Storm clouds started to block out the sun as usual as an Atlesian Bullhead landed on one of the pads. The door slid open and a woman that fair-skinned and had slate-blue eyes with white hair that resembled snow. Her expression could be described as stern as she exited out of the aerial vehicle and walked down the ramp. A backpack was over her shoulders and she looked at the sky to see it naturally gloomy.
"How depressing." She whispered as she made her way towards the tower. With the recent news of Patch possibly being occupied by the Locust, she was one of soldiers to be selected to go there. Her regret of not being able to defend Mantle constantly ate at her and the decisions and actions of both the Ace Ops and Ironwood had caused her to face several unfortunate encounters.
She-
"Winter?" A voice took her out of her thoughts and she turned around to see her younger sister standing behind her.
"Weiss?" Winter asked as she stopped and adjusted her bag. It's been some time since she's heard from her younger sister and she wasn't the only one who hadn't contacted her recently.
"..." Weiss tried to give a smile but it felt forced in a way. There was a sense of sadness behind it and Winter wondered what had caused it. However, she remembered that her younger sister was constantly fighting genocidal abominations as well as mutated ones as well. Contact with her family was limited and it wasn't like she could just up and leave to see them whenever she wanted.
"It's been a while." Winter said, and she internally flinched on how cold she sounded.
"Yeah..." Weiss nodded and looked away. The silence in between the two was uncomfortable and she had a feeling that this wasn't a reunion or a family visit of some sort.
"You don't call anymore." Winter said as she walked alongside her sister.
"Haven't really had the chance to." Weiss mumbled.
"..." Winter just looked at her and it was the same for her. Ever since Mantle fell, she's been busy to the point where she's spent days at her office and had to deal with the encounters with both the civil unrest and Grimm that still plagued the kingdom. Despite her position, she rarely ever fought against the Locust but had seen videos of them to know that they weren't dealing with. They were abominations that held no form of sympathy for anything.
"So what are you doing here?" Weiss asked after some time.
"General Ironwood has ordered me to be stationed here. I've been selected for the Reclamation Movement." Winter said.
"Ah. I'm guessing you're here to meet with Colonel Creed then?" Weiss guessed.
"That's correct. I've heard numerous things about the man." Winter nodded.
"Well, he's up in the tower. I can escort you since I'm headed that way anyways." Weiss offered and before Winter could say anything, they were already making their way through the crowds. It was silent in between the two siblings and neither knew what to say to one another. While there wasn't any tension in between them, and their relationship wasn't estranged, they didn't know what to say.
"Whitley asks about you." Winter said, making Weiss look at her then look back ahead.
"He's probably just doing that to save face." Weiss said.
"He's not... both him and mother miss you." Winter shook her head.
"What about father?" Weiss asked.
"..." Winter looked away and Weiss' face soured a bit felt a bit of resentment bubble up in her system.
"Figures." She clicked her tongue and adjusted her hair a bit. She spotted two Gears wearing heavy armor and a modified Mk. I Lancer with a drum magazine and a scope on it. Thicker armor plating with a neck guard and integrated rebars for the chest piece and heavy plating for the legs and boots. It was also equipped with more pouches for extra ammunition and explosives.
Destroyers were often sent to make sure nothing was left standing and were considered experts in demolition. They were soldiers one wanted to have on their side rather than fight against. Not to mention their relationship with the other members of the Destroyers was close and both Ruby and Weiss had to reign Yang in when she tried to pick a fight with them.
"Ah, those are the famed Destroyers." Winter observed as she looked at the two Gears walk by.
"You know about them?" Weiss asked.
"I've... seen the aftermath of their work." Winter said and recalled the ones in Atlas.
They were mainly veteran Gears who had a penchant for heavy firepower and were sent only on missions that would kill regular soldiers. Glowie nests and Locust camps were often decimated by sheer force. While Winter sometimes felt they needed a more tactful approach to some situations, she couldn't help but admit that they were valuable soldiers in their own right.
"Do you often work with the Gears?" Weiss asked.
"No. They mainly keep to themselves and only talk to us if it's absolutely necessary. After the Lucas Reed incident, the Gears hold no trust towards the Atlesian military. They are openly violent to the Ace Ops and have no respect towards the wealthy politicians." Winter answered.
After that incident, the Gears were so close to cutting ties to the snow kingdom that it sent several parties into a panic. The only reason they stayed was due to the looks of the citizens and the fact that if Atlas fell, there was no telling how much power the Locust could gain and humanity would lose. So they sucked up their contempt and stayed surprisingly, however they made no effort to form personal bonds and kept their relationship strictly business.
"Huh... they treat us pretty well." Weiss blinked and Winter looked at her.
"Really?" She asked.
"Yeah. Some of them are pretty nice to us, I guess it's because we work alongside them so often." Weiss shrugged.
It made sense to Winter. The Gears often were close to the VDF and BSS, the latter a bit more, because of how often they worked together. To them, the VDF had earned their respect through their shared battles and from what she's heard, they usually offered to go on the mainland out of their own volition. She noticed that the Gears and BSS here seemed to be in better spirits than the ones in Atlas, who always held an air of hostility around them.
They walked through the market area and Winter blinked when she saw a small stand with freshly cooked chicken skewers while another one was selling what appeared to be some seafood skewers. It made her wonder how they managed to get seafood without anybody actually having access to the ocean.
"How do you all have seafood if you don't have access to the ocean?" Winter asked.
"The Gears." Weiss answered as she bought two chicken skewers and continued walking with her sister.
"..." Winter just looked at the vendor selling seafood.
"I mean, it's to be expected since they're somewhere in the ocean. Half of our equipment and supplies comes from them believe it or not." Weiss said as she handed her sister a skewer. It was taken from her hand hesitantly and Winter looked at her scroll to see that she had at least another hour before she was supposed to meet with Ironwood and Creed.
"The Gears are still taking jobs, right?" Winter asked.
"I think so, why?" Weiss asked as she sat down on a nearby bench and looked at her. She noticed the uncomfortable look on her sister's face and knew that something wasn't quite right.
"Atlas is starting to conscript people into the armed forces and Whitely might be one of the candidates for it." Winter said quietly and the tension seemed to thicken in between them. It was only a matter of time before people were drafted to fight in the war. Even though their father made countless arrangements to avoid having his only son from being forced into service, it still was a possibility.
However, it shouldn't have been the case seeing how he was the only male in the Schnee family and Jacques couldn't produce anymore heirs.
"And you think that the Gears will help." Weiss finished.
"Maybe... mother doesn't want him fighting... she doesn't want any of us fighting." Winter said.
Before Weiss could make a retort, Creed had walked up to her and handed her a tablet. He crossed his arms as he waited for her to read the contents. Her expression shifted into several different emotions and she looked at him.
"Sir, are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, Yang is a trouble maker but Patch is her home and she could provide some useful information." She said.
"Xiao Long has been a thorn in my side for too long and I'm putting an end to it. You and Rose will be assigned to different squads depending on the mission." He crossed his arms.
"Colonel Creed?" Winter stood up and asked.
"Ironwood is waiting for you up in the tower, Schnee." He said.
"Ah, you already know who I am." She nodded.
"Your sister talks about you and I've gone over your file." He responded.
"I see." She said.
"Go meet with Ironwood, I'll talk with you later." He instructed. She nodded and gave Weiss one last look before departing and heading towards the tower.
"Sir, why not have the commander partake in this?" Weiss asked and Creed stopped as he was about to leave. She stood up and followed him as he began to walk towards the command building.
"Ronin has done a lot for us and needs a break. He built a faction that is capable of taking the fight to the Locust, he provides us with supplies and equipment, and he has helped build the VDF. If anybody deserves some rest, it's him." He answered.
"..." Weiss just stayed silent and thought about it. The times he did meet with him, he always seemed busy and she thought about how much goes into managing a whole entire faction. His soldiers had often told people they'd die for Walker if needed. While the fear of death was still there, they'd accept it if it finally took their lives. It was part of the job of the Gears; they knew death constantly lurked around every corner and had grimly come to terms with it.
While she didn't always agree with their sometimes borderline cruel methods, she was gladly take a Gear and BSS operative over an Ace Op at this point. Even amongst the VDF, Walker was a living legend. While some were trying not to crack under the threat of the Locust and Glowies, he was there ripping them apart with cruelty that rivaled even their underground counterparts.
Creed had left without her noticing and she was left alone in the market area. She wondered how different things would have been had the war not happened. It felt like it's been longer than a couple of years; so much was gone in such a short amount of time and she often thought about how long it would last. Would she see the day it ended? Was there anything left worth fighting for when it was over?
She looked up when she saw Ruby shout her name. Behind her was Yang, a scowl present on her face and Weiss sighed. As long as she had those two and her family, things weren't so bad compared to what others had. She had to look at the little things and take it in strides.
It was all she could do at this point.
An APC drove on a road on Patch. It was followed by several more with each of its occupants finding different ways to keep themselves occupied until they reached their destination. Creed sat in his seat and inspected his combat helmet before placing it on his head and rotating his neck several times. When he was done, he looked at the other occupants and saw that they were from different factions.
A couple were from the VDF, some from the BSS, even three from Atlas. At the end of the APC near the door was a lone Obsidian Guard that remained completely silent. On his lap was his heavily modified Lancer and dangling off his finger was a small item that resembled a talisman. Smoke seeped out of it and the quiet Gear uttered some words that were practically indecipherable and unheard over the sound of the vehicle moving.
Winter sat across from the Gear and next to her sister while stealing subtle glances at the man. While she's heard whispers about them, she doubted that they actually existed or not due to a majority of their tasks kept under tight lock and key. They were legends amongst the legends within the Gears. Being a part of the Onyx or Obsidian Guard was considered the highest honor that could be bestowed upon a Gear.
They were clad in the most powerful armor, handed the masterly crafted weapons by the famed brothers, and given extensive training that allowed them to complete their jobs and adapt to the situation at hand. They received the best because they had proven themselves to be the best. However, they still deeply respected Walker the most. Tales of his deeds such as clearing out Glowie nests and Locust camps singlehandedly weren't false. He was a living legend and shunned the need for unnecessary attention and actively shied away from Glory.
She was taken out of her thoughts when the vehicle stopped and the Obsidian Guard turned his head to his left when there was chatter in his helmet. Everyone looked at him and he stood up suddenly and opened the rear door and hopped out.
"What is it?" Creed asked.
"Tickers." The Obsidian Guard answered curtly.
Creed instantly understood and knew that if even one Ticker got underneath their vehicle and exploded, they'd be out of the picture. If there was one thing many people underestimated, it was Tickers. They believed that just because they were smaller than the normal Locust beast, they were less lethal. Only true, capable combatants knew the danger of leaving the living landmines unchecked would pose. He remembered one time an entire convoy was wiped out by several waves of Tickers alone.
"Man, I hate those little shits." A VDF soldier grumbled.
"Provide security for the transport until we arrive at our destination." Creed said and the Guard nodded before closing the doors and walking alongside the vehicle. Outside were several more Gears providing protection for the vehicles as they made their way to the Lighthouse.
"How'd you get them of all people to listen to you?" Weiss asked.
"I've been given command of them for this." He answered. If there was one thing about the Obsidian Guards that constantly irked many commanding officers, it was their general disregard for answering to them. They were Walker's loyal subjects and answered to no one but him. It was a mystery as to why they obeyed him only, but no one ever got the chance to ask. They were usually gone by the time the job was done. The only reason they were heard about was because they allowed their presence to be known.
The vehicle continued to drive forward and faint footsteps outside could be heard. Nothing but the engine running was heard aside from the occasional chatter of the each of the occupants inside. Creed leaned back in his seat and brought out an old picture, rubbing it with his thumb before stashing it away and suddenly going on alert when the sound of gunfire erupted next to them. A nearby explosion made them get their weapons ready but kept it low.
Distant roars were heard and more gunfire and bullets hit the side of the vehicle. A particular heavy round struck the side of the vehicle they were in and made a few of them wince. Nevertheless, the vehicle continued to move and more heavy gunfire cracked next to them. Creed recognized the sound of extremely heavy footsteps impacting the pavement below and knew it was one of the Gears more powerful tools of war.
A Silverback exo-suit. The Mulcher on the right arm started to spin before spewing out hundreds of rounds at their targets. It was an extremely rare sight to see one of them simple, yet powerful exo-suits in action. Judging by the sound of multiple colossal sounding footsteps, there were multiple Silverbacks on the field. No matter how much the council or Atlas tried to convince Walker to hand over the schematics, he wasn't budging and trying to seize them by force was met with violence.
Multiple explosions shook the ground and the faint sound of body parts scattering in the distance was heard. Shortly after that, all was quiet and nothing else was in the area. Unfortunately, that probably meant the Locust were onto them or had seen them before and were preparing for their arrival. The plan remained unchanged and they were still going to take the Lighthouse.
This would allow them to gain a massive foothold on the island once more forces got here. Not to mention, more survivors could be found scattered and hidden away from the sadistic grasps of the Locust. Once they did take this location back, the VDF had complete rule over it and it was something the Gears had agreed on.
"Sir, the teams have infiltrated the docks." A VDF soldier informed.
"Perfect. Tell them that we'll be at the entrance of the stronghold in five minutes." Creed said and watched as the soldier relayed the information before turning back to him and nodding. A small smidge, just a miniscule amount, of stress was taken off his shoulder. He had his doubts about this whole mission, there was so much that could've gone wrong, and still could. However, with the combined effort and communication between the three factions, things were rolling rather smoothly all things considered.
A shout from outside seemed to ruin that and an explosion shook the ground. The APC in the front suddenly exploded when a mortar stuck it in the center, killing all of its occupants instantly. Another mortar was launched from the lighthouse. The heavy ordinance flew through the air before it started to descend and landed a few yards away from the vehicles.
The rear doors opened and the Obsidian Guard jumped inside, slamming the doors shut and moving to the guns on the roof. He climbed in the seat and spun a crank, raising himself up until he was officially mounted. Almost immediately, he began to fire at the walls of the stronghold. Heavy rounds exploded when they hit the wall and trailed up to the Locust that were firing their weapons on top of it.
Creed got on the radio and ordered all the forces on foot to seek cover in the canopy to their left while the vehicles took the right in the field and continued to advance towards the lighthouse. As soon as the order was given, all the remaining vehicles swerved around the destroyed APC and sped towards the stronghold. Hammerburst, Boltok, and Mulcher rounds were fired at them and either bounced off the sides or put a small dent in the armor of the vehicles. Each round that managed to hit the APCs made the occupants inside wince a bit as they bounced around when they hit a bump in the field.
An APC to their left suddenly exploded and rolled through the field before coming to a fiery stop. The turret above was aimed at the wall and hundreds of rounds were fired, ripping the mortar operator apart and turning it into a red mist. Distant roars reached the ears of the occupants and the APCs continued to speed towards the stronghold. Each second felt longer than what it actually was and the driver quickly swerved the vehicle to avoid the grenade of a Boomshot.
Up ahead was the lighthouse that had been converted into a stronghold. A large wall was seen in the front with two colossal spires on both sides of the entrance. Two more were at the back of the stronghold and each direction was walled off with Mulchers mounted on the edges. The main gate opened and a horde of Wretches swarmed out, galloping towards the vehicles with reckless abandon. None of them were concerned with their own lives and were simply driven by an insatiable feel of painful hunger.
The APC that Creed was in ran over several of the rabid beasts, mangling their bodies beyond comprehension and scattering them across the ground below. A few of them managed to latch onto the sides and climb on top. Their claws scratched and scrapped the metal hull of the vehicle and one of them tried to rip the barrels of the gun off with its jaws. Its head suddenly exploded in a shower of gore as the Obsidian Guard aimed and fired at it.
Creed watched as the Obsidian Guard quickly got off the gun on top and was about to demand why before his answer soon came. A One-Shot round sped through the air and ripped the entire gun from the top. Reinforced metal was turned to mere scraps in the span of a second and the high-pitched sound made them all wince.
He looked out the window to see in the towers were Locust wielding One-Shots. The laser aimed in at them and fired, striking the ground nearby and causing copious amounts of dirt to kick up. It was reloaded once more and when the Locust couldn't hit Creed's APC, it aimed at another one. The laser trailed the one next to him and was locked in on a certain part before firing.
The driver in the APC to the left was reduced to a mist of blood and gore while the vehicle suddenly swerved and spun out of control. It flipped over and spun through the air several times before tumbling into the main entrance. It crashed through the gates and crushed a Boomer on the way in, flattening its gigantic body and spilling its internal organs all over the pavement.
Nearby explosions shook them all but Creed paid it no mind and braced himself when they suddenly spun and slammed into the wall near the entrance. The back doors were kicked open and a Drone aimed its Hammerburst at them. He was quick to fire a couple of rounds into its throat and skull, killing it instantly. Once its body fell to the ground, he quickly hopped out and took cover at the side of the entrance, followed by the others.
He peeked around the corner to see a group of Locust approaching from the main courtyard, only to stop and turn around when dozens of bullet were sent into their bodies. Chunks of flesh fell onto the ground as they were ripped apart and the Locust took cover, having their backs to Creed and the others. He crouched down and aimed at a Drone quickly before squeezing the trigger a few times. Bursts of gunfire came from his weapon and he ripped the Drone's head in half, causing the other Locust to turn and look at them.
Those ferocious roars echoed throughout the area and they aimed at him, firing their Hammerbursts and forcing him back into cover. Bullets whistled past his head and some struck the edge of cover, making him wince. He brought out a smoke grenade and tossed it around the corner. It tumbled along the ground before clattering to a stop and it started to spew a white smoke. It blanketed the area and he signaled for the others to quickly follow him, keeping low to the ground as the Locust continued to fire into the smoke.
Every single one of them followed him and took an immediate right, hopping over a small barrier of sandbags and taking cover. When the smoke cleared, the Locust realized they were in a different spot but couldn't move as the team that came from the docks fired at them. Gunfire was exchanged between the two parties for the next few minutes and it was a few minutes too long in Creed's opinion.
One by one, the Locust in the courtyard fell and the last two Locust roared in reckless abandon before tossing a grenade in Creed's general direction. They all took cover as it exploded and made their ears ring, but it was enough stun them and for a Drone to vault over the sandbag and kick Winter onto the ground. She stared up at the sadistic abomination and was about to roll out of the way when its foot raised, but the Drone was thrown into the wall behind them.
The Obsidian Guard slammed it into the wall with his left hand and reared his right fist back. He slammed it into the Drone's face and crushed it easily like a watermelon, splattering the surface with blood and gore. The metal behind it dented from the force of the impact. Just as he was about to let his guard down, he raised his right forearm and blocked a downwards swing from the last Locust, throwing its arms to the side and clenching his left fist tightly and countering the attack with a violent left hook.
Half its face was torn off and it gurgled loudly before he grabbed it by its throat and lifted it into the air with one hand. He pumped copious amounts of aura into his arms and ripped the Grenadier's arm from its socket before slamming it into the wall and sending his boot forward. Its skull was turned to a bloody mess and when he lifted his boot, blood, skull fragments, and brain matter clung to the bottom of his boot.
"Thank you." Winter breathed.
"..." Either he didn't hear her or he didn't care, all he did was constantly scan the empty courtyard for more threats.
"Courtyard is clear." Creed announced as he looked around. He quickly spotted a downed Bolter crawling towards the entrance to the lighthouse and leave a bloody trail in its wake. He narrowed his eyes before walking up to it and bringing out his machete. The glowing archaea gleamed in the air and disappeared like cinders from a fire as he unsheathed it. He grabbed the back of its collar and reared his arm back while clutching the handle tightly.
Like a hot knife through butter, he managed to behead the Locust in one fluid swing and its head tumbled along the pavement, squirting blood from its mutilated stump. He watched it come to a stop and looked at the machete in appreciation before sheathing it on the left side of his hip. Given the effectiveness of the blade, he'd have to find something of equal value to gift Walker.
"Where'd you get that blade?" Ruby asked as she looked at the sheath.
"It was a gift from Ronin." He answered as he walked to the center of courtyard and gathered everyone nearby. They had a vague idea on how the stronghold looked like from the inside due to the Gears sending small drones the size of one's pinky finger. It barely made any noise and had several other uses to gather the necessary information.
They all listened closely at the plan. His voice full of authority and confidence, but didn't hold one ounce of arrogance in it. At this moment, Creed held as much authority as Walker did and was dead set on exterminating every single Locust here and reclaiming the lighthouse. Once they reclaimed this location, they could start to take back the island completely.
It was only a matter of time before they took back what was theirs.
Inside the stronghold was dark, it was a long corridor that branched off into several directions. A honeycomb of rooms and halls seemed to span around this place and the stench could only be described as unpleasant. Once they all went down the stairs, they threw their masks on to avoid inhaling anything potentially harmful. Visibility was also slightly against them considering how dim it was.
As opposed to the gunfire and explosions from above, this place was eerily silent. Water dripped from pipes above their heads and onto the ground, creating puddles in some places. Several flashlights aimed down the hallways as a few teams went off with one another to clear the place out. The Obsidian Guard had left them for a while before coming back with a few others. They nodded when Creed ordered them to take a certain direction and clear out any Locust that they found.
Instead of them accompanying them, a few Destroyers were with them now. Three of them carried shields in the front and three in the rear as well, keeping Creed and the others safe from a majority of the harm that came their way. Two of them carried heavy weaponry and were in the middle with him and the others. It was an odd formation to the others and seemed impractical in a sense but he understood instantly. These Destroyers were more guardians than anything, their shields were loaded with a special, and incredibly rare, piece of technology that would redirect enemy fire.
The Gears carrying the shields suddenly stopped and connected their shields together when a cacophony of roars bounced off the walls of the hallway. Snapping and locking met everyone's ears as Creed aimed through a small opening along with a few of the others and fire down the hall. Each shot he fired hit its target and killed a Locust. Their heavy bodies crumbled to the ground and the group moved up once again.
They stopped when they came across two doors on both sides of the hallway and the Destroyers with the weapons kicked the doors in on either side. Loud bursts of precise gunfire made everyone's ears ring as hidden Locust quickly fell. Four shots was all they needed before they rejoined the group and continued on their way.
Loud stomping down the hall made them all look ahead to see a Boomer shake the ground with each heavy footstep. It barely got a word out before Ruby and Weiss fired at it, killing it instantly and watching its large body spin around before crumbling to the ground. Without so much as missing a beat, they continued forward and further down the hallway.
Once in a while, they would stop and kick a door open to kill the Locust that were hiding inside. All it took was a lapse in judgement that could spell disaster for them all. However, the Destroyers were used to such conditions, and they seemingly thrived in it. To the VDF, this was a major operation; but to the Gears, it was just another Tuesday afternoon.
Faint gunfire in the distance and the occasional sound of a body being mutilated by a chainsaw was heard. It made a few of them shudder and they momentarily thought they were in a horror movie. They might as well be seeing how they were facing genocidal monsters that wished for nothing but their destruction.
After a few minutes, they came across two different ways and looked at one another.
"Rose, Schnee, take the right path with three of the Destroyers." Creed gestured.
"On it." Ruby nodded and followed the destroyers down the right path.
"Specialist Schnee, you're with me and the others." He glanced at Winter and tapped the shoulder of one of the Destroyers. Behind him was a few VDF soldiers that followed close behind, constantly looking behind them just in case a particularly sneaky Hunter or Theron managed to slip by their initial sweep.
It was quiet with the exception of more than a dozen boots hitting the ground. Each one of them constantly looked around the pathway to their right and noticed that it began to curve to the right up ahead. Their movement speed slowed just a tad bit as they made their way and peeked around the corner. Another hallway was seen but this time it overlooked a fighting pit to their right.
The area was circular in shape and nearly fifteen to twenty-five feet long. Dried up blood was seen splattered against the walls and ground. A few shriveled up organs were seen in the corners and the stench of decay was evident in the air. A few gagged at the smell but continued to make their way down the halls. More gunfire could be heard in the distance and they eventually met up when the hallways intertwined.
To the left of them was a staircase that seemed to descend into a dark abyss. Flashlights were turned on and adjusted as they all made their way down. With each step they took, the darker the area became. It was like they were marching into a never ending hole and when they finally reached the bottom, an extremely putrid scent reached their noses, even through their masks. Something down here was rotting and grime clung to the surfaces of the walls.
"Goggles on, people." Creed ordered, his voice was quiet but seemed to echo somehow. They all followed the order and blinked a few times to let their eyes adjust after they turned their flashlights off. It was a long hallway with dozens of doors on both sides. Some of them were open and it made the hairs on their necks stand up. As opposed to the loud gunfire upstairs, it was utterly silent down here.
At the end of the hall was a split that branched in two different directions. Something scuttled quickly across the ground at an alarming speed and made them stop in their tracks. Their gazes were locked in on the end of the hallway and they slowly moved up but Creed looked to his right in one of the empty rooms and saw a hole in the wall at the end. Surrounding it looked to be some type of webbing and he narrowed his eyes before looking at the doors that were open.
Another scuttling noise made them look around and it stopped suddenly, making them all freeze in place. Quiet dripping made the silent tension continue to accumulate and a VDF soldier caught something in the corner of his eye. He didn't get to react in time when a large creature rushed at him at the speed of a bullet.
Blood splattered across the walls and the faces of some as his body was cleaved in half. The lower half was dragged into one of the holes and another VDF soldier fired into the carapace of the large creature. His eyes widened and faced paled when his bullets bounced off and an unsettling screech was heard inside one of the holes.
"What the fuck was that?" He asked as he aimed his rifle down pitch black hole.
"Close the doors!" Creed ordered as he slammed one of the doors shut and the others quickly did the same. Multiple slams echoed across the hallway and a VDF soldier wrapped his hand around the handle of a door. He howled in agony when a glob of potent acid was spat on his forearm. His screaming caught the attention of the others and they were quick to rush to him, managing to drag him out of the way just in time for a pair of large pincers to snap at him.
Electricity cackled in the air and the creature quickly scuttled back into the hole. The agonized howls of pain from the soldier was the only thing that was heard at the moment as it seemed drown out any other noise.
"What is this?!" He shouted as the acid continued to eat its way up his arm. His skin bubbled and burst in several places as his flesh was being broken down at an alarming pace.
"C-Colonel!" Ruby cried out.
"Cut it off! Cut it off! Cut it off!" The soldier pleaded as the acid continued to eat away his arm. The pain was beginning to become too great as he desperately tried to do something to avoid a gruesome death.
Without warning or hesitation, Creed unsheathed his machete and swung downwards. The sickening sound of flesh being sliced met everyone's ears and the melting, severed limb plopped onto the ground. Smoke rose off of it as it continued to melt and the soldier began to hyperventilate.
"Take him back up. The rest of you, on me." Creed gestured and two Gears nodded, tending to the soldier before dragging him to safety. While they were doing that, the others formed a tight formation and kept their eyes in all the directions.
"Colonel, Lord Ronin has identified these things as Serapedes. Their carapace is bulletproof and the only way to kill it is to fire at its tail." A Destroyer informed.
"Any way to grab its attention?" Creed asked and watched as the Gear put his finger on his helmet and turned to the side. Indecipherable static was heard and the Gear turned back towards him.
"Fast moving targets or a certain scent. We don't know the second one though." The Gear responded.
"Rose." Creed glanced at Ruby and she sighed in understanding. The moment the word speed was mentioned, she immediately knew that she was going to have to act as bait for the scuttling horror. Her heart was pounding in her chest when she heard more crawling from what she assumed was a giant insect and shuddered. She already hated bugs, but anything larger than the size of her hand always poked at one of her childhood fears.
Her thoughts were interrupted when multiple legs clicked against the ground and the group turned to look down the hall. Their hearts pounded in their chests when they finally were able to see what it looked like. It was much more horrifying that what they originally thought.
The creature was fifteen feet long with a blackish-silver bulletproof carapace. Its flesh was a combination of turquoise and green while its tail glowed a bright green at the end of it. Sharp legs clicked against the concrete ground below as two large antennae flicked around wildly. Its most deadly looking feature were its pincers, snapping together at an alarming speed and generating a quick display of electricity.
Without much warning it leaned its upper body up and nearly reached the ceiling, clicking its pincers together a few times. An unsettling screech tore from it and it suddenly rushed towards them at the speed of a bullet, shocking a few of them at the speed at which it could move.
A flurry of red rose petals sped past it and it stopped in its tracks before whipping around in her direction. She stood at the split in the hallway at the end and bounced on her feet, feeling relieved that she managed to successfully capture its attention but her relief soon was replaced with terror as it seemingly slithered towards her. Maneuvering its body in a serpentine-like motion, briefly scaling the corner of the wall as it turned around.
She yelped and disappeared in a flurry of petals again as it crashed in the wall and recovered almost instantly. It followed her to its left and the others quickly ran after it, just barely managing to fire into its glowing, weak spot on its tail. A large chunk exploded and reduced its size by a few feet before it disappeared around the corner.
An inhumane screech bounced off the walls and they rounded the corner, seeing the long hallway covered in the webbing and it's gaze was locked on Ruby. Taking a firing stance, they all collectively fired into its tail, managing to take off another chunk and barely managed to see Ruby begin to pant in exhaustion. They rushed after it again as it seemed to get faster with less of its body and barely saw Ruby disappear into another flurry of petals again to avoid a lunge.
Creed suddenly took off faster than what the others thought he was capable of at his age and kept firing into its tail, taking off another chunk. He saw Ruby hit a dead end and her back was against the wall as the Serapede rushed towards her, pincers open and electricity cackling in the air. She didn't have enough energy to get out of the way in time and the hallway was too narrow for her do anything.
Before it could get within a foot of her and shred her to bloody ribbons, it suddenly exploded. Glowing chunks of flesh and blood splattered against the walls, floor, and even her. All went quiet as chunks of glowing flesh slid off her armor and some of it even got in her hair, making her gag at the disgusting feeling.
"You alright?" He asked.
"I-I'm alright... just a little winded." She coughed out and took a few breaths. She prided herself with having a good bit of stamina and made it an effort to keep herself in good shape, but she never really got to train her semblance in tight corridors like this. It took every ounce of energy to make such tight maneuvers in such a short notice, not to mention try to keep herself calm while a literal giant insect abomination chased her in the
The bad thing about it, it got faster the more they destroyed and she found herself dodging not just its electric pincers, but also the globs of potent acid it would spit at her. How did the Gears deal with this on such a daily basis?
"Good work." He praised as he reached behind him and grabbed her rifle off his back and held it out to her.
"Thanks." She breathed out hesitantly and took it shakily. Adrenaline was still pumping through her veins and when she tried to move, he stopped her.
"Schnee, take care of Rose until she recovers a bit." He ordered.
"Which one?" Weiss asked.
"You." He answered and watched as she nodded before crouching down near Ruby. There were times when he had to remember that these weren't people in their late twenties, thirties, or even forties. Ruby wasn't even an adult that could drink legally and she was already fighting a war she had no business in. Without even realizing it, Creed had unintentionally taken a somewhat father figure role to the people who were younger than him. He felt it was his duty to keep them as safe as possible while still letting them branch out. Multiple people under his command were also under his care, and he had guessed it was his parental instincts kicking in.
His thoughts drifted to his deceased son, he would be the ripe age to enlist and if he saw his father, then he'd want to be just like him...
Guilt bubbled in his system and he had to swallow it back down to avoid it from suffocating him. Now wasn't the time to think about them. What he needed was to get rid of the Locust that resided in this place. Distant gunfire could still be heard upstairs and he was glad that the Gears were so cooperative when it came to operations like this.
"Sir, there's a cluster of eggs." A VDF soldier informed as he looked in the room to their right. They all peeked inside and saw glowing eggs clinging to the corner of the room. Faint pulses could be seen and a grotesque shifting noise could be heard. A Destroyer armed with a Scorcher ignited it then was about to incinerate the cluster before he stopped and turned his head to the side.
"Ronin?" Creed asked and the Gear nodded before turning his head again and listening to the rest of the message.
"The BSS will pay for a few eggs for studies." The Destroyer said and Creed nodded before watching as two Gears approached the cluster and took three of the large eggs, putting them in special containers then on their backs. The extra weight made them buckle a bit but it wasn't anything they weren't used to.
"Why not just destroy them?" Winter asked.
"The BSS are researchers, humanitarians, doctors, and combatants. If the Gears come across a dangerous substance or item that could potentially aid us either by killing the Locust or Glowies, then they'll pay for their services." Creed explained a bit.
"So what are the Gears?" She asked.
"All of the above." He answered.
Those four words were enough to make her stop and think about the kind of strength they wielded. There were times when she found it alarming how much power and influence the Gears actually possessed. Intelligence, logistics, combat, manufacturing, agriculture, and other things. From what she's heard through eavesdropping, they were entirely self-reliant and a majority of the seafood that the mainland had came from them. Her father constantly contacted them and wished for a partnership but each attempt was ignored. They went for smaller companies that valued quality over quantity and if they did purchase resources from the SDC, they were impossible to sell to unless it was their price range.
"Egg collection is complete. The funds will be transferred once they're delivered." An automated voice echoed across the C-Droid of a Gear.
"Good. Rose, you good?" Creed asked.
"I'm alright, sir. I just needed to catch my breath." Ruby nodded and let out a small breath.
"Good, we're moving." He said and the others nodded and followed him down the hall. It took a few minutes for them to reach the split in the hallway again and they took the path to the right. More rooms on their right that were empty and fortunately had no Serapede webbing. There was a cluster of eggs, albeit smaller, and they were collected before they continued forward.
The hallway started to curve to the left and they froze when they saw multiple people hanging from the ceiling in what looked like an pit. Bodily fluids dribbled off the meat hooks that suspended them. There were dozens of them hanging there; some were fresh kills while others had been there for what appeared to be some time. Organs dripped with viscous fluid and dribbled onto the ground.
Flies buzzed around the corpses and Ruby tore her gaze away from the grisly sight. She had to remember that these weren't the Glowies or Grimm, who were out to simply infect or destroy. These were the Locust that they were dealing with. Monsters that took a sick sense of pleasure in destruction and slaughter. While she's dealt with them several times, each encounter somehow was worse than the last.
"Winter?" Weiss asked when she saw her older sister looking away.
"..." Winter just kept her eyes locked on the wall to their right. In the corner of the fighting pit, suspended on one of the hooks, was a child that appeared no older than five. When she pointed in the direction, the others looked and the VDF stared at the small, dangling body in horror. She couldn't take it anymore and felt the bile rise up her throat before she whipped her mask off and vomited on the ground.
It splattered against the surface and a few backed up. She coughed wetly and spit the remaining bits out before wiping her mouth. A soft apology was muttered and the putrid smell made her gag again. She steeled herself and put her mask back on, not feeling better at all.
The times she's fought against their underground counterparts, she thought she understood their tactics enough. This was her first encounter with their more personal activities and to say that she was horrified was a massive understatement. No amount of evil that man could conjure up on Remnant could possibly top the tamest cruelty the Locust regularly exhibited.
They moved on after letting her collect herself and stopped when they heard footsteps. Each step was almost silent and the Destroyers formed a shield wall in the front while Creed and the others gripped their rifles firmly. Just before they could kill whatever was in their way, the glowing lights from a skull helmet was seen. A couple of Obsidian Guards walked into view, blood and gore caking their bodies.
The one leading them had the skull of a Theron attached to his hip. Ruby felt herself shake in her boots as her eyes locked onto the lifeless eyes of the Locust. The Destroyers felt a bubble of amusement form in their bodies. Despite their legendary status as walking death machines, the Obsidian Guards had their own little quirks. One of them was to collect skulls of their kills as trophies to gift to Walker.
"No more Locust." One of them informed curtly.
"Can you confirm?" Creed asked. Just as he finished the question, the power kicked on and he quickly took his goggles off. Everyone else did the same and saw the fighting pit more clearly now. They tore their eyes away from the sight and followed the elite Gears as they confirmed that there wasn't a single Locust alive in the stronghold. True to their word, the others started to see an alarming amount of dead Drones, Boomers, Grenadiers, Hunters, and even a few Therons.
Which explained why there was so much fighting upstairs. Each Locust they passed, they noticed the grisly display of violence used against them. Bodies were either torn in half, skulls crushed, shot to death, burned, or mangled beyond comprehension. Which begged the question as to how strong they were if they could do all of this in such a short amount of time.
For the next forty minutes, they did a thorough sweep of the entire complex. Supplies were looted, information was gathered, and bodies were disposed of. Despite the deaths that had unfortunately occurred, they had managed to successfully take this location back from the abominations from below. The others left and he was in the middle of the bloody pit, staring at an equally bloody doll from some poor soul.
Getting on the radio, he made an announcement that they had successfully taken back the lighthouse and got rid of another stronghold. Cheers above made the others look in the general direction and feel their own spirits raise a bit. However, Creed didn't feel like they won anything. All they had managed to do was retake a strategic position to possibly delay the inevitable. He didn't know why he was feeling this way. Maybe it was what he saw in that pit? Those poor souls that were unfortunate enough to be given the short stick of life.
So much fighting and losing lives to retake a place that could easily fall in the span of an hour. His face turned grim as he gently picked the bloody doll up and held it in his left hand. It was dry and he closed his eyes, uttering an apology to the lost soul of whoever this small item belonged to, before making his way outside. His steps were slow but purposeful.
When he got outside, he shielded his eyes as the sun peeked through the gaps in the clouds. He slowly lowered his hand as he looked around the courtyard and saw multiple groups doing their own duties, from getting rid of bodies to coming inside to set up fortifications. His helmet was slid off and placed on the back of his hip while his rifle was put on his chest via sling.
Several VDF squads spotted him and gave a cheer, causing several others to do the same. A cacophony of cheering met his ears and he raised an eyebrow at their celebration and good mood. It didn't dawn on him that through his leadership, planning, and cooperation, they were able to successfully take back a major location. Granted, there were losses but that was the price of what their profession.
Mourning would come when everything settled down, but they still had a bit of work to do here. So he allowed them to have their small celebrations for now, because the moment they fully took back Patch was the moment they would have something other than Beacon.
It was what they deserved.
It's been a minute, huh? Can't say that it hasn't and I apologize for my absence. It's my last semester here at school before I move onto the next chapter of my life. So sorry if this chapter seems a little rusty, I've noticed that it's been getting harder and harder for me to describe the environment for some reason as time passes.
Anyways, thanks for reading and I'll see you guys later. Take it easy, everyone.