Ruby raced through the tunnel ahead of her team and teachers. Thoughts raced through her brain as she followed the tracks of her new adversaries. She didn't know what they were or why they were here, but it appeared that the Storyteller recognized them.
Whoever broke into Beacon was working with them; they might be down in these tunnels now.
Ruby stopped as she stepped into a vast expanse of an underground city. Her eyes scanned all around, narrowing as she saw a long train in the process of being filled with crates and a small crew running about. She even saw a familiar head of red hair with a bowler hat overtop as he talked with a pair of mysterious figures.
"Torchwick!" Blake shouted behind her.
'Oh, come on, Blake?' Ruby lamented in her mind as all eyes turned to her team.
Roman gave them a side glance before appearing to sigh and gesture to the others. "We move now!' one of them shouted as the crew began to scramble. Ruby watched as Roman climbed into the train, its whistle blaring throughout the underground.
"Students, we don't know what their plan is, but we can not let them escape," Oobleck instructed while rushing past them.
"Try to take them alive. we need answers," Tanner chimed in as she also rushed forward.
"Understood," Ruby said as she unfurled Cresent Rose and let her semblance carry her forward. She passed old buildings and ruins, almost slithering through the concrete maze to reach the train first. One of the crew rushed towards her with some kind of machete. She leveled the scythe blade and swung with full force, dragging the man off his feet and slamming him into the side of the train. She climbed atop the train, only glancing at the man before looking back to the rest of her team. She waved them over, prompting them to rush up the train as well.
The Train hissed, and the wheels groaned beneath them.
"Hold on, Students!" Oobleck shouted as the train began moving.
'Wait, where's the Storyteller?" Weiss called out.
"I'm here," The Storyteller called back while climbing up the side of the train.
The train cried out, rocking the underground city around them. "We need to move forward," Ruby called out.
"Indeed, Miss Rose, we need to stop the train," Oobleck replied. Ruby turned to her team and gestured for them to move forward. The underground city turned to a vast tunnel as they ran as fast as they could.
They... met no resistance.
Ruby had to bury her suspicion, Then they heard a click behind them. They all turned back to see one of the train cars had disconnected and stalled.
Less than a moment later, the car exploded.
Ruby felt her eyes widen as she saw the shadows of Grimm flood in from the now-opened hole.
Then they heard the click once more, and the next car disconnected.
"They're blowing holes in the tunnel?" Weiss shouted in confusion.
"They're leading Grimm into the city," Oobleck proclaimed.
"We need to hurry!" Ruby shouted and turned back towards the front of the train. "Come on," Ruby continued as she ran forward. The sounds of more cars detaching and exploding echoed behind them, only pushing them to move forward.
They had no time to stop, not even as they passed a car with several Altesian Paladins.
Even as the tunnel began to rock, debris fell around them as explosions ruined the tunnel structure. The sounds of Grimm grew worse, yet Ruby wouldn't dare glance back to see how immense the swarm was.
Only one thought edged its way into her mind.
They had to stop this train before it reached Vale.
Six stretched his arms as he walked around his motel room. It was still early in the morning, so most of the others were still asleep except for Raul. The Ghoul in question was working his way through a cup of coffee, his eyes locked on the slowly rising sun. Six just walked over to Raul and took a seat across from him. "It's beautiful? Isn't it?" Six asked with a small smile.
"The sky or the city boss?" Raul replied.
"Can't it be both?" Six said before he glanced at the coffee pot on the counter. Raul chuckled as Six walked over and began pouring himself a cup. Ed-E let out a series of clicks as she flew closer. "Not too loud, they'll wake up when they're ready," Six said as Ed-E chirped.
"So, when do we have to meet this Oz figure, Boss?" Raul inquired.
"We're scheduled for five in the afternoon, so we'll just have to get to the airfield after lunch," Six explained before taking a long sip of his coffee. He took a small comfort in the taste, vastly preferring Valean blends to the tobacco-based brew on the Mojave.
"Remind me to get a couple bags before we leave, eh Boss?" Raul asked.
"Definitely," Six replied before taking another long sip, letting the caffeine buzz whittle away at any remaining tiredness. He finished his cup with a third sip and left it in the sink. "I'm going to take a walk, be back later," Six said, earning a nod from Raul. Six walked through the motel room, moving past the beds and grabbing his Duster and Stetson hat. He turned to the door, resting one hand in his pocket as he opened the door and stepped out. Ed-E flew behind him before the door closed, letting out an excited chirp. "Come on, let's see if that shop they were eyeing is open yet," Six said before he made his way down the street.
Six bore a small smile as he wandered, taking in the detail of the Vale's early morning life. Very few cars, only the all-night or early rising places being open.
A random ginger girl is walking by... Nope, approaching them.
Six paused as he saw a ginger-haired girl walking towards them. She had a curious look in her eyes, her gaze strictly on Ed-E. She stopped just in front of them, her gaze still locked on Ed-E. "Uh? Can I help you?" Six asked as the girl just stared with wide-awake eyes as though it wasn't the early hours of the morning.
"Oh... Sorry..." The girl said while running a hand to her neck. "I Just, I heard that we had some visitors from the wasteland wandering the streets with a robot and I wanted to meet them," The girl said.
"Ok, well, this is Ed-E," Six said while gesturing to Ed-E. Ed-E gave a series of friendly beeps as the girl seemed to nod.
"Sensational. It's nice to meet you, Ed-E. My name is Penny," Penny said with stars in her eyes.
Six just shrugged, placing both hands in his pockets. 'Well, we'll be off, have a good day, Penny," Six waved her off. Ed-E let out a series of beeps, prompting Six to shake his head.
"I understand that it is strange, but I've only heard talk of Eyebots from some of Miss Mary's soldiers," Penny said.
Six stopped, his feet twisting to look Penny in the eye. "You can understand her?" he inquired. Penny seemed to freeze at his question, her eyes turning to pinpricks. "It took me weeks to understand her. Impressive," Six complemented.
"Ah, it's nothing, I'm just a normal girl," Penny said before hiccuping.
"A normal girl with an impeccable talent. Are you taking engineering or something?" Six asked.
"No, I'm... I'm... a Huntress," Penny said nervously before she let out another hiccup.
"You from Atlas?" Six inquired.
"Yes," Penny said quickly.
"Well, makes sense. Have a good day, Penny," Six said before he turned back. He could hear Penny whisper a goodbye before she ran away at high speed. Ed-E let out another series of chirps as Penny's footsteps faded. "Yeah, seems just like those Synths from the Commonwealth," Six replied. Ed-E let out more chirps as Six turned to here. "Whatever Atlas is doing with her isn't my issue, though Nate and Mary might jump at it," Six said as he continued on his walk. Ed-E gave him a short chirp in irritation. "I ain't stirring up the Cazador's nest; lord knows the peace between the Brotherhood and Remnant is still tenious," Six said. Ed-E beeped some more. "Yes, it is weird that she is out at this time of the day. No, I don't know why," Six said before crossing his arms.
Ed-E let out a hiss, Six quickly turned to her. "Hey, watch your language," he said sternly. Ed-E hovered lower, getting closer to Six. Six just gave Ed-E a stern look, prompting the robot to lower her "face" in an apologetic manner. "Now come on, I want to get in there before the rest of the early birds get up," Six said. The two of them continued onwards before Six finally saw the shop.
Then the ground shook, and smoke rose on the horizon.
Pyrrha forced herself awake as alarms blared throughout Beacon Academy.
"Level Two Grimm incursion detected. All available Teams are to gear up and report to the docks immediately!" an automated voice spoke sternly and loudly.
Pyrrha shook her drowsiness away as she heard Ren and Nora climbing out of their respective beds. She knew they didn't have time to spare, rushing to the bathroom to get dressed. Not sparing a second, not having any too lose.
The message repeated once again as she stepped out, barely giving her team a glance and a nod as she saw both Ren and Nora dressed. They moved fast, rushing for the locker room as other teams did the same. She grabbed her weapons in an almost fugue state as the message looped for a third time. It took less than a moment for Ren and Nora to be at her side as they joined numerous other teams at the docks. She could see Bullheads being filled with armed students, even a large cloud of smoke that rose from the far end of Vale.
She almost paused as the hum of the Bullheads was joined by the whirring of Wasteland Aircraft. The craft landed where Bullheads would park, their sides opening to show soldiers in heavy power armor gesturing for students to get on.
It was all chaos, yet they still didn't know what was the cause.
Mary narrowed her eyes as she looked at the rising cloud of smoke from the side windows of the Vertibird. The HUD of her winterized T-51 flaring as her grip tightened on the Metal Blaster. A few soldiers and Fawkes were standing alongside her, an unspoken nervousness wafted around them despite the laser and plasma weapons at their sides. This would be the first time they fought against these Grimm, who knows just what they can do.
"I'll have to leave the moment you're on the ground. Beacon is requesting more transports," The pilot said through the Vertibird's comms.
Mary ran a hand to the side of her helmet. "Understood. just bring us closest to the breach," Mary replied.
The Vertibird rocked for a moment before it landed. The doors shot open, and they all rushed out. The sight of a street in ruin and the creatures of Grimm already rushing for them. "Check your shots," Mary instructed before she and the others raised their weapons and fired. Beams and Bolts flew forward, cutting into the approaching horde like a hot knife through butter. They didn't pause as the horde was turned to black mist in less than a moment. "Forward, we need to secure the breach," Mary shouted as the sounds of more aircraft echoed above them. It didn't take long for them to reach a large park with a massive hole in the ground and parts of a train poking out of it.
She could also see four young women, huntresses most likely, holding their own against the swarms of Grimm rushing out from the hole. "Bring them down!" she instructed before raising Metal Blaster and firing into the approaching horde. The soldiers on her side roared while firing into the horde, energy weapons tearing into their targets with ruthless efficiency.