Of Gemstones and Watches- it's just like RWBBYverse, but with more Gemstones and Watches.
Anyways, here's your chapter. Here's the Discord: /cgFmXz3qJ5
The Outcasts were getting ready for the fight, but they had no idea what was coming for them. As they made their way through the train, they encountered various groups of soldiers and androids who were trying to stop them from reaching the engine.
Suddenly, the train began to slow down, and the Outcasts felt a jolt as the brakes were applied. The soldiers and androids seemed to become more aggressive, knowing that this was their chance to stop the Outcasts once and for all.
"What the hell is going on?" Ben, as Shocksquatch, shouted as he punched an android in the face with extra electrical charge.
"They must be trying to delay us," Rex said as he swung his Smack Hands at a group of soldiers.
"We need to get to the engine and stop this train!" Blake said as she fired her Gambol Shroud at an android's arm, severing it from its body.
Two soldiers were fighting Yang, taking swings at her with their standard issue swords. The brawler wasn't even throwing any punches at the two, just bobbing and weaving through their flurry of slashes. She smirked as she saw their frustration grow. They were falling right into her trap. She ducked under the next blade, and then the duo decided to act as one. They brought down both of their blades on Yang's head.
Instead, their collapsible swords were caught by Yang's bare hands, surprising the duo. They looked to each other before the blonde yanked the blades from their grips and tossed them aside. Her hair flashed with flame for a brief moment before she threw two punches at the duo, sending both of them flying with an extra kick of a shotgun blast. The two crashed into a collection of boxes that clattered over, after it took who knows how long to stack them. They seemed pretty heavy too, since they were full of fresh ammo clips.
Weiss was blocking incoming fire from another squad of reprogrammed androids using a black Glyph. She looked to the metal wall and wondered. If this worked, it opened up a whole new array of heavy hitting moves. While maintaining the shield, she pointed her rapier's blade over to the leftmost wall behind the squad.
A second Glyph appeared, the usual "spokes'' in the snowflake replaced with giant feathers. An icy, glowing white wing emerged from the Glyph and stretched outwards. With a smirk, Weiss moved the Glyph forward along the wall and watched as the summoned Nevermore wing perfectly bisected the androids like an airborne saw blade.
Ceres ducked under an android's arm-blade swing and grabbed at some of its plating. Flames seeped out from between her fingers as she burned a hole through the armor to expose some of the internal wiring. The android looked down at Ceres and, if the visor could emote, it would have a look of pure fear.
The Archimedian smirked as she reared back her fist and punched right through the android's middle. The top half crumpled over, twitching as she wrecked some of the internal components. Instead of her ripping her fist out, she opened fire with her own gauntlets. Each shot blasted through another android, leaving behind nothing but wreckage.
Ruby raced over Ceres and her makeshift shield in a storm of rose petals. Androids took aim at her with rifles, but none of their shots connected with the core of the storm. Each AK fell in a similar fashion, one slash cut the barrel of their rifle in half before a second cut through them, all aimed at different places. One android lost its head, another lost its legs, one was fully cut in half and so on. As Ruby kept cutting the machines down, some of the remaining human soldiers fired while moving back.
Like the red cloaked reaper would let that happen! She raced over to try and stop them, but then she saw one of the orange-clad soldiers stop and smirk.
"Suck it, Red!" he shouted, before pressing a button. Massive metal security doors slid from the sides of the train walls and slammed shut, forcing Ruby to come to a screeching halt. She almost slammed into the door face-first, flailing her arms in the air as she struggled to keep herself from falling forward. She managed to fall back and righted herself.
"Really, guys?" Ruby scoffed. She readied to Crescent Rose, the scythe blade shifting into its energy blade mode. She reared back for the next strike, but right as the blade touched the metal an electric field covered the metal. The current traveled up the weapon and into Ruby herself, causing a shower of sparks that knocked her back.
"RUBY!" Ben yelled, racing over to check on her with Yang close behind. Ruby's Aura flickered for a minute, red energy coating her body and flashing for a few moments. Yellow bolts of lightning darted over her form as she groaned.
"Rubes!" Yang called out, "You ok?!"
"Most...ly?" Ruby coughed, "Was not...expecting...that."
Ben helped Ruby to her feet, while Yang stood guard against any potential attacks from the other side of the doors. "What do we do now?" Ben asked, looking around at their surroundings.
"We need to find a way to open these doors," Yang replied, her eyes scanning the walls for any clues or buttons.
Weiss approached the doors and examined them closely. "It looks like there's some kind of locking mechanism here," she said, pointing to a small panel next to the doors. "But it's heavily encrypted."
"Can you do it?" Ben asked, looking at Ceres with a hopeful expression.
Ceres nodded. "I can certainly try. But it won't be easy."
Ceres walked over to the panel and leaned in close. "Let me take a look at it," she said, examining the panel with a critical eye. "Should be able to get past their codes…"
Weiss stepped aside and let Ceres take over. The Archimedian pulled out a small device from her pocket and plugged it into the panel. A series of beeps and whirrs filled the air as the device worked its magic.
After a few minutes, Ceres pulled the device out and stepped back. "There," she said, gesturing to the panel. "Encryption's down and the doors should be good."
Yang approached the doors and pressed a button on the panel. With a hiss of air, the doors slowly slid open, revealing a dimly lit hallway beyond.
"...where'd they go?" Yang asked, looking into the darkness. At first, she didn't see any signs of movement, but then she noticed something. A small, little red dot was hovering firmly over Ruby's heart. Then she noticed one crawling up Ben's arm and even one crawling up her leg before it settled over chest as well. Her eyes widened as she quickly grabbed Ruby and Ben, before she pulled them with her as she leapt out of the way of a trio of blue energy blasts.
The lights turned on in sequence in the dimly lit car, quickly revealing the shooter. It was a hulking mech, bulky in appearance complete with an almost insectoid "helmet" acting as a faceplate. Where the emblem of Atlas was once proudly emblazoned on the arms of the mech, a massive orange "X" had been spray-painted over the emblem on one arm and what seemed to be a figure, a boatman almost, but his oar was replaced with a familiar looking spear, on the other in green paint.
"This is Charon-1," the pilot of the mech radioed in, "I've engaged the targets."
"Give 'em hell, Charon-1," the traitorous lieutenant radioed back from the safety of the engine.
Yang quickly assessed the situation and knew they needed a plan. "We need to take out that mech," she said, looking at her team.
"I can distract it," Ben offered. He activated the Omnitrix, and dialed up Feedback. He slapped down the Omnitrix and started to transform. His black body became adorned with green and white stripes, and a single green eye appeared in the middle of his head. Two antennae sprouted from the top of his head, and his tail grew longer, with round plugs on the tips. His four-fingered hands and feet transformed, with his feet now having only two front toes. In a matter of seconds, Ben had transformed into Feedback.
Yang nodded. "There we go. Alright, guys- hit em with everything!"
Yang, Ruby, and Ceres all began firing their weapons at the mech, while Ben as Feedback ran circles around it, dodging its attacks and delivering electric shocks with his antennae. The mech fired back with its own energy blasts, but the team was quick and agile, and they were able to evade most of them.
Kylie aimed her pistol at the mech's exposed joints and fired, causing small explosions that rattled the mech's armor. Meanwhile, Rex charged forward with his metal gauntlets and delivered a powerful punch to one of the mech's legs, causing it to buckle.
Blake, meanwhile, used her Gambol Shroud to swing around the mech, dodging its attacks and striking it from different angles. She slashed at its armor with her blade, leaving deep gashes in its metal skin.
"Damn kids..." One of the pilot muttered. "Screw it." He began flipping some switches. The mech's cannon weapon started to charge up. "I'm going for the nuclear option..."
As the mech charged up its energy beam, the air crackled with electricity, and the ground shook beneath its feet. The hum grew louder, and the bright blue beam shot out from the mech's weapon, leaving a trail of sparks and smoke in its wake. The Outcasts scrambled for cover, but Ben stood his ground.
With his plug hands held out, Ben absorbed the energy beam, feeling its power surge through him. His body crackled with electricity, and his eyes glowed a bright green as he channeled the energy into a powerful blast. The blast shot out from his hands, hurtling towards the mech with incredible speed.
As the blast hit its mark, the mech staggered back, smoke pouring from its damaged form. The impact had left a large crater in its metal skin, revealing the inner workings of the machine. The hum of its systems died down, and the mech fell silent, its weapons and systems disabled. The cockpit opened up, and the pilot stumbled out, dazed but unharmed.
The Outcasts quickly surrounded the pilot, their weapons trained on him. Yang stepped forward and ripped off the pilot's helmet, revealing their face.
She was an adult woman of Iranian descent, with striking features that spoke of her heritage. Her prominent cheekbones and narrow chin were softened by full, prominent lips that hinted at a hint of a smile, even in this dire situation. Her short, sleek black hair was swept back, giving her an air of confidence. She wore a black and orange Atlas uniform that was now torn and singed from the battle.
She looked around, her gaze taking in the damage to the mech and the surrounding area. Her eyes then settled on the Outcasts.
"Talk." Rex said, demanding answers.
"Who are you? And how much did they pay you?" Ben asked.
"I'm not telling you anything," She spat out. "I was hired to do a job, that's all you need to know."
Kylie scoffed. "Wow. That's helpful."
Yang stepped forward, a determined look on her face. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. You can tell us everything you know, or we can make you talk."
The pilot glared at Yang, but remained silent.
"...can we at least get your name?" Ruby asked.
The woman hesitated for a moment, then sighed. "My name is Yaz," she said. "There. I gave you something."
"And you'll give us more." Ben frowned.
Yaz looked around the train car, checking for any cameras or intercoms that might have been on. When she saw that all of them in this car were out of commission, mostly from stray shots, she took her risk. She didn't say a word out loud, but she began tapping on the hulking wreck behind her.
"Lemme guess, signaling backup?" Rex asked.
Yaz didn't respond, she just kept tapping. Kylie tilted her head a bit at the act, thinking it sounded a bit too purposeful.
And then it hit her. She waited for the mech pilot to repeat the series of taps and she mentally translated it.
"Guys...I think you can let her go," Kylie said.
The Outcasts looked at Kylie, confused.
"Let her go?" Blake repeated.
"She's...she's not worth the trouble." Kylie lied, but she mouthed something at the end of her sentence.
Morse code.
"What? She's just a grunt? Not high up enough to know anything?" Yang asked out loud, before she mouthed the question, What did she say?
"Yeah. A really, really low leveled grunt." Kylie said, but she mouthed something else.
'Undercover agent.'
That got the Outcasts' attention. They looked down at her to see if that was true. The mech pilot nodded in silent confirmation. She then tapped out a different message on the hunk of metal behind her.
Ironwood's orders. Suspected another traitor. Original guy in a cell back home.
"Then, well, uh, you're...our hostage!" Ben said, pointing a plug at her. Where are the cameras?
"To you damn brats? Great..." Yaz huffed. Everywhere.
Yang looked around and saw that most of them were destroyed, but that was only one car in an entire train. The blonde went over to Yaz and picked her up by the collar.
"Try anything and I will make sure you fly right through the wall," Yang threatened to keep up the ruse. Not just gonna leave you on a runaway train.
"I'd like to see you try." Yaz smirked. There's none in the other car. We'll stop speaking in codes then.
"Come on. Drag her along." Ruby clapped her hands. Sorry!
Yang made sure to show a bit of force, shoving Yaz along with Ember Celica aimed at her back. The group made their way to the other train car carefully, making sure nothing of what they did tipped off the other forces on the train. Ceres closed the door behind them and, once they were sure they wouldn't be overheard, dropped the act.
"So, is there a reason Ironwood didn't tell us about you?" Yang asked.
"You mean, outside of that being against the definition of 'being undercover?' Ironwood was wondering how far this conspiracy went. If two of his elites turned, then what's to say an officer hasn't as well? Not just a lieutenant, but someone higher? A captain, a commander?" Yaz explained.
"And your orders...just to find out who was paying off our orange and green friends?" Ruby asked.
"Yes. But I also had to make my position believable. Sorry for shooting you."
Blake rubbed her shoulder where she had been hit. "Apology accepted, I suppose."
"So, got any leads on their benefactor?" Ben asked.
"Nothing yet," Yaz admitted. "I was only able to confirm that there even were payments recently. I was hoping that by getting close to them, I could find out more."
"How the hell are they this well-hidden?" Yang asked.
"That is something that's scaring the general. He's hiding it...but he's worried that this could be just the start. We know this isn't Salem, but if a conspiracy can go on with this kind of organization, who's to say we'll be able to find Salem's agents at all?"
Blake shook her head in disbelief. "This is insane. How can they have this much influence without anyone noticing?"
"They're careful," Yaz replied. "And they're smart. They're using their resources to cover their tracks and hide in plain sight. But we're starting to unravel their web of lies."
"And what happens when we do?" Rex asked.
"I wanna see those snarky bastards get what's coming to them." Yaz grinned.
"I do like someone who's got their priorities straightened out." Ben said. "Alright, you're sticking with us."
"Need a spare gun?" Ceres offered.
"Thanks, but I can handle myself without one," the double agent explained.
"Oooh, a physical fighter." Yang grinned. "How much do you bench?"
Yaz raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
Yang chuckled. "Just trying to lighten the mood a bit. If we're gonna work together, might as well get to know each other, right?"
Yaz rolled her eyes. "... I don't really focus on lifting weights. More on calisthenics and martial arts."
"Ooh, fancy." Ruby grinned.
"If...I can interject," Weiss said, "You didn't happen to see if they activated the other Paladin, did you?"
"If I got the order, it's more than likely. The good thing is that it was in the car further back. So, for the most part, we just need to deal with the Knights and what's left of the platoon," Yaz said.
"Deal with them how?" Blake asked, glancing around at the group.
"You guys dealt with me with ease. This should be a cakewalk for you kids, right?" Yaz asked.
"She's got a point." Ben said. "So, heavy hitters take care of them. That'd be me, Rex and Yang. Ceres, you want in too?"
"Eh, why not?" Ceres shrugged.
Ben nodded. "Alright, you're with us. Ruby, Blake and Weiss, you guys focus on taking out any drones or remote weaponry."
"Got it," Ruby said, adjusting Crescent Rose on her back.
Weiss' eyes then lit up with inspiration.
"...Yaz? Didn't get to see you much outside of the Paladin...but how good's your acting?" Weiss asked.
"Pretty good when it needs to be. Why?" Yaz asked.
"Kylie, don't freak out...but I'm gonna need Yaz to land a few hits on me."
"Whyyyyyyyy?" Kylie asked with concern.
"Because...what was your callsign again?" Weiss asked.
"Charon-1," Yaz answered.
"Huh. Ferryman for the dead. Right, well, 'Charon-1' just escaped her captors and she's on her way back to report to her superior. Who I assume is up in the driver seat."
Everyone looked at Weiss, unsure of where she was going with this.
"Wait, you're not suggesting-" Ruby began.
"If we can get Yaz to 'attack' me and make it look convincing enough, she can drag me to the front while the rest of you take out the rest of the enemy forces and figure out what the hell is going on here," the heiress explained.
Kylie still looked unsure, but Yaz seemed to be on board.
"I'm in," the soldier turned spy agreed, "But are you sure you can take a hit from me?"
Weiss gave a shrug. "I dunno. Let's find out."
"I don't know if I like this, all of a sudden." Ben said. "How about...a slap?"
Yaz gave Ben a weird look. "Seriously? A slap?"
"I've been slapped MANY times." Ben argued. "They hurt."
"Who is slapping you?" Ceres asked.
"Usually people I lose to in a slap bet." Ben shrugged.
"Fair warning, though. You'll have to take some hits as well. Your Aura's been unlocked, right?" Weiss asked.
Yaz nodded. "Yeah, it has."
"Alrighty, slap me." Weiss said.
Yaz hesitated for a moment before slapping Weiss across the face, causing her head to snap to the side. Weiss stumbled a few steps before regaining her footing.
"Ow! Okay, that was good." Weiss said, rubbing her cheek. "Now, I'll take a swing at you."
The two traded a few blows, as the other Outcasts stared in disbelief.
"Hey, guys?" Ben asked. "I think we're bad influences."
"Usually I just shrug that kind of comment off, but uh," Yang gestured to the two trading blows.
"So..remind me to have a talk with Penny when we get back," Ruby said.
"...why?" Blake asked.
"Oh no reason," Ruby lied, totally covering up the fact she might have told Penny she could borrow a book that she "borrowed" from Blake.
Blake raised an eyebrow, sensing Ruby's deception but deciding not to press the matter further.
"Well, while they're busy hitting each other, we should probably start making our way towards the other train car," Ceres said, motioning towards the door.
"Uh, you guys go ahead. I'm gonna make sure neither of them accidentally breaks their Aura...somehow," Kylie volunteered.
"You're a good girlfriend." Yang said, patting Kylie on the head as they left.
"Thanks," Kylie said.
As the rest of the group arrived outside the next car, Blake took a peek inside just to see if she could get an idea about what they were facing. Aside from the usual AK-200s she saw inside, there weren't any human soldiers. A bit weird, but nothing insane. Then she heard something. Under normal circumstances, the sound would've been drowned out by the train as it sped its way down the tracks. A clang echoed out and reached Blake's Faunus ears, drawing her attention above her.
"Oh...great," Blake huffed.
"What's wrong?" Ben asked.
"Robots inside and soldiers up top," the feline Faunus jabbed her thumb up to the roof of the train.
Ben frowned. "I'll take the ones up top. I've got Arctiguana...and I still need to get used to him. Okay?"
"Want us to come?" Rex asked, ready to bring out the Smack Hands.
"Nah, I think I got this," Ben said, already starting to climb up on top of the train, "Besides, plenty of guys in there who you can scrap."
"Know what? I'm ok with that. Less time out here, the better," Ceres smirked.
Ben nodded. "Good luck!" Ben activated the watch, and as he transformed, that cold air against his skin felt like a nice breeze.
"Alright, Arctiguana. Let's see what else you can do." Ben grinned, as he propelled himself forward with his ice breath.
There were at least ten soldiers up on the roof, half using the rifle and half using the swords. They were a bit surprised to see only one person come up to meet them, but it was Ben. And if he had survived the Paladin, well...they're odds were slim. But it wasn't like they had a choice. If they didn't at least try to stop this kid, Felix would kill them. Locus was a bit more forgiving...but if Felix got pissed off enough, someone's blood would be staining the tundra! They all just wanted to make sure it wasn't theirs!
"Open fire!" one of the soldiers called out.
At the same time, the door to the train car opened and the rest of the Outcasts poured in. Rex went first, bringing up the Block Party to cover the absence of Weiss' shield Glyphs. The rounds fired off by the Knights only bounced off the nanite energy shields, letting the rest of the group pour in. Yang and Ceres were the first into the fray, launching themselves at the androids, ready to tear them apart.
Blake followed behind, using her Semblance to move quickly and take out the robots with swift strikes from her katana. She noticed that the AK-200s were moving in a coordinated manner, almost like they were being controlled by someone. She decided to investigate further, making her way towards the back of the car.
As she made her way through the car, taking out the remaining robots, Blake noticed a strange device attached to the wall. It looked like some kind of control panel, with wires leading out of it and disappearing into the ceiling.
"This looks important," Blake muttered to herself, reaching out to examine the device. As Blake continued to investigate the device, the rest of the Outcasts engaged in combat with the remaining robots.
Ruby darted around the car, using her speed and Semblance to take out the androids with swift strikes from Crescent Rose. Ceres unleashed a barrage of punches and kicks, her enhanced strength and blue flames allowing her to easily overpower the robots. Yang, meanwhile, was in her element as she absorbed hits and retaliated with explosive force.
As they fought, they noticed that the robots seemed to be getting tougher and more aggressive. The Outcasts had faced AK-200s before, but these seemed to be upgraded models with improved programming.
"These things aren't going down as easily as before," Ceres grunted as she landed a heavy blow on an android's head.
"Something's definitely up," Yang agreed, unleashing a powerful punch that sent an android flying across the car.
That same android extended its arm blades and dug them into the car, working to stop its flight. The blades cut through the metallic floor of the car as it came to a halt. The android looked up at Yang before righting itself, getting back into a combat stance.
"As if we needed more proof," the blonde brawler said, motioning to the android actually getting back up from what usually one shot these types.
Blake was looking over the device, removing the protective paneling on it to get at the internals. Of course, that didn't exactly go over well with the androids. Three of them broke off from fighting the main group and charged directly at her, arm blades extended. The lead android lashed out and through Blake's back, only for her to fade away like a mirage. The real Blake had leapt over the trio and she immediately drove her cleaver-like sheathe through the neck of one android. With a swift swing, the bot's head was taken right off its shoulders. One of the two survivors tried to take a swing at her; its arm blades collided with the heavier sheathe. Blake wasn't really worried though. She pressed Gambol Shroud's barrel to the android's stomach and fired off a few rounds, blasting through armor and internal components. The last shot carried a bit more of a punch as a collection of rocks slammed into the android and knocked it back. Before it could even think about trying to retaliate, the katana-like blade of Blake's weapon found itself lodged in the visor of the hacked bot.
Before Blake could finish off the last android, the door to the train car opened up, followed by a few revolver sounds being fired off. Yaz ran through the car, shoving past Rex and Ruby with Weiss flung over her shoulder and seemingly limp. Kylie raced in after her, weapon at the ready.
"She's got Weiss!" Kylie yelled, hoping to sell the act in case anyone was eavesdropping.
The group immediately sprang into action, trying to stop Yaz from escaping with Weiss. But not really. They were gonna have to do a 'tokusatsu fight scene' for this to work. Rex lunged forward, but Yaz was 'too fast and agile for him'. Meaning? He took a dive for no reason.
As Yaz ran past the group, they made a show of trying to stop her. It was probably their...weirdest moment they'd had during this entire mission. Yaz made her escape, just as Blake quickly finished off the last android before turning her attention back to the control panel.
The double agent slammed the door closed behind her, carefully making her way up through the rest of the train. Android defenses set up to cover more of the cars recognized her as a friend and let her pass without incident. As for the human soldiers, well, when they saw her carrying the unconscious form of the Schnee heiress, there were a few different reactions. Some were just small bits of praise, "good job" and "nice going," words like that. Some outright cheered when they saw the sight.
"Serves the bitch, right," one soldier snarked.
"Tell me ya gave her a few good hits," one soldier said, "Her name alone earns 'em."
"Oh, I did," Yaz lied, but she didn't fail to notice the two small bull horns jutting out from the top of the soldier's helmet. Mentally, she wanted to slug that guy so hard his helmet flew off his head.
"She alive?" a female soldier asked, lowering her gun.
"Aura's broken, but yeah. She'll live. Lieutenant wants to question her?"
"He might. Head on up to the engine, I'll radio ahead," the orange-clad soldier said, reaching up to her helmet-radio.
Yaz nodded, making her way towards the front of the train. As she moved through the cars, Weisss opened her eye.
"They bought it..." the heiress whispered.
"Yeah. Good acting." Yaz said.
Weiss tried to sit up, but her head was spinning. "I think you hit me a bit TOO hard."
"I...had to. You wanted realism, right?" Yaz explained.
Weiss groaned, rubbing her forehead. "I know, I know. But remind me to never underestimate your acting skills again."
Yaz chuckled. "You got it. Now...let's see who's at the front."
They reached the engine and opened the door inside. Two more rank and file soldiers were present, standing at attention the minute Yaz stepped inside. Weiss was "unconscious" again, selling the ruse. The door to the engine room itself opened up and out stepped the green-marked lieutenant in charge of the platoon.
"Charon-1," he said, "I don't know how you did it...but you actually managed to bring down Ironwood's 'precious' little snowflake. I'm impressed."
"She thought that just because I was a grunt that I could take a 'superior Huntress' like herself by surprise," Yaz scoffed, "Shows what good that did her."
"Good. Tie her up and toss her in the front."
Yaz looked at Weiss, and back at the lieutenant.
"What's the hold up?" The lieutenant asked.
"Nothing." Yaz said. "Get me some rope."
The lieutenant nodded and one of the soldiers handed Yaz a length of rope. She approached Weiss and began to bind her hands and feet, making sure to do it tightly enough to maintain the illusion that Weiss was completely incapacitated.
Once she finished, Yaz motioned for the soldiers to help her lift Weiss up and carry her to the front of the train. When they were far enough away, Weiss quickly undid her bindings.
"You suck at tying stuff." Weiss said.
"That wasn't even acting." Yaz frowned.
"Really?" Weiss raised a brow at that.
"Judge me later," Yaz rolled her eyes. The double agent pressed the button to reopen the door to the control room and both of them were shocked by what they saw. All of the controls on the train were shot to absolute hell. The lieutenant must have taken his assault rifle and just unloaded it into the dashboard.
"You must be joking," Yaz said, the door closing behind her as she went to examine the damage. Maybe she could salvage this and jury rig some kind of fix.
"Yaz. The breaks," Weiss pointed out, "They're out too."
"But...why? What's the point?"
Weiss frowned. "Maybe they wanted to make sure we couldn't stop the train. Or maybe it's just a reckless act of destruction."
Yaz sighed. "Well, we can't just let this train crash into the next station!"
Weiss nodded. "Any ideas?"
Yaz thought for a moment, then looked at the emergency brake lever. "I have an idea, but it's risky. We need to pull that lever to activate the emergency brakes, one's at the back of the train."
"About that," the familiar voice of the traitor lieutenant said behind them. The sounds of rifles being aimed at the duo echoed out in the train car.
"We already took care of them," the turncoat smirked, "This train's not stopping and if you were the real Charon-1, you'd be more scared of our employers than you would be of a little train crash."
"Employers? You sound like common mercenaries, the type a man like Glass would hire," Yaz shot back.
"Yeah, but we're better. Now, why don't we see your hands, nice and slow?" the turncoat drew his collapsible sword and readied for a fight. He knew they wouldn't just surrender to him.
Yaz and Weiss both raised their hands slowly, trying to buy time to come up with a plan. Weiss' mind raced as she assessed their situation. They were outnumbered and outgunned, with no way to stop the train or even slow it down. But they couldn't just let these traitors get away with their plan.
"We know what you're planning," Weiss said, trying to distract the turncoat as Yaz moved her hand slowly towards her belt.
"Oh, do you now?" the turncoat sneered. "And what are you going to do about it?"
Yaz's hand closed around her weapon, a small taser that she always carried with her on missions. She didn't know if it would be enough to take out the turncoat, but it was better than nothing.
"Simple." Weiss said, as she made a glyph in front of her. The glyph glowed brightly, and a gust of wind blew through the train car, knocking the turncoat and his men off balance. Yaz took advantage of the distraction and lunged at the turncoat with her taser.
He dodged the initial strike, bringing up his blade to try and strike the double agent at the base of her neck with his hilt. Yaz figured that was his next move, so she quickly changed direction and slammed her shoulder into his stomach. The hit caught him off guard, loosening his grip on the sword. Ironwood's spy took advantage of the strike and reached up for the turncoat's wrist, before she bent it back with an impressive bit of force. Something must've cracked because the lieutenant let out a shout of pain and dropped the sword. Yaz then jabbed her taser into the traitor's neck, sending an electric shock through his entire body.
As for the other two, Weiss quickly turned the wind Glyph into a summoning one. The massive fist of her knight thrust forth and punched the two soldiers into the wall, knocking them out rather quickly.
The turncoat lieutenant fell to the ground, twitching from the shock of the taser. Yaz looked at him with a mix of anger and satisfaction. She had taken down the traitor, but it still stung that someone from Atlas had turned on them. She turned to Weiss, who was checking the unconscious soldiers for any signs of life-threatening injuries.
"We need to get to the back of the train, ASAP." Yaz said. "For the break."
Weiss nodded in agreement. "Right. I think a short cut is needed..." Her eyes darted up to the ceiling. Yaz nodded, and they made their way to the roof of the train. The wind was howling and the train was barreling forward, making it difficult for them to keep their balance.
"Hold on!" Weiss created a glyph beneath their feet, stabilizing them as they made their way towards the back of the train.
As they ran back the way they came, they saw Ben freeze the last of the ten soldiers sent against him. Aside from him, there were nine other rather crude ice sculptures of Atlesian soldiers. Their heads remained unfrozen so that they could still breathe.
"And that- huh? What are you two doing?" Ben asked, his voice raspy and almost like a hiss.
"Emergency brakes! They shot up the controls!" Weiss answered.
"They WHAT?!"
Before Weiss could say anything, the trio on the roof heard thunder footsteps racing up to them. They looked off to the side and saw that elusive second Paladin.
"This is Charon-2, approaching target," the pilot reported from inside the target.
"They can just run and catch up with a train?!" Ben asked.
"Top speed clocked in at-" Yaz began.
"Give us the tech specs later!" Weiss cut her off.
"We need to take out that Paladin before it catches up to us," Weiss continued. "Ben?"
"On it!" Ben said, turning around. He huffed and exhaled an ice beam at the approaching Paladin. The ice exploded on impact, covering the cockpit in a thick layer of ice. The pilot's voice could be heard over the comms, yelling in panic and confusion.
"That should buy us some time," Ben said, as the trio continued to run towards the back of the train.
The Paladin quickly began to clear away the ice, the paneling that made up its visor began to heat up. These mechs were made to fight in the cold tundras, a little ice on the visor wasn't gonna stop it for long. A crack already appeared in the icy blindfold.
Weiss quickly conjured up a glyph, and a stream of ice shot out towards the crack. The stream of ice hit the crack, causing it to 'reanneal' and continue to obstruct the pilot's vision. The Paladin stumbled and its movements became more sluggish as the ice continued to build up on the visor.
"Nice shot!" Ben exclaimed, impressed with Weiss's quick thinking.
Yaz took advantage of the Paladin's slowed movements and raced towards the back of the train.
"Ugh, fine," Charon-2's pilot hissed, "You wanna play that way? FINE!" He flipped a few switches and activated the mech's heavier weapons. He didn't even aim or attempt a partial lock. On the outside of the mech, two missile pods opened up on its shoulders, each one with five missiles loaded. The pilot pressed one more button and fired off six, three from each pod. The missiles raced skyward before circling back down, homing in on the rear car itself. Yaz noticed the barrage and tried her best to get there before they impacted. She leapt across car after car until she reached the caboose and raced inside.
"Come on, come o-" Weiss muttered before she saw the missiles impact. Some hit the tracks at the end of the train while others actually impacted. Explosions rang out, engulfing the car. Ben and Weiss could only watch in horror as the caboose was forcibly decoupled from the rest of the train, violently spinning out behind them.
"Yaz!" Weiss called out.
The Paladin reached up and smashed the ice off its visor. The shards flew past it as it continued to run forward. Having switched to thermal, the Paladin raced back up to the train car where the other Outcasts were. The pilot was looking for who was closest to the car wall.
"Which one of you..." the pilot muttered.
Suddenly, a tempest of wind knocked the Paladin off balance. Weiss had quickly conjured a glyph to create the strong wind, hoping to disrupt the mech's aim.
Ben took advantage of the distraction and rushed forward, leaping onto the Paladin's shoulder. He quickly morphed into Heatblast, his flaming body causing the mech to jerk and swerve. The pilot tried to shake him off, but Ben held on tight, using his heat to melt and weaken the mech's armor.
Meanwhile, Weiss conjured up another glyph, this time a summoning glyph. The massive fist of her knight punched forward and struck the Paladin, sending it stumbling backwards. The pilot was now disoriented, trying to regain control of the mech.
"Why the hell...did they think...we stood a chance against these stupid kids!?" The pilot cursed.
As the Outcasts still aboard the train moved ahead to the next car, they saw the strangest sight. Yang and Ceres were about to punch down the door to the next car, before something caught the blonde brawler's attention. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a blur of orange and white jump off the train.
"The hell?" she muttered before she saw another blur of white and green leap off, "Uhhh guys?! I think they're jumping off!"
"What?!" Ruby yelled. "A-are you sure!?"
"Yeah!" Yang yelled. "I...I think we gotta bail too."
"...fair enough." Kylie frowned. "Follow the leader."
"Why does part of me think that might not be an option anymore?" Blake asked, "Notice how we haven't really seen too many human soldiers now?"
"You think those were-" Rex began.
"Some of the last, yeah," Blake confirmed.
Rex nodded. "Which means they're conserving their resources for something big."
"Or they're trying to spread their forces thin, so we can't focus our efforts," Ruby added.
"Either way, we need to be ready for anything," Blake said, looking around at her teammates.
Outside as Weiss and Ben continued to fight the Paladin, the heiress was about to summon up another armored fist to slam into the mech. Something felt off though. She turned and saw a few more soldiers leap off the train from further up. If they were jumping...
The heiress looked ahead and noticed something terrible. The track made a rather sharp turn to the left, not a problem under normal circumstances, but what about the current situation was "normal." The speed they were racing at and the inability to slow down, this train was about to be derailed.
"Beeeeen..." Weiss asked. "You don't happen to have an alien that can...maybe stop a train from derailing, do you?"
Ben blinked. "...Uh, no. I don't think so. I'd absolutely use Lodestar if I could, though!"
"Everyone! Top of the train, now!" Weiss radioed in, "I have a plan!"
"Why do I suddenly not trust this plan?" Ben asked, a weird feeling forming in his fiery stomach.
"Finish off the mech and have a little faith!" Weiss said, "I'm in a risk-taking mood today and I have no idea why! ...maybe the command position's gotten to my head," Weiss shrugged.
"Or maybe Yaz knocked you around too much." Ben said, charging up a massive ball of flames. He held it above his head, and stared down the mech.
"HEY! Either you jump outta the mech, or I throw this!" Ben yelled.
"They don't have ejector seats on these things you realize!" the mech pilot countered.
Ben gave him a look. "So, am I throwing this?"
The pilot stared at the big ball of fire.
"...hey, wait a minute! You're stalling!" The pilot realized.
"Ben, I'm serious about the plan!" Weiss yelled, "Either throw the star or I'm cutting the mech's legs off myself!"
"How the hell are you gonna do that, princess?" the mech pilot scoffed. Weiss looked at the Paladin and, without even putting much effort into it, she summoned the knight. The towering warrior was gripping the hilt of its blade with both hands, the weapon firmly planted in the ground. If there was a face behind the helmet, the expression it would be wearing would be one of "This is how."
"Oh...right," the pilot realized.
"...I kinda like this bossy Weiss." Ben said, as the mech pilot popped the hood open and jumped.
The other Outcasts were climbing back to the top of the train car, Ruby speeding Kylie and Rex up first.
"Ok, so, how close are we to crashing?" Rex asked.
"I didn't even say we were," Weiss said.
"We saw the soldiers jump off. So what's the plan?" Kylie asked.
"Everyone...get close," Weiss dismissed her knight and then spun the chamber in Myrtenaster. The revolving cylinder landed on the light blue vial, bits of frost appearing across the length of the rapier's blade.
Ben looked down. "I'm...I'm not liking this plan, Weiss." Ben admitted as he reverted back to normal.
"You got any other ideas, alien boy!?" Weiss cursed.
"...woah," Kylie muttered.
"If things weren't as hectic as they are...I'd be recording this," Yang admitted.
"Now, let me focus!" Weiss ordered. She jabbed her rapier into the metal of the car and a massive glyph stretched out beneath the Outcasts. Hopefully this would be strong enough to absorb most of the impact before it shattered. The air around the group froze over, forming a giant icy dome to protect them all. It wasn't long before Weiss' theory was put to the test. The train reached the turn and, with all that building speed, launched off the rails with a loud wrenching of metal. The gravity Dust projectors in the train flashed off as car after car flew off the rails and over a cliff.
Please let this work! Weiss thought, bracing herself.
The impact was tremendous, but Weiss' plan held. The glyph absorbed most of the shock, and the icy dome protected them from any debris that might have come their way. The Outcasts were thrown around inside the dome, but they were alive and relatively unharmed.
When the dust had settled, Weiss dispelled the glyph and the dome. She looked around at her teammates, making sure they were all okay.
"Is everyone alright?" she asked, her voice shaking slightly from the adrenaline.
"Mostly yeah," Blake groaned, shaking off the bumpy ride, "Bruised at worst."
"I'm good, but where's-?" Yang looked around, noticing a distinct lack of red capes in their group.
"Mmmmmpf! Mmmmpf!" a muffled voice called out.
"RUBYYYYYYYY!" Ben yelled, running over to her at Mach 5. He pulled Ruby out of the snowbank, and hugged the red huntress to keep her warm. "Oh my god, are you okay?"
"L-little colder than I was expecting b-but yeah," Ruby chuckled before she just hugged Ben back, "So warrrrrrm~"
Weiss got up from her kneeling position, slightly unbalanced from all the energy it took to keep that shield up. Kylie ran up and wrapped the heiress in the tightest hug she could muster.
"I'm fiiiiine..." Weiss huffed. "Just a bit exhausted."
"You did great! That deserves something." Kylie insisted.
"Oh it...wasn't that impressive," Weiss chuckled, trying to downplay the act.
Ben walked back over, holding Ruby tightly. "Okay, so while I'm dethawing Ruby...what's the next step?"
"Well, first...I wanna see if we can find Yaz." Weiss frowned. "She was in that other car, and I worry she might've been hurt..."
"One problem. She's back up the cliff. And while we could all probably make it back up there...part of me is a bit worried. If Felix and Locus knew we were coming and they planned for us to crash..."
"Then that might mean they'll have throatcutters search the wreckage down here, Blake realized, "Finish us off if we survived the crash."
"Besides, wasn't Yaz's cover safe? No one knew but us and...maybe the guys you two thrashed but...I doubt they'll be telling anyone," Rex added.
Weiss took stock of the surroundings. Where they landed was unfamiliar to her; it was a canyon out in the middle of the tundra, marked by various towering rock formations. Some of them seemed a bit too artificial though, with two massive slabs of stone supporting a third, separate stone. It kind of reminded Weiss of Stonehenge, really. But something that famous landmark didn't have was art painted at the base of the pillars. The heiress moved up the nearest formation and examined it.
"It's...almost like old Nordic artwork," Weiss muttered to herself. As she looked it over, neither she nor the rest of the group realized they were being watched as well. From one of the farther away pillars, Ivy was spying on them with some binoculars, checking their moves.
"Yeah, they survived alright," Ivy said, "Good call on taking us out here beforehand."
"I had a feeling they would. A train crash and a couple paid-off soldiers? If they could break in once," Roane commented, not needing to finish the sentence. Bianca, though, didn't say a word. Her hand was gripping the hilt of her sword and letting it go in quick succession, as if it were a stress ball.
"Uh, boss?" Ruda tapped the rogue Huntress leader on the shoulder.
"Huh?" Bianca answered, a bit surprised.
"You're doing it again. You told me to tell you," the redheaded girl motioned down to Bianca's hand, "Nervous tic you said, right?"
"Yeah..."
"You got nothing to be nervous about! They're just a buncha kids!"
Blake narrowed her eyes as she looked around, feeling a bit uneasy. "I don't like this. We need to move, now."
"I agree," Weiss nodded, joining in on Blake's concern. "Let's find Yaz and get out of here before things get worse."
Ben helped Ruby up, his concern for her evident in his expression. "Lead the way, Weiss."
"They're moving," Ivy said, lowering the binoculars and clipping them to her belt.
"...time to move, ladies," Bianca said, drawing her blades.