“Am I the only one weirded out that there’s nobody to fight here?” Yang asked the group as they moved between train cars.
“It’s definitely strange,” Blake answered, though her voice was wobbly and she was wiping tears from her face. “Normally I would think it’s some sort of trap, but if Adam is…”
Not wanting his student to fall back into hysterics, Oobleck took over the explanation. “If the White Fang members were all off of the train when they sent it on its way, then there are a few possibilities. The first, and the one I find most unlikely, is that we interrupted their boarding process and they deemed trying to stop us more important than getting on it themselves. It would, of course, have made much more sense to get on the train before it started moving, but I find myself questioning the intelligence of anyone who would send a train barrelling towards a barricade underneath Vale. There’s also the possibility that-”
His words were cut off as an explosion echoed down the subway tunnel from behind them.
“Oh dear, have they decided to pursue us?” At the next doorway between train cars, instead of passing into the next one, Oobleck stopped to climb on top, gazing down the tunnel. He watched as the final car detached from the rest, slowing for a moment before erupting in a violent explosion. A hole was torn through the roof of the tunnel, and grimm started pouring in.
He climbed back down, turning towards the girls in his charge. “Would any of you happen to know how to defuse a bomb?” he asked.
Their faces paled at the implication, before the lot of them turned towards Blake.
“Well? Can you do it or not?” Weiss demanded.
“No! I do not know how to defuse a bomb! Why would I know that?!”
“Ex-White Fang member, bombs presumably planted by the current White Fang…” Yang pointed out. “Didn’t you only leave them just before the school year started? If anything it’s weirder for you not to know.”
“Enough!” Oobleck interrupted. “While such a skill would have proven useful, if nobody is capable then that’s just how it is. As it stands,we must assume that every car holds an explosive of some sort.” He started making his way through the train cars once more. “We will get to the locomotive, detach the cars behind it, and stop it before it can hit the seal at the end of the tunnel.”
It was then that Ruby returned to the group, running through the train cars from the opposite direction. “We have a problem!”
“We have lots of problems! Why is the train not slowing down? Did you not engage the brakes?” Weiss shouted back.
“I can’t! They’re broken!” Ruby answered, panic in her voice.
“Broken how?” Oobleck asked.
“When I tried to use them it just made a grinding noise without slowing down at all! I don’t think we’ll be able to stop the train!”
“I suppose that explains the lack of White Fang on board.” Oobleck hypothesized. “They know there’s no way to stop the train, and without that possibility there’s no reason for them to put themselves in further danger.”
“There’s gotta be some way to stop it!” Yang pleaded.
Oobleck grimaced. “I’ll check the braking mechanism myself, but we might only be able to do damage control.”
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“Uh, Adam?” one of the new recruits spoke up. Braver than most it would seem. Nobody else wanted to talk to him after realizing this was the first time he’d seen Blake since her betrayal. “Shouldn’t we uh… chase after them or something?”
He had followed after the train for a brief moment, caught up in his anger, but there was no point. The plan would either work or it wouldn’t, and Adam no longer cared.
Cinder… that fool had definitely set them up. How like her to plant that seed of doubt just before betraying him? She hoped that he would be killed, captured, or fall victim to paranoia based on a semblance she had made up.
He would not be gotten rid of so easily. But if she no longer wanted him working under her? Well, he was all too happy to oblige with that desire.
She wasn’t the only one who could scheme and plan. She wasn’t even particularly good at it.
“No,” he finally answered. “Pack everything up. We leave as soon as possible. It’s time for a change in plans.”
The surprise at that answer was clear, even under the mask, but his subordinate immediately hopped to work. “You heard the man! Start packing everything up!”
The cavern became a hive of activity once more as Adam mulled over the possibilities.
What to do next…?
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The last of the civilians in the area were being evacuated, and a large crowd of Huntsmen, both those in training and professionals, stood tense, waiting for something to happen. Some of them looked doubtful. Nobody wanted to be the one to say something, but he could tell that they were wondering why so many had been called in for what was looking to be a false alarm. Seconds went by, then minutes, all of them ready to react at a moment’s notice.
The more experienced members of the group played it off well. Where the students present knew on an intellectual level that appearances mattered, that looking calm in the face of oncoming danger would decrease the negative emotions in others, and thereby lessen the number of grimm, they didn’t truly know it. Not on a deep instinctual level. Not yet. Port and some of the Valean huntsmen were trying to ease tensions by cracking jokes, but an event like this made that job a bit difficult. Huntsmen were used to acting. Swooping in, killing the grimm, saving lives. Even creeping through the brush outside the walls of the city would be more comforting than being told to wait in place on the chance that the grimm may appear.
A glance towards Mr. Arc showed that he appeared just as, if not more nervous than the other students. He had insisted on being brought along, even if his low aura made everyone question the wisdom of that choice. Though with Ms. Nikos as his partner and so many huntsmen surrounding them, Ozpin highly doubted that any danger would come to the boy.
Ozpin’s scroll went off, startling them all. A cat faunus leapt into the air with fright, causing his team to laugh at the poor soul.
Ozpin quickly pulled it out, answering it immediately when he saw that it was Bart. They must have finally gotten a signal from the CCT. Where the square they had set up in was quiet, Bart’s end of the call was loud, the background noise almost being enough to overpower his words.
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“We have an emergency! I need you to-”
“Is it the train?” Ozpin interrupted.
“The- how did you-? Ah. Mr. Arc is awake then?”
“He is. I’ve gathered everyone I can to the spot where the track is blocked off. I take it there’s no hope of stopping the train before it hits?”
“No.” Oobleck replied, speaking even faster than normal. “I give it roughly one minute before our arrival! We were able to leave the White Fang behind, but the brakes won’t work and we have a rather large horde of grimm following behind us! Getting off the train will see us overwhelmed by their numbers, so I’m afraid right now my best plan is to have Ms. Schnee shield us in ice and brace for impact!” There was a shout from one of the girls, he couldn’t make out who. “The barricade is in sight. I’ll see you in a moment.” The call ended before he could get another word out.
“Everyone ready yourselves!” he shouted out for those on the other side of the square. If he had thought things were tense before, the confirmation that it was about to happen saw the group coiled like springs. All was quiet for a moment before the sirens began to blare, alerting the entirey of Vale of the danger.
Then the ground erupted in a violent explosion of concrete and rubble. The pieces that flew high into the air were caught by Glynda’s semblance before they could land on anyone, but it still wasn’t a pretty sight. A train car could be seen peeking just above the ground, and Bart and team RWBY were strewn about, obviously not having taken the impact very well.
“Get them out of there so we can seal-” but his cries were interrupted by the grimm. Half of a King Taijitu forced its way through, brushing some of the rubble aside and making room for more to follow. Plenty of Ursai, Beowolves, and Creeps crawled out, while Nevermore took to the air. He even spied a Death Stalker or two.
It was a massacre.
With so many huntsmen present, it took only moments for a veritable slaughter to commence. Bullets rained down on them, semblances fired off, and by the time that team RWBY was up and walking, ready to fight alongside them, most of the grimm had already been culled.
Glynda used her semblance to seal the breach and soon it was just a matter of cleaning up the stragglers.
“I’d say that went well, didn’t it?” Ozpin turned towards Glynda and James, the three of them having not even broken a sweat.
“Compared to what it could have been, yes it did,” James replied. “Which is why I’m confused about you still-”
“STOP HER!” a cry rang out.
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With the situation seemingly under control, Jaune wanted to breathe a sigh of relief. But he couldn’t. He was too focused on pretending to be normal. On not letting his eyes drift towards a certain group. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to hide the fact that he now knew.
What are we supposed to do? Just walk up to Ozpin and say “Hey that’s the lunatic that’s behind all of our problems recently”?
I don’t know. Second replied I mean, that might be the right play here? But at the same time, she’s got a team with her who aren’t afraid to kill everyone here and can use illusions against us. We could take her out, but how many people would die because they came here expecting to fight grimm, just to get caught up in the crossfire?
There’s nothing saying we have to take her on right now, but it couldn’t hurt to let them know as soon as possible, could it?
You have a point, but we don’t know how Ozpin, or anyone really, would react to that information. Imagine how Ruby would react if you told her. Instant fight, then and there. Ozpin and Ironwood might be more calm and collected, but consider just who it is we’re pointing out to them.
Then what? We just let her walk free? Even knowing what we do?
Look, if you’ve got a solution to the problem, I’m all ears. I’ve been trying to juggle all of this since you unlocked me and I’m not exactly an expert on the matter.
I… right. Sorry. It’s just… frustrating.
I’m well aware. If I had hair it’d be going white from the stress.
There’s got to be some way to-
“STOP HER!”
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Even with Weiss having shielded them with her ice as he had asked, they hadn’t come out of the crash unscathed. He hadn’t gotten a chance to check the girls for injuries yet, but they were at least standing now. He could feel the nasty bump forming on his head from where he’d hit it, even if he’d had his aura up the whole time.
How lucky were they that Jaune had woken up while they were gone?
The number of grimm present, and if the locals had not been forewarned… no, best not to think about that. Things were going well.
As Glynda started to seal the breach behind him, he took a moment to look over the crowd helping to suppress the grimm. Quite an impressive turn out. The vibrant outfits that huntsmen were known for were an assault on his eyes, especially with so many clashing colors next to each other as they chased down the remaining grimm, but he could handle that so long as everyone was safe. Blondes and redheads, bright blue hair right alongside bright green… green hair…
That was important, wasn’t it?
How was it important?
Perhaps he had hit his head harder than he thought.
Yes, that must be it. He should be focused on the grimm, there were still a decent number around.
But as he turned his head and focused his gaze elsewhere, something flickered.
That couldn’t be right. Had he damaged his eyes in the crash? Perhaps he should refrain from turning his head so quickly.
Or maybe it was a semblance? There were quite a few unfamiliar faces here, he wouldn’t know every semblance in the crowd. Curious, he looked back, and wouldn’t you know it, there it was again. That flicker. Or maybe it was more of a shimmer? He watched for a moment more, but he didn’t see it again. Not till he looked away.
That can’t be right though. What sort of semblance would only activate as he looked in a certain direction? He took another look, but this time out of the corner of his eye. No shimmer. What was different? Playing “spot the difference” while in the middle of a grimm attack was probably ill advised, but a nagging feeling in his gut told him to continue. Something about this was important. He had noticed something. What had set him off on this… the green hair? His gaze found her once more, but something was different. Where before she seemed calm and relaxed, now she looked like she was straining, even though she was not in combat.
Green hair. Changing vision.
The illusion based semblance he had been hunting for.
But why now? Why here? What was she trying to stop him from seeing? It was only when he looked in a certain direction. Could she only affect people looking in a certain area? Was she limited by the number of people she could affect? Having to constantly switch targets as their gaze fell in a certain spot would explain the strain on her face. But what was there?
A dying grimm, impaled on Pyrrha’s blade. A few professional huntsmen. Some of his students alongside those from other schools. Jaune.
Jaune?
Why would he be here? He couldn’t have woken up too long ago and he thought it wise to be out of bed with presumably low aura? His team surrounded him, keeping their eyes outward and scanning for approaching grimm.
Another student was approaching him. Black hair, a confident smirk, Haven uniform. Stopping for a casual chat during a grimm attack? His team hadn’t noticed her, too focused on the chaos around them to care about a human. He turned towards them fully. The girl shimmered out of existence.
That wasn’t good. He had no idea what their plan was, but he was likely the only person who had noticed. If the illusion user was struggling already, it would be impossible to hold everyone here under her spell, wouldn’t it?
As loud as he could, Oobleck shouted out. “STOP HER!”
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Cinder’s confident smirk turned into a scowl at the shout.
How many times now?
How many times had her plans been ruined?
Roman captured, the White Fang traitor escaping her lackeys, Atlas recovering their precious paladin, having to rethink all of her plans just for Adam to fail her and the breach to be over almost as soon as it started with no casualties that she could see? And now she couldn’t even handle something simple as removing the problem under the cover of Emerald’s semblance.
Well, if her cover was blown, and the source of all her problems was right in front of her…
She might as well go through with it before making her escape.
Her blade sang as she gave up all pretense of subtlety, lunging for Jaune’s back.
She would not allow him to interfere again.