Chapter 6: A Complication & A Mission's End
Back by the entrance of the facility, Sunset and Nova were looking through various crates and found most of the stuff that Storm and Nitro found in the warehouse. "Well, I found more weapons and Dust in this crate," Nova called as he looked through two more creates.
"I found more surgical supplies over here," Sunset said as she closed her crate.
"Why do the White Fang need so many surgical tools again?" Nova asked curiously.
"Well, I think they do various experiments on their members. If they don't do that, then I have no clue what they would use that for, Sunset said.
"Oh, well I guess that makes some sort of sense," Nova told Sunset. Sunset simply nodded in response as she felt a tiny pang of guilt.
"I feel bad about not telling him, but I don't want to say anything yet. Plus, I don't even want to think about the thing I saw those tools being used for," Sunset thought as she felt a shudder go through her. The two kept on looking through crates and keeping a watch until they saw Storm, Nitro, and a male Faunus running up to them.
"Looks like they found a White Fang member who was willing to cooperate, I wonder what they found out," Nova commented as he made a mental note about something.
"I'm curious as to who that member is," Sunset said in a curious tone. As the three running towards them came into focus, Sunset immediately recognized the Faunus that they found. After a few seconds, Storm, Nitro, and Palom meet up with Sunset and Nova.
"Hey, we need to get going now," Nitro said in a slightly panicked tone.
"Hang on, you didn't even introduce to your new friend," Nova said in a playful tone.
"Well, Nova and Sunset this is Palom. Palom, this is Sunset and Nova," Storm said quickly as she panted. Before anyone could say anything, Sunset and Palom walked up to each other and looked at each other.
"Um, what are you two doing?" Nitro asked in a confused tone, breaking the two out of their trance.
"Oh sorry, it's just I never thought I would meet an old friend of mine here," Palom said in a happy tone.
"Same here, I thought I would never see you again Palom," Sunset said as she hugged her old friend. Before anyone else could say anything, a roar echoed throughout the facility. "What was that?" Sunset asked as she got out her weapon.
"Well, me, Storm, and Tempest think that the White Fang brought a Rabid Grimm into the facility," Nitro said as he got out a pair of pistols.
"A Rabid Grimm in Vale? First off, how did they get it in the city not only unnoticed, but safely? Secondly, do the White Fang know what they were dealing with?" Nova questioned as he got out am axe and put it on his shoulder.
"Don't ask me, I was just sent here to see why this place was abandoned," Palom said in a slightly panicked tone.
"Well, we shouldn't worry about that at the moment. Right now, we need to focus on meeting up with Tempest and the others in order to get out of here," Storm said as she got out a pair of elbow blades.
"Storm is right, we need to get out here and meet up with Tempest's team," Sunset said in a leader like tone. As they were about to walk in front of the entrance, Sunset stopped the others as there was a loud stomping coming from their destination.
"Um, because I think it might be ahead of us, mind if I ask what a Rabid Grimm is?" Palom asked awkwardly.
"Well, a Rabid Grimm is a very powerful type of Grimm that can take up to five teams working together to take it down," Nitro explained.
"Oh, what makes it so special in that case?" Palom asked.
"Well, the one thing that separates it from other Grimm, aside from the fact that it's eyes are yellow instead of red, is that they have an something similar to an Aura that absorbs attacks, which is the main reason it's so dangerous," Storm told Palom.
"So, what's the plan to avoid the thing Sunset?" Nova asked as he turned to where Sunset was. When he looked, he saw Sunset was getting up and looking to run towards the creature. "Hey, what do you think you're doing?!" Nova asked in an alarmed tone.
"Well, I was going to distract the thing so Palom could go find Tempest's team inside the compound," Sunset explained.
"You're thinking about facing a Rabid Grimm alone?" Do you have a death wish?" Storm asked. Sunset stayed silent as she considered that statement.
"You might be right, but I want to help my friends and team get away safely," Sunset said with a smile.
"Wow, I never thought I would see you care for people Sunset," Palom said in an amazed tone.
"Hey, people can change when you haven't seen them for a while," Sunset said.
"So I can guess that none of us will be talking you out of this crazy plan?" Storm asked curiously.
"What do you think?" Sunset responded.
"Well, in that case I think I'll join you. After all, you'll need someone to drag your corpse back," Storm said in a joking tone as she put her elbow blades together to form a bow.
"I appreciate the sentiment, heck, I might need to do the same to you," Sunset responded, making Storm laugh a little.
"Hey, if you two jokers are done, we've got a thing to distract," Nitro said with a sigh.
"So, now that Nitro and Storm are coming, I guess you're the only one left," Sunset said to Nova.
"You're correct, and I think I am joining you. After all, we're a team and teams stick together no matter what the obstacle," Nova said.
"Ok, Palom do you think that you can get inside quickly while we get its attention?" Sunset asked in a leader like tone.
"Of course," Palom said nervously.
"Hey, don't worry about us, we'll be fine. You just worry about finding Tempest's team," Sunset told Palom in a comforting tone.
"Ok, I'll go find them. Come back safely," Palom said in a worried tone before he went to a good hiding spot to wait.
"So, what's the plan fearless leader?" Nova asked enthusiastically.
"Well, I think that Storm should run and take shot at the Grimm to get its attention. Nova, you try to get to its side and hit it hard with your ax. Me and Nitro will back either of you up if you need help. Any objections to the plan?" Sunset responded.
"Just wondering what type of Grimm it is," Storm said.
"Well, it's an Ursa so our job should be made a bit easier," Sunset said.
"Well, then I say we get started," Nitro said.
"Agreed, Storm if you would be so kind," Sunset said as she moved out of the way. Storm simply nodded and ran off towards the Grimm as she pulled back on her bow.
"I'll be heading off now as well," Nova said as he ran to the left side of the Grimm.
"Hey, how does Storm's bow work if you don't mind me asked?" Sunset said as she got her twin swords ready.
"If I remember correctly, I believe it channels Dust that it naturally makes, don't ask it's a long story, to form arrows of wind," Nitro said as he looked forward, twirling his pistols around.
"Huh, mine works on a similar concept, but I suggest we talk about this later," Sunset said as she got into a running position. Nitro simply nodded as he did the same. When they heard the Rabid Ursa roar out of pain, the two rushed forward to join their teammates.
Meanwhile with Palom, he took the opportunity to run when he had a chance. "I feel bad about leaving them to fend for themselves, but I want to find my sister," Palom thought as he dashed towards the entrance. As he got closer, he heard voices coming from inside the facility. "Hey, I recognize that voice," Palom thought as he slowed down.
"The good news is that we might be able to escape if we can keep the Grimm distracted for long enough," the voice said from inside.
"I wouldn't worry too much about that, Sunset and her team are already taking care of that," Palom said as he walked in. As he walked in, he saw Porom and who he assumed was Tempest and her team.
"Palom, I'm glad you're alright," Porom said happily.
"Hey, I was with some good people," Palom said quietly as he kneeled down on the wall opposite them.
"Before we continue, I would like you all to meet my brother Palom. We were both sent here by the White Fang, but we're not going to be with them anymore," Porom said in a quiet, cheerful tone.
"Hey, if you don't mind me being rude and asking, why are Sunset and the others fighting the Rabid Grimm?" Wind asked curiously.
"Well, they wanted to make a distraction so I could find you," Palom explained.
"Ok, so did they tell you what to do after you found us?" Porom asked curiously.
"Well, I imagine that would be to leave," Palom said.
"There is no way I'm leaving Sunset's team here to face that thing on their own," Tempest said as she got up to go help Sunset's team.
"Hang on, if you just rush in head first like that, you'll get yourself killed like that," Phaze said as she grabbed Tempest's arm to stop her.
"Do you expect me to just stay here and leave them to fend for themselves?" Tempest responded in a panicked tone. Wind then got up and grabbed Tempest by the elbows
"Hey, we want to save them as well, but we won't get anywhere if we just charge in, we need to come up with a plan," Wind told Tempest as he shook her. After he finished shaking her, Tempest regained her composure from her momentary freak out.
"You're right; we need to come up with a plan. Sorry about the freak out by the way," Tempest said in an apologetic tone.
"Its fine, we all have out things we need to freak out about and apparently we found yours," Shade said in a sympathetic tone.
"Yeah, so at the moment I'm trying to decide whether we should get Palom and Porom to safety or to help Sunset and the others leaving Palom and Porom here," Tempest told everyone.
"Actually, we might have a solution that will make that decision easier," Porom said as she walked over to her brother.
"Oh right, I completely forgot about that because we haven't used it in a while," Palom said as she got up.
"What are you two talking about?" Emrel asked.
"Well, you see, me and Palom are fraternal twins. That may seem obvious, but we discovered something that makes a bit unique," Porom explained as she grabbed her brother's hand.
"What would that be?" Wind asked.
"Well, why don't we just show you?" Palom said as he smiled. Before anyone could respond, they hear Porom say "Vanish!" and the two disappeared right in front of them. This naturally surprised everyone as they didn't know what was going on.
"Were you all surprised?" Palom asked, her voice coming from where she was last standing.
"Of course we are. What did you do, I've never seen something like that before," Emrel said out of amazement.
"I would recommend we talk about this after all of us get out of here," Palom interrupted.
"Oh right, well since Palom and Porom can get out just fine, I guess we know what we're doing," Shade said.
"You got that right. Before we go though, I have to ask them something," Tempest said as she looked out the entrance.
"What did you want to ask?" the two asked while invisible.
"Will you be able to find your way out safely?" Tempest asked.
"Of course we will be able to, why do you ask?" Palom responded.
"Just making sure," Tempest said.
"So, are we going to go help already?" Phaze asked.
"Well, I think we should. Come on," Tempest said as she started to run out of the building towards the Grimm.
"What are we going to do about a plan?" Wind called out.
"We'll come with one while we're fighting," Tempest responded.
"Is she always like that?" Palom asked curiously as they reappeared.
"We haven't known her for that long, but she's friendly. That headstrong attitude hers is probably going to get us in a lot of trouble in the near future," Wind said before heading after her.
"Sorry to leave you two here, but we have to go help our leader," Phaze said as she started to leave.
"Don't worry about us, just worry about getting out of here," Shade said as both she and Phaze ran off.
"Hey, what's your name?" Porom asked Emrel before he left.
"It's Emrel, why do you ask?" Emrel responded as Porom walked up to him.
"Well, I want you to give this to Tempest," Porom said as she held out her hand. Emrel saw that there were two small disks: one with the symbol of a flame on it and the other with Tempest's symbol.
"What's this?" Emrel asked as he grabbed the disks.
"They're something that will come in handy for her, tell her to put them on her bracelet. Just make sure that she puts the one with her symbol firs" Porom said, which surprised Palom a little.
"I don't really understand, but I'll be sure to give it to her. Stay safe you two," Emrel said before running off to join his team.
"Hey, are you sure giving that to Tempest is the best idea?" Palom asked in a cautious tone as he walked up to his sister.
"I saw that she had the bracelet, I know we can trust her," Porom told her brother.
"Ok, if you say so. Now, let's get out this place," Palom said as he grabbed his sisters hand awkwardly. Porom said nothing as she cast the Vanish spell again. The two then turned invisible and left the facility to look for a safe exit.
Back with Sunset and the other, they weren't having the best time. "Any luck getting through the Aura of this thing?!" Sunset yelled to Storm as they both shot arrows at it.
"No luck yet from what I can tell, our attacks alone aren't enough to hurt it," Storm responded as they dodged from a claw that was coming towards them. After they dodged the attack, a blast of energy came from behind them and knocked back the Ursa. Sunset and Storm looked in the direction that the blast came from and saw Tempest running up to them.
"Hey, are we late to the party?" Tempest said as the rest of her team ran up behind her.
"No, you're not, but we expected you five to be helping Palom and Porom get out of here," Sunset said as she panted.
"They'll be taking care of that themselves. Now that we're here what do you think about some help?" Tempest said in a bit of a cocky tone.
"You know, we kind of need that right now," Storm said with a smile.
"Ok, then I'll stay with you two. Shade and Emrel, you two go help Nitro while Wind and Phaze go help Nova," Tempest ordered her team. Everyone nodded and ran off to their respective places, but Emrel stopped and ran back after he remembered something.
"Tempest, Porom asked me to give these to you," Emrel said as she gave Tempest the disks.
"What are these things?" Tempest asked as she looked over the disks.
"I don't know exactly, but Porom said to put this one in your bracelet first," Emrel said as he pointed to the one with Tempest's symbol on it.
"Ok, I'll do it. You better go with your sister," Tempest told Emrel.
"Got it, good luck you three," Emrel said before running off. Tempest simply walked up between Sunset and Storm as she put the disk on the front of the bracelet. After she inserted it, Tempest noticed that the ten buttons flashed different colors before all turning white.
"Looks like this thing is finally working for me," Tempest thought as she put her Frost Edges together to form a short sword.
"I've been meaning to ask about that bracelet by the way," Sunset commented as she looked at the bracelet.
"Well, I've also been meaning to ask you about that gauntlet, but as you tell, now is not exactly the best time to ask that," Tempest said as the Grimm got up from the floor.
"Agreed, I'll tell you and Storm about my gauntlet later if you tell us about your bracelet," Sunset said as she changed her Solar Divider to its twin blade mode.
"I would opt out of this, but I guess I could actually try to make a new friend," Storm said sarcastically as she changed her weapon into an assault rifle. The Grimm got back up and let out a big roar.
"Hey, you all ready or what?" Tempest called to everyone.
"Of course we are," they all responded in a confident tone.
"Ok then, let's take this thing down," Tempest said as she charged forward at the Grimm.
"She's really fearless isn't she?" Sunset asked curiously.
"No, something tells me that it's a drive to help her friends that does that. Weather that's a good or bad thing, we'll see in the future," Storm said before following Tempest's lead.
"Fighting for your friends, that's something that I can get behind," Sunset thought before quickly running to catch up. Unknown to both her and Tempest, something inside the both of them resonated quietly.
As Tempest got closer she noticed several shots and blasts coming from the left and right of the Grimm. The Grimm wasn't flinching at all, which meant its protection was still up. "Tempest!" Storm called out as she and Sunset ran up beside her.
"You two ready to hold this thing off?" Tempest asked. Sunset and Storm just nodded as Storm stopped and aimed her assault rifle at the Ursa.
"Try this on for size!" Storm said as a three round burst of Wind came from her gun. When the rounds hit, they created a force of wind and staggered the Grimm. s the Grimm staggered, both Sunset and Tempest slashed at its legs. Nova then jumped above the Grimm and delivered a cleave to it's torso with his ax.
"How's that for an attack?!" Nova bragged confidently. The Grimm then recovered and swiped a claw at Nova, knocking him back.
"Nova!" Sunset called out of worry. Phaze then ran up an launched a blast of energy at the Grimm getting its attention.
"Shade! Emrel! Move in now!" Tempest yelled as the Grimm was distracted. Shade then too this opportunity to pop out of the Grimm's shadow and impale it with her spear while Emrel ran up and fired several rounds from his assault rifle at it. Tempest and Sunset noticed that when the bullets impacted, they left areas of pure darkness on the Rabid Grimm's fur.
"Sis, you know what to do!" Emrel called as he changed his assault rifle into a lance and charging at the Grimm. Shade responded by taking her weapon, pull it out of the Rabid Grimm, which propelled her to the ground, and started to concentrate. The Grimm, noticing that Shade had lowered her guard, was about to swipe a claw at her when half of the areas of darkness shot out chains that held the Grimm in place. Emrel, along with Nitro who had turned his dual pistols into a katana, attacked the exposed parts of the Grimm.
"Hey, if you don't mind me asking, what is Shade's semblance?" Sunset asked curiously as she and Tempest analyzed the situation.
"Umbrakinesis, the power over darkness and shadows as well as one of the ten elemental semblances," Tempest told Sunset.
"Huh, so she had one as well?" Sunset said out amazement.
"Yes, she… Wait, what did you say?" Tempest said when what Sunset said registered in her mind.
"Oh yeah, I have control over fire, Storm has control over wind, and Nova has control over light," Sunset explained. Before Tempest could question further, the Grimm broke free of the chains and smacked both Emrel and Nitro away.
"Emrel!" Shade yelled before the Grimm started to charge at her. Shade wouldn't have been able to dodge if Phaze didn't roll and get her out of the way.
"Tempest, we need to get out of here!" Phaze yelled as she ran to get Emrel and Nitro.
"I agree, Sunset can you lead us to the way you came into the facility?" Tempest asked quickly as she and Sunset started to back away.
"I can, but we'll need someone to distract the Grimm long enough," Sunset told Tempest. Just as the Grimm turned to them, Sunset and Tempest heard a voice behind them.
“ZYUOH FINAL!”
After the voice’s announcement, a massive blast of energy came from behind them and struck the Rabid Grimm in the chest, sending it flying backwards. Everyone turned to the source of the blast and saw a female armored warrior with a red parka on, carrying what looked like a cube-shaped blaster walking towards them. Sunset and Tempest noticed that the helmet had the symbol of an eagle on it and a thin, sickle like horn sticking out. "Hey, did you call for some help?" the female warrior asked.
"We did, but who are you?" Sunset aside as she was still tense. The warrior turned away as she thought about that for a little before turning back.
"I'm a student at Beacon, the name is Kamen Rider Buki," she said as she looked towards the Rabid Grimm.
"Well, we appreciate the help Ms. Buki, but are you sure that you can take that Rabid Grimm?" Phaze said in a worried tone as she helped Shade and Emrel.
"Just Buki is fine, and I wouldn't worry too much about that thing. I'm pretty sure the attack I just used knocked it out cold" Buki said as she looked at the weapon she was holding. The entire group turned to the Rabid Grimm and saw that it was motionless, though still breathing as it lay on the ground.
"Well, even if you did somehow kill it, I still say we get out of here," Nova said as he started to put his weapon away.
"Agreed," everyone but Buki said as they did the same to their weapons. With that, the ten people present rushed to the place where Sunset entered from. When they got there, they were greeted with Palom and Porom waiting there for them.
"You're all still alive," Porom said in a happy tone.
"What are you two doing here? I thought we told you to get out of here" Tempest said as she walked over to them.
"We were going to leave, but we decided to wait for you all" Palom said as he started to climb the wall.
"I can see you're eager to get out of here, and I really suggest we do, but where are we going now?" Porom asked before they took off.
"Well, apparently Ozpin wants to meet us a place called Stellar Roast, but I'm pretty sure none of us know where that is," Sunset said as she looked at everyone who was there.
"Actually, I've been there a few times myself, so I can guide you there" Buki chimed in.
"Really? You go to a coffee shop?" Wind asked out of confusion. “With a helmet on?”
"Buki isn't my real name, it's just the one I use when I have the armor on," Buki said. “You might find out who I am later.”
"Oh, well you don't mind leading us to the café?" Shade asked curiously.
"Not at all, after all, it was Ozpin who told me to keep an eye on you in case anything went wrong," Buki said. Before anyone could react, they all heard a roar from the direction the Grimm was at. “Annoying. Take another shot at it, Grand Champion Symbol.” Buki pumped the gun three times, hit the top of it with her free hand, and tossed it over her shoulder, the darkness quickly concealing its path.
“You threw your weapon away?” Porom asked. “Why?”
“Just give it a moment.” A few seconds of silence later, the group could faintly hear “zyuoh final!”, followed by a bright flash of light and a roar of pain. “Okay, we’re good."
"Even if that’s true, I’m still getting out of here!" Palom said as he hopped off the wall. No one else complained as the all either climbed over or jumped over the wall. After they were all on the ground, everyone quickly sprinted away from the facility.
"Hey Sunset, would you say that this was a successful mission?" Tempest asked as they ran.
"I think it is, I mean, even if we didn't find anything about Project: Freelancer, we still found out some other things," Sunset said in response.
After running up to some of the buildings near the edge of Vale, everyone stopped and rest for a moment while Sunset contacted Ozpin. "So, when did you want us to meet up?" Sunset asked Ozpin over the call.
"Well, how about an hour?" Ozpin responded.
"That seems fair, should me and Tempest come without our teams?" Sunset questioned.
"I would recommend that. I would also suggest bringing Palom and Porom along. Don't worry, I would just want to ask them a few questions about the White Fang," Ozpin said.
"Ok, thanks for the information Ozpin. We'll see you an hour," Sunset said as she hang up. Sunset walked back to the group as they were resting and recovering.
"What did Ozpin say?" Tempest asked curiously.
"Well, he said you me, Palom, Porom, and Buki should head to the place in about an hour," Sunset said.
"That's fair in all honesty, that gives us time to rest while you five go meet with Ozpin," Wind said as he shook his head.
"So, we each go to a place where we can exchange our information and we meet up in an hour," Tempest suggested.
"I think that would be a good plan, but what do we do about Palom, Porom, and Buki?" Sunset asked out of curiosity.
"Well, the two of us can go with Sunset and Buki can go with Tempest?" Porom responded.
"I have no objections with that," Buki said in a nonchalant tone.
"Ok, well then we'll see you in about an hour," Sunset said as her team, along with Palom and Porom, started to get up.
"Where should we meet up?" Tempest asked as her team did the same.
"How about in front of Outer Haven?" Buki suggested.
"Sounds like a plan," Sunset and Tempest said. With that, the two teams went their separate ways.