"Underground, huh?"
"Yes. While we admittedly have had no time to properly scout even the surface for this city yet, seeing the underground train tracks reminded me of the massive caves and the elaborate subway system underneath this city. While they still could be on the surface, I find it much more likely that they would hide underground. And so, Usopp, are you still up for scouting after that huge battle?"
"Of course! That's why I fought in the first place, so we could do this mission!"
"Then let's not waste any time."
Roman Torchwick overlooked the loading of the train. At the rate they were going, he figured they would be ready within the next few days.
"Um, Sir?"
Torchwick looked at the White Fang guard that had bothered him. "What is it?"
"Our scouts have reported that the massive amount of Grimm that suddenly entered the city has practically vanished."
"Vanished? What the hell happened to them? Didn't they come here because of the negative feelings we have?"
"They seemed to be attracted to something else, as they didn't even try to break in here."
"If they just went somewhere else, then it's nothing to be concerned about. Don't waste my time."
"But, whatever they were drawn to had to have been relatively close, and there isn't a sign of any Grimm at all now despite thousands passing through. There's no confirmation, but I think there might be an army coming."
"My job is to think, not yours. How the hell would an army get here under our noses without anyone noticing? Regardless though, being cautious will turn out better than recklessly believing that we're safe."
He turned away and raised his voice. "Finish loading what you're carrying and then start the train!"
"So, what motivated you to choose this profession, Usopp?" Dr. Oobleck asked.
"Huh? Is now really the time?"
The group of six were following the train tracks underground to the area where Usopp could sense people, including Roman Torchwick. They were carrying torches for light.
"It will still be some time before we reach the base, so why not?"
"Alright. I've always wanted to be brave, and so I figured that I could become brave by becoming a Huntsman."
"Are you not already brave? You took a great risk to your life very recently, and I don't think someone who wasn't brave would have done that."
"I want to be someone who's brave enough to do stunts like that without hesitation. I don't want my legs to shake every time I think I'm in danger. And even if I risk my life now, it doesn't mean that I'll have the determination to do it again under different circumstances. I can't just call myself a brave warrior just because I've been in danger a few times."
"And you think that this career will help you become that brave?"
"Well… it will help."
"Interesting."
On their way, Dr. Oobleck seemed to similarly interrogate everyone else besides Ruby. A little while after the last interrogation, Usopp held his hand up.
"There seems to be people approaching us very fast. And it looks like they're floating, so I guess they're in some sort of vehicle?"
"Like a train?" Ruby asked.
"But these tracks only lead to a dead end," Dr. Oobleck said.
"They're certainly heading straight here though at an alarming speed. Torchwick is up front. I don't think they'll get here for another minute or so, what are we going to do?"
"Ooh, I have an idea!" Ruby said, "Do you have any trampolia seeds left?"
"Yeah, I don't use them too much so I usually have plenty of them."
"Good, I was thinking that we could stop the train using a wall made from Rock Dust as well as an array of those trampolia things planted on the wall so the train would get pushed back."
"I think the trampolia's bubble would burst if it took the impact of a train head on."
"But it would absorb most of the momentum. Then, when the train is stopped, we get on and capture everybody! If they just use their brakes to avoid the crash, then it's basically the same result. Any objections?"
No one gave any, so they made their preparations just in time to see the headlight of the train. Everyone kept a fair distance away from the wall, and no one was on the tracks at all in case the train just plowed through the trampolias and the rock wall.
The train showed no signs of braking, which was strange as they surely must have noticed the wall in front of them. Regardless, the train crashed and stopped, destroying trampolias and cracking the wall in the process. The train was completely derailed and mostly wrecked.
"It worked! Now lets-"
Ruby was interrupted as back cars of the train exploded. The front car was blasted forward, forcibly detached from the rest of the train and rolling on its side, and a massive hole was opened up to the surface.
Everyone stood shocked for a moment, before Dr. Oobleck turned to Usopp. "Any survivors?"
"Oh, ah… well Torchwick is still alive in the front car, but he isn't moving. And there's another, a girl, but she seems to have escaped to the surface already. She's running away pretty fast."
Last time that girl showed up to save Torchwick, but now she's saving her own skin? Well I guess she did just barely escape a horrific explosion, so maybe she's too rattled to think about Torchwick.
"I see. We should secure Torchwick for now, and then we should investigate the rest of the base. After that, we'll go home."
By the time everything was properly investigated, night had fallen. Dr. Oobleck decided to set up camp to rest for the night. He called in a Bullhead that was scheduled to pick them up in the morning. With everything that had happened in that short amount of time, no one wanted to endure a long Bullhead ride without some rest. Torchwick was bound, still unconscious, and they naturally took shifts to both watch over him and watch out for any Grimm that might still be in the area.
Ruby took the first shift, while Weiss, Yang, and Blake talked about Dr. Oobleck's interrogations. Usopp instantly fell asleep because of his injuries, so he wasn't a part of it, but they came to the conclusion that doing their job protecting the people came before any personal desires.
Morning came soon enough, and with it, a Bullhead to take them home.
"Apparently, considering his previous escape from the local jail, we'll be dropping him off directly to an Atlesian Airship for his imprisonment," Dr. Oobleck said.
"Good, he's been annoying for this entire ride," Usopp said.
"Glad to be of service, Long Nose," Torwick said.
"If you learned to shut up, I may have actually felt bad that your friend abandoned you."
Torchwick chuckled. "Oh, woe is me that you're not feeling pity. Truly, you've shown me the error of my ways."
"Don't let him get to you, Usopp. He can't do anything, and soon enough we'll never have to deal with him again," Ruby said.
"I sure hope so."
Soon enough, Vale and the Airships in its skies became visible. The last stretch felt like forever, but everyone felt relieved when they finally handed over an unapologetic Torchwick to the soldiers on the Airship.
General Ironwood himself came with an escort to both watch over the handling of Torchwick and greet the people who captured him.
"I have reviewed the full report that your teacher submitted to me, and I must say, congratulations are due. You've all done a great service in capturing this criminal again, and I assure you that it won't be necessary for a third time. Also, while we are not sure what he was planning with that train full of explosives, it couldn't have been good. You did a great job stopping this potential tragedy."
"Thank you, General," Ruby said.
"No, we should thank all of you. Regardless, I'm sure you all want to rest more after this mission, so I won't hold you here any longer. Good luck in the Vytal Festival."
It seems there wasn't a need to send an army, Ironwood thought, Ozpin's 'scouts' basically did the same thing.
"Well, we did it," Ruby said. Everyone was back at Beacon, stretching their limbs.
"We did it," Blake repeated.
"If we don't get extra credit for that, I'm gonna be seriously disappointed," Weiss said.
"Well Usopp did most of the work," Yang said.
"Maybe, but I also caused most of the problems, so it evens out. I'm sure the same thing would have happened without me there," Usopp said.
"The only problem you caused was the massive amount of Grimm, you helped out with more than just that, like stopping the train and finding their base."
"Stopping the train was Ruby's plan, and Dr. Oobleck was the one who told me to check underground. I might have missed it on my own."
"Enough with all that," Ruby said, "We all accomplished something great and saved the day, don't try to undermine your own efforts."
"Fine fine, so maybe I did something kind of cool, looking back. Maybe. I'm not sure if I'm lucky to be alive, or if my reactions are better than I think, but I survived and our enemies are defeated."
Ruby rolled her eyes. "Someday I'll make you have a genuine, optimistic thought."
Usopp shuddered.
Regardless, their accomplishment left them in high spirits, with no small amount of pride and self confidence. Whether these feelings would last, however, remains to be seen.
In the coming days, Cinder was looking forward to the news of a tragedy involving the deaths of many civilians due to a Grimm 'Breach.' However, the unexpected news she received this morning was not particularly pleasing. Torchwick captured, and their whole plan involving a breach was foiled. The only good thing was that despite the tragedy not happening, Torchwick was still imprisoned in an airship, which was optimal for the future.
"Apparently those stupid kids managed to stop the train head on, and that caused it to explode all at once and far too early," Emerald said.
"No Faunus on the train managed to survive. Will the White Fang even listen to us anymore?" Mercury asked.
"No," Cinder said, "But they still respect Adam. The only one they respect more than Adam is their Leader, but he is far away. I would like to get him on our side, but that goes beyond the scope of this mission. Regardless though,"
Cinder smirked with one eye lit up.
"They may enjoy this small victory for now, but they are not prepared for what is to come."