. "No! Please! Don't!"
The man walked over to the opening in the wall that was used by hunters to shoot the Grimm from a distance. Picking up the Dust bomb, he activated the timer and threw it out the thin hole.
"NO!"
The White Fang soldier returned to Weiss and Ruby with his chainsaw in hand.
"I'm damned, and so is this city. It's too late to change that."
Instead of attacking them with his weapon, though, he threw it to floor beside him. Crouching down, he grabbed hold of Ruby's hood and heaved her up to the catwalk.
"But you two weren't a part of that. There's no need for you to die."
Weiss slapped him across the face and slammed her tiny fists against his chest. He offered no resistance. Why would he? There was no way they could stop the bomb from up here. It was over.
"You didn't have to do that!" wailed Weiss.
"Our spies confirmed that the council of Vale has planned to cut off Dust and food shipments from this city within the month. Mountain Glenn is already dead. It's been dead for a while. At least this way, it might mean something."
"NO NO NO!"
Weiss collapsed to the floor and beat her hands against the ground in frustration. Ruby walked to the gap and peered out. The sheer height of the drop brough back memories of the CCT and a feeling of vertigo.
It's too small to crawl through. Even if I could, there's nothing on the other side to climb down with. I'd fall straight to the bottom. It really is over.
She looked back at the city behind her. The Mistral Triangle was a den of sin and vice. Platinum Lane epitomized human racism. Greengrocer Lane was nothing more than a slum. Their Sheriff was corrupt, the deputy didn't want to be here, and Vale would be glad to see it wiped off the face of the planet.
Would saving the city accomplish anything?
Was this city even worth saving?
Yes. Yes, it was. As long as there were people who lived within, she'd protect them to her last breath.
"Cut it wider."
The Faunus looked at her in confusion.
"Use your chainsaw to cut the opening wider. I'm going down."
"It's too late."
"I refuse to believe that. If you wish for this city to fall, so be it. But I'm a huntress. My place is down there, fighting the Grimm."
Weiss shook her head. "Ruby, you'll die."
"I know. But that's my choice. Sir, nothing I do can bring back your loved ones. The Grimm may have killed them, but it was the hunters of Mountain Glenn that left them to die. Allow me to atone for their sins and show you that there are still some hunters who care. When I go down there to stop the Grimm, know that I'll be fighting to protect human and Faunus alike."
"Faunus?"
"The Sheriff's department and the hunter barracks have already secured the paladins and weaponized Dust that you were planning to use to defend Greengrocer Lane. If you let the Grimm in, there will be no one to protect them."
"Why the fuck didn't you lead with that?" He picked up his chainsaw and stepped towards the wall. "If we hurry, we might still–"
Out of nowhere, a red beam of energy collided with the White Fang lieutenant. Ruby looked down to see a widening patch of blood spread across his uniform.
"All traitors are fated to die traitors' deaths."
A bull Faunus stood on the steps of the catwalk, glaring angrily at the two huntresses and his former companion. He flourished his katana.
"I can't let you stop that bomb."
The dying Faunus thrust his chainsaw into Ruby's hands. "T-Take it. Go. Please."
Ruby grabbed the tool and began tearing a hole into the wall as Weiss engaged the bull Faunus. The chainsaw cut through the metal like a hot Ruby through cookies. Ruby shuddered to think how she'd nearly been diced by it just moments earlier during their fight. When she finished widening the opening, she kicked the cut chunk wall forward. It tumbled to the Grimm wastelands below. Ruby leaned forward to look for the bomb and immediately regretted it. Fear flooded over her as she time rewound to that night at the CCT.
Too high. Too high!
Her breathing increased in speed, and she began to panic.
The White Fang lieutenant's hand grabbed arm. "G-Godspeed, huntress. Thank you -cough- for saving me."
She looked down to meet his eyes, but he was already gone. The grip went limp.
Ruby flung herself out the opening.
C'mon, prom night powers. Don't fail me now, whatever you are.
Ruby spread her arms out and let her instincts take over, just as she had when she'd escaped from the CCT. This fall was much shorter, meaning less damage from screwing it up, but also less time to do, uhhhh…whatever she was going to do.
The wind around her suddenly felt familiar, almost natural. She flapped furiously and slowed her descent. Both of her feet touched down onto the ground.
Just then, the bomb went off.
Ruby ducked her beak into the dirt as the shockwave passed over her. When the smoke cleared, she looked over to see a gaping hole in the wall. It must have been at least fifty feet across and one hundred feet tall. Chunks of rubble continued to fall down, and a crater had been formed in the ground.
A solitary Beowolf was the first to show up in response to the deafening noise. It approached the opening to the city and curiously sniffed the air. Ruby tried to reach her wing for Crescent Rose, but it was too far away. Fortunately, the Beowolf seemed to ignore her as it slunk towards Mountain Glenn. Without warning, it howled wildly.
Out of the wasteland came the heads of all manner of Grimm. In slithered King Taijitu while Nevermores flew overhead. Beowolves, Creeps, Deathstalkers, even those elephants from before – there were so many!
Oddly enough, not one of them attacked Ruby as they came closer and closer to the city walls. They simply passed by her.
The first Beowolf reached a paw into the hole, perhaps expecting it to be lopped off by a huntsman's sword or shot to ribbons by a huntress' gun. When nothing of the sort happened, chaos broke loose. Grimm flooded the city in an uncontrollable stampede. It was like watching cars pile up on a highway. The Grimm at the front couldn't move fast enough for those behind them, and they were crushed beneath the weight of the swarming horde as it plowed onward. A mound of dead Grimm slowly began to pile up as the monsters mindlessly ran into the city, climbing over their fallen brethren in their haste to get in and ravage the terrified people they'd been separated from for decades.
This was her opportunity. She focused her mind, and the world around Ruby Rose shifted back to normal. She closed her eyes.
Humans. Faunus. Life in its infinite beauty. Hope for a better future.
Silver eyes opened, and a writhing mass of Grimm turned into a stone barricade that prevented any more from getting into the city.
The Breach was sealed as quickly as it had been created.
End of Volume 2
Omake
Ruby: *dives between White Fang lieutenant's legs and cuts his uniform*
White Fang Lieutenant: Joke's on you, I have aura.
Weiss: She wasn't aiming for your aura.
White Fang Lieutenant: *pants fall down*
Ruby: *throws Zwei* Get the sausage, boy!
Omake 2
Ruby: Hey, Mr. White Fang Lieutenant. Do you have a name?
Mr. White Fang Lieutenant: Sure. It's–
Adam: *kills him*
Mr. White Fang Lieutenant: W-Why? I swear I wasn't going to say Banesaw.
Adam: I couldn't take that risk.
Author's Notes
Cats in order of appearance:
RIP Gertrude. You will be missed, mostly by the whores.
RIP Whines Schnapps. You had a chance to end this love triangle hell, and you passed it up. Bitch.
RIP YMCA (Yangman!). Her hair was her only redeeming feature. Honestly, I'd rather she lost her arm to Adam than her hair.
RIP Addendum. He was a c̶o̶w̶b̶o̶y̶ cowman, but where were his udders? WTF SMH
RIP Blakery Bellorama. CPR is only meant to keep people alive until real medics can get there. Do better.
RIP Hasty. You were too tall for this world.
RIP Deery Departed. You actually showed up, so that's better than Ilia I guess. Does before hoes.
RIP Rudy Roads. She birb too hard.
RIP Seesaw. This White Fang bro was also pretty tall.
Up next is another inter-volume short (like the Oobleck chapter), this one for Volume 2. Then, we're off to the races with the XXth annual Vytal Festival. Woohoo!
I guess some explanations are in order:
We're out of Mountain Glenn, with just our souvenirs, our memories, and our PTSD. The aftermath will be explained, but the next time we see Team RWBY, they will be back in Beacon, reminiscing on their wonderful vacation and all the dead people they watched die.
I suppose this technically explains how Ruby survived falling from the CCT, though I imagine it only opens up more questions than it closes (how, why, why does she not know, when, who, and so on and so forth). All be revealed in due time. For now, level up!
Yang is now short haired.
The worst part is, Ruby's semblance-speak was supposed to have a space between every character, but it didn't work on FF net. It worked on AO3, but not here, so to get my original vision of the story, go there. My wordcount significantly dropped because of this failure