A/N: Hello, once more, my friends. I'm back, with another chapter in this! Woo! Enjoy!

RWBY is owned by Roosterteeth and the late Monty Oum

RWBY: Operation Remnant

Outbreak

Chapter 3

Jaune checked his rifle one more time as they rode the elevator down to Sub Level 1. once he was sure it was functioning correctly he thumbed the safety off and held it before him, barrel down.

His captain noted that and gave a faint nod of approval before checking over the rest of the squad.

Russell was loading shells in his shotgun after having checked over the small tablet he had on him, the handles his two blades jutting out like wings on his hips. Meanwhile, Dove was checking over the revolver he had at his side, having already checked his main gun and the snub-nosed sub machine gun he taken from the base's armory.

And, finally, Sky was checking over the his personally rifle once more.

He nodded again. Good, very good. If they were doing this then they were ready, already in the proper mindset for what was to come.

"Captain," General Ironwood called from over the commlink then. "Be sure to keep your comms open. We lost contact with the other teams somewhere around the second or third sub level."

"Understood, sir," He replied as the elevator came to a stop. He nodded to his men as they readied their weapons and started forwards, the bunker doors of the level opening then.

/ /

As the doors closed behind them Jaune felt a deep sense of foreboding. He had ever since the elevator started to descend.

Something was down here. Something unnatural.

He hoped they were ready for it.

The fist sub level was dark, empty. The few remaining lights overhead barely hinting at the gloom beyond.

"Lights!" Cardin ordered as he lead the way in. The others followed behind him. Activating the lights on their helmets and his, Jaune's, and Dove's rifle as they did so.

Then they kept going. On occasion they found either a room or secondary corridor that led off into the darkness. They checked the rooms on the way but ignored the side corridors as much as they could, always keeping an eye on them as they made their way down, following the directions on the walls to the 2nd Sub Level stairwell.

They found nothing. No evidence of foul play. No signs life. Nothing.

Until they did.

What they saw in that light was unnerving to say the least.

There was a dried, black liquid everywhere. They knew that color, though. It was the color of old blood.

"What the fuck?" Russell muttered as he saw that. He looked around at the sight before them before whispering, "No one said anything about this?"

"Doesn't matter." Dove responded as they kept moving forwards, slowly. "We knew something had happened down here. This just confirms it."

"Yeah, but… where are all the bodies? This much blood there should've been something. Pieces, I don't know." Russell argued back quietly, being unnerved by it all.

"Quiet!" Cardin hissed as he heard a noise in the distance.

The others paused behind him as they heard the same, forming up in a V formation to either side of their Captain. Then they waiting, preparing.

It wasn't a long wait.

Around the distant corner, a lone figure staggered out towards them. They pinned their lights on him as the man continued to stagger their way. Jaune noted the blood spattered white lab coat he wore as well as the hands equally stained in the same way. As he got closer he spied some kind of black residue on him as well.

It shone in the light.

Then the scientist staggered into another room. Where he didn't come back out. One with darkened windows looking in.

"Thrush, Arc," Cardin then ordered. They nodded before moving in cautiously. Russel led the way, his shotgun at the ready. Jaune was right behind. The rest following after.

They set up next to the entrance way with the sergeant still leading, gun at the ready. He peeked into the room seeing only the man standing with his back to them and nothing else. He glanced back at Jaune and nodded. The Lieutenant nodded back and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Then he squeezed.

They moved in clearing the corners to either side before spreading out again after checking around the large central isle. The Captain held back, watching the doorway for a moment before turning to face the survivor, if he could be called that. "General, Status Update." Cardin then comned in. "We've found a survivor. Looks like a scientist, male. Attempting contact now, Over."

"Understood, Captain," the general returned immediately. "Proceed with caution. We still don't know what has happened down there, Over."

"Roger that, sir. Over and out." Cardin returned. He glanced at Jaune and then Russell again and nodded.

The two nodded back silently and moved in cautiously with Jaune shouldering his rifle.

Jaune checked the man over as he edged closer, pulling out a medical packet as he did. "Sir?" He called as eh got closer, glancing at Russell, who nodded back and raised his gun. "Sir? Can you hear me? Are you okay? Do you need medical attention?"

The scientist, who had been standing there listlessly, groaned as he began to turn around. Jaune frowned at the man's condition, mentally reviewing what could be the cause for the stiffness of his movements, before stepping towards him while keeping out of Russell's line of sight.

At the sound of footsteps from outside the room Cardin turned around and looked out into the corridor again, rifle at the ready. He saw nothing the in the limited range of his light. At least, not at first.

As he panned the light around he saw more men and two women in military fatigues shuffling their way. "Contact," he gritted out as a warning. The others made to shift his way, and that's when the scientist acted.

With a sudden bloodcurdling shriek he sprang at Jaune as the Lieutenant glanced away. He jerked back around, bringing an arm up to protect himself as the man struck at him with both hands in a chopping motion.

The sudden strike slammed him to his knees with a groan. Jaune then looked up just in time as the scientist then backhanded him so hard he flew across the room to slam against the wall with resounding clunk. He dropped in a semi-dazed state as he laid there on the floor.

"Arc!" Cardin roared in alarm at that just as the ones outside let out shrieks of their own and began rushing towards him. He jerked around at that and raised his rifle, the light revealing faces of the dead.

He didn't hesitate as he then opened fire on them.

The first two dropped with a spray of blackening blood as they rushed at his position. He heard a loud blast behind him and the shrieking behind instantly cut off. He fired another burst and dropped one of the women.

And, then, they were on him.

He backpedaled as they reached for him and hit the button on the wall near the door. It shut with a loud clank, severing one of the creature's arms. It dropped to the floor, splurting more of that blacken blood.

He activated his commlink then as he continued to back away from the now sealed door, "General! Sir, we've had contact with a hostile force, over!"

"Repeat one, over?" The general returned.

"I say again, sir, met with hostile contact!" Cardin responded. "I don't know what the Hell they are but they go down real easy, over!"

That's when the windows broke, smashed in as several bodies rammed their way through them with sudden velocity. They then rose with unnatural, jerky motions before rushing the team. Once more loosing that unearthly howl as they ran at them.

"Shit!" Cardin spat at that and raised his rifle again and barked, "Take 'em down!"

They opened fire.

The two rifles and the shotgun tore into and ripped apart the unarmored bodies, blowing holes into them. The small mob fell as quickly as they arrived, their broken bodies twitching in pools of spreading, black blood.

They held that position for a moment before Sky and Dove moved to cover the now compromised windows while Russell made his way over to help Jaune back to his feet. Cardin continued to curse under his breath for a minute before saying over the commlink, "General, sir. Delta Squad, over."

"Ironwood here, Over. What's your status, Delta, over?" Was the response.

"Sir, I don't know what's going on here but we just got attacked by a group of - Hell, I don't know how to say it, so I'm just going to say it! - A group of infected soldiers, sir. Over." Cardin barked as an explanation while he paced back and forth before the door, checking to see if anything else was attempting to get in that way.

"Infected how? In what way, over?" Ironwood asked.

"Lieutenant?" Cardin commanded.

Jaune nodded before making his way over to the corpse of the scientist and knelt before it. Sky took up a position next to him, his sidearm in hand.

he looked over the corpse, pressing here, prodding there as he looked at it closely with a pen light in hand. "The flesh is pale white, almost bone white. The veins are black and throbbing even now. The eyes… are a deep piercing red in a solid black sclera." He mused as he looked over the body. He looked up and stared off into the middle distance as he said, "I've never seen anything like this. An unknown pathogen or mutation of some type? But there's no method of infection, no vector that I can see of any kind. No bites, no needle markings. No other means of transference. An aerosol perhaps? No. I don't see it. "

He looked up at his superior officer as he said, "I don't know for sure, sir. This is something that is entirely unknown to me."

"You get all that, sir, over?" Cardin then asked through the commlink.

"Aye, Captain. Continue your search. Find the Cause. I advise looking for the Forward Operating Post. The last team supposedly set one up on Level 2 before continuing on." The general ordered.

"Roger that, sir. We'll call in when we reach the FOP. Over and out." Cardin answered before ending the call. Then he looked at him men and said, "Alright, let's move. Roll out!"

"Roger that, sir." His team chorused before grouping up on either side of him as he stood before the door. He puffed a breathe out before opening the door.

There was nothing there.

The team moved as one then, once more breaching and clearing just like before. They made their way down the corridor once more, constantly checking for any threats.

Unfortunately, they found it.

After the initial attack more of the infected started to appear from various side corridors and rooms. They came in twos and threes, mostly scientists and engineers, but with the occasional infected soldier as well.

That would've been fine. They had no armor after all. Except that many of the soldiers attacked them were armed. The shotguns and assault rifles that they used were inaccurate, but far more dangerous than the fists used by the others.

The further in they went more of the creatures appeared and attacked them. "General!" The Captain yelled into his commlink. "We're being surrounded. There's too many of them! Requesting reinforcements, over!"

"Re(static)t re(static)ive. (static)old on! Do y(static) (static)ear?" The general responded through a burst of static. "Cap (static) Res(static)ond! Over?"

"General? Please repeat? I couldn't catch that, sir? Say again!" Cardin asked, slightly panicking. "I repeat. Say! Again!"

Finally, he stopped trying with a muttered, "Shit!", and looked up at his men as they held the intersection they found themselves in and said, "Looks like we're on our own, boys. Move it!"

Eventually, they found their way to the stairs, low on ammunition and exhausted as their bursts of adrenaline had run their course. Cardin kicked open the door as he dodged around another one of the shrieking banshees. He had to back away as a trio of infected soldiers then shot out of the previously sealed entrance.

They shrieked and gibbered at him before toppling over as he pumped half a mag into their forms. He then turned to him men and roared, "Move it! Now! Go, go go!"

Sky was the first one through, quickly checking for threats before taking the stairs down two at a time. He was followed swiftly by Dove. The man shooting at the multitude of infected behind them before backing into and turning around to check the corners of the stairwell as he made his way down after the sniper.

Cardin then moved in as Jaune took his place.

Jaune held the door for a moment as Russell made his way towards them, pumping shell after shell into the suddenly growing mob behind them. "Russell, move!" He barked as he dodged a sloppy rabbit punch before crushing the skull of the infected that had attacked him with his rifle butt.

"I know! I'm comin'," the shorter man called as he limped towards him, having taken a bad knock himself earlier during a brief scuffle. He grunted as he was caught in an embrace from behind.

One of the infected, a hulking giant of a man in fatigues, gripped him tightly and began to squeeze him in a manner similar to a bear hug. Russell grunted and groaned aloud as he felt his bones creak under the crushing embrace. Finally, he gasped , "Jaune!"

He gasped and raised his rifle at the two, attempting to shoot the giant and not his struggling comrade. Only to be bodied through the entrance as yet another infected slammed into him.

"No!" He cried out as the door he had been holding slammed closed on the struggling form of Russell as the man was being surrounded, screaming for aid.

He struggled with his opponent, a woman with previously pale blond hair. Somehow, just like the doctor before, she was enormously powerful, ripping and clawing at him as she held him down. He grasped her by the chin and shoved, and shoved, her away enough that he could finally draw his sidearm. He pressed the gun into her chest and fired once, twice, thrice.

The shrieking woman abruptly stopped screaming and collapsed on top of him again. He blinked and gasped at that as dark blood dribbled from her mouth onto the visor of his helmet.

He shoved the corpse off of himself before rolling back to his feet with a wince. He made to pick up his rifle only to find that it was busted, having been smashed by the infected as she attacked him.

He turned to the stairwell just as Dove came back up for them. The shorter man steadied him as he swayed in place before looking over at the door and asked, "Russell?"

He shook his head as eh said, "I don't know?"

The sergeant frowned at that and stepped towards the door. He attempted to open it only to find it jammed in place. He banged on it and muttered, "Damn."

Then he turned back to his superior and said, "Come on, the others are waiting on us." Jaune nodded, frowning, as he followed the man down.

"Dove? Status report. Where are they. Did they make it?" The Captain asked over their personal comms.

"We lost Thrush, sir. He didn't make it." Dove responded, his voice cool and distant. Jaune followed along in silence.

And , as he did so, he wondered just how many of them would end up like Russell before this mission was over.

A/N: So, that got a bit wild. Just a bit. For those of you who played Area 51 on the PS2 then you'll kind of get what I was going for with this chapter and the last. And, while there's no fight with an insurgent like in that game's opening chapter I do have the never ending mob you get at the beginning of the game.

Hoped you enjoyed. Goodnight everybody!