They'd not ran, but burst through the door. Yang cocked her gauntlet as the empty shell dropped to the floor.
"Ignore everything, we can't let the train reach the city!" Ruby yelled as they continued to the next car.
Sure they could try to stop the bombs, but they knew it would be much better to halt the train instead. As long as they kept from reaching Vale the bombs wouldn't be an issue, and they could deal with the aftermath of the them later.
Ruby however let her eyes wander. She still needed to find her weapon, and as they rushed along she began to worry if it was left behind. Yet her search was put on hold as they entered the next segment.
A scream filled their ears and in a moment of shock she instinctively burst apart. Ruby quickly emerged across the room and stared back at the source of the cry. It was another grunt, one sporting a pair of glasses and wielding a distinctive weapon.
"My baby!" She cried as she felt a wave of panic wash over her.
The man looked to be momentarily distracted by the lingering petals of her path; something Blake in particular took advantage of. Like a bullet she shot forth, ducking low as she delivered a kick to his shins. He was taken off his feet and she caught hold of his leg, pulling him into a spin only to toss him over to Yang who followed up by slamming her fist against his head as she forced it into the metallic floor.
Had it not been for the flash of aura around him Ruby would have worried about the damage he might have suffered. Although with his aura broke Yang looked to be intent on gathering info.
The elder sister hoist him above her as she scowled.
"Alright, wanna tell me what's going on here? Or do I need to make an example out of you first?" She threatened as she kicked at the fallen weapon. Ruby took hold of Crescent Rose and hugged it tightly as she watched Yang do her thing.
The grunt never spoke, instead he chose to spit right on Yang's face. While disrespectful the action wouldn't have garnered anything more than a swift knock out from the brawler, if it weren't for the bit of saliva that sprinkled the edges of her hair.
Her eyes glowed red as her aura burned.
She dropped him, and just as he started to stand she drove her fist into his arm. A sickening crunch was heard. The man screamed, only to be silenced as Yang grabbed his head and threw it against the wall. He dropped soundlessly with a dull thud as she started over to the others.
Ruby would have panicked, but she saw the rhythmic movements of his torso. He was still alive, albeit knocked out for the time being.
"Right, we moving on now or what?" It came out as a growl, but the two ignored it as they nodded. Yang would calm down later, Ruby knew she would, they just needed to give her a couple hours.
They entered the next car, using the door this time instead of simply tearing through.
"And here you are once again, always getting in my way. Are you really that infatuated with me red? Or are you trying to tell me something?"
"Shut it Torchwick! There's no place for you to run now so give it up!" Yang shouted as she took a step forward. Roman laughed, which only drove the already volatile woman's rage further.
"Nowhere to run? My my clearly you haven't been paying good attention have you?"
"What's that supposed to mean huh!?" Yang shouted as the man sighed and shook his head. He shrugged as he sent her a sly look.
"I have you right where I want y-"
Roman never got to finish his sentence as he found his mouth obstructed by cloth, and Blake yanked him forward. With a quick dash she slid low with a spin, knocking Roman off his feet much like the grunt before. With a quick pull he was brought down; mouth still covered in ribbon. He tried to move but she wouldn't let him, whipping forward she hopped above him, and with a flick of the wrist wrapped him.
He was caught, ensnared by the black fabric. She pulled tight to keep him from being able to move and pulled the cloth away from his mouth.
"Now tell us, what are you trying to do?" It was an order, one that Roman rolled his eyes at.
"How about you go see for yourself."
"What?" She questioned as he nudged his head to the window. With a glance she felt her eyes widen.
"Hold on tight." He taunted as the group - himself included - braced themselves and their aura.
The train had reached it's end.
.
.
"Can we take a breather now? We've been at this all night, and we're still at it today!" Qrow whined as Winter scoffed.
"No. We've only just cleared half of them, we can't afford to slow down now, not when the terrorists can catch wind and move their operations."
Qrow's shoulders slumped as the woman continued to scold him, reiterating on the dangers of the group and other potentially bad scenarios. I looked over to Clover who simply gave me a sheepish look; clearly he never expected this level of drive from Winter either.
I couldn't exactly blame her as she was right. If we took too long then the White Fang could very well move their base, leaving us with an even lower chance of finding them. We needed to take advantage of the circumstances; even if it meant a tiring trek of repetitive searching.
"Then at least let us break for lunch, we haven't eaten since yesterday. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day you know, and the Fang might not have woken up yet." Qrow let out as he slouched against a lamp post.
"Did you not hear a word I said? We don't have time." Winter told as the man let out a sigh.
"Actually, I think he may have a point."
It was Clover who broke the silence this time as all eyes turned to him.
"We've not eaten or rested since we began, even if we find the Fang we won't be in any state to challenge them."
"You and I both know we can go days without rations and still perform just fine." Winter said as Clover nodded.
"Yes, we can, but what about him and Vermillion here? We've had the training necessary to endure, but we don't know if they have or not."
"Qrow is perfectly capable of it, I've seen it first hand, he's just being childish." Winter spoke as she sent a glare towards the subject of her irritation.
"And Vermillion?" Clover asked as she looked to me.
I didn't know if I should say anything or not. I knew for a fact that I could do the same as the other two, but Qrow looked tired. In a way I felt like he was just being dramatic, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't feeling a little tired myself.
I remained silent as Clover sent a look to Winter. She let out a sigh as she turned around.
"Ten minutes, we'll take ten minutes. But after that we get back to work got it?"
"Yes!" Qrow practically came to life again, and Winter looked just as annoyed as moments before.
I followed along as we walked through the streets. So far we had no real luck in terms of anything useful. Most places were downright empty, and those that weren't barely had more than a spare scrap of uniform. So far we'd been unable to draw any conclusions from what we did find, other than the knowledge that the place was once used by them.
To make matters worse I in particular found myself on edge. I had no real reason to be any bit more worried than the others, but they didn't know the Fang like I did.
They didn't know Adam.
The man was passionate about the cause he fought for, to the point that I may have worried about him had we been close. Yet I had no time to personally win him over, and with how things turned out I doubted he'd trust me anyway. But if there was one thing I knew would stay the same it was his drive. He wouldn't sit still if there was something to be done.
Not unless he had to.
I was left wondering if he was biding his time, scheming for his next operation; or was his absence due to circumstances out of his control? No answer came to me, and the apprehension only grew as each potential base was cleared.
"Finally, grub time." Qrow took a seat as we stopped at the stand.
Clover and I looked to each other before doing the same, and Winter held a defeated look the entire time. None of us had time to so much as speak before the man behind the counter turned, whipping out four bowls before us. With a giddy look Qrow ravished his food, all the while Winter held a slightly disgusted look towards him.
With a raised brow Clover took to the pasta. His reaction was one of pleasant surprise as he gave a slight nod to the server.
I myself looked over the meal as it sat softly in the steamy broth. I'd never seen pasta shaped so strangely before; all stringy and near translucent. The liquid itself was a dark shade of brown, nearing a sort of grey as some type of herbs could be seen throughout. Taking hold of the twin sticks I mimicked the motions that Qrow and the others did: using it to grab hold of the mystery food.
Sweet, with a dash of salt.
It wasn't a bad taste, in fact I found it quite enjoyable, it was just... different. As I stared down at the bowl I was able to catch sight of some chopped vegetables hidden throughout it; tangled in all the crevices of the slightly oversized meal.
Yet what surprised me most was the confidence the man presented his creation. There had been no hesitation, as soon as we sat down he threw out his work. Considering that he gave us all what looked to be the same thing, coupled by the fact he never asked us what we wanted showed he held faith in his abilities.
Is Vale always like this?
I never really considered it before, but as I sat there I started to let my mind wander. I wasn't home anymore, and so any previous common knowledge and mannerisms would be useless, or so I thought. But looking at the man I started to wonder if everything was really all that different.
Sure the way people did things and acted was a major change, but the underlying pride and drive for what they loved seemed to be intact, and dare I say boldened. Not only from the man who gave us food, but also the people who went about their day to day. As I searched with Winter and the others I had caught glimpses of people out on the streets, and I had seen them move with such purpose it gave me chills.
The common folk of the kingdoms wouldn't dare show such brazen pride unless they felt reason too. Back home the only ones to do it had been master painters and chefs: people who spent their whole lives perfecting the craft. Yet here were the commoners of Vale, wandering about as if about to challenge the world itself.
I couldn't help but share in their enthusiasm.
"Oh yeah, that's the stuff." Qrow let out with a breath.
"Happy now?" Winter asked; not even trying to hide her feelings anymore.
"You know if you weren't such a stick in the mud you might have just a few more friends to help out with stuff like this." Qrow taunted as Winter looked appalled.
"And what does that have to do with anything!?"
"See, you're doing it again."
The two bickered on for a bit as I tuned it out, deciding it wasn't worth doting over. Casting my gaze to Clover I saw that he too decided to leave them be, most likely coming to the same conclusion I had. Qrow was clearly just pushing buttons at this point, and the smirk across his lips told us everything.
"Don't worry, you'll learn how to lighten up someday." He said as he leaned back against the stand.
"Qrow I swear-"
The banter was broken as a massive quake was felt throughout the street. The bystanders who'd been out looked to stumble as everybody tried to make sense of what happened.
"What was that?" Qrow mumbled as people rushed around.
Then I saw it, how everybody seemed to set their sights in a particular direction. I stood and walked out a bit, turning as I followed the collective gaze. Instantly any since of calm I may have had dissipated as I called back to the others.
"Smoke, lots of it!"
"What?" Winter exclaimed, dashing to my side as she followed my line of sight.
Qrow and Clover took places next to me as well, with the former letting out a low whistle.
"Looks like we found them."
"Come on!" Winter ordered as she sprinted ahead with the rest of us in tow.
The smoke looked thick, and combined with the quake just moments before it left only one possibility I could think of.
A bomb.
How and when the Fang managed to set it ultimately didn't matter, the important thing was assessing damages and hopefully helping any survivors.
As we arrived we were greeted by something none of us expected. Strewn across the area were corpses of both White Fang and civilians alike, all the while Grimm ran amuck killing everything in their path. It was an all out battlefield between the Grimm, Fang, and several students who I recognized instantly. All this along with the massive hole dead center of the area; which the Grimm were happily spilling from.
"The dust happened here?" Qrow let out as he drew his weapon, appearing to take in the situation as he visibly tensed.
"We can discover that later, right now we need to deal with this." Winter told as she cast a look to the rest of us. "Clover, focus on finding any surviving civilians and bringing them to safety. Qrow I want you to back up the students. Vermillion, you and I will deal with the Grimm and terrorists respectively."
I nodded as we set off. Winter dashed into the nearest group of Fang, weaving between and dispatching them in a show of elegance. Like Weiss she moved with grace I'd not seen before, with each of her movements designed to maneuver around and disarm opponents. She looked to be intent on knocking them down rather than killing them, something I was sure she expected the rest of us to follow along with.
I however had greater problems to deal with as the Grimm seemed to know I was coming. I rushed over next to Ruby as she and I stared at the massive creature before us.
"Vermillion!"
"Glad I could make it. Mind telling-" We leaped back as it lunged, landing between us which forced me to yell louder to the cloaked girl. "-Me what's happening?"
"Train, Fang, I'll explain after we deal with this!" She shouted as she closed in for the kill, ripping her scythe across it's center; splitting the double ended serpent in half.
The creature let out a rippling shriek as it died, and it's fluids sprayed out in a shower of tar. It wasn't quite finished though, as the black half made one last lung towards us. It was in vain though as Ruby burst apart, rendering it's last motion a waste. The Black half crashed and rolled against the pavement, all the while the white half let out a gurgled whine, as if weeping for the loss of it's other.
In a way I felt a little bad. With the ability to feel the Grimm's emotions it left me with a broken outlook. While I now understood that Grimm could feel, the knowledge really put a different perspective on these sort of events. Were all these dying screams from the Grimm filled with sorrow? Did they mourn their fallen comrades? I was left wondering whether they fought out of anger, or just pure animalistic instinct.
"Ruby, where are the others?" I asked as she looked around.
Horror filled her features.
Time seemed to slow as I zeroed in on what she saw. In the distance Blake's aura had just been broken as the Beowolf struck from behind, with the shattered fizzle of purple coating her and breaking apart as she rolled to a stop. She looked dazed, and I saw the foes that rushed her way. Ruby brought up her weapon to take aim, yet every movement was agonizingly long.
I don't know what happened, but I ran. Yet even I was stuck in this frozen pace, forced to watch as both the Fang and the Beowolf dashed for her. I reached out, letting my armor burn over me as raw malice and rage thundered in from all directions.
I could feel them, I could feel them all.
All their pain, all their rage. It was a torrent of flame, like needles tearing across my skin. So much raw emotion that I couldn't bare it, but I pushed on. Each step was heavy and I knew then and there I wouldn't make it. Yet there was a small part of me that tried anyway, desperately reaching out for her in hopes I might make it.
I failed.
And as I stared, watching in shock as it's jaws dug into the flesh of her neck, a nauseating crunch echoed throughout my ears. Her body dropped with a dull lifeless thud, an the mask clinked against the pavement.
Blake stared up at the creature as it stood on it's hind legs, towering before her, as if acting like a wall between her an the rest of the grunts. She didn't move, but instead stared as it's body was coated in a deep crimson hue. The creature looked to stand guard over her, casting a glance back before returning it's attention towards the Fang. In that moment it snarled, puffing out it's chest and looking to the moon.
It let out a vicious, guttural roar.
Author's note
...
Oh look at that, another chapter makes itself known, and one with a bit more weight to it. Well... not really all that much, but enough to keep you guessing.
Train's done - as anti-climactic as it was - and now we're back in the city. Qrow and the gang also return, with seemingly no luck as usual.
V also hops back into the fray, with a quick look at how he views things.
That's it for now, see you next time.