Previously, on RvBvRWBY: Incursion...
"Did… did everyone else see that?" Weiss said.
"See what? My excellent leading skills?" Sarge said.
"No, a tank just drove by right behind you!" Simmons said.
"That's it. I'm gonna kill 'em all!" He decided.
"I thought you were supposed to be smart."
"I am smart! Which is exactly what those dumbasses don't get! They got rid of the smartest person on the squad!"
"Then show it by doing something more than holding a grudge against them," Weiss said. "If you're smart, then there are two things you do to prove it. First is showing Sheila is real without using her to blow them all up. The second can be helping me figure out a way back to Remnant."
Crunchbite continued, and Andy kept up with him. "Says he came here to claim some type of thing… and that the teal one took the thing… and now the thing is gone."
"Who's the teal one?" Tucker asked.
"You are, idiot," Tex said.
"No way, I'm aqua! Teal's out!"
"That 'thing' that he's talking about must be your sword, right?"
"He says it only works for the hero who passes the trial of the windmill and retrieves it from its resting place," Andy translated. "For everyone else, it might as well be broken."
"Trial? Please, I fell in a hole. That's not a trial," Tucker scoffed. "I'm starting to like this culture, though. Any dude who trips is a hero. I'm pretty sure that makes Caboose, God."
"This all sounds like bullshit to me," Church said, not convinced.
"No, he's right. It didn't work for me, remember?" Tex said.
"And now, you have to go with him to fulfill the prophecy!"
"We don't have time for this," Blake said. "We don't want to go on his 'quest'."
Crunchbite let out a low growl and few words of his own. "Yeah, he's not too thrilled about it either."
"Don't worry, Tucker. We're not gonna send you alone," Tex said.
"You're coming with me, Tex?" Tucker asked.
"Me? Hell no!" She replied.
"Don't freak out, Tucker. We're coming with you too. Unfortunately…" Blake crossed her arms.
"You know, I have to say I'm a little surprised you're not going with them."
"Why?" Tex asked. "Quests are dangerous."
"Yeah, but they usually have some kind of big reward at the end, y'know, like some big treasure chest, or an entire room filled with gold and art. It's tot really like you to pass up on something like that, Tex," Church said. No response came. "Tex?" Still silence besides the waves and the wind. "You're gone, aren't you?" He turned around to see nothing but empty air where Tex was standing. "I really should've seen that coming…"
RvBvRWBY: Incursion
Chapter 9: The Bogus Journey
The group of Tucker, Ruby, Caboose, Blake, Crunchbite and Andy came out onto an ever-stretching plan of sand with rocky pillars jutting from the ground, not unlike Team RWBY's crash site where they first met the Reds and Blues. They were on a small overhang looking over an area crowded with the pillars and scorched desert landscape.
"We're back here again…?" Ruby thought aloud.
"Alright, it's been explained to me everything we should encounter," Andy said while being held by Crunchbite. "The legend's pretty old, but the details are pretty clear."
"Listen, dude. I don't care what you say, I'm not killing any monsters. That fight with the big black dog really put me off of that," Tucker said.
"Hey, don't interrupt!" Andy exclaimed. "It's hard enough to translate without you-"
"Well, if this little quest depends on me killing stuff, we might as well just stop here."
"Eh, don't be a chicken," Andy said with a roll-your-eyes tone.
"I'm not chicken, I'm just… ok, I'm chicken." Crunchbite began speaking to Andy as if posing a question, and Andy responded in the alien's native tongue.
"What's he saying?" Ruby asked.
"He wanted to know what a chicken is," Andy answered. "I told him it's this nasty little bird that humans eat, and you also eat the white things that shoot out of its butt."
"You could've described that a little better," Blake noted.
Crunchbite let out a repulsed hiss, and Andy chuckled. "Yeah, they're pretty disgusting."
"Chickens aren't that bad," Tucker said.
"He was talking about you guys! He's not a big fan, and I'm not either! Earth sucks."
Tucker scoffed. "Earth does not suck. Earth rules! We invented the telephone!" Tucker defended.
Crunchbite let out a few sounds, and Andy translated, "He says they invented the telephone too! And they did it a thousand years before you did!"
"Oh, well what'd they have to say on it? 'Blarg blargh, honk honk'? Who the fuck wants to hear that?"
"Did you forget that we're not from Earth?" Ruby raised an eyebrow.
"Eh, humans are humans, you all suck the same," Andy remarked. Blake wanted to snap back about her also not being human, but bit her tongue. Alien or no alien present, Andy in particular didn't need to know about her animal half. "Anyways, these are the 'great burning planes' we talked about."
"They don't look burning… they look burnt," Caboose said. "Hey, I recognize this place!"
"Get ready," Andy said. "He's gonna distract the monster, and you guys use your heroic powers to swoop in and-"
"'Heroic Powers'?" Tucker interrupted.
"Yeah, you're that big hero from the prophecy, ain't ya?" Andy replied.
"Oh, right. Boy, are you guys going to be disappointed…" Tucker groaned as he ignited his energy sword.
"'Going to be'?" Blake repeated before getting a jab in the arm from her leader.
"Blake…" Ruby frowned. She then quickly unfolded Crescent Rose into its scythe form, while Blake drew Gambol Shroud as well from its sheath.
"Don't forget, go for the weak spot in the armor," Andy said.
"And where was that again?" Ruby asked.
"We already went over this!"
"I just say fuck it and wing it," Tucker suggested. "That's what all the cool action movie heroes do."
"Alright then. On three," Ruby said, taking the lead. "One… two… three!" The entire group leapt off the overhang into the sand below, only to find nothing waiting for them there.
"What happened?" Andy wondered aloud.
"To what?" Tucker questioned.
"The big monster! It's dead, look!" Andy said. The others glanced around until all their eyes landed on a sand-caked cow skull half-buried in the ground.
"That thing? You've gotta be kidding me!" Tucker exclaimed in disbelief. "That's a cow skull. I kill about ten of those things every time I eat lunch!"
"So… we're not gonna fight anything?" Ruby questioned.
"I guess not," Blake said, sheathing her weapon.
"I don't know what else we're supposed to do, but this whole 'great quest' thing is turning out to be complete bogus, just like I said it would be," Tucker said.
"Let's just keep going," Andy sighed.
"Hey Weiss, does this look good?" Simmons asked. Weiss glanced over at Simmons and what they were aiming to make: the framework and necessary mechanisms to replicate a Dust firing system, like in the weapons of Huntsmen and Huntresses. It was contained in a wire-like box containment unit with several smaller interconnected mechanisms mimicking the functions of a Remnant firearm, particularly those used in the rifles of Atlaseian foot soldiers, Weiss's personal inspiration for the machine.
"Perfect," Weiss smiled. "It seems you're a natural."
"Thanks. I may not be able to fix vehicles like Sarge or Lopez, but scientific theory and a little practical application? Now that's my wheelhouse," Simmons said proudly. "I'm still surprised we were able to put together something comparable to your world's machinery from the scraps in Blue Base. I guess we have wrecked a lot of shit over the years."
"Well, it's what happens when you put two capable minds together," Weiss said with a confident smirk.
"Ditto to that," Simmons replied with the same tone.
"Though, we don't truly know it's comparable until we test it," Weiss pointed out.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get one of those crystals loaded up," Simmons said. Weiss nodded and took one of the three Cosmic Dust crystals off the table to the side and loaded it into its designated slot in the framework. She and Simmons then took a few wide paces back away from the table. Simmons readied the remote switch for the device, then turned to the heiress. "You say when."
"Alright then, on the count of three. One, Two-"
"Hold on, hold on. By 'the count of three', do you mean it as 'One, two, three, and then go,' or flip it on the count of three? These things are very important," Simmons said.
"On three," Weiss replied.
"Okay, I had to make sure."
"Alright then. One, two, three!" Simmons hit the switch as soon as Weiss hit three, and the basic machine whirred to life. After a few moments, the Cosmic Dust began to glow brightly.
"I think it's working!" Simmons exclaimed.
Then, suddenly, the machine exploded and both Weiss and Simmons were sent flying by a blast of white energy, slamming into the wall behind them. They fell to the floor harshly as the glow subsided and the machine was left as smoldering shrapnel. Weiss groaned as she slowly pushed herself up. She then quickly shot up and inspected the table. Not only was the small machine obliterated, but the only remaining trace of even the Dust itself was a few dull shards on the countertop among the scorched metal.
She let out a heavy sigh and hung her head low. "No…" Without even thinking about it, her fingers wrapped around the snowflake necklace dangling from her neck.
"Ugh, what happened…?" Simmons groaned as he sat up. He got to his feet and took Weiss's side, taking in the same sight. "Well, shit, that wasn't supposed to happen."
"Yeah, no kidding…" Weiss said flatly, and distantly.
"Well, we still have plenty of spare parts and two more crystals to use. Wanna give it another go?" Simmons asked. Weiss took a long deep breath before letting her hand fall to her side.
"Yes. Let's." Weiss returned to the piles of scraps to attempt to find replacements or upgrades for the parts they lost. Simmons stared after her for a moment, taking note of how long she dwelled on both the failure of the machine and her necklace.
Weiss kept digging through the scraps alone, frustrated. Her face was flushed red as her temper. She began to toss parts to the side harshly, and it reached its peak as she realized Simmons wasn't helping. "Are you going to help any time soon?" She asked with an annoyed tone. No response came. "Simmons, I said-!" She started to rise up, then saw a tall shadow looming over her, a shadow with a canine head.
"Schnee…." A low growl came from behind her, deep and rumbling, bassy enough to shake the very floor below her feet. Weiss gritted her teeth and slowly reached for the hilt of Myrtenaster at her waist.
Yang dialed Weiss's scroll again, hearing it ring and ring until voicemail for the fourth time. Yang let out a frustrated groan.
"What's wrong?" Sarge asked as he, Donut and Grif all sat around the conference table eating cartons of ice cream they found. Yang's own carton was on the table in front of her, barely touched.
"I can't get a hold of Weiss. I wanted to see how her and Simmons' experiment with the Cosmic Dust was going," Yang replied.
"Eh, they're crazy. First they see imaginary tanks, now they're gonna blow up the entire canyon!" Sarge said.
"Weiss isn't crazy. Well, at least not like that. And if she and Simmons can make us a way back home, I'm not gonna stop 'em. I'm a little worried now, though. Weiss is very punctual with things, she never misses a call, let alone four."
"So, what, you wanna go over to Blue Base and check it out?" Grif said with a hint of sarcasm.
"I probably should," Yang said, standing up from the table.
"I was kidding," Grif said as he tilted his helmet up to take a bite of ice cream, then set the helmet back into place.
"And now you get to come with me," Yang said with her hands on her hips.
"Like hell," Grif said.
"You heard the woman. Get up and go, fatass," Sarge ordered.
"What?!" Grif exclaimed. "Since when do you let someone else order your troops around? Especially a girl?"
"Excuse me?!" Yang said, insulted.
"Grif, when said girl has a fiery temper like bull and shotgun bracelets, you bet your ass she gets to order you around. Now get to it."
"This is bullshit," Grif said before tossing the ice cream carton aside and grabbing his SMG. He followed Yang outside of Red base and hopped into the driver's seat of the warthog. Yang hopped in shotgun and Grif hit the gas. As the warthog made its way across the canyon, Yang attempted one more time to call Weiss's scroll, yielding the same result as before.
"Come on!" Yang exclaimed.
"Relax, we're driving there right now. I'm sure everything's fine," Grif assured her.
"I hope you're right," Yang said. Grif pulled up to Blue base and parked. The two of them hopped out and walked up the ramp leading into Blue Base. "Weiss? Weiss, are you there?"
"Hey Simmons! Where are you?" Grif called as well. The two walked down the hall until they came upon a room turned into a makeshift lab. Sprawled on the floor were the unconscious forms of Weiss and Simmons. The Grimm they fought before placed its spindly fingers on the table, gripping the remaining two Cosmic Dust crystals. It lifted the crystals up and dropped them into its maw, swallowing them whole. After a brief white glow emanated from its body, the quills on its back shrunk down some, as if beginning to recede back into its body. Its torso also got slightly thinner.
"Weiss!" Yang exclaimed. The Grimm snapped around and snarled at the two newcomers.
"Uh oh…" Grif shuddered.
Yang lunged for the Grimm, reeling her fist back. As she threw the punch at her opponent, though, the Grimm caught her arm at the wrist with one hand, then forcefully pushed Yang back, stretching it's arm to slam her into the wall. Grif opened fire on it with his weapon. The Grimm attempted to shield its face with its arm, then started for Grif. Grif let out a scream and braced himself, only for the Grimm to suddenly stop. Yang had grabbed it by one of its legs, and was pulling it back. Grif quickly emptied his mag into the creature's face, then Yang swung it around before throwing it through the wall out into the Gulch.
"Make sure Weiss and Simmons are ok. I'll handle this," Yang said.
"Right, sure thing," Grif quivered, still terrified by the Grimm. Yang nodded and leapt out to meet the monster. The Grimm returned to its two standing legs and glared at Yang, not quite making a move yet.
"What's wrong? Not scared of little ol' me, are you?" Yang smirked.
"Xiao… Long…." The Grimm snarled hoarsely.
"So you do know all of us… what are you?" Yang questioned.
"Need… Dust…" The Grimm said, avoiding the question entirely, if it even understood it.
"Well sorry pal. That's our shipment, and we need that Dust to get home."
"Remnant…" The Grimm said.
"Y-Yeah… Remnant…" Yang stammered. It caught her off guard for just a moment, which the Grimm quickly took advantage of to swipe at her with its claws. Yang leapt back, narrowly avoiding the strike. Just as her feet hit the ground, she put both of her fists behind her and fired her gauntlets, launching herself forward with the recoil. The Grimm attempted to strike her again, but she shot herself upwards and over the monster with the same method, then with one arm launched herself back towards the Grimm and struck it in the back, punching it while simultaneously firing Dust into its back. But even though she shot Fire Dust, no elemental effect came of it at all. "What…?" She wondered aloud.
The Grimm flattened onto the ground from the force of the attack anyway. Despite her confusion, Yang moved to take advantage of it while she could. She wrapped her arms around the creature's torso, hoisted it upwards and over her head, then suplexed it backwards into the ground, cratering the earth below them. She then lifted it up again and tossed it away like a rag doll. The Grimm landed harshly, and was still stunned as it began to recover. Yang launched herself forward again and raised both fists above her head to strike the Grimm's skull, but in her descent, one of its hands shot up and snagged her by her wrists right out of the air. It held her hanging there, and despite its lack of eyes seemed to glare at her, snarling and drooling while baring its teeth.
"Bad dog!" Yang quipped through gritted teeth. She quickly spun one of her legs up and connected it with the Grimm's jaw, but the creature was unaffected. When Yang tried again, the Grimm's mouth opened and chomped down on Yang's limb. She let out a cry of pain, and her aura began to become strained. The Grimm slammed her down onto the ground and began to chomp down at her, each bite pushing her aura closer and closer to break. With her fists restrained, she couldn't fight back against it. She knew taking the thing on alone was too risky, hence why she was worried about Ruby. But she was the only one able to fight it. Or so she thought. She could already feel the monster's teeth bruising her skin even with her aura.
But she wouldn't go so easy either. She called on all her strength to force the Grimm's grip open just enough to angle Ember Celica where she could fire against the Grimm. Once the Grimm's fingers were pushed out enough she angled and fired so the Grimm's entire hand exploded into gibs. It let out a harsh shriek and dropped Yang quickly. When she hit the ground, she took a single moment to catch her breath before diving away from the monster to put distance between them. She then smirked.
"You almost had me there. But…" She then called upon her semblance and clashed her fists, sending out a wave of energy as her hair became a beacon of golden light, and her lilac eyes turned bright red. "This food is too spicy for you." The Grimm growled and started for Yang.
"Hey asshole!" The Grimm stopped and glanced down the canyon to see Church aiming his sniper rifle towards it. "I said to leave them alone!" Church fires his rifle-
-and the shot completely misses the Grimm. "Oh, come on, what the fuck!"
The Grimm then heard a whistle from it's other side and turned just for a slug from Sarge's shotgun to blast it's face, sending it stumbling back. Yang sprinted forward and reeled her fist back, then threw a punch that connected with the side of the Grimm's head, sending the creature flying with enough force to send shockwaves around them. It cratered when it landed, stunning it for even longer
"Yang, you alright?" Sarge asked.
"I'm fine," Yang said.
"Uh, guys, it's moving again!" Church exclaimed concerningly. They all looked as the Grimm began to crawl itself out of its crater.
"Looks like we'll have to do this Old Yeller style," Sarge said as he cocked his shotgun.
The Grimm snarled at all of them. "All of you… weak…"
"Oh yeah? Then how come you're on the losing side of this fight, Marmaduke?" Church remarked.
"Need… Dust…"
"Well, I don't know about Dust, but how does explosive artillery sound?" Church said. Behind the Grimm, at the back of the base, Sheila rounded the corner and aimed her turret at the Grimm.
"Target Locked," She said. Then with a sound like thunder, the tank fired, turning the Grimm's position to ash with a single shot.
"Boo-yah! Now that's what I'm talking about! Tank beats everything!" Church cheered. A solid pillar of smoke rose from the blast site, making it difficult to see if the Grimm survived.
"Did we get it?" Sarge asked.
One of the Grimm's claws shot from the blast site and pulled the rest of it out. "Not… quite…" It growled.
"Hey, you wanna be hit again?" Church said. As the smoke cleared, however, they all saw that in the side of the Grimm's head was a burning hole, wafting smoke just as the crater was. Yang attempted to peek in, but the Grimm quickly covered the wound with one of its hands as wings sprouted from its back. It roared at them before shooting off into the air and flying away from Blood Gulch.
"Well, that's one problem solved for now," Sarge said. Yang let out a sigh of relief as her hair and eyes returned to normal and she relaxed her muscles.
"Weiss!" She realized as she rushed for the inside of Blue Base, with Church and Sarge both on her tail. When they reached Simmons' makeshift lab in the base, they found that Grif and Donut had gotten Weiss and Simmons conscious again, and they were recovering. Yang rushed to her teammate and hugged her.
"I'm okay…" Weiss groaned before Yang helped her to her feet. "Just need time for my aura to recover."
"That thing ate your Dust," Grif said. "Do they normally do that?"
"No, but I find that this Grimm can do many things others can't," Weiss frowned.
"Well, we've driven it off for now. I say from now on, let's keep our share of the Dust in one place," Church said.
"Wait, I just realized, what are you doing here, Church? I thought you were with Blake and Ruby!" Yang exclaimed.
"Oh yeah," Church said. "Man, do I have a lot to catch you up on…"
The party trekked their way across yet another form of terrain, a marshy swampland with dark trees almost barren of leaves and other large plant life completely alien to the huntresses. With glowing, pulsing yellow organic bulbs sprouting from it. The area was full of a thick green fog that inhibited their vision of anything farther than fifty yards away at a given time.
Andy said, "Alright, this is the Great Swamp. We can rest here a while before we move on."
"Yeah, let's rest in a swamp. That makes sense," Tucker said sarcastically.
"Save your energy, Tucker, you're gonna need it," Andy warned.
"Ah, screw that! So far this quest is a fucking breeze," Tucker replied. "I'va already killed a dead monster, what's next? We're gonna open an unlocked door? Rescue a princess from herself?"
"I have to agree with Tucker," Blake said. "So far, nothing about this 'quest' is living up to what we're told. I'm starting to think it's all fake."
"Ah, you worry too much," Andy said.
Ruby glanced back as the group stopped to rest to see Caboose further back, glancing back down the path behind them. "Caboose? Is something wrong?"
"I think something is following us…" Caboose whispered.
"Yeah, it's been following us since we left," Andy said. "Part of the prophecy talks about something evil that tries to take the Great Weapon."
"You mean my awesome dead monster killing weapon? It can have it," Tucker said.
"It's attracted to it. It can't live without it," Andy continued.
"That sounds ominous," Ruby noted.
"It's ok, we got a plan. We can make camp, and then we'll tell you about it."
"I love camping!" Caboose exclaimed.
"Wait a second, where's Blake?" Tucker asked. They all glanced around, and sure enough, Blake had disappeared.
"Blake? Where did you go? Blake?" Ruby called out to her teammate.
Suddenly, a form in black armor was thrown onto the ground in front of them all. "Found our stalker," Blake said, appearing right after.
"This is some greeting," Tex groaned. "I come to help you guys and you ambush me!"
"She was hiding at the edge of the fog."
"You weren't coming to help, you were coming to steal the sword," Ruby frowned, knowing at thai point full well Tex wasn't exactly a selfless individual.
"No I wasn't. I was coming to steal your reward," Tex said.
"There is no reward!" Andy exclaimed. "The reward is the sword!"
"Oh. Then… yeah, I guess I am here to steal the sword," Tex said.
Crunchbite let out a few squawks. "Oh yeah yeah, and also the salvation and emancipation for hsi species for all eternity," Andy unenthusiastically added.
"Tell you what, I'll go fifty-fifty. You keep your emancipation, and I'll keep the sword."
"Deal," Andy agreed.
"What do I get?" Tucker asked.
"You get to live, but no guarantees." Tex said threateningly.
"That's not a reward for me. That's a reward for all the fine ladies in the universe!"
"As a woman, that sounds more like a punishment to me." Blake crossed her arms.
Weiss stood atop Blue base alone, looking out at the box canyon, thinking to herself. The Reds and Yang went back to Red base to try the experiment again in Simmons' actual lab, since after the battle, Sheila's existence was proven real and Simmons was welcomed back to Red team, and regained his position. Weiss needed at least a moment to herself, though. She'd gotten so caught up in everything with O'Malley, the Grimm, the Cosmic Dust, she hadn't really gotten to breathe. And after her rising anger from before in the lab, before the Grimm attacked, she needed space to keep her calm.
Of course, when did she ever get what she wanted?
"Hey," Church said as he came onto the roof as well. Weiss quietly sighed.
"Hello," She said.
"I see you found the usual hangout spot." Church stood next to her and took in the same sights. "Sorry there's not much of a view. But I'm sure as far as box canyons go, it could be worse."
"It's fine," Weiss simply said. She still wanted to be left alone, but didn't want to be rude to Church in the process.
"So… you doin' alright? You've been up here for like an hour already," Church said, showing some concern.
"I'm fine," Weiss said.
"I'm sure," Church said, clearly not convinced.
"Don't you have something better to do?" Weiss said sharply.
"Not really. Not until our friends come back," Church replied.
"So, what, you're just going to stand around and talk the entire time?" Weiss was gaining her edge quickly, her patience already at an all-time low.
"Yeah, that's kinda the norm around here. So get used to it, bitch," Church bit back.
"Excuse me?!" Weiss shrieked.
"You heard me. I was just trying to make sure you were alright, and you're giving me the cold shoulder. You're almost as bad as Tex."
"Oh, I'm sorry that I'm stranded on a random world on the opposite side of existence from my home, with no reliable way to get back and a monster on the prowl for us!" Weiss exclaimed.
"Exactly. You have better things to do than sit here and yell at me. Does it make you feel better, trying to put people down like that? Cause it's definitely like therapy for me."
"You are insufferable," Weiss growled.
"Right back at ya, Ice Queen," Church replied.
"Why does everyone keep calling me that?!"
"Let me put it like this: you can sit up here and sulk like the moody teenager you are, you can go across the canyon and help with the experiment going on to get you home, or you can clean up your attitude for a bit and realize you're stuck here for now whether you like it or not. You're here for the time being with us, so if you really wanna make it out here, a little respect would go a long way." Church turned around and headed for the ramp back into base. "Plus, I'm not sure Tex would appreciate the attitude when she gets back, and unlike me, she can do more about it."
"Step it up, guys, we're almost there," Andy said. The group was traveling through a chilly tunnel, the ground covered in a thin sheet of snow. Blake shivered and rubbed her arms.
"I'm telling you, the alien has been really creeping me out lately," Tucker said. "Everytime I wake up, he's hovering over me. It's really weird."
"I'm sure he's just safeguarding the sword," Tex remarked.
"Maybe he just wants to steal your breath!" Caboose said, causing Ruby to snort.
"Or maybe he's trying to figure out what I taste like," Tucker said.
"I'm more worried about him trying to eat us," Blake said. "You have the sword, you're part of his ridiculous prophecy. We aren't."
"Is it just me, or did it get a whole lot colder?" Ruby said, beginning to feel the chill as well.
Andy answered, "Of course it did! They don't call it the great freezing plains for nothing!" The group came out of the tunnel into a large open clearing with high cliffs encircling it, which split into an opening canyon to the left side. Constructed at the back of the clearing was a base of some kind.
"Who would be stationed all the way out here?" Ruby wondered aloud.
"Maybe it's more of those weird Reds and Blues we came across before," Tucker suggested.
"Eh… I don't see any movement inside or out. Maybe it's abandoned?" Tex said.
"Only one way to find out," Andy said. "How should we approach this?"
"Tell you what, I'll scout ahead," Tex said. "I'll do it stealthily just in case there's someone on there after all."
"And how are you gonna do that?" Andy asked.
"Just watch me," Tex said before she slowly became invisible, her form disappearing from sight.
"How can I watch you when you just turned invisible?"
"And yet, I was still able to check out her ass. That's why I'm a pro," Tucker remarked.
"Gross," Ruby shook her head. She then glanced around to notice that her partner was gone. "Did anyone see Blake?"
The group all looked around as well to notice the absence of the faunus. "Son of a bitch, not again…" Andy said.
Tex snuck her way into the base with little trouble. However, when she began to scour the halls of the facility, she found out why it was so easy. Sprawled and scattered across the building were the dead bodies of red and blue soldiers, presumably the men guarding the outpost. It was hard to tell how long. What blood she could see, she couldn't tell if it had dried over or frozen over. It felt like even the base's heat systems had gone offline.
"Guess there wasn't much to worry about." Tex snapped around and aimed her rifle forward, only to see Blake standing there behind her. Tex took her finger off the trigger and uncloaked herself.
"What the hell are you doing here?!" She exclaimed.
"Watching your back, which apparently wasn't needed," Blake said solemnly, looking down at one of the dead Blues at their feet. Tex lowered her gun but kept it at the ready.
"Well, whatever happened here, I think they're all dead. If we can find the security room, maybe the cameras can tell us what happened." Tex continued down the hall, and Blake followed, keeping a hand on the hilt of Gambol Shroud. As they explored, it was a similar sight at almost every turn, with at least one dead body at every pass they worked their way through.
"This is awful," Blake frowned.
"Right…" Tex said apathetically. "Where is that damn security room?"
Blake kept looking around as they walked, and spotted scratch marks stretched along the wall. She went over and inspected them closely. Whatever had made them had torn through the metal with ease. "You don't think that monster is here, do you?"
"It's possible. It'd make sense. The soldiers wouldn't have a chance against it," Blake replied. "But I'm not sure." The sound of something clanging down the hall caught both of their attention. They traded a glance, then Blake pulled Gambol Shroud from its sheath and transformed it into it's firearm mode. The sounds of heavy footsteps mad ethem stop and take aim. As they got closer, a large form made of black fur and bone-like armor rounded the corner and glared their way. Spikes grew from it's back and was almost the size of the hallway itself.
The Ursa Major narrowed its eyes and howled at them.
"Son of a bitch…" Tex cursed.
Hey, just a quick Author's note, the name for Yang and Grif's Ghost has been narrowed down to Blaze or Firefly. If readers will choose between these two names, then the final name for the vehicle will be decided! Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed the chapter.
- Shad
