D-dammit! Hurry up Carbon!
Jimmy fought with every ounce of his strength not to topple over with the burning metal as it melted his very arm. Gretta remained just ahead, and her tiny breaths were all that proved she was still alive. The door sat ahead, locked and completely indestructible to their currently available means, but Carbon was supposedly on his way to rectify that. All he could do was hope his friend arrived in time, otherwise their lives were effectively over.
Nothing was going how it should have, and what should have been the end of a lazy job left them stuck in the flaming fireplace of what was once one of outer Mantle's finest Dust mines. This was supposed to be simple and easy, but at this rate, the only easy thing would be submitting to the steel prison, and surrendering their bodies to the ravenous fire.
Four hours ago the group of three touched down at their destination, midway through the already busy workday. After being led along on a tour by their client, they were soon given their station. The job was thus-fold: keep the miners safe from any and all danger, be it Grimm or other. Granted, there weren't many Grimm reported in this area, but there was the odd intruder every now and then, although that was usually dealt with swiftly by the automated defenses: many small turrets placed strategically in the walls and other open areas. This was, in essence, a pity job provided by the company to Atlas Academy students, mostly to create good relations between the two - they were simply there to keep worker disputes to a minimum at best. However, in regards to any actual danger should it show, the miners themselves were the lowest priority compared to everyone else. Should any danger beyond their capabilities present itself, the miners were to be ignored in favor of other, more valuable staff.
They were Faunus, and poor Faunus at that; plentiful and irrelevant compared to the much scarcer Humans who made up the paper pushing side of the force.
Of course, this wasn't directly told to them, but Jimmy was more than aware of what certain terms and phrases meant within an Atlesian facility. Something like, "by making use of our field employee's natural talents, we are able to save on excess costs for essential staff improvement," which roughly translated to, "we refuse to spend money on proper lighting equipment because Faunus night vision is good enough, and spent it instead on luxury goods for our shareholder offices."
This was just the simplest example Jimmy himself had come across upon asking how certain expenses were dealt with during the tour; he was hoping for wisdom and other tricks which could potentially help him with his projects later in the future should he lose the school's support for one reason or another. Instead, he was reminded of how easy it was to cut corners when working with Faunus; a trick that only a large-scale corporation could pull off.
While Faunus enslavement may have been outlawed, that didn't do much to help the slaves who were afterwards stranded in the kingdom. Some managed to forge friendships with the lesser off Humans, working together to at least make a living, whereas others were stuck on the streets, begging and stealing. Naturally, the high rate of thefts by necessity only tanked the race's image further, and made it even more difficult to obtain basic needs.
Low and behold, in came United Dustworks, with an offer they - quite literally, in some cases - couldn't refuse. The new mining outposts needed workers, and being the only reliable option for legitimate employment, most Faunus took it. Other offices and jobs already held scrutiny against their kind, so when given even a chance for a solid, consistent source of income, Jimmy recalled most of the older workers he'd met so far claiming they hadn't even thought about why Humans would make this offer.
To the desperate, starving Faunus, it looked like Atlas had a heart after all.
Maybe some of Atlas did possess such a thing, but U.D. most certainly didn't, and it wouldn't take long before some of the younger miners realized just how unfair the corporation and its business dealings were. But what could they do? They were merely Faunus, and the only hope they had was the start-up Faunus rights group way down south: The White Fang. It was supposedly run by a young couple, perhaps no older than himself. Personally, Jimmy had little faith in them, not out of any true dislike, but because he understood the will of most people.
If it doesn't bother them, they wouldn't care; people already had trouble just making ends meet, and most felt they didn't have the time or energy to try and help others in such a large scale way. Pleasing as the idea may have been, this White Fang group would probably be ruined within a year.
"So, they can afford AC here no problem, but can't even give the poor diggers down in the pits a simple flashlight?" Gretta was audibly not a fan of the company's practices, and Jimmy didn't blame her.
"I know, it's bull. But what can you do?" Carbon tossed out, leaning off the wall and stretching a bit. "It's not like they're breaking any laws."
"That's how they get you, though." Gretta was more logical when it came to regular business, but being from 'less off families' like the rest of them, she sometimes got her heart a little too deep into other people's problems. "They take you in when you have nowhere else to turn, and they pretend they're doing you a favor and that you should be happy." She scoffed, crossing her arms. "They're all the same: complete trash."
"What about that Schnee group?" Carbon tapped the tip of his chin, humming. "What were they called?"
"The Schnee Dust Company." Jimmy vocalized, getting a smirk from his partner.
"Yeah, them." He sent out a grin. "I heard their CEO or whatever goes on expeditions himself with his crew."
"Nicholas Schnee." Gretta sighed, sending Carbon a less flattering look. "Yeah, I've heard of him, and I'll tell you what I always tell the others: he and his flock will be gone in a couple of years."
"Not much faith in the guy, huh?" Carbon tried, and she looked away.
"I mean, I'd like to believe he stands a chance, but U.D. has been around for years, certainly longer than him. Knowing them, his days are already numbered."
"You think they'll try to take him down?" Carbon asked, and Gretta spoke casually.
"Without a second thought. If not by running him out of business, then by hiring a gun." Her ire was partially released with a grumble, bearing teeth along her scowl. "And once again, Atlas "officially" lacks the acceptable amount of evidence to convict anyone, as per usual."
Jimmy tuned out most of the following back and forth. They were just here to look after the workers, not complain about unfairness in the workplace. With the ring of the bell, Jimmy pushed off the wall, starting off down the hallway with presumably Gretta in tow. It was time to move, and while the pair were scheduled to oversee the preparation lines, Carbon had unfortunately been assigned to see to the cafeteria on his own. Not a bad place for the guy, as he'd at least get a wide open area to watch over, whereas Gretta and himself were forced to patrol around the belts which moved raw Dust.
This was where Jimmy noticed the first problem
That's odd...
Most of the belts were clean enough, but a closer look at the deactivated machines proved that the hardware within was seriously lacking. Most of the boards and wires looked good enough, but they were so tangled up that he couldn't pick apart the power supply from the grounding outlet. This was quite the safety hazard... but then again, the U.D. had staff for technical safety and maintenance, so with that in mind, this was probably an issue which would be sorted out after break. And besides, he wasn't technically supposed to be peaking into the machines anyway, but their clearly worn state had him a bit too curious.
Jimmy simply shut the panel and carried on; his curiosity came second to the job.
Rounding a corner, he took a trek down the stairs, passing by the cooler. Dust, regardless of type, was more volatile when in the presence of extreme heat or physical trauma; yes, even ice Dust. And so, when cleaned and cut, the crystals were run through a freezer which would lower their temperature to a safe level. This would ensure that no matter what sparks got on them, or the heat they faced, there would be a lower chance of immediate reaction.
The only exception to extreme heat or intense force when it came to activation was blatant aura contact. It wasn't enough to touch the crystal, no, you needed to deliberately pump aura into it. And so, the cooler took care of the threat of overheating. To deal with issues of aura, however, all employees on the line were forbidden from having their auras unlocked.
This was where machines could come into play. Forbidding aura was dangerous, but a machine would have none anyways, and could work in dangerous climates with no threat.
Jimmy shook his head; he was starting to fantasize again. But who could blame him? When his newest project was finished, they could replace the live workers in factories with mechanical copies. Okay, it sounded cruel that he'd be putting people out of work, but that was the price to pay in regards to safety. Jimmy would rather the people lost their jobs, as opposed to their lives...
Even if he knew ejection from the company might very well bring about the same thing. If anything, it would potentially force businesses to open up their doors, or face major backlash.
Shaking away the thoughts, the lad took a quick second to hop up and check out the cooler's insides; again, even if it wasn't his job. And, like before, he immediately spotted an issue. One of the belts had a tear in it. That was twice now he'd seen questionable maintenance of machinery, and it was only so easily spotted due to his methods of keeping his own inventions up to stuff. Jimmy finally decided enough was enough; one small issue he could reasonably ignore, but such a damning problem in one of the most important devices on the line was immediate cause for concern. Who knew what other problems laid within the cooler, if they couldn't even keep the belt tidy and fixed up.
Stepping back down and into his route again, he decided to ditch the path for now and find out who was in charge of the machinery. If anything, it was his responsibility as a -temporary - hired guard for the company to report any troubles, and he felt broken equipment which would both present danger and potentially slow production was issue enough.
This was his final fatal flaw, as he'd later come to know: Gretta and him weren't the only ones in that area, and these machines were far from forgotten.
.
.
I wasn't sure what to say, not immediately, but I decided it was at least worth pointing out the obvious thing Ironwood was trying to get across.
"You're implying someone might have been there deliberately damaging the equipment?"
He merely nodded, breathing steadily as his eyes fell. The general didn't look all that pleased to recount it, but seeing as this was his story to tell, he knew how it ended, and thus what was really going on.
"We were kids, and it was our first real slice of action in quite a while. All we'd been told beforehand was that we would patrol around the local area, stepping in to put a stop to any potential fights that broke out between the workers. We had no idea what was really going on that day."
"And what was going on?" From the sounds of it, there was more than just an intruder, and while I could reasonably guess there was a scheme at play, I couldn't reason any solid specifics yet. A part of me wanted to know what happened, even if I had nothing much to gain from this story. But if it allowed a better glimpse into the general himself, I assumed whatever he said would be sufficient. I had nothing immediate to tend to, so there was nothing preventing me from hearing him out in full.
Ironwood stayed silent for a second, before opening back up.
.
.
Stepping into the office, Jimmy was acknowledged by the man delving through what seemed to be a briefcase. This man, supposedly, was the manager who kept charge of the schedules for the various facilities running the mine. He was the one who chose what employees were assigned where, and who was on for the day.
Meaning, he was the one who supposedly knew where everyone was at any given moment.
At first, the boy had tried to find the maintenance crew himself, using the previous tour for guidance, as well as some asking around to try and narrow down the group. But the stragglers in the halls knew little other than their own schedules, and after receiving nothing in terms of the people he sought, Jimmy instead readjusted his strategy. His last question had been proposed to a fairly frantic looking man, who he'd seemingly caught at a bad time. The guy was supposedly waiting for someone, and had been quick to shoo Jimmy off by directing him towards the schedule manager.
This left Jimmy calling out to the man, which startled him a bit.
"Who's there?" Before he could answer, the manager narrowed his eyes. "Wait a second. You're one of those kids, right? The hirelings took in to oversee everyone."
"Yes." Jimmy clarified, stepping in fully.
"Why are you here? I don't recall having any of you outside your assigned parameters."
"No, but that's what I'm here to talk about." Jimmy watched as the man's stance rested a bit, nodding for him to continue, to which he did. "I was running my rounds when I came across a few concerns, at which point I went looking for the maintenance team. Unfortunately, I've yet to find them, and have been directed to you instead."
"And these concerns are?" Not even a mention of the team, but that was fine. Jimmy figured that it didn't matter who was given the information, so long as it was passed on.
"I've come across some damage in the cooler: one of the belts is ripped. Given its current state, it could snag at any point or even tear entirely, putting the thing out of commission." Not to mention damaging the machine and potentially starting a fire from the sudden rupturing of such a crucial piece; those belts were heavy and tight, and snapping would cause some serious harm from the whiplash alone. Jimmy was about to mention the next issue, the one concerning the wires before, but was cut off by the man, who firmly shut his briefcase.
"That is concerning, but worry not. I'll see to it myself that the issue is taken care of. First, however, I do believe you and the other two are scheduled out in the yard, yes?" That was true, although he wasn't sure why the man brought it up so quickly. He knew his schedule, and so did the others, but Jimmy guessed it was just a habit of tending to every hour of the day.
The three students found themselves in the yard not ten minutes later, with Carbon going through his usual bout of complaining.
"You'd think it would be a bit rowdy, but nope, nothing but pure silence."
Gretta rolled her eyes. "Leave it to you to complain about things going smoothly."
Carbon's expression twisted a little. "I mean, yeah; it was good and all, but it's still creepy as heck." The guy shivered. "I've never seen a place so... docile."
"What do you expect?" Gretta evened out her frown, observing the passing miners as they strolled about with either boxes of newly acquired Dust, or fresh tools to head back into the hole. "With how U.D. handles things, I'd bet they're not even allowed to speak."
"Sheesh." Carbon slightly recoiled. "I think you might be digging a little too deep into this. Yeah, I get that U.D. isn't exactly known for kindness, but I doubt they have the time to enforce rules that ridiculously strict."
It was here Jimmy got an idea; one that he voiced.
"But they are strict. Maybe not as extremely strict as to ban talking, but surely strict in a professional sense."
"Okay." Carbon looked over. "So... it sounds like you have something on your mind. Want to share it with the class?"
Jimmy, rather than answer immediately, turned to Gretta and asked, "how did your route along the line go?"
"Dull." She answered, curling a brow. "But I did get a bit more of a feel for the place."
"And how was it?" Jimmy prodded, to which she blew out.
"Honestly, a bit of a mess. Muck and grime in those harder to see corners, sprinkles of what looked like runoff Dust tracked over the floor and walkways. If I didn't know better, I'd say they hadn't exactly been keeping the place as proficient as they could be."
That's exactly what had Jimmy's thoughts in a knot. For a U.D. run facility to be so unkempt was already strange, but the disrepair he'd seen personally had made for even worse ideas in his head. He didn't know why, but he got a terrible feeling about it all.
The whistle blowing above signaled the end of the work day for both the regulars and student hires, and so they'd been situated out before the front exit, watching the workers take their leave. The trio had been redirected personally by that same manager Jimmy had spoken with earlier, and had been told their final job of the day was to see everyone off. It wasn't a hard task, but it wasn't exactly meaningful either. Really, they were just supposed to remain put, but Jimmy himself was curious as to what happened to the maintenance crew and the beltline.
"Hmm?" Carbon gave him a look as he stood. "Where are you headed?"
"Just off to check something." Jimmy himself offered, and his partner merely remained seated. Gretta, however, stood as well.
"I'll come as well."
"You don't have to." He told, but she wouldn't accept it.
"No, but I have a feeling I know exactly where you're headed." Gretta took to his side. "Besides: it's our job to ensure the safety of everyone, remember? And there might still be a few who are cleaning up. Wouldn't hurt to see them all out."
No it would not, and with an accepting nod from Carbon, the pair delved inside once more. It hadn't taken long to reach the room itself, and upon making their way in, both students spotted the manager who'd assigned them their final post. Jimmy was about to call out when he stopped. Just ahead of him was the cooler, and stepping out from within was someone he didn't recognise. He assumed it was one of the technicians from maintenance, but something felt awfully wrong about what he was seeing.
Gretta must have felt it too, as she'd pulled him off to the side, and wordlessly led them closer along the other side of the machine. It was along the end where they'd caught snippets of the conversation held between the two.
"Everyone's out?" The voice, unrecognizable by the pair, was soon answered by the manager.
"Of course."
"And the nosey ones?"
"They're only here for this one shift; nothing more." The manager's voice dropped significantly. "And their routines were adjusted personally. There's no risk."
"And yet, one of them went to you with concerns." Their mystery person didn't sound too happy, but he was cut off by the manager once more.
"And I told him what he needed to hear."
"The claim relies on this being an accident; one that nobody was aware of. If it's reported that you were made aware of the damages, it may be voided." The voice slithered along with its next statement. "I will be paid for this, regardless of the outcome."
"Yes, you will." The manager didn't sound all that worried. "Those kids know nothing, and they'd have nothing to report on. No deaths, no reason for investigation, just an accident with the machinery which caused the damages. The issue will be ruled as faulty equipment, and our insurance payout will be more than enough to cover not only the costs of a new facility, but also a hefty boost in profit as well."
"...Fine." They could hear the unknown individual stepping down onto the main floor. "I'll trust you. But when is it going down?"
"As soon as we take our first steps out of the building." The manager hummed afterwards. "We'll be able to call for assistance immediately and get this whole thing started."
"Are you certain?" The other voice was skeptical. "There are still a few of your workers in the back rooms changing, aren't there? Cleaning up and whatnot?"
"Irrelevant." The manager replied, and Jimmy could feel Gretta's hand on his shoulder tighten. "Our more valuable staff are already out, and I know of several who are awaiting positions to dip into the mines and make some honest lien. Besides..."
Their voices dipped in volume as they started walking off.
"It couldn't be helped. After all, it was the manufacturer's fault for providing us with faulty equipment. We're just doing our jobs, and there's always a steep risk when working with Dust."
.
.
"I... don't understand. What payout were they talking about?" I couldn't see how destroying your own workplace could possibly benefit anyone.
"Apologies." The general added. "I sometimes forget you're not like the others. I'm certain you must have had something similar in your own time, but I suppose it went under a different title. In the modern day we have a benefit called insurance that can be purchased: it's a service that covers the costs of repair for any given thing that may fall to damages. Imagine you purchase a piece of equipment, and due to any fault beyond your control, it is ruined or destroyed. This service will cover the costs of a new one for you, so long as the damage caused was within their selected boundaries." Ironwood then added, "Well, I suppose we also call it warranty in some cases, but they're basically the same, just with different stipulations."
I understood now, and he was right, we didn't call it insurance.
"I see." He eyed me as I spoke. "So you entrust the safety and repair of something to an outside faction for a fee, and should that safety be tested, they'll take the matter of monetary responsibility into their own hands."
"For the most part." He nodded, although I had a feeling it was more complex than that. Still, the fact he brought it up had me asking.
"Are you saying they were willing to destroy parts of their workplace for this payment?"
The general's eyes shadowed, and his expression crushed together with what looked like regret.
"At the time, we thought just that. But we were wrong. The company might have wanted just a few machines, but due to their own greed, their hired hand had other plans."
.
.
"Bastards." Gretta whispered, and Jimmy agreed.
Normally, he wasn't one to say anything on subjects such as insurance fraud; he wasn't all that interested in the criminal aspect of it, or even things regarding the wonderfully wacky world of law and loopholes to begin with. No, he was more upset with the fact they were so willing to up and kill portions of their own staff for quick lien.
Sadly, there wasn't much they could do.
"We need to get out of here." He faced Gretta, and expectedly, she was furious, and so he doubled down and explained. "We're not even supposed to be here, and we just got hired at that. No matter what we say or do, nobody is going to believe us, and we don't have any solid proof to use against them that isn't our own word."
"You heard them though." Gretta shot her head out, towards the back end of the room, and past most of the machinery. "There are still some people held up in the back rooms. We can't just leave them."
She was right; their job was to ensure everyone's safety... and technically, it would be a reasonable explanation as to why they were on the line as opposed to being out front. They were just making sure everyone was out, right?
"Look." Jimmy started, stepping beyond the cooler with Gretta following alone. "From this point on; we heard nothing. We don't know anything about any issues or insurance. All we did was come check on the line to make sure everyone was out for the day, alright?"
Gretta hissed out her answer. "Right."
It was the best they could do if they got caught while leaving. If they were at all suspected of knowing even a thing about what was really going on, there was a chance this whole mess would be logged onto their shoulders. And so, once they made it to the back rooms, the pair began speeding up the process of getting the stray workers out.
"C'mon, at least let me have a shower first."
"Sorry." Jimmy said while pushing the guy alone. "But orders are orders: you're all ordered to leave, now."
"Yeah yeah, I get it." The guy said, and once he stepped out, Jimmy could hear the following order from Gretta.
"Ah ah ah; up the stairs and around the right." She called, and next followed the whine.
"But it's faster just to cut through, and we do it all the time." The guy complained, to which she countered.
"Boss's orders: everyone is to take the right path, through the hall. No passing and potentially dirtying the machines."
"Whatever." The guy complained, but neither she nor him were all that bothered.
The cooler clearly had something done to it, and based on the insurance talk, it was easy to discern that it wouldn't be operational much longer. A simple breaking down of the device wouldn't exactly end lives like the pair of conspirators alluded to it doing, leaving only one other option for admissible damage of that scale.
Explosion.
A bit extreme, but there were no other potential issues that could take the lives of people in other rooms nearby. An explosion of any size within an area dealing with Dust was already dangerous enough, but this was made worse by how poorly maintained the space was. With all the excess Dust tracked around from the cutting, it didn't take a genius to tell the damages would go beyond the cooler itself, and so both Gretta and him had decided to force the remaining workers to leave via the longer, but safer route. There was the back door behind them and into the yard; that would keep them from potential danger for sure, but then you needed to pass through two ordinarily locked gates and beyond the loading area after with several transport vehicles.
It was easier to just leave out front.
"Yep." Gretta called, just as the last worker started up the stairs. "Right along there."
"That's all of them." He said, watching a small bit of relief spew across her face.
"That took longer than I'd have hoped." She then started up the stairs and onto the metal walkway, with Jimmy himself sticking close. "From how they were talking, I'd have thought the cooler would have lit up by now."
"I know." Jimmy agreed, taking a quick glance at the thing from afar. "Something doesn't feel right."
"How so?"
He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but from how the pair before were speaking, the disaster apparently should have begun once they'd left the building. Seeing as the treck outside wasn't beyond five minutes at most, Jimmy could only assume the schemers hadn't left yet.
"They said everything would go down once they left, but nothing has changed."
"You think they're still inside somewhere?" Gretta questioned, reaching for the door to open it.
"I think so." He was sure of that; they wouldn't dare risk an early start, not with themselves inside. He then motioned to the door, which she still hadn't opened yet. "We should probably get going."
"I'm trying."
"What do you mean you're trying?"
"I said." She started slamming her shoulder against the obstruction. "I'm trying! It won't budge."
"What?" Jimmy pressed ahead, testing it for himself. It was just as she said: the door wouldn't move. And not in the sense that it was locked either; the entire door wouldn't even flinch or rattle. It was like someone had painted the door onto the wall: it was just that stiff. "What the Dust?"
"I know it works." Gretta added, forcing herself past him and trying it herself again and again. "I watched the others leave through this same one."
Maybe it did work a few moments ago, but it sure as heck wasn't working now. They weren't getting anywhere like this, and so Jimmy made a suggestion.
"Let's try the overseer's office instead. Maybe there's something inside that'll unjam the door."
"Right." Gretta let go, facing him with a calm expression. "You search the tech while I delve through their things?"
"You know it."
She would be looking for any sets of leftover or emergency keys, whereas he himself would look into their systems and such to see if there were any switches or other means to unlock the door. Heading in had Gretta rummaging through the desks attached to and holding up some of the computer machinery, whereas he took a quick glance over the panel covered in switches. Most levers and buttons controlled the belts, either turning them off or on as per worker request.
Seeing nothing of value, Jimmy tried to access the terminal situated before a large window overlooking the area ahead, and once he tried just a single button, he was accosted by a message.
Terminal Lockdown In Progress
Access Denied
That... wasn't good.
"Have you found any keys yet?" He called, seeing her look up from what was the third or so drawer she'd searched through.
"No, why?"
"Because they've got their systems locked out." Jimmy said, at which point she grumbled.
"Of course they do." She slammed the drawer shut again. "Forget it. I know one way out of here."
"And what's that-?!" Jimmy had just barely gotten the words out when the entire office shook.
That alone wouldn't be so bad, but the windows themselves visibly cracked, and with another muffled boom, he reached over and pulled Gretta down. They stayed there for a bit as the explosions went off, one by one, during intervals of five seconds each, until the sixth stalled near the end. The windows were nothing but shards by now, however neither of the pair believed this would be the last of them. Looking at each other, they both stood to assess the damages.
And saw the flames which cloaked each and every one of the larger, important machinery.
"Looks like they're out." Gretta commented, looking outside at the fires and quipping, "which means this is our cue to leave."
"And your plan of escape?" Jimmy questioned, and Gretta cracked her knuckles.
"We break down the door by force."
"Right." He could agree to that.
With the place already in flames - although not as much as he expected, considering how the pair of arsonists spoke - nobody would question how the door was forcefully removed from its hinges. Following Gretta as she led the charge, the pair transitioned over and around the sparse flames as they slowly spread along the machines. Gretta herself reared back, and with all her strength, and several powerful jousts, she broke through the door.
Jimmy would have celebrated... had he not felt the shake of another explosion.
Unlike the rest, this one did not originate from behind them. Sure, the explosions in the line could be blamed on any matter of tampering, but the one he felt just now had to have come from elsewhere. And then there was another, and another. It was then the smoke began to seep through the halls, and both students realized the terrible truth of the matter.
It wasn't just the line which was set to blow, but the entire building.
"Okay, this goes beyond simple insurance fraud." Jimmy spit out, at which point Gretta added.
"You think." She grabbed him by the arm. "C'mon. We've got to get out."
Of course, the first thing they tried to do was take the way they came in. The problem, and one they should have assumed based on the incident before, was that nearly every single door along the way was just as locked as the first. While the way was short, there were plenty of turns, doors, and rooms to pass before the front entrance showed itself, and every single door was locked shut. That didn't stop Gretta from bashing in most, but this was quickly waning on her stamina, and she was left tired.
Too tired for the last three or so doors.
"F-fucking... Dust's sake!" She spat, wheezing as sweat rolled off her, and coughing from the smoke. Sure, aura prevented most damage, but it didn't exactly help with obscured airways; drowning and smothering were still within the reach of hunters, and the smoke she was taking in with her excessive breathing started showing its effects. She looked over at him. "We need another way; I can barely breath and these things are taking a lot out of me."
He'd say; she was leading back and bashing around five or six times just to take out a single door, and the things were bloody everywhere! Seeing as every single room was essentially Grimm proof, this meant they had little means of escape. They weren't completely out of luck though, there was still the main mining operation in the yard. Really, they should have tried that long ago, but they hadn't expected all of the doors to be the same, and by that point they were running on the rush of danger as opposed to their heads.
The hole was at least situated in the open air, meaning they could potentially hunker down and wait out the fires and smoke.
"Think you can do one more?" He questioned, lending his shoulder to her, and she took it gladly.
"What's the plan?"
"We make our way to the yard and sit it out." He started off, leaning low to avoid most of the smoke.
"Open air... sounds good. Just one door, was it?"
"Yeah." He told, hearing her give a slight chuckle.
Most of the pseudo run was through the halls they'd already trailed. The quickest way to the yard, from their position, was to head back through the way they came, which meant shoveling through the line again. Although dangerous, it was the fastest and shortest route out. Coming to the room again presented a sight most worrying. While all the machines were engulfed in fire, most of the larger ones were still standing. The little ones had their internals sprayed about everywhere, but the larger ones seemed to have just begun to truly burn.
Considering what was inside these things; the chances they would pop at any moment were a solid one-hundred percent.
Seeing as they didn't have a choice, Jimmy was about to press forward when his scroll started going off. While he wanted to swear on it, the fact he had a call coming meant he was within service range. Most of the rooms were set up to block incoming signals - which he really should have questioned the reasoning behind, but that hardly mattered now - and so calling for help was a non option. The explosions must have broken up enough of the place that some signal could get through: that was the only explanation for how Carbon could be calling him.
"Hey." He spoke through it, headed down the stairs with Gretta having let go; she'd appeared to have regained some of her energy again - she always was a tough gal.
"What the Dust do you mean hey!" The guy yelled through. "Where are you!"
"We're making our way to the yard."
"Why aren't you running out to me instead?!" An appropriate question, which Jimmy was more than willing to answer as he climbed over some fallen metal, hissing as it still pained to the touch; even though his aura protected him from the assault.
"The whole place is locked down; system included if what one of their terminals said is correct. We're trapped inside, and are making for the closest exit. What's going on out there?"
"Everyone's in a panic. Most of the staff are either scattered, left, or watching the chaos go down. Do you have any clue what happened?"
"Might be sabotage, but I can't say." More like he didn't want to say, but Jimmy kept that comment to himself. "Think you can meet us out back; there's a pathway from the yard to the loading bay, right?"
"Yeah, just around the edge. No doors; just a few gates which I can rip through myself."
"Right, I'll see-!" Jimmy was practically lit up as the force of several trucks took him off his feet.
He wasn't sure what exactly exploded, but it was enough to send him halfway across the room and total his aura. The flames were directly licking at his skin now, and it hurt like heck, but that was the least of his worries. He had the benefit of a near full aura when the explosion took them, but Gretta never got that luxury.
She was laid across one of the unmoving belts, motionless as the fires surrounded them.
In a bid of mild panic, Jimmy tried to calm himself as he moved onto his legs again. The smoke was unbearable by this point, and the nearby metals bent and twisted, with the melted belts of rubber and steel painting nearly every surface, scattered into puddles of molten mass by the continuous bursts of machinery. He slowly started his careful crawl over to Gretta, but then he saw her suddenly dip. The belt itself had caved in, and she was taken deeper into the flaming device. Tossing himself with greater vigor, now less capable of holding back the adrenaline nearly rupturing his very veins, Jimmy found himself above her, looking down into the volcanic pit. The rubble of metal and burnt rubber acted as an oven.
And it was roasting her alive.
Without any plan at all, he tossed himself into the mess as deep as he could, reaching down to take Gretta into his arms. Some of his uniform caught ablaze, but many of his nerves were already fried along his arms, preventing some of the accompanying pain. Although all her muscle made her heavier, Jimmy still managed to heave her over his shoulder, and force himself back up from the hole; gritting his teeth to suppress the screams seeking escape as he got over the edge and fell to the floor with her.
Standing, he ripped off his jacket, throwing it away as it continued to burn.
Seeing patches of black across his skin was revolting, sure, but upon closer inspection he wasn't nearly as bad as Gretta. He'd survive, but if he didn't act fast, she wouldn't. Reaching down for her again, he began to check over her uniform, and while parts were charred, most direct burning seemed to have subsided. He wouldn't dare remove any of it yet, not until they were outside where he could assess immediate damages without the time limit of a burning building. Most of it looked almost embedded into the skin, as if it burrowed inside to escape the heat.
Unlike his own uniform, Gretta's was made more from elastic materials; stretching to accommodate her movements and more active fighting style.
Hauling her over his shoulder, he began their escape anew, extra careful to avoid the broken beams and orange patches of metal tumbling down all around them. This total chaos was beyond anything he would have imagined, and he wondered how it was that the company could even fathom such a thing as the product of an accident. Yes, a few machines going up due to faults was believable, but this was just nonsense.
Stepping into the backrooms was perhaps the most relieving thing he'd felt in a while.
It wasn't so distraught as everywhere else, and shutting the door behind them provided at least some sense of safety from the flames and smoke. Jimmy could see the final door which led into the yard, but with Gretta in such a battered state, he'd need to find a way to open it himself. With nothing else left to do, he called Carbon up on his scroll, hoping the walls were stripped away enough for the signal to get through without him having to head back out into the fire.
"I'm here." The voice came through, heavy and huffing.
"We're trapped in the back rooms, the place where the workers change and shower before leaving the line to the yard. You know the one."
"What happened?"
Jimmy looked over to Gretta, who's body expanded and shrunk, just barely showing she was still breathing.
"We were caught off guard by an explosion. Our auras are blasted, and Gretta's burned to a near crisp."
"Fuck."
"Listen to me." Jimmy started, hearing Carbon go dead silent on the other line. "In my bag, I have a single 'pow' with me; go get it. We're going to need it for the last door."
"Locked?"
"Locked." Jimmy confirmed, knowing damn well not to give it the benefit of the doubt. Hearing the movement begin again, he scowled, even as Carbon replied with confirmation.
"Keep safe then. I'll be there."
Right as the call ended, another boom rocked the building, significantly larger than the others. Jimmy wasn't sure what caused it, but the sight of the roof beginning to cave in was more than alarming. Quickly, he leapt for Gretta, picking her up and moving her closer to the door, but not too close.
Otherwise she'd be within the pow's range, and having her bodily functions reset in her current state would be a death sentence.
He'd positioned them just out of the predicted area of effect, and hunkered down. All he could do was wait from that point, however he only got a minute in before the roof started to fully collapse. It began from the door they took to get in, which buckled and bent as the roof dipped. Next the drop extended along the walls, crumbling and crunching as metal too weak to hold gave way, and soon they began to surround the pair as they were forced inwards by opposing outside weight.
All of this carnage for money... No, that couldn't be all. Jimmy didn't know what was really going on, but he sure as shit knew he would be reporting this to Atlas Academy officials. He couldn't trust the local authorities to handle a proper investigation, not with U.D. money at their fingertips. But with their students' lives on the line, the academy would certainly see justice done; being one of the richest businesses in Atlas meant the U.D. could do nothing but request handling of the situation, however the academy wouldn't cave.
Hunters were seen as the future, and Atlas Academy would never suffer the embarrassment of letting outside forces have true control over their flock.
It was around the three minute mark where things reached their pinnacle, as the roof above had started to dip, and one of the supports came with it. It was a slow drop, and by pure chance the remaining beams within the exposed walls seemed to just barely be losing. At the sight of their impending flattening, Jimmy did the only thing he could think to do in this scenario. They couldn't move or the pow would kill them anyway, and there was no other available space around them to escape to.
Jimmy stood up, and using his worse off arm, attempted to act in place of the lost support beam.
He couldn't feel pain in the limb anymore, as the nerves themselves were fried beyond repair, but the sizzling of skin was terrifying in its own right. By this point, even he knew his limb was doomed, and rather than risk losing both, he opted to just make use of the dead meat while it remained. If he survived this, he'd definitely need therapy. That was the key factor though: if.
D-dammit! Hurry up Carbon!
His lower half was beginning to lose control, and he felt the heat begin to dig its fangs into his chest. He couldn't move his arm anymore, and so the weight of the metal had been placed upon his buckling torso as he struggled to keep the roof up. His breathing at least steadied out, and while the pain was at its lowest, Jimmy merely used this lapse in immediate suffering to wonder how things may have been had he just ignored his curiosity.
All he needed to do was stay put, like a good soldier, and all of this would have just been an accident; one he and the others would be ignorant of.
He hated the idea, and even during what he perceived as his final moments, Jimmy berated himself for even considering the thought. His work at the academy had been for the preservation and protection of life, not its abandonment. Even the pow was a tool meant for protection, never intended to be lethal, but only capable due to their extreme circumstances now. How could he possibly claim to be a soldier of Atlas if he weren't willing to risk it all for his ideals? What hunter would wish to abandon their hunt?
He'd cast one last look down at Gretta as his legs finally buckled, and in his sitting position the woozy feeling of nausea finally settled in place. The entirety of the roof was resting on his back by this point. His arm was well beyond repair, being nothing but a shield for his torso from the fire. It sat at an impossible angle behind him, broken from the weight, but still defending the whole.
Then again, with how dizzy he was, Jimmy couldn't feel much pain anyway.
Resting himself into a final kneeling position, he hoped to at least give Gretta a chance at life should Carbon make it in time. As for him though? His eyes began to droop, and with no more strength, he let them fall, knowing one thing was for sure.
He was done for.
.
.
"And yet." I started, leaning up and eyeing his expression. "Here you are."
"That I am." The general sighed, chuckling a little as he went on with, "I passed out, but unknown to me at the time, Carbon had managed to get to us. The pow did its job, resetting the door to its initial stage of being unlocked, and he was greeted to the sight of Gretta and I."
"So he got you both out." I guessed, and he nodded.
"I woke up in medical transport with my arm already removed." He lifted one arm, clenching its fist. "Of course, the trauma of the event had rendered it dead before, and so there was little they could do. At the time though, they needed to patch up most of my torso as well, leaving a chunk of my body artificial. I've since kept my mechanical half up to date with my current body."
"Did they provide the extra arm as well?" I assumed it was so because of how easily he made due with the false hand. Strangely, he shook his head.
"No. I had my essentials fixed up, but the arm you see now is of my own design." He lowered it to the flat of the desk again. "I started work on it soon after the investigation our report to the Academy headmaster caused. While Gretta was still being looked over and tended to in the medical bay, I myself was in enough working order to explain everything I'd seen and heard."
"How did that go over then?" I questioned. "Like you said: you had no proof."
"No, but with the severity of the bombs planted, it required little more than a brief stint."
"Bombs?" He never mentioned bombs directly, only ideas of tampering. But with the severity of the destruction mentioned, I supposed some faulty equipment wouldn't be good enough on its own to cause that amount of chaos.
"The facility wasn't just damaged from the disaster, but nearly obliterated. The perpetrator was a rogue huntsman, who after being promised an upfront payment from the owner of that specific factory, had set off the initial bombs to do just a little damage." Ironwood frowned, closing his eyes in thought as he explained. "Problem was: he hadn't been given that initial payment like promised, and feeling as though he was double-crossed, he set off several other bombs he had planted in preparation for that very possibility. According to him, he originally planned to slip in and clean them up if things went as planned, but seeing as they didn't, he just set them all to blow."
That explained why the destruction was so intense, but that didn't do away with the doors being locked, and so I inquired about them as well.
"What about the doors?"
"I had a feeling you'd catch that." Ironwood rested more of his body on the desk, and I just remained seated on my bed. "Unfortunately, that was triggered the moment the manager of the time stepped out. It was a system designed to keep all potential thieves out by any means necessary. Usually though, in events of danger, the locks would disengage. However the first explosion set by the bomber had been triggered in a completely separate room, which contained the core of the failsafe; we were locked in before we even heard the first series of bombs go off."
"Then what about the people?" I questioned, bringing up the thought. "The ones you tried to evacuate?"
"Their bodies were found later on." The general spoke carefully. "Six of the seven failed to escape. Four were near the last door, about two ahead of where Gretta and I made it, whereas the final one had tried to slip in a shower at a neighboring washing station. He was the lucky one though, as the reports from the investigation stated he was killed when one of the later explosives went off: he was crushed by one of the walls and died immediately."
"And the rest burned?" From the nod he gave, I knew I was spot on.
"What happened to the company then?" With such a large scale event, I figured no amount of backhanded dealing could hide what was discovered in the falling out.
"They learned it was indeed an attempt at insurance fraud. Normally, that would come with a heavy fine, but with six dead, and two students put into critical condition, Atlas Academy used nearly all of its power to make an example of them. At the time, the Schnee Dust Company was being led by a man known as Nicholas Schnee, and unlike his unfortunate predecessor by law, Jacques, he was growing in popularity via his directly involved methods and mentality of companionship." I saw a light smirk touch his lips briefly. "U.D. lost more than just credibility and a facility, but the space itself. Still being rich in unmined Dust, the mine was then snatched up by the newly growing S.D.C. in auction."
"You mentioned they weren't as well off as U.D.'' I pointed out, inquiring further with, "what makes their acquisition so important?"
He spoke of it alongside everything else, meaning they had something to contribute to the event, and the general was all too happy to tell.
"That mine was what set them on the path of success they enjoy today." Ironwood said curtly, with a plain smile displayed willingly. "Nicholas Schnee was scraping by good enough in the mining game, but this mine was fresh and untested, and seeing an opportunity, he poured a good amount of the money he'd built up over the years into that bid. The mine ended up tripling the company's earnings over the course of a year from how much Dust was inside, and with U.D. having to pay such a high fine from the disaster, they started selling their other facilities as well, which the S.D.C. scooped up at every chance."
"So the event ruined them." I proposed, and he appeared to relax.
"Yes. Tell me, have you ever heard of United Dustworks before I mentioned it here?"
"No." I heard of the S.D.C. and something about a few other Dust providers, but never anything on the level that this U.D. apparently had.
"That's because they declared bankruptcy seven years ago, when they sold off their final workplace: a small shop selling portions of S.D.C. brand Dust. They were officially absolved hence, and are nothing but a distant memory nowadays."
As most things were, but that hardly mattered.
The general looked relieved after all of that, standing and straightening his attire a little.
"I'm afraid that's where my story ends."
"Hold on." I stopped him, and he turned to face me. "That doesn't explain how you became a general. Did you suddenly stop your previous work afterwards?"
He grinned a bit, but settled it out as he spoke. "Not quite, but with what happened at the facility, I had a bit of a direction change in priorities afterwards. I still continued with my work, but seeing the action of the job first hand, I caught onto some of my faults. I needed to strengthen my head for two things: strategy, and adaptability. Had I been more attentive, I would have devised the quickest escape route immediately, which would have kept Gretta from running herself ragged. Had I paid better attention, I would have known to stick to the right wall and take the longer path as opposed to the quickest, which would have kept us away from the explosion that took our aura."
His eyes fell down, and landed on the arm he slowly lifted up. He looked at me, lowering said arm as he spoke.
"Had I done either of these things, I'd still be mostly Human. I knew my strengths already, and so I sought to eradicate my weaknesses."
"Have you done so?" I asked, to which he nodded, and started towards the door. We'd held this little chat in my room, and while we could have done so in his office, he didn't seem to mind just telling his story here. I wasn't sure if it was a sense of obscure privacy which the room provided, or perhaps a casual nostalgia; either way, he spoke pleasantly in this setting.
"I like to think I did, but every improvement presents new opportunities and challenges, and another portion of you then takes the place of weakest link." He stopped at the door, looking back. "While I know it's not the most uplifting tale, I hope it at least inspired something in you. I'm not the best when it comes to stories, but seeing you again reminded me a little of how I used to be; so focused on my goals and drive." Ironwood gave me one final nod before taking off, adding, "hopefully, I've awakened at least a little feeling within you. Thank you for hearing me out."
I didn't need his thanks, and probably didn't deserve them. I nodded his way as well, and he took off to presumably do whatever needed doing before the meeting. All I'd done was, in essence, listen to him get a weight off his chest. While my emotions may be dulled, I wasn't so stupid as to not see what he was really doing. The general had been holding onto that for who knows how long, probably wanting to let someone, anyone, know of what he'd been through.
Unfortunately, his attempts at motivation or whatever else he had in mind were sadly wasted, even if I couldn't drum up much sadness to begin with. Only Ruby, and to an extent the rest of her team, had been capable of drawing forth intense feelings. Even if I wanted to, I could only spare a passing sigh towards the man's violent tale. If anything, I got a look at how greedy people could be, which did little when trying to strum mercy upon my immobile heart.
But I supposed that was fine, and as I stood myself, I did a few stretches to roll out the stiffness in my limbs. If finishing his tale gave him peace of mind, then that was a good enough reason to speak it. With the three candidates for the Atlas Council seat so close, he'd need a level head to make it through. I may not have understood the power such a seat held completely, but I knew the general wanted to keep said power from any potential threats.
I, however, officially had nothing immediate to worry about, save mulling over the encounter with Cinder and that other woman, neither of which would merit many results. My other self would probably want me to use their presence to get to Salem, but I couldn't guarantee that would go by smoothly with Cinder's very clear grudge against me.
All I could do was await an opportunity to confront her myself, and until then I would simply remain here.
Author's note
...
No, I'm not happy with the length either.
I'll be honest, I'd have rather split this up into two chapters, but frankly, I'm tired of stretching this out. Ironwood's story should have finished long ago, but the rest of the story bits got moving at their own speeds, and it was put on hold. And so I had a choice: stretch it out over more chances and chapters, or nip it in the bud all at once.
I chose the latter, as you can plainly see.
If you don't fancy this chapter, don't worry, you're not the only one. I myself am quite tired with this too, but at least it's over. Personally, I think the story itself is fine, but damn did it take too long to complete - and that's coming from me. At least it's over, and we can move onto the main plot again in full. If you liked this full on short story: good for you, because I sure as heck won't be doing it again anytime soon.
Every chapter hence will keep its max word count around 5000 or so; I am not letting this happen again.
Anyway, next we have Future Ruby, who's facing a battle of strength and skill, whereas the present crew deal with mental gymnastics and outside scheming; should be fun.
Until next time.