Hey everybody, I'm in New Zealand! Oh, and I have now hit 21 years of age while I've been here. Happy belated birthday to me!
Well, this is, without a doubt, the longest chapter in the entire saga thus far, clocking in at about 7,500 words. I am damn proud of myself for being able to do that!
Anyway, I hope you enjoy it!
Chapter 40: Railroad Ruckus
In all the time I've spent on Remnant, one of the most important tips I had learnt: never, ever say that things can't get any worse. Because they always will.
After Yang, Oobleck, and I had learnt about the blood seal on Adam's diary, Yang had taken up watch duty, and I had finally gotten some sleep. But I barely had time to snore, let alone dream, before Blake was vigorously shaking me awake and telling me that Ruby had gone missing. Zwei was tracking her scent, with us following closely behind, weapons drawn. Well, our weapons drawn, Oobleck was just carrying his thermos.
"Arf! Arf!"
Zwei had stopped at a crossroads, the very same one we had landed in upon our arrival that morning. But there were a few key differences compared to our previous visit. Namely, a compact Crescent Rose lying discarded on the tarmac, and a massive sinkhole in the very centre of the crossing. Zwei looked down to the sniper scythe, and gave a little whine.
"Oh no." Blake breathed, kicking a pebble into the chasm, listening intently for the clattering it made when it hit the bottom. I couldn't hear anything from down there, but that didn't mean it wasn't there. Blake had keener senses than I did, after all.
"Do you think she fell?" Weiss asked, kneeling by Ruby's weapon, and trying to visualize what had happened.
"Seems like it. Sinkhole must have caught her by surprise." I thought aloud. But why would such an event catch her off-guard? Unless… she was preoccupied with something?
"Oh my… of course! Of course, of course, OF COURSE!" Oobleck yelled out, getting our attention.
"Doc?" Yang asked. Ignoring her, Oobleck continued to excitedly voice his thoughts.
"How could I have been so stupid?!"
"Doctor, what is it?" Weiss asked, standing up, Crescent Rose in her hands.
"Mountain Glenn! Yes, it was an expansion of Vale that was inevitably destroyed by creatures of Grimm! Previously home to thousands of people, working people commuting to the main city! They develop a subway system to the inner city! Grimm attacks increased in response to fresh prey making regular excursions into their territory, population now in danger, so they seek shelter! City evacuates into the metro tunnels, and what do they find? The southeast quadrant of Vale is known for wild forests and deep caves!"
"So what does it mean?" I asked. Oobleck looked to me.
"My boy, we're not just looking for an underground crime network, we're looking for an UNDERGROUND crime network!" He exclaimed.
"Wait, they've been working in caves?" Blake asked.
"Nonono, Mountain Glenn was Vale's first serious attempt at expansion. Thanks to an aggressive perimeter defense and a unique transportation system, the expansion worked for some time. But without natural defences to protect its borders, like those surrounding Vale, Mountain Glenn was doomed from the very beginning! As the Grimm began to close in on the town, the citizens made one final attempt at survival: by taking shelter beneath the city! In the caves that had been excavated for the subway system. And in doing so, they managed to cut themselves off from the surface!"
"An underground city?!" I asked.
"More precisely, an underground village, but yes. A safe haven. Until… a wayward explosion opened the mouth of another cavern. One filled with subterranean Grimm." Oobleck bowed his head, his eyes sparkling behind his glasses. I thought about the citizen's fates. A normal day, their skin bleached almost white from lack of sunlight… only for a horde of Grimm, the very monsters they had retreated underground to escape from, to barrel into the city, killing every human they saw. It was a horrific image, one that I felt would become prophetic in time.
"After that incident, the kingdom of Vale saw fit to seal off the tunnels, creating the world's largest tomb. And if Ruby's down there, without her weapon…"
Oobleck threw his thermos into the air, and to my surprise, it elongated with a series of clicks and whirs, transforming from a thermos to something resembling a baseball bat.
"…we must find her."
"HEY!"
Looking to the ones who had yelled at us, we came face to face with a pair of Faunus, a female with a leopard's tail, and a male with whiskers on his cheeks. Both were armed with rifles, and angry glares.
"Get them!" The leopard Faunus yelled, before the duo opened fire on us. We all dived aside, the bullets ricocheting off the tarmac, as I rolled behind a planter, joined by Dr Oobleck and Blake.
"Great, now what?!" I hissed. Oobleck merely looked to me with a smile.
"It is quite simple. Show me what you are capable of." He answered, before standing tall, his thermos pointed at our enemies. He fired two rounds, before the Faunus extremists returned fire, forcing him to speed away, Zwei under his arm. Blake and I looked to me, and exchanged a glance, before I gripped her arm, and absorbed her Semblance. Our weapons were drawn, and we quickly fired a few rounds, before the White Fang had a chance to react. My arrows went whizzing past one's ear, and Blake's pistol rounds struck various pieces of rubble strewn around. They snarled, and returned fire, with an accuracy that far outweighed our own.
But before the bullets could find their marks, we dashed away, leaving behind copies of ourselves to take the rounds. As the bullets hit our clones, they dissolved away, leaving behind no trace.
This was our plan. Get the foe's attention with weapons fire, aimed just so that it would fail to hit our targets, but succeed in drawing their focus to us. A simple distraction technique Weiss had hit upon when recalling an assassination attempt on an associate of hers. From what she had told us, the White Fang had appeared en masse, and opened fire. However, the SDC guards had diverted some attention by returning fire, then disappearing when they began to take rounds. With that one technique, the attack failed, and the White Fang were pushed into a full retreat.
Simple, but effective, as the two guards in front of us visibly began to search for us, guns trained for the slightest disturbance. But we wouldn't be the ones striking. Weiss and Yang leapt from the nearby rooftops, the heiress holding Myrtenaster in an icepick grip, while Yang had cocked a fist with her elbow behind her head. Yang hit the ground, cracking the tarmac, and causing it to ripple with a small shockwave. As the two White Fang extremists were sent flying, Weiss followed up with a simple swipe from her rapier, sending two bolts of blue energy from her weapon to the airborne Faunus. Before they had even hit the ground, the bolts of energy had hit them, causing ice to cascade outwards, engulfing most of their torso and legs. To finish them, the ice had slammed into the ground, turning the two projectiles into magnificent ice sculptures.
"H-hey! L-l-let us out!" The female yelled, her teeth chattering. The male Faunus had begun to wriggle, in a futile effort to break free from his artic prison. Weiss, Blake, Yang and I walked up to them. With two swift punches, their masks were sent skidding away on the tarmac. The female Faunus had cyan coloured eyes, while the whiskered Faunus had dark red eyes, with a scar travelling down his nose.
"Recognize them?" I asked Blake. She just shook her head.
"No. Most of the Faunus I saw were masked." She responded. The female looked up at her, and snarled.
"Traitor!" She spat. Weiss just strode up, and held Myrtenaster to her nose.
"Don't. Speak. To her. Like. That." She hissed, her icy blue eyes staring down with unbridled hatred. The imprisoned Faunus's look of angry defiance quickly morphed to one of terrified submissiveness, and she stopped struggling.
"You two seen a cute little girl? Red hair, silver eyes, long cape?" Yang asked, her voice filled with concern.
"Why should we tell you, blondie?" The male Faunus growled. Quickly, I unsheathed a blade, and buried it into the block of ice, a ways away from his head, but still enough to scare him. He shrieked, and began to struggle once more. I knelt down, so that I could whisper in his hear.
"Do you two really think you're in a position to refuse service?" I asked, ripping the blade free. The female Faunus looked to me.
"What makes you think we couldn't just bust free from these icicles, and kick your asses?" She growled. Weiss looked to her.
"If you could do that, you'd have done it already. Now where is Ruby?" She asked. The female Faunus sighed.
"You mean the red-haired brat? The boss has her. Wanted us to see if we had any more intruders. It doesn't matter though. Phase two is still gonna happen, and there ain't a thing you brats can do about it!" She grinned wickedly.
"Wanna bet?" Yang growled, before punching both prisoners in the skulls, knocking them both out cold. Before we could do anything else, Dr. Oobleck had rushed up, his weapon strewn across his shoulders.
"Ah, excellent job, children! I doubt I could have done a finer job myself. Now, we simply need a way into the underground. From there, we can recover Ruby, and hopefully discover what these miscreants are planning!" He exclaimed, picking up Crescent Rose, and handing it to us. Blake took it, and holstered it onto her back, wandering back to the hole in the ground.
"Well, I didn't bring my shovel, so that route's not going to work." I deadpanned.
"Guys?" Blake yelled out to us. She had moved to the open door of a ruined building. Moving closer revealed an enormous hole in the ground, much like the one in the intersection, but instead of a dark abyss, this hold had a slanted pile of debris leading down. More importantly, this one was dimly lit by small torches mounted on what could only be described as the walls of the tunnel.
"You think that this is it?" I asked. Weiss nodded.
"Well, if they're working underground, they'd need a safe way to the surface for patrols. It makes sense." She theorised. Blake nodded in agreement.
"Alright, children. I'll go first, and see if anything awaits us." Dr. Oobleck stated, before disappearing down the hole. We all shared a glance, and a shrug, before following the professor.
The path seemed to go on for hours, each step gingerly placed on the piles of rubble leading downwards into the bowels of Mountain Glenn. Dr. Oobleck was using his weapon as a light source, but it did little to reassure me of where I stepped. One wrong step, and we'd have a pile of rubble on our heads.
"Wait."
Dr. Oobleck raised a fist, wordlessly telling to stop. We all complied, while the doctor gingerly edged forwards, his free hand grasping in the darkness for something.
"Children, come to me. Quietly." He whispered. Tentatively creeping forwards, Oobleck's light revealed something very strange resting in the darkness.
A door that had been left ajar. And behind it, a dulled commotion was taking place. Undoubtedly, the White Fang's headquarters were behind the door.
"Children, now is the time for quiet. Do you understand me?" Oobleck whispered. We all nodded, and Oobleck gently pushed the door open.
What lay behind the door was nothing short of incredible. An immense cavern, partly excavated by time, partly by man, with buildings not unlike the ones topside. Partially ruined, but still in a liveable condition.
"Shh…" Dr. Oobleck whispered, holding a finger to his lips, and pointing forward. A White Fang crony was standing watch over the bustling community of Faunus extremists, all loading crates, boxes, and various other bits and pieces of cargo.
"Darrel, try and take him for interrogation." Oobleck whispered to me. I nodded, and crept forwards, ready to strike.
Closer… closer… NOW!
I stood up, clasped my right hand over the criminal's mouth, muffling him, and hooked my elbow around his neck, dragging him back to Oobleck in a headlock. As the target continued to struggle and let out muffled shouts, Oobleck nodded to me, silently telling me to release him. The second I relaxed my grip, the doctor gripped his shirt, and pinned him to the wall, pressing his thermos bat against his throat.
"Awfully sorry about this, but these children and I are in dire need of vital information." He began. The masked prisoner simply spat.
"I ain't telling you squat!" He gasped. Yang strode forwards, and slammed a fist into the wall, millimetres from the goon's skull.
"You wouldn't have happened to see a little girl around? Red cloak, pale skin, about yay-high?" She asked, her voice having a dangerous edge.
"You mean the little brat? Torchwick's having a chat with her. Now lemme go!" He sneered. Now it was Blake's turn to grill the punk.
"What is Torchwick planning?" She growled. The goon just gave an unnerving smile.
"ALARM!" He roared at the top of his lungs, the word echoing around the chasm endlessly. Oobleck released him, and as he rubbed his throat, one quick smack on the head instantly sent him slumping to the ground, snoring. Looking up, a group of the White Fang was sprinting over to us. Oobleck collapsed his weapon to the thermos, and took a long drink, before unfolding it back to its bat form, and holding it at the ready.
"Get ready, children! This is going to get hairy!" He exclaimed. As Weiss, Blake, and Yang cocked their weapons, I got down on one knee, and aimed a crossbow at the approaching group.
Fighting through the White Fang was easy enough; they barely provided a challenge, as I gripped one with my pincer, and hurled them skyward, leaving them open for Yang to leap up, and slam a fist into him, sending him crashing into another advancing squad, causing them to go flying. Even guns couldn't stop us, as Weiss provided defensive shields using her glyphs to stop the bullets cold, while we all kept on returning fire.
"Fall back! FALL BACK!"
The White Fang were pushed further and further into a retreat, as they rounded a corner, looking back and firing blindly as they ran.
"Keep on going, children! Ruby must be around here somewhere!" Oobleck yelled over the gunfire.
"Come on!" Yang yelled, sprinting forwards, and around the corner.
"Yang, wait!" Blake shouted after her, following with Weiss, Oobleck and I in hot pursuit. But what lay before us wasn't an army of Faunus, as I had expected there to be. Rather, a small group of guards were facing the other direction, firing wildly at some kind of target that dodged everything. Taking advantage of the distraction, Yang pumped a round, and fired, the impact of the round sending all four guards soaring into the air, screaming in terror. Through the smoke, a familiar face dived forwards, and rolled to her feet, smiling as she saw us.
"Ruby!" Yang squealed, scooping her sister up and spinning her around in a hug.
"Are you okay?" Weiss asked her partner.
"I'm fine, I'm fine, but listen! Torchwick's got all kinds of weapons and robots down there.
"What?!" Blake exclaimed, removing Crescent Rose from her back, and handing it to its rightful owner. Ruby gave it a quick glance, and looked back to us.
"Androids, mechs, they're all loaded up on the train cars!" She continued.
"Ah, that's ridiculous, these tunnels are sealed; the tracks lead to a dead end!" Dr. Oobleck countered. Before we could argue, a PA system whined with feedback, followed by Torchwick's voice.
"Get to your positions! We are leaving NOW!"
"Well, it sounds like they're going somewhere." Yang stated. But as she did so, I looked down at the tracks, trying to think about the paths the rails took.
We were in the southeast quadrant… and if the train was leaving…
Oh no.
"Doctor, which compass direction do these tracks lead?" I asked urgently. Without a response, Dr. Oobleck rummaged through his pockets, revealing a small compass. He span around while holding it, stopping briefly while facing certain directions. Finally, he pocketed the compass and turned back to us, his eyes now filled with worry behind his glasses.
"These tracks run northwest." He answered. Everyone else looked to me in confusion.
"We're southeast of Vale. The train's going northwest. If the tracks don't deviate, then it's a straight run from here to Vale!" I exclaimed. Ruby quickly pulled out her scroll, and began to flick through her contacts.
"We need backup!" She cried, finally settling on Jaune's image. But as she tapped it, a warning message flashed on the screen, revealing to us that the signal reception was unable to transmit this far underground.
"Urgh, I can't get through!" Ruby groaned.
"So now what?" Weiss asked. Oobleck turned to the departing train.
"I believe we only have one other course of action…" He began, before we all looked towards the locomotive.
"We have to stop that train!" Ruby finished, before she dashed ahead quickly catching up with the rear carriages, and leaping aboard, Zwei perched on her head. We all ran after her, each using different methods to climb onto the caboose. Weiss used a staircase of glyphs to ascend to the roof of the train, Blake swung up, using the low tunnel as an anchor point, while Yang fired a pair of rounds from her gauntlets, using the recoil to boost herself into a high jump, landing with a roll on the train. Oobleck merely sped aboard. One second, he was running alongside me, the next, he had appeared on top of the train.
"Darrel, come on!" Weiss yelled. I tried to run faster, but it was nearly impossible. The train was beginning to speed up, and if I didn't get aboard soon, I'd be left behind.
"I can't catch up!" I yelled. Ruby looked down to me, then around at her surroundings. Her eyes grew wide, and she pointed to the side while looking back at me.
"Darrel, use the minecart! Fire a grappling barb at the train, then use that to climb on!" She yelled, over the constant noises of the train. Looking to where Ruby had pointed, I did indeed see an abandoned minecart, loaded with sealed crates. I looked back, and fired a grappling barb at the caboose, hearing a satisfying crack, as it perforated the steel door, and held fast. In the next second, I leapt aboard the cart, finding a small space between the front of the cart, and the piles of crates behind. I braced myself for a hard tug, which would inevitably come so-
*TWANG!*
Pulling back, lest my right arm be wrenched from its socket, I watched, as the cart began to travel into the darkness, my only anchor being the thread on my arm. With great effort, I began to haul in the cable, slowly seeing the caboose of the train come into view. Dr. Oobleck, and Team RWBY were still on the caboose, watching to see if I had managed to follow Ruby's command. Yang visibly breathed a sigh of relief, as the others smiled. But it was short-lived: As I looked to the cable, I noticed that it was beginning to fray. But that was about to be the least of my worries.
*CRUNK*
One of the bolts binding the wheel to the cart had snapped off. Looking down, I saw that the rest of the bolts seemed to be about to follow suit.
I had to get out of this cart, and fast.
Looking up, I began hauling in the wire, trying not to think about what would happen should either the cable snap, or the remaining wheel nuts come loose. As I strained against the cable, I saw Yang run up to the rear of the caboose, and lie on the edge, her hand extended to grab mine.
"Darrel, come on! Take my hand!" She yelled above the deafening clattering of the train. I was too far away to take hold, but I was getting closer. The cable continued to fray, as I kept on hauling. By now, it was only secured by the thinnest of fibres, and I hadn't managed to get close to it. My muscles were burning, and my hands were rubbed raw against the cable, but still I kept going. But as I reached the frayed portion of the rope…
*SNAP*
The cable came apart, and I felt the cart begin to slow.
"No! Not now!" I yelled in anger, but I was unable to get any further before a shard of metal whistled past my ear, followed by a black strip of cloth. Unconsciously, I grabbed it, and began to feel the mine cart rattle as it resumed its pace.
Looking up, I saw Blake, Weiss and Ruby tugging on the other end of the rope of Gambol Shroud, straining to keep a grip on the ribbon. Grinning, I hooked the blade in the metal bin, and began to pull, growing ever closer to the rear of the train.
"Come on, Darrel! Grab my hand!" Yang yelled again. I kept on pulling, wanting a surer chance of grabbing hold of her wrist, lest I tumble down the train tracks in a pile of shattered bones and broken muscle.
*Creeeaaak…*
I looked over the edge at the wheel, and nearly swore aloud. The wheel was only anchored by the slimmest of nuts, and even that was about to fail. If I didn't jump soon, the minecart would tumble away, and I'd lose the train.
Now or never.
Gripping Gambol Shroud, I climbed out of the cart, my feet positioned precariously on the edges of the cart, and prepared to jump. But as I did so, it seemed to be the final straw for the cart's wheel, as a horrible metallic wrenching sounded, and the cart lurched forwards violently, causing me to lose balance.
'Do it!'
I leapt from the cart, flying through the air, hearing my transport tumble on the rails. Groaning metal and shattering wood echoed in the tunnel, followed by a large explosion as the crate's cargo of Dust crystals ignited in a bright flash of numerous colours. I swiped my hand at Yang's, getting a grip in hers. But a hand-in-hand grip isn't ideal for hanging on a precarious drop. My fingers began to slip from Yang's grasp, causing me to panic slightly.
"Come on, pull me up!" I yelled.
"I'm trying!" Yang yelled back, pain apparent in her voice. I wasn't able to grab the train roof with my other hand; I had slipped too far out of reach. Further and further our hands slipped, until we were left holding each other's fingertips. It wouldn't be long before our grip would give out.
"Ugh…"
Weiss groaned, and summoned a trio of glyphs, waving her hand, so that they flew out to the side of the carriage, and came to rest near me in a neat staircase fashion. Scared out of my wits, I knew that this would be my only chance. Yang nodded, and swung me to the glyphs, where I put one foot, followed by the other. Quickly hopping from one glyph to another, I climbed onto the roof, panting and trying hard to calm my nerves.
"No time for rest, children! We must get to the front and stop this train!" Dr. Oobleck shouted over the roar of the wind. But as I got to my feet, I noticed Weiss opening a panel on the roof, and looking inside nervously.
"Um, professor…"
"Doctor." Oobleck corrected. Weiss just sighed, and pointed to the cavity that the panel had covered. Looking inside revealed a device, one that seemed alien to me. All I could see was a panel with a keypad, and wires snaking in and out of the device.
"What's that?" She asked. Oobleck knelt down to get a closer look.
"That, my dear… appears to be a bomb." He answered. Immediately, we all edged away from the explosive, afraid of being in such close proximity to such a dangerous device.
"We got baddies!" Ruby yelled, pointing further down the train. Looking in that direction, I saw a number of White Fang goons climb onto the top of the train, armed with guns and swords, and looking very angry.
"Well, I don't expect them to go-"
*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*
"…easy on us." Dr. Oobleck groaned, before standing up.
"Time to go!" He yelled, and we all charged forwards. I heard Oobleck tell Blake to decouple the caboose, but it was of little concern to me. As I leapt to the next carriage, I looked back to see Blake jump down between the two carriages. Immediately after she had disappeared, the caboose had detached.
"It decoupled itself!" Blake shouted up, climbing back up to the roof.
"What?"
"I guess he really doesn't want stowaways." Yang said. Oobleck looked up to the careening traincar, watching as it vanished into the tunnel. The bomb aboard the wayward carriage detonated, and the roof of the tunnel began to cave in, illuminating the tunnel slightly.
"That's not good…" the doctor muttered.
"Uh, neither is this!" Ruby yelled, causing us to spin around. She and Weiss had opened another panel on the carriage roof, and were looking into it in concern.
"Another bomb?!" Blake yelled.
"No, no, no…" Oobleck muttered, before dashing to the next car, and opening a third hatch.
"THEY ALL HAVE BOMBS!" He yelled back to us. Before we could respond, the bomb in the carriage we stood on began to beep loudly. Ruby and Weiss slammed the hatch shut, and took off running down to the next carriage. Blake, Yang and I quickly followed suit, leaping over the slowly growing chasm as the carriage detached from the train. Yang looked back to the disappearing train car.
"This doesn't make sense!" She yelled. We all watched as the carriage vanished further and further into the distance, before an indecipherable cry sounded behind us. Looking further down the train, the White Fang goons were drawing closer and closer. Without a word, we all leapt forwards, weapons drawn. As the first crony drew close, he attempted to strike at Yang, who kicked his foot away, before sweeping her other leg at the unsteady goon, sending him flipping in the air. To finish the attack, Yang launched a downward punch to his face, sending him down into the train through the roof hatch.
Weiss, Blake, and Ruby charged forwards, slashing at the crowd of goons, sending some flying off the train, and the rest to the floor. Only a small crowd was left for me to deal with.
I ran forwards, pincers ready, and dove forwards, spinning around to grip one by the torso and legs. Using the momentum of my dive and the criminal I had grabbed, I slammed him onto the metal of the train, before kicking my legs up, and hurling the goon into the last cluster of hoodlums, sending them flying like bowling pins. Landing into a dive roll, I got to my knees, and fired at the remaining enemies with explosive arrows, watching as one was struck in the left hip, another in the arm, and a third in shoulder. The arrows detonated within seconds of each other, and all three criminals were sent tumbling onto the tracks. As I watched them go, I heard an explosion further down the tunnel. But as the tunnel was brightened by the sudden onrush of light, Roman's plan finally became apparent.
Hordes of Grimm descended into the tunnel from the newly opened hole in the roof. Beowolves, Ursai, Deathstalkers, even a King Taijitu, plus some lizard-like Grimm that I couldn't place a name to. The Taijitu roared, and the Grimm began to charge at us. The White Fang goons I had knocked off the train tried to get up and run, but were soon swallowed up by the approaching crowd of monsters.
"HE'S LEADING GRIMM TO THE CITY!" Oobleck yelled.
"WHAT?!"
"IT'S THE CARS! THEY DETACH AND EXPLODE, CREATING OPENINGS FOR THE GRIMM!" Oobleck continued.
"But that's insane!" Blake yelled. I had to agree: why would Torchwick lead Grimm to the city? Unless…
'…I am finding it difficult to trust Torchwick. I fear that he seeks to usurp me and utilize them to assume control over the city…'
This must have been what Cinder meant! If Torchwick brought the Grimm into Vale, then the White Fang would have an easy invasion whilst armed defences fought with the Grimm. Distract, divide and dominate!
"There's no more time! We have to hurry! All of you, get down below and try to stop those bombs!" Oobleck yelled. We all dashed to the nearest hatch, and Blake went down first, followed by Yang, and Weiss. As I climbed into the crawlspace, Ruby prepared to follow, but was stopped when Oobleck sped forwards, and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Not you, Ruby. We have a more important task." He stated. Ruby looked up.
"Which is?" She asked.
"We're going to stop this train." He responded, before looking to me, and nodding his head, as if telling me to keep going. I nodded back, and shut the hatch, sliding down the ladder into the steel compartment.
Yang hit the ground, followed swiftly by Weiss, Blake, and me. As I got my bearings, I looked at the surroundings. The carriage was about the size of two shipping containers placed end to end, and was laden down with a large array of cargo.
"I guess this is what we trained for." Yang muttered. Weiss rifled through a pocket in the interior of her jacket, and fished out something resembling a gun's magazine. But rather than bullets, it was loaded with Dust crystals. She quickly gazed at it, and held it out to Blake.
"Here. This should help." She smiled. Blake took the clip, and exchanged it with her current magazine in her weapon. I could only guess what would happen when she fired her weapon. But regardless, we all charged ahead, boots clattering on the steel ground, when someone dropped in front of us from the ceiling, causing us to skid to a stop. As the new arrival stood up, I immediately recognized her.
Neo.
I hadn't seen her since that night we had fought Torchwick under the freeway overpass. Her appearance still gave me chills, and I could swear I saw her eyes change colour as she blinked. It made for a very unsettling image. Yang unfolded her bracelets, ready for a rematch with the pint-sized girl.
"You guys go on ahead. She's mine." Yang ordered, a hint of venom in her voice. Weiss and Blake nodded, and resumed their charge. Yang cocked her weapon, and fired a flaming round at Neo, who simply sprung backwards on her hands, letting Weiss and Blake progress further into the train. I, however, decided to stay. Something about this… girl… didn't sit right with me. I unsheathed my blades, drawing Yang's attention. She glanced over her shoulder at me.
"D! I told you to go!" She hissed. I just strode forwards, standing by her side.
"I am not letting you fight her alone." I responded quietly.
"Noble. But it is not your choice to make."
A deep voice, heavily distorted, so that it sounded neither male nor female, resounded through the carriage, coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Before I could look around to find the speaker, I felt a rough hand on my shoulder spin me around. As I was forced around, I barely had time to get a glance at him, before another hand clenched around my throat, lifting me clear off the floor. Throughout my futile struggles against the iron-like vice around my windpipe, I saw the new arrival.
The black-cloaked figure, the one who had forced that mind-control drug down my throat.
"Let him go!" Yang yelled, cocking her bracelets. The figure laughed.
"As you wish, girl." He answered, before violently throwing me back the way we came. With a groan of metal, I burst through the door leading to the previous carriage, and tumbled on the ground, first onto my shoulder, then my front, then my shoulder, and onto my back. I stopped once I hit a pile of boxes, coming to rest on my stomach. As I coughed, and tried to stand, I was forced back down to one knee when the pommel of some kind of weapon was held firm against my skull.
"You have the Fragment of Arcadia. Give it to me, and I may spare you." The figure growled. I just gripped the figure's weapon, and forced it away, spinning on one hand to kick him away. He landed heavily, and I finally got a good glimpse of his weapon. Spinning in his hands were two tomahawks, black and violet in colour. I wasn't able to see if there was a firearm in the mix, but I would most certainly keep my guard up.
"What are you talking about? Fragment of what?" I responded, trying to play dumb. The figure let out a growl, and swung his tomahawk, unleashing a beam of energy directly at me. I wasn't able to dodge it in time, and I was sent flying backwards into a precariously stacked pile of boxes, causing them to fall every which way, one of which landed on my head. Trying to fight the pain in my chest, I struggled to get to my feet.
"Don't play innocent with me, boy. Now where is the Fragment?"
My assailant strode closer, gripping my neck, and lifting me up. I struggled to breathe, as they brought me closer to their face.
"Don't make me kill you, boy. Tell me where it is!"
Those same amethyst-coloured eyes leered out from under the hood, now filled with anger. But whoever this person was, they had made a mistake.
Unsheathing my blade, I thrust it into this person's stomach. They howled, which sounded absolutely demonic through the voice filter, and released me. As I hit the ground, I span backwards on the base of my hand, and stood tall, weapons ready. The figure chuckled.
"So you're going to give me a fight, eh? So be it."
Slamming the tomahawks together, the weapons combined into one, the handles extending with a series of clicks and whirrs, while the blades folded downwards, rotating around the handles to become perpendicular to each other. To complete the image, the handles split in half and folded backwards, giving a body structure to the weapon.
With a noise like a torpedo launching, a white burst of energy was fired from the weapon, where it arced downwards to my feet, and exploded with an immense amount of force, but without any sound. The pulsing energy's destructive power more than made up for it, however; the shockwave rattled my bones, and shook every organ in my body, sending me flying backwards, as the crates around me shattered to splinters. I hit the back wall with a thud, and rubbed my head, trying to regain my senses.
A concussion rifle!
Urgh, 'concussion' is the word… what do I do here, Kimba?
I… I don't know! I've never seen a weapon this destructive!
"That voice in your head can't save you here, boy."
How did this guy know that Kimba was talking to me? As far as I knew, nobody even noticed my talks with her before. How was this person able to?
"That pathetic little Faunus… she should have known better than to bring a child into this war of hers." The person sneered. I just stood up, trying to ignore the pain in my body, grimacing as I tried to speak.
"Don't call me a child. What I've done…"
I didn't get any further, as my foe just laughed.
"What you've done… is nothing. Your accomplishments are minimal, your skills are lacking. You blunder along, believing that you further your wretched cause… but you're just a boy swinging tiny knives taped to your wrists."
A sick feeling began to settle in my gut, but I ignored it, in favour of shutting this person up. Breaking into a run, I charged, yelling. But as I approached this person, they vanished in a puff of smoke, appearing behind me.
"You think yourself a warrior…"
I swiped again, only slicing through smoke. Two more cloaked figures appeared.
"You call yourself a hero…"
My blade only met a wisp of smoke. Even more figures appeared.
"You dub yourself a champion…"
I kept on slicing, only for even more copies to appear.
"You are nothing."
Having had enough, I began to spin around like a top, arms outstretched, and blades cutting through a multitude of smoky copies. But it was useless: more and more appeared as I sliced.
"Nothing, but a child."
I was growing dizzy: all this spinning was affecting my coordination. I slowed down, and weakly continued to slice.
"Nothing, but a coward."
I couldn't take it anymore. I just wanted this person to stop. Even my swipes had degraded to half-hearted swings.
"Nothing, but a waste."
I only had the energy to slash one more copy, desperately hoping it was the real one. Raising the sword strapped to my left arm, I swung down, only for a rough hand to grip the gauntlet.
"Nothing, but…"
And with a clench of the fist, the Iridescent Basilisk shattered to pieces, parts raining down onto the cold floor.
"…a failure."
I fell to my knees, feeling this person's Aura overpower mine, as they finished speaking. Whoever this person was… they were strong. Far stronger than I could ever hope to be.
"Now, give me the Fragment."
Without a second thought, I pulled my rucksack out, unzipped it, and fished around for the crystal.
Darrel, don't give it to him!
But what choice do I have?
Don't you see? He's manipulating you! That's his Semblance! Fear Illusions! You're not weak! I brought you here because you had strength beyond any other Terran I knew!
Then why couldn't I stop him?
Strength isn't a measurable thing! Strength is your will to keep fighting when all is lost! Now get up! Fight!
…But, what if I lose?
"That is not going to be a concern."
Another voice? How many people would belittle me into sub-?
*SCHWING*
A flash of red and black appeared between me and the cloaked figure, quickly revealing themselves to be a female, dressed in black and red. Raven-coloured hair flowed from her head, and her face was covered by an intricately designed mask, one which resembled a Creature of Grimm's carapace.
"You!"
"Me."
The new arrival drew a sword from a cylindrical sheath, one which revealed a mechanism lined with crystals of every colour. While her sword appeared to simply be a greyish sheen, as she pulled it free, it began to take on a reddish colour, not unlike the colours on her jacket.
"Away with you."
And before the cloaked figure had a chance to fire his weapon, the raven-haired woman slashed her sword at the ground, generating a swirling vortex of red and black energy, right at the cloaked person's feet. They slid into the ground, as if someone had opened a trapdoor where they stood. Once they had vanished into the vortex, the masked woman looked down at me.
"If you're going to save her, then you'd better start shaping up. No child of mine shall interact with a weakling." She said, before stabbing the door, and forcing it open, before I even had a chance to ask what she meant. What greeted my eyes nearly made me charge forwards in a rage.
Yang was lying unconscious on the ground, while Neo stood above her, a steel spike held, ready to end Yang, and a psychotic smile on her face.
"No!" I yelled. Neo turned to me, and her face grew terrified when she saw the raven-haired woman. Our saviour stepped forwards, and held her sword aloft, as if daring Neo to strike. But the tiny girl slid her sword back into her parasol, and vanished in a flash of light. I breathed a sigh of relief, before the masked woman turned to me.
"You're not weak. But you are not strong either. When the time comes… you had better be ready." She spoke, before forcing my hand open, and depositing the parts from my destroyed weapon into my hands. Then without another word, she swung her sword downwards, and opened another vortex. As she stepped through it, Yang began to stir. I ran to her, and knelt beside her to make sure she was okay.
"Yang? You alright?" I asked.
"I-I'm fine, D. But what about you?" she asked. I just sighed.
"One of my gauntlets was destroyed. It doesn't matter. We need to get topside." I said, feeling my energy return. Yang nodded, and got to her feet, dashing back to the hatch.
Climbing back up wasn't easy, especially since I had to deal with the fact that one of my arms felt lighter than usual. You wouldn't think that something of that calibre would be an issue, but without that Iridescent Basilisk, I felt… incomplete. Like part of myself had died when whoever was under hood crushed my gauntlet.
"Darrel, come on, keep going!" Yang yelled, having made it to the roof of the train. I shook my head, and hoisted myself up and out of the hatch, where I saw Blake, Weiss and Ruby staring forwards. Yang pulled me out of the hatch, took my hand, and ran forwards, dragging me along.
"What is it?" she asked, pulling up to the rest of the team. Blake looked back to us, and pointed forwards. Looking past her, in the direction of her finger, squinting through the darkness revealed a final obstacle: a heavy steel wall, alongside long-abandoned construction equipment. This must have been where the subway was to stop underneath Vale. But the train didn't slow down. If anything, we seemed to be accelerating, perfectly placed for a high-speed collision.
I'd heard news reports of train collisions, and seen the carnage of the aftermath on the screen… but I could only imagine what was about to happen in the next few seconds.
"What do we do?!" Blake yelled. Ruby and Weiss looked to each other, and exchanged a smile and a nod. The heiress stepped forwards, spun her rapier, and planted it into the metal beneath our feet. But instead of the ice snaking down to the wheels of the carriage, like I had expected, the ice began to fold up around us, sealing us within an artic cocoon, just as the train crashed into the metal wall ahead.
A wailing klaxon. The clattering of rubble. Yang coughing from the cloud of dust. As I rubbed my head, I saw a familiar, yet horrifying sight.
The central plaza of Vale.
The destruction of the train had forced us all to the surface, along with an enormous pile of debris, some from below, some from the destroyed road. Glancing around through my dizziness and possible concussion, I saw a crowd of people looking at the carnage in fear and confusion. After all, how many people expected a group of heavily armed teenagers to burst through the ground?
*RUMBLE…*
The ground quaked violently, loosening more debris, and I heard a quiet hissing. Hissing that I had heard before.
Behind me, a long, black, scaly body exploded from the hole in the ground, sending wreckage skyward. Looking up, I saw the head of an enormous Taijitu look down on the plaza, and roar hungrily.
The citizens of Vale began to scream, and flee from the carnage, as more and more Creatures of Grimm emerged from the hole. Beowolves chased fleeing civilians ravenously, while Deathstalkers scuttled along the streets, using their luminous stingers to strike at the stampeding crowds. The Taijitu slithered forwards, ignoring us, as it flickered its tongue out, searching for any unfortunate people that would make for a relishing meal.
I got to my feet, looking at the massacre unfolding before my eyes. This was exactly what I had been brought here to stop. This was the Reckoning, unfolding before my eyes…
…
…and there was little I could do to stop it.
Well, crud. Now Darrel's in for it.
Kia ora! (That's Māori for 'be well')