On Rails (Rewritten)
On Rails
Rainbow lowered her crimson goggles down over her eyes and magnified as she stuck her head out of the car.
The train was slowing down after a substantial bump coming from up front.
Staring down the train was enough to confirm her suspicions: a stolen Paladin had gotten onto the railway line, which was causing the engine’s proximity sensors to kick in and start slowing the train to prevent a collision. The train was getting slower all the time, and they were coming to a stop in the lee of a scarlet ridge.
A ridge down which Rainbow could see, as she turned on the magnification, eight figures slid down towards the decelerating train.
Eight of them; nine of us who can fight. They’ve got the Paladin; we’ve got the droids. This feels like a straight fight. It would be nice if we could do something about that, but I won’t lose sleep if we can’t.
Yeah, yeah, Yang, we can’t fight without air support. But we might as well use it if we can get it.
Rainbow ducked back into the car, her gaze – tinted red on account of the goggles – passing over Twilight and to the looming humanoid war machines packed into the car. “Twi, get in one of these Paladins and contact the General; let him know we've got visuals on eight men and a Paladin, then stay there until I tell you that it’s safe to come out.”
Twilight’s mouth formed an O of surprise. “But I can-”
“No,” Rainbow said quickly. “There’s eight guys coming down here towards us. Just eight guys, which means that they’re serious, like Blake said they would be; which is why you’re going to get into that armoured cockpit and you aren’t going to come out until it’s safe. Understand?”
Twilight hesitated for a moment, before she nodded her head and put her bow away. She pulled out her scroll, tapped a couple of buttons, and the cockpit of the closest Paladin opened with a hydraulic hiss.
Twilight climbed in and sat down. Her look was serious. “I think I can issue some basic command directives to the battle droids, if you think it would help.”
“I think that would be great,” Rainbow said. “I’ll tell you what I want them to do, okay?”
“Right,” Twilight said. “Rainbow… you’ll be okay, won’t you?”
Rainbow grinned and put on an uncannily good impersonation of Applejack’s unique accent, even if she did say so herself. “Now don’t you worry about a thing, sugarcube. Everything is gonna be just fine.”
Twilight giggled. “Stick a cupcake?”
“In both eyes,” Rainbow said as the cockpit door rose up and gradually hid Twilight from her sight as it sealed her away inside the armoured belly of the mech.
She pulled an earpiece out of her pocket and inserted it into her ear. It was wirelessly linked to her scroll, and though it only had a short range, it would let her talk to the other members of RSPT and SAPR – and Blake and Sun – without having to hold her scroll in one hand all the time.
“Okay, people, this is it; we have a stolen mech up front and eight bad guys coming down on us,” Rainbow said. “Comm check; everybody sound off and report your position.”
“Pyrrha here; Jaune and I are in car nine.”
“Jaune here; I can hear you.”
“Blake here; I’m in car six with Sun.”
“Sun here, uh, reading you loud and clear; is that what I’m supposed to say?”
“Sunset here; I’m in car five with Ruby.”
“Ruby here; I’m in car five with Sunset.”
“Ciel reporting from car three.”
“This is Penny in car three with Ciel!”
“Okay, and I’m in car two with Twilight,” Rainbow said. “Twilight, do we have any Onagers?”
“Just one,” Twilight said. “It’s in car number one just ahead of us.”
“Okay, can you get it out and engaging that Paladin grabbing the train?” Rainbow said. “And have the rest of the mechs dismount and form a skirmish line in front of the train as a first line intercept against our boarders.”
“Robots won’t stop eight White Fang elites,” Blake said.
“I know, but they can chip away at their aura some and make them think twice about calling in a whole mass of goons for backup,” Rainbow said. She was making the assumption that the White Fang would ignore the robots once they got past them, but then, part of leadership on the battlefield was guessing what you thought the enemy would do and reacting before they did it. “Ciel, you and Penny support the Onager and get that Paladin off the front of this train. Blake, Sun, and I will join you and cover your backs.”
“Understood,” Ciel said.
“I’m combat ready!” cried Penny.
“You got it,” Blake drawled.
“Sunset, I’ll leave your team to you.”
“Thanks,” Sunset said. “Okay, we’ll fight by pairs. Pyrrha, Jaune, defend the caboose; Ruby and I will get up on the roof and fight where we stand. Whichever pair repels the enemy assault first will join the other team before we all make our way towards the front of the train to assist Rosepetal. Clear?”
“Understood, Sunset,” Pyrrha said.
There was a moment’s silence on the line before Sunset said, “Pyrrha, Jaune. Good luck out there.”
“And you,” Pyrrha said. “Good luck, Ruby.”
“Good luck, Pyrrha; good luck, Jaune,” Ruby said. “Good luck out there, Blake.”
“Good luck, everyone,” Rainbow said. “Remember, we want a prisoner.”
“And nobody fights alone,” Sunset said.
“Yeah, if possible,” Rainbow said. She left the car with the Paladins and leapt in a single bound up onto the roof of the train. “Let’s do this, people. Ciel, do you want to say a few words?”
Ciel was silent for a moment. “Arise, arise, flowers of the north; up, through snow and cold and heart of winter; rise up and bloom in glory, for our kingdom calls to us! For the Lady and the glory of Atlas!”
“Thank you, Ciel,” Rainbow said.
“Vale needs a battle cry,” Sunset griped.
“Go Sapphire!” Ruby cried.
“Or we could just use that,” Sunset said.
Rainbow grinned a little as she focussed on the eight guys descending down upon their train. As far as she could see, one of them wasn’t wearing a mask, which meant… yeah, it was Torchwick’s little girl; she recognised her from the wanted photos, the one with the hair that was halfway to pink.
“Heads up. Torchwick’s girl is here, which means the man himself can’t be far behind.”
“Yeah!” Ruby cried. “Just as planned.”
“Not entirely,” Sunset said. “We haven’t seen the guy himself yet.”
The Atlesian droids were starting to deploy off the train, even if there was – as yet – no sign of the quadrupedal AW-250 Onager. But as Rainbow Dash watched, one of the eight enemies – one of those wearing a White Fang mask over their face – unfurled a pair of brown wings which caught the light of the sun and began to soar away from their comrades and over the heads of the AK-190s, dodging their upwards fire as they traced a delicate pattern through the air.
Rainbow Dash hit the button to pop her wings out of her flight suit. “We’ve got a flier on the other side; moving to intercept!”
“Wait!” Sunset yelled. “I said nobody fights alone!”
“You lead your team; I’ll lead mine,” Rainbow said as she jumped off the roof of the train car, her jetpack giving her thrust before the wind caught her wings and carried her upwards on the current. A burst of thrust guided her, the current kept her aloft, and the wind blew through her multi-coloured hair and pushed against her exposed cheeks as she soared through the skies.
This was the most thrilling feeling that Rainbow Dash had ever or probably would ever experience. It was better than flying an airship, it was better than fighting grimm, it was better than standing in an arena and hearing a crowd bellow out your name, it was… it was pure exhilaration, the feeling of the wind beneath your wings, the feeling of the air rustling through your hair, the force of the air pressure, her wingsuit guiding her and driving her on. It was already the biggest thrill Rainbow would ever have in her life, but she’d never had a chance to test her aerial prowess against an actual faunus flier before. This promised to be something special.
The faunus was aware of her now, angling her wings as she drew a pair of swords from across her back and flew, the sunlight glittering upon the metal blades, straight towards Rainbow Dash.
So you want to go head to head, do you? Rainbow smirked and drew her submachine guns from the holsters at her hip. As the two fliers closed with each other, Rainbow Dash squeezed both triggers.
The faunus weaved her swords in swift, fluid patterns, tracing transient silver shapes through the air as she deflected Rainbow’s bullets away with her swords.
Oh, I think I like you, Rainbow said. She holstered her SMGs – for now – and clenched her hands into fists as she soared through the air straight towards her masked opponent.
Rainbow cocked back her fist for a punch. The White Fang flier drew back both swords for a double slashing stroke. They both bellowed at the tops of their lungs as the air beat at their faces, and they charged at one another.
The two of them collided in mid-air. Rainbow blocked the sword strike, taking the faunus’ arms on her wrist before the blades could connect, but her fist hit home and knocked the White Fang mask off the bird-faunus’ face, revealing a familiar pair of golden eyes and familiar white hair in a short, cropped style, and a familiar angular face set in a surly expression.
“Gilda?”
“Rainbow Dash,” Gilda snarled the name vituperatively as she retreated a few feet away.
The two of them hovered in the air, facing one another.
“I don’t…” Rainbow’s words died on her tongue. Gilda? Gilda was with the White Fang? Gilda was with the White Fang in Vale?!
“What are you doing here?!” Rainbow Dash demanded. “You actually went and joined the White Fang?”
“Of course I joined the White Fang!” Gilda snarled. “Did you think I had those pamphlets so that I could start a collection? The White Fang opened my eyes, Dash, and I’m going to help them change the world!”
Rainbow gritted her teeth. She had hoped… she didn’t know what she’d hoped. Of course Gilda was with the White Fang; it had been inevitable that she would join them, what with how bitter she was, what with the things that she chose to believe, the White Fang propaganda that she absorbed like a sponge soaked up water. It had only been Rainbow’s wishful thinking that had made this a surprise to her. “How long have you been with them?”
“Since you abandoned me to spend all your time with your human friends!” Gilda yelled. She charged forward, slashing at Rainbow with her swords. Rainbow dodged. “Tell me, Dashie, do they still pretend to forget that you’re complete trash in their eyes?”
Rainbow growled. “It’s not like that!” She flew straight for Gilda with a spinning kick aimed for her head. Gilda ducked down beneath the blow, but Rainbow was able to evade her upwards cut in response.
“It’s exactly like that; they’re humans!” Gilda snarled.
“So what?” Rainbow demanded. “They accepted me anyway, they care about me, they’re a part of my heart like I’m a part of theirs. If you could have just gotten over yourself, they could have been your friends too.”
“I don’t need a bunch of patronising humans to take pity on me, to bend down and pull me up!” Gilda yelled. “The White Fang is my family, and we push each other forward!”
“Forward to what?” Rainbow demanded. “Off a cliff? You can’t win this, Gilda. There’s nothing waiting for the White Fang but defeat and death.” And I really don’t want that for you.
Gilda shrieked in wordless fury, like an eagle descending upon the hapless field mouse in the meadow, as she surged towards Rainbow Dash with blades drawn back. But Rainbow was no helpless field mouse, and she flew backwards, away from her erstwhile friend and present enemy, drawing her submachine guns and taking aim.
“Don’t make me do this, Gilda,” she begged. Your mom worked for my dad for years, our families went on vacation together to share the costs, we were neighbours, we hung out all the time.
For a while, it was like you were the sister that I never had.
I really, really don’t want to kill you.
“Do you think that I want this?” Gilda cried as she drove Dash back with a series of wide slashing strokes, forcing Rainbow to fly away to keep out of reach of her twin shining swords. “Do you think that I want to fight against my best friend?”
Rainbow evaded Gilda’s slashes, flying over her old friend’s head. “If you don’t want to do it Gilda, then don’t do it!”
“Right back atcha!” Gilda shouted as her wings propelled her straight towards Rainbow Dash, driving Rainbow before her. “If you don’t want to fight me, then throw down your guns.” She stopped, hovering in place, her wings beating lazily. “You know, the White Fang could use a good fighter like you, Dash.”
Rainbow’s eyes widened. “You want me to join the White Fang? You want me to let you take our weapons so you can kill innocent people? So you can kill kids?”
“Do I look like the sort of person who kills kids to you?” Gilda demanded.
“The White Fang tries,” Rainbow growled. She had lost touch with Gilda before the Canterlot Wedding, although not too long before; if Gilda had said some of what she’d said before the wedding after it, well, Rainbow’s reaction wouldn’t have been so polite as to storm out of Gilda’s place.
Gilda winced. “That… Adam says that… liberation might not be pretty, but it will be just. You remember Low Town, right? Don’t you want the folks there to have the chance to stand as equals with the people up above in Atlas?”
“Not like this,” Rainbow declared. “Not at any cost. I can’t let you take our weapons, G. But I don’t want to fight you either. Throw down your swords, and I promise you’ll be fairly treated. I’ll put in a good word for you, maybe get you a deal like-”
“I’m not going to surrender,” Gilda said, “and if you really remembered me, then you wouldn’t insult me by asking me too.”
Rainbow exhaled through her nostrils. “No, I guess I wouldn’t. Sorry.”
Gilda snorted. “Apology accepted. So, I won’t surrender to you, and you won’t join me, so where does that leave us?”
Rainbow gritted her teeth. “I don’t want to fight you, G.”
“Doesn’t seem like we have much of a choice, because I’m not leaving without those weapons.”
“And I’m not letting you leave with them.”
Gilda grinned. “Then it looks like we’ll find out once and for all who’s the best!” she cried as she lunged forwards, her wings carrying her on, her swords thrust out before her. Rainbow fled, flying away as Gilda pursued. The two of them flew parallel to one another. Rainbow didn’t fire at Gilda, but at the same time, she kept out of the way of Gilda’s swords.
“You remember when we were kids, Dash? I thought you were going to be something special! You were supposed to destroy Atlas, not join it!”
It was all Rainbow Dash could do not to roll her eyes. “Ugh, enough with the hair thing, G, it’s just an old story my parents liked to talk about.”
Gilda’s response was a dive, her swords held out before her like lances; Rainbow swooped out of the way and let Gilda fly past her, arresting her descent and turning in mid-air to face Rainbow once more.
“Why, Dash?” Gilda demanded. “Why would you sell out your own people to Atlas? Why would you betray Atlas to defend the racist order that keeps us down in the dirt?”
“At least I’m not a terrorist,” Rainbow muttered.
“What was that?”
“We don’t have to do this! You don’t have to do this!”
“Yes, I do!” Gilda screamed as she lunged at Rainbow Dash. Rainbow ducked down, and Gilda’s stroke passed harmless overhead.
Well, if that’s how you want to play this.
Rainbow began to dive headfirst towards the ground.
Gilda followed, her wings beating furiously as she began to overtake Rainbow’s wingpack. Rainbow pushed it harder, still headed straight towards the ground without any deviations. She didn’t go to full power, just enough to stay ahead of Gilda without pulling so far ahead that her erstwhile friend would give up the chase.
“You going to ground?” Gilda taunted her as she pursued. “That’s smarter than challenging me in the skies, Dash. You see, I’m the real deal; you’re just a faker with an Atlesian toy strapped to your back.”
Oh, we’ll see who the faker is, Rainbow said as she continued to dive.
Rainbow dived, and Gilda followed. The wind beat against Rainbow’s face. It pushed her hair backwards out of her forehead. It drove the goggles into her skin.
Rainbow dive, and Gilda followed. Rainbow grinned as the ground rushed closer and closer and closer, as the trees of the Forever Fall reached up like grasping hands to grab at her. Rainbow nimbly dodged between two trees, the leaf-covered ground waiting to receive her; at the last possible moment, Rainbow pulled up and soared back over the trees and into the sky, sunlight glinting off her wings.
Judging by the crack and the cry of pain, Gilda hadn’t been quite so lucky.
Rainbow dropped to the ground, folding her wings up into the pack on her back as she found Gilda lying on the forest floor, half-buried under falling scarlet leaves.
Two kicks from Rainbow’s boots were sufficient to send Gilda flying into the nearest tree so hard that both the tree and the remains of Gilda’s aura broke. Gilda slid down the ruined stump to the ground, her breathing heavy as she stared at Rainbow Dash.
Gilda grinned. “So this is it, Dash? Are you going to shoot me? Or just take me in so Atlas can throw me in a hole and forget about me while I rot?”
How many people have you killed? Rainbow thought but didn’t ask. She didn’t really want to know. She hoped that the answer was zero, that this was Gilda’s first mission for the White Fang, but if that was a forlorn hope… she didn’t want to know.
“Just tell me why you’re doing this?”
“Because we’ll have the chance to build something so much better by the time we’re through!”
At what cost? Rainbow wanted to ask, but didn’t because she suspected the answer would be something like ‘at any cost,’ and she didn’t want to hear that come out of her friend’s mouth either.
She didn’t get it. She didn’t get it one bit. Gilda had always had a bit of an antisocial streak, but she wasn’t a bad person, not when Rainbow knew her. But now… the White Fang?
“What happened to you?”
“I opened my eyes,” Gilda snapped. “Maybe you should try it sometime. Or don’t. Whatever. Just do whatever you’re going to do to me and get it over with.”
Rainbow snorted and holstered her pistol. “Get out of here.”
Gilda stared at her for a moment as the forest fell silent around them. “What? Are you serious?”
“Yeah, I’m serious,” Rainbow replied. I might be stupid, but I’m serious. “I can’t restrain you right now, and I have the authority to either spare you or kill you. I’m choosing to spare you. Get out of here and maybe think about what you’re doing.” She turned her back on the incredulous Gilda and began to walk away. She stopped and glanced back over her shoulder. “Hey, G?”
“Yeah?” Gilda asked, her voice laced with suspicion.
“It was good to see you, but if I see you again… things will go differently next time.”
“Yeah, you bet they will,” Gilda muttered.
Rainbow scowled and leapt into the air on Wings of Harmony. So, that was it then. There was going to be a next time. A time when she would have to… when she would have to kill someone she’d once called friend.
But at least that time was not today.
Today, she could still walk away.
And who knew? Gilda’s resolve might not actually last that long.
Until recently, Rainbow might have taken the shot when she had it or hauled her back to captivity, which was probably what she ought to have done now, in spite of the practical obstacles. But if Blake could change, renounce her White Fang ways and become… if Rainbow could give Blake the opportunity to become a good soldier of Atlas, how could she deny Gilda that same chance to come around to the right way of seeing the world?
And how likely was it that Gilda would come around to that way of thinking from a prison cell?
Look at me, I’m Rainbow Dash, and everyone gets a second chance when I’m around.
Pinkie would tell me I’d done the right thing.
I hope she would.
I hope someone would.
“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight’s voice crackled a little in Rainbow’s ear. “I made contact with General Ironwood; unfortunately, there’s no air support available; we’re still too far north of Vale. We’re on our own for now.”
“We’ll make do,” Rainbow assured her. “That flier got away from me, but she had her tail tucked between her legs – not literally, but you know. I’m on my way back now. Do you know how everyone else is doing?”
Crescent Rose roared.
Two faunus – a bull and a deer, both well endowed with horns and antlers respectively – crashed through the unfolding line of Atlesian androids as they rushed towards the train.
Ruby fired again, and Sunset fired too, Sol Invictus barking in high-pitched counterpoint to the heavier booming sound of Crescent Rose. Ruby scored at least one hit, hurling the deer faunus back and knocking him on his back for good measure; she fired again, and she was sure that she hit the bull faunus just as she had hit the deer, but unlike his comrade, the bull faunus was not hurled back; he didn't even seem to be slowed, he just kept on running towards the train.
Sunset frowned. "Ruby, hit him again if you can."
Once more, Ruby pulled the trigger. Once more, Crescent Rose barked out across the battlefield, and once more, the bull faunus continued his approach as though the shot had missed for all the effect it had on him.
"This guy's tough," Ruby muttered.
"This guy's got a semblance; you can see it when he gets hit," Sunset muttered. "It's like he's turning the air solid in front of himself; your bullet isn't quite landing."
"You can see that?"
"I can see your round isn't quite hitting," Sunset replied. She held Sol Invictus in one hand, and with the other hand, she fired a burst of green energy – of magic, although Ruby was still getting used to the idea of thinking of it that way – at the bull faunus as he charged. Now, Ruby could see it, the way that Sunset's magical pulse wasn't actually hitting the faunus; it was running into some invisible barrier just in front of him, so the reason he was carrying on as though he wasn't feeling it was because he really wasn't feeling it.
"What do we do?" Ruby asked.
"Shoot the other one before he gets here," Sunset said. "Once he arrives, we'll see if he can keep that barrier up in two directions."
Ruby returned her attention to the deer faunus, who had regained his feet and was running as quickly as he could to catch up with the comrade who had left him behind. Ruby fired twice more, but the first shot was parried by the deer faunus' staff, and the second, he swerved at the last possible second, and she missed.
And she was out of ammo.
Ruby ejected the magazine and pulled another out of one of the pouches at her waist. However, barely had she managed to reload than the bull faunus had made the leap from the ground beside the rail up onto the train. Ruby didn't fire as he descended, knowing – now – that it wouldn't make any difference; they would have to hope that he couldn't defend himself like that in two directions or that they could wear down his aura by making him overuse his semblance.
Their opponent landed heavily upon the roof of the railway car; he was tall and muscular, with broad shoulders and a proud pair of horns sprouting from either side of his head before curving inwards even as they extended up about a foot or more. His arms were armoured, and he held a spiked mace lightly in one hand.
He had landed with Sunset and Ruby both in front of him, maybe because Sunset was right after all.
Sunset fired Sol Invictus; the faunus seemed to grunt in satisfaction as the round was stopped by his invisible barrier. He certainly growled wordlessly as he began to charge torwards them.
Sunset teleported, disappearing with a crack and a bright green flash to appear behind their enemy; the second crack as she reappeared alerted the warrior of the White Fang to her movement because he turned, swinging his mace wildly for Sunset's head. Sunset ducked the swing of the mace but didn't manage to avoid the beefy fist that reached out to wrap tightly around her throat.
Ruby fired twice, and this time, the bullets of Crescent Rose slammed straight into her enemy's back, sending him staggering forwards. He threw Sunset away, tossing her off the edge of the train as he rounded on Ruby, snarling as he charged at her.
Ruby fired again, but this time, her enemy was protected by his semblance, and the rounds slammed harmlessly into his barrier.
Sunset teleported back onto the roof of the train, emptying all the chambers of Sol Invictus into the back of their enemy who seemed to ignore the shots as he rushed at Ruby with increasing speed, as if he were a locomotive – not just fighting on top of one – that starts off slow and builds and builds until it's flying.
As he rushed her, Ruby leapt, levelling Crescent Rose at the roof and hoping there was nothing explosive underneath. She fired, the recoil of her weapon carrying her up into the air out of her opponent's reach – and bringing her down again behind the bull faunus before he could finish his turn.
Ruby swiped with Crescent Rose in a wide arc, catching him in the side and sweeping him bodily off the train to send him flying through the air and, eventually, dump him on the ground.
He didn't seem to want to move much afterwards.
There was still the deer faunus to think about, but Ruby's eyes – and Sunset's too – glanced down the train to where Blake was all alone and having some difficulties.
"Sunset, go help Blake!" Ruby cried.
"What about you?" Sunset asked.
Ruby fired and knocked the deer faunus back a second time. "Don't worry," she said. "I've got this."
Blake paused on top of the railway car and watched for a moment as the White Fang – and Torchwick’s girl – broke through the line of the Atlesian droids attempting to bar their way. Twilight might or might not be directing them, but Blake couldn’t say that she’d noticed any real increase in how well they were performing. They’d gotten a few shots in, which was about the best that Rainbow Dash could have hoped for when she set them up like that.
Actually, no, Blake corrected herself as she saw two White Fang guys – she didn’t recognise them, but at this distance, they looked to be some sort of lizard-faunus – at the far right of the formation decide to take their time wrecking all the droids instead of breaking through and going for the train. That kind of stupidity was the best that they could have hoped for: it gave Pyrrha on the caboose ample time and opportunity to take them under fire while they were busy destroying mostly harmless robots, and for what? Yes, when the time came to bring in the main force to carry everything away, the robots would have to be dealt with, but that was the time to deal with the droids, not right now. Right now, nothing else mattered to the White Fang but getting to the train and neutralising the huntsmen defending it, because if they didn’t deal with Pyrrha now, then bringing in a whole load of aura-less chaff wasn’t going to help them at all.
If Blake had been leading the operation, she would have made that fact explicit to her troops before they started to move, even before they sent the Paladin down to stop the train. Either that, or she would have chosen an assault team that didn’t need to have this kind of thing spelled out to them. She wondered who was leading the attack and why they had chosen to use knuckleheads like that on their attack force. Walter, Perry, Cotton, and Skoll were all in custody, which left Gilda – possibly the flier that Rainbow had soared up to deal with, Blake hadn’t gotten a good look – or Billie or someone new, someone that Blake didn’t know.
It wasn’t Adam. Blake would have recognised him at once, and if he had been anywhere nearby, he would have been in the thick of the fighting; Adam would never ask any of his men to do what he was unwilling to do himself, which meant that he was some distance away from here. But why?
“Where are you?” Blake muttered under her breath.
Sun was close enough to hear her. “Where is who?”
“Adam,” Blake said. “He ought to be here. What could be more important to him or the White Fang than stealing a trainload of Atlesian weapons?”
“Yeah, but it’s a good thing we don’t have to deal with him, right?” Sun argued. “I mean, you know what they say about gift horses?”
“In Mistral, they say to beware of gift horses,” Blake replied.
“That’s… not exactly what I had in mind,” Sun said.
Blake turned towards the front of the train, where the Atlesian Onager on its four legs was clambering clumsily out of the front car to engage the Paladin that was halting the train. She could see Ciel and Penny not far away, looking very small compared to the bulk of the great robot, which planted its four feet on top of the roof of the train and combined the barrels of its guns together.
Not a bad choice; from the look of the armour on that Paladin, they would need a powerful shot to punch through it.
The cannon glowed blue as it began to charge.
A shower of missiles descended from above to strike the spider droid in an explosive shower.
Blake’s eyes looked upwards. A second Paladin, up on the ridge! As Blake watched, it began to follow up the salvo of missiles by opening up with the two cannons mounted on its arms. It hit the Onager in the exposed flank over and over again as it blasted the legs and the body of the hapless and helpless automated weapon.
They had a second Paladin? Blake gritted her teeth as she watched the Onager topple off the train before the Paladin finished it off with a final shot that blasted it into fragments. They’d brought a second Paladin here; why would they-?
Blake spotted the third Paladin descending the slope down from the ridge to back up the two clowns who had allowed Pyrrha to sharp-shoot them while they wasted time playing with robots and now – having realising the error of their ways – found themselves fighting the Invincible Girl at a considerable disadvantage.
This fight just got a lot more complicated.
Blake glanced at the next car over. Sunset and Ruby had already been engaged by a pair of White Fang warriors, one of whom had large horns and the other deer antlers. They didn’t look like they were struggling unduly, but it was equally clear that they couldn’t go to aid Pyrrha and Jaune against the Paladin descending upon them just yet either.
Rainbow had vanished into the sky, and at the other end of the train, Ciel was trying to follow her last instructions while Penny looked to be locked in combat with Neo.
There were only Blake and Sun left unengaged.
“Sun, you need to go help Jaune and Pyrrha,” she said.
“Me? But what about you?”
“Someone needs to stay here,” Blake replied. “If we leave this whole stretch of train unattended, then someone could get behind Ciel and Penny, and nobody would be close enough to respond.”
“Sunset said-”
“I’ll be fine. I can take care of myself,” Blake declared.
“And Pyrrha can’t?”
“That’s a state-of-the-art Atlesian war machine she’s fighting,” Blake cried. “She shouldn’t face it alone. Go!”
Sun hesitated for a moment, looking from Pyrrha and Jaune to Blake and then back again. “Okay,” he said, with obvious reluctance in his voice, “but you’d better be fine on your own, you hear?”
Blake smiled at him. “I’ll be fine,” she said, with a little more certainty in her voice than she actually felt.
“Well… okay,” Sun said, and he leapt down and began to clamber swiftly along the side of the train, passing beneath Sunset and Ruby and their struggle and making his way towards Pyrrha and Jaune at the very rear of the train.
Blake watched him go, watched him so intently that she didn’t notice-
“Traitor!”
Blake leapt away, her request unfinished as she just got clear of Billie’s downward stroke as she descended upon Blake like lightning from a clear sky. She landed heavily on the roof of the train, her longsword gripped between two hands. Hair so pale that it was almost white spilled out down her back, while her mask was decorated with a pair of goat’s horns jutting out of the forehead.
“Billie,” Blake said evenly as she reached slowly for the hilt of Gambol Shroud. “I might have known you’d be leading this operation.” After all, Adam’s not here, everyone else except Gilda is in prison, and I’m on the opposite side. There aren’t many other choices.
It also explained some of the failure of leadership that she’d observed on the right flank. Billie was a good follower, and she’d been in the White Fang longer than Gilda, but Adam had never rated her as a leader of men; she needed grip and direction, and left to her own devices, she was pretty ineffective. That didn’t matter much because Adam kept her close or else made sure she knew exactly what to do at any given moment, but it made clear to Blake why things hadn’t been done that had seemed obvious to her.
Billie’s lips curled into a sneer of disdain. “You won’t sneer at me after I’ve taken your head, traitor.”
Blake shifted her feet subtly and tightened her grip on the hilt of her sword.
She heard someone else land behind her, and a moment later, she heard the voice of Strongheart, familiar to her even after all these months.
“That’s enough, Blake,” Strongheart commanded. “Hand away from your weapon.”
“I can’t do that,” Blake replied.
“I don’t want to shoot you,” Strongheart said, her voice trembling, and Blake found that she could imagine that rifle shaking a little in the hands of the young buffalo faunus, her animal ears emerging from out of a thick and tangled mass of brown hair. “When they told me that you’d betrayed the movement, I… I didn’t want to believe it. Tell me that it’s not true, tell me that you’ve been deep undercover with our enemies, tell me anything, any excuse at all, and I’ll believe it, but please, tell me something so that I don’t have to call you my enemy.”
Would it be so simple, to convince you? If Adam had said that, she would have laughed in his face, but somehow, when the words were coming out of a more… Blake would not say innocent, and naïve sounded unnecessarily unkind, but coming out of a mouth that had not become so foul to her, it did not elicit laughter. Would it be so easy? Walk away from Atlas, from Beacon, and go back?
Go back to a life she knew was wrong and, in so going back, betray Sunset, betray Sun, betray SAPR and RSPT, betray Rainbow Dash, betray everyone who had believed in her and fought for her?
Welcome home, Blake.
No, it wouldn’t be simple at all. For it would cost her very soul to do it.
“I can’t,” Blake repeated, because at this point, what else was there to say?
She heard a click, and in her mind’s eye, Blake could see Strongheart’s lever rifle. Seven shot repeater.
Strongheart behind her, Billie in front.
Let’s see if we can’t do something about that.
Blake leapt a moment before she heard the bang of Strongheart’s rifle; the shot did nothing more than destroy the clone that she had left in her place. She drew Gambol Shroud, and as she fell, she flung her hook, catching it around the edge of the metal bar that ran around the edge of the roof, and on the wire, she swung in an arc that carried her past Billie and upwards to land light upon her feet behind her.
Now both her enemies were in front of her.
Blake gripped her cleaver-like scabbard in her free hand as she switched Gambol Shroud back into its sword form.
Billie’s lips settled into a scowl as she flowed like water into a sword-stance, her long, two-handed blade held in a high guard for a downward stroke.
Blake charged for her, and she dashed forward to meet her. Blake parried with her scabbard and slashed across Billie’s midriff with her blade. Billie recoiled, slashing into a clone while the real Blake was behind her and driving Strongheart backwards with a series of furious strokes while she parried desperately with the stock of her rifle. Billie attacked from behind, and when Blake turned to face her, Strongheart shot her in the back, but once again, a clone dissipated into black mist before she dropped on Billie in a flurry of blows.
They were neither of them bad fighters; Billie’s sword strokes were precise, her stances were technically correct, and her footwork was sure and controlled. Strongheart’s shots were well aimed, and she reloaded her rifle every time she didn’t have a shot so that she wouldn’t suddenly run out of bullets. They were both decent fighters, and their eyes burned with hatred for her borne out of the betrayal that she had inflicted upon them. But Blake hadn’t risen high in the ranks of Adam’s forces simply because she was his girl, and Sienna Khan hadn’t kept her on in the White Fang simply to humiliate Blake’s father. She really was good, and they didn’t have an answer to her semblance, nor had either of them unlocked theirs-
Billie sidestepped, opening up a way for Strongheart to surge forward with an unexpected burst of speed; one moment, she was a distance away from Blake, and the next, she was body checking Blake hard enough that she was sent flying backwards, tumbling head over heels as she bounced off the roof of the railway car and onto the next car along.
Blake lay on her belly, her dark hair blew around her as she looked up to see Strongheart aiming down her lever rifle.
The buffalo faunus fired once, twice, three times, but each shot slammed into the green forcefield that appeared between Blake and the two White Fang fighters.
Sunset had her rifle slung across her shoulder and one hand raised up to maintain the shield. The other hand she offered to Blake. “What part of ‘nobody fights alone’ did nobody seem to get?”
Blake took the offered hand as she climbed to her feet. “I was doing fine,” she muttered. “Thanks.” She looked away from Sunset towards Strongheart. “You’ve unlocked your semblance.” It reminded her a little of Adam’s: a single swift forward charge, and if Strongheart lacked the ability to simply slice through aura with it, then at least she didn’t seem to need to endure attacks first.
“You’d have known that, if you had stuck around,” Strongheart growled.
“I had no choice,” Blake said.
“There’s always a choice,” Strongheart said, her lip curling into a sneer.
Blake hesitated for a moment. “You’re right. I did have a choice.” A choice between giving up my life or giving up my soul. “And I made the right one.”
Strongheart shook her head, her eyes shining with disbelief. She turned her gaze on Sunset. “And you, you’re a faunus too; how can you fight for the masters against your own people?”
“My people are named Jaune, Pyrrha, and Ruby,” Sunset replied. “And Blake.” She glanced at Blake out of the corner of her eye, and from the corner of her mouth, she whispered, “Dark Phoenix.”
And I thought coming up with team attacks with SAPR members was a waste of time. Not that we’ve had much time to practice, but with luck, it’ll work out. Blake tilted her head, a gesture so imperceptible that there was no way Strongheart or Billie could have noticed it.
Sunset dropped the shield. “We take them together-”
“No way, they’re mine!” Blake yelled impetuously as she leapt across the gap separating the railway cars, charging forwards towards Strongheart, her arms pounding as she ran.
Strongheart powered towards her – and burst through the clone which dissipated into black smoke as the real Blake appeared in front of Billie, swept the sword out of her hand with her first stroke, swept her legs out from under her with the first kick, sent her flying upwards with the second kick, and then leapt up after her to bring both sword and scabbard down upon his stomach with Blake’s final stroke to send him falling downwards to the carriage roof with a rippling crack of broken aura.
Strongheart stopped, she gasped in surprise, and then Sunset Shimmer teleported above and right in front of her and fell upon her like a lightning bolt. Sunset swung her rifle in reverse, gripping it by the barrel and whacking Strongheart across the head with the wooden stock hard enough to knock her clean off the train and down to the ground below.
Blake – satisfied that Billie was unconscious for now – transformed Gambol Shroud into pistol configuration and took aim at Strongheart as she ran for the cover of the trees. Her finger tightened slightly upon the trigger… but not enough to actually fire the pistol.
“Have you seen my dad?”
“Why do they hate us so much?”
“One day, I’ll be old enough to fight alongside you; I want to be just like you, Blake!”
Strongheart was the same age as Ruby, two years younger than Blake herself, but the gap seemed larger when it came to her old comrade, probably because she’d known Strongheart when she was a real kid, and Blake herself had thought herself so very grown up at the time when she’d been left to babysit the orphaned children of the camp while the real grown-ups went out to fight.
It was a hard thing to shoot somebody in the back when you’d once wiped their nose while you waited for the adults to come back from a raid; even harder when you didn’t know how much aura they had left and suspected that it probably wasn’t very much.
So hard, in fact, that Blake couldn’t do it. They might be enemies, but that didn’t mean she was just going to kill without mercy; if she started down that road, there would have been no point leaving the White Fang in the first place.
Sunset had fewer compunctions; she snapped off two shots as Strongheart fled for the woods.
“Stop!” Blake cried, but before she could say anything else, Strongheart had fired back and forced them both to dive for cover.
Sunset raised her head. “Lost her,” she said. She glanced at Blake. “What was that about?”
“She’s just a kid.”
“A kid who probably wouldn’t show you the same mercy.”
“So?” Blake asked. “We have to be better than they are, or we don’t deserve to win.” And besides, just because I want to stop the White Fang doesn’t mean I want to kill everyone who wears a mask.
I want to save them, all the ones who can be saved.
Sunset rolled her eyes. “Why do I end up surrounded by so many heroes?”
“You decided to attend a school for heroes; what did you expect?” Blake asked.
“Shut up, you,” Sunset snapped. “The question was purely rhetorical.”
The corner of Blake’s lip twitched. “Thank you,” she said, “for backing me up.”
“What else was I going to do?”
Blake shrugged. “I didn’t think you liked me that much.”
“I don’t,” Sunset declared, very insistently. “I just… never mind, okay. You’re welcome.”
Their attention was drawn to the head of the train as the third and final Paladin, the one that had destroyed the Atlesian Onager from on top of the ridge, descended to join the battle.
Of the two lizard-faunus – that was the best Jaune could do as far as describing what they were, judging by the scaly skin on one and the reptilian tail on the other – the one with the scales had been apparently knocked out by Pyrrha, and the one with the tail was fleeing in terror even as the Paladin, bearing the White Fang marker on its shoulder in blood red, advanced upon the train to back him up.
The two fighters hadn’t stood a chance, certainly not once they decided to waste time and let Pyrrha get some shots off at them with pinpoint accuracy.
Although judging by the way that she’d dealt with them even once they tried to rush her, fending them off and carving up their aura with all the grace under pressure that he’d come to admire about her, they probably wouldn’t have stood a chance against Pyrrha regardless.
Anyway, it didn’t matter now. One was out of it, and the other was running away. What mattered now was the giant Atlesian war machine bearing down upon them.
It had slid rapidly down the slope, but now, it had done something to its feet and was advancing with a slower, heavier, and more clanking step. And with every step it took, making the earth shake with its mechanical tread, joints creaking and hydraulics hissing, Jaune felt his knees begin to shake a little more. This was a machine built for dealing death to monsters, designed by the kingdom at the cutting edge of military technology and armed with all the latest and most powerful weapons in the arsenal of Atlas. And he had a sword and shield. Pyrrha had a sword and shield. How was even she going to deal with this?
“So,” said Sun, who had apparently been sent by Blake to back them up, although with a bo-staff, he didn’t seem much better equipped to deal with this than they were, “does anybody have a plan?”
“Jaune, wait here with Sun,” Pyrrha said, and Jaune was surprised that her tone was so calm. Sure, Pyrrha was always calm in battle, but surely, this had to faze her just a little. “I’ll handle this.”
“Seriously?” he said. “By yourself.”
She smiled at him, if only a little. “I’ll be fine,” she said. “I promise.”
She leapt down off the train, landing in a roll before standing up, back straight and proud, and walking slowly towards the Paladin as the Paladin walked towards her.
“I guess we’re staying here then,” Sun declared.
“It’s our lot in life,” Jaune sighed. “We probably should have expected it when we decided to get involved with awesome women.”
Sun grinned. “You talk a lot of sense sometimes, Jaune.”
The war walker loomed over Pyrrha, casting its shadow over her and killing the glimmer of sunlight off her gilded armour as the wind rustled through her long red ponytail.
The Paladin stopped, and Jaune could almost sense the surprise of the driver inside at the impertinence of a single huntress thinking that she could challenge his titan.
Pyrrha flowed into a guard, her shield held before her and her spear at the ready.
The two faced one another, the culmination of thousands of years of Mistralian chivalry and martial tradition squaring off against the highest pinnacle of technological innovation and advancement.
Jaune’s heart was in his mouth. He wanted to look away, but he could not. He wanted to scream in fear, but he could not. He wanted to cheer her on, but he could not. He couldn’t do anything. He was frozen in place, a still and silent observer of this clash.
He didn’t know whether to be afraid or expectant; he existed in a limbo between the two, torn between terror and confidence, between ‘you can do this’ and ‘please be okay,’ between cursing Pyrrha’s confidence and envying it as the thing that would carry her to the fulfilment of her destiny.
The Paladin took another step forward. The war machine fired twice, once from each of the great guns on the ends of its arms. Pyrrha’s left arm was surrounded by a black glow as she held out her hand. The heavy ordinance stopped, held suspended in the air for a moment, and then rebounded to hit the Paladin squarely in the armoured torso. Pyrrha began to dash forwards. The Paladin fired again, but once again, its shots rebounded, and this time, they struck the slender metallic legs that held it up.
The Paladin fired a third volley, and the missile racks mounted upon its blocky shoulders opened as a deluge of rockets leapt up, trailing fire behind them before they fell upon her.
Pyrrha!
Pyrrha threw her shield, striking first one shell and then the next, and her hand was still wreathed in a dark corona as she swept it widely out before her and, with a wave of her hand, sent all the myriad missiles that had a mere moment before been poised to fall on her with fiery fury and sent them flying back to whence they came. The Paladin reeled like a boxer on the receiving end of his opponent’s right hook, staggering backwards as missiles exploded all across its body: torso, arms, and legs alike.
Pyrrha ran with the speed of a lioness chasing her prey across the plains; she held out her hand, and her shield flew into it. She dived beneath the Paladin’s fists, and as she skidded along the ground beneath the metal titan, Miló transformed from spear to sword as she slashed at one of the metal legs.
Pyrrha stopped her skid. The Paladin swivelled its torso upon its waist, but Pyrrha was still in the shadow of the colossus and far too close for it to bring its weapons to bear. She charged and hacked again at the same leg that she struck before, bursting out from beneath the war walker as the leg that she had struck gave way and collapsed into twisted shards of metal. For a moment, the Paladin stood, unbalanced, upon one leg before with a shriek and a crash it toppled onto its side.
The Paladin had to use one fist to keep itself somewhat upright enough to use its other fist, aiming a punch straight at Pyrrha. Pyrrha thrust her shield like a weapon, using the edge of Akoúo̱ to strike the clenched metallic fist in return and shattering it like glass. Pyrrha dodged the shot that followed, not bothering to deflect it but letting it explode harmlessly behind her. She charged, slinging her shield behind her as she converted Miló back into spear form and gripped it tightly in two hands.
She thrust her great spear straight into the centre of the Paladin’s torso hard enough that it pierced the armour.
The Paladin flailed with what remained of its remaining arm, but Pyrrha had planted herself upon the Paladin itself, and it could not reach her there as she dragged her spear downwards, scoring a rent in the grey armour of the war machine as though it were a can of peaches. Then both of Pyrrha’s hands began to glow as she slowly spread them outwards until they were outstretched on either side of her, and as she spread her arms, so too did the armour of the Paladin spread out until the cockpit was completely exposed, revealing a cowering rabbit faunus with his hands raised in surrender.
Jaune was speechless. She… she’d done it. He didn’t know whether it was that he lacked faith in his partner, but he preferred to think of it as the Paladin having been just that intimidating to look at. But Pyrrha had taken care of it single-handedly, without so much as taking a hit.
She really was on another level, wasn’t she?
“Well, I think she’s good,” Sun said. “I’m going to go back and help Blake.”
“Sure,” Jaune said, without even looking at him. “I’ll be fine.” He still didn’t look at Sun, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw the other huntsman depart the same way that he had joined them.
Pyrrha turned to look back at him, the wind blowing through her hair and making her crimson sash wave in the breeze. She was smiling, but then her smile died as she began to race back towards him. “Jaune, look out!”
It was the first warning Jaune had that the scaly-skinned faunus who had seemed to be so out of it was not quite so out of it after all. He got up off the roof and came for Jaune with a shotgun-axe which probably would have looked really cool if it hadn’t been being used to try and take his head off.
The faunus growled wordlessly as he charged. Pyrrha was moving as fast as she could, but she was too far away.
This was something he would have to do himself.
This was something he could do himself.
The White Fang fighter’s stance and movements were awful. Jaune took a deep breath. You can do this. You can do this. Just remember what she taught you. Show her you’ve learnt something.
He put his front foot forward, he steadied himself, he thrust out his shield and turned the axe blow, beating the weapon away and leaving his opponent open. Jaune yelled as he brought his sword down in a slashing stroke. A slashing stroke that shattered his opponent's remaining aura like a hammer through glass and clove into his neck and collarbone.
Jaune’s eyes widened in shock and horror as he realised what he had just done.
A dead enemy hung on the end of his sword; it was a grotesque sight, like a puppet without strings or hands to animate it, lifeless eyes staring at him. He had done this. Him, and no one else. He had… he’d thought that he would… it hadn’t occurred to him that he might… what had he done?
Jaune cried out in shock as he lurched backwards, freeing his sword, his red sword as the faunus dropped to the carriage roof in front of him. Jaune kept on staggering back until he tripped over his own feet and landed on his backside. He had… he’d killed someone. He’d taken a life. This wasn’t a creature of grimm; this was a real life, a person with a soul, and he had…
What was he supposed to do now?
Pyrrha leapt up onto the roof. “Jaune, are you-?” She stopped, looking down at the… at the body.
She didn’t look at him, not at first. Jaune didn’t want her to look at him. He didn’t want to see revulsion in her eyes at what he’d done, but surely, that was what he would see when she turned her gaze upon him.
Pyrrha looked at him, and her soft green eyes were filled with sorrow.
“I’m sorry, Jaune,” she said gently. “I should have… I’m sorry.”
“I… I didn’t…” Jaune stammered. “I didn’t realise…”
Pyrrha knelt before him, completely blocking his view of… of what he’d done. “It’s going to be alright,” she said. With one gloved hand, she gently brushed his cheek. “It’s going to be alright,” she repeated. “I promise.”
The green lights of Penny’s lasers flashed in the corner of Ciel’s eye as she tried to block it out. She trusted Penny. Whatever else might be said of her, when the battle started, she knew exactly what she was doing. As good as this brigand girl might be, Ciel had no doubt whatsoever of the eventual outcome.
What she saw of the ensuing battle, what parts of the struggle between the two of them forced their way into her vision, seemed to bear out Ciel’s judgement. The little robber girl was good, but there was just no way for her to get through the hedge of swords at Penny’s command, and the sheer volume of laser fire and blades at Penny’s command meant that her ability to dodge was failing her.
Which meant that Ciel could leave the situation safely in Penny’s capable robotic hands and concentrate on her own task: dealing with the Paladin.
Twilight had overriden the safeties on the train, which was even now beginning to roll slowly - but with ever increasing speed - forward once more. It would have rolled over the Paladin, had not the machine already begun to clamber up and onto the train itself like a toddler trying to get up onto the sofa.
It was Ciel’s task to get it off again.
The wind caused Ciel’s blue skirt to flap around her knees. Distant Thunder, her anti-materiel rifle, was fully extended in her hands. The magazine was full of lightning rounds. Ciel aimed down the sight at the titan that was slowing their engine down to a near stop. Even without the Onager – the third Paladin, the one up top, had stopped firing now, probably for fear of damaging the cargo they wished to steal – she could do this.
She would do this.
BANG!
Her first shot hit the Paladin on the shoulder, and lightning sparked across the armour plating as said shoulder recoiled backwards; blue and white sparks danced and snapped across the grey.
Ciel snapped the bolt back, expelling the spent cartridge and chambering a new round.
BANG!
The second shot hit the Paladin squarely in the cockpit; once more, the walker jerked backwards and shuddered as the lightning rippled across the steel skin. Ciel thought she could see its grip on the train weakening.
She snapped the bolt back, expelling the spent cartridge and chambering a new round.
BANG!
She hit the opposite shoulder.
Bolt back. New round.
BANG!
She hit the cockpit again, and it certainly looked as though the Paladin was struggling to hold on.
Bolt back. New round.
BANG!
Ciel’s shot hit the right arm this time, and it shattered into splintered fragments of metal. The Paladin reeled, its torso spinning as the momentum of the train pushed it on the side that was still holding onto the engine.
The Paladin’s missile racks opened up. Evidently, they decided that damage to the cargo was worth the risk at this point.
“Penny!” Ciel cried. “Switch.”
Distant Thunder folded up in her hands, becoming compact enough to swing across her back as Ciel drew a machine pistol from her waist. Penny leapt athletically behind her, landing with a grace that would have won her perfect tens from any panel of judges.
The brigand, now facing Ciel, looked torn between a renewed confidence and a sense of uncertainty.
Ciel’s expression didn’t alter as she opened fire. She wasn’t aiming to defeat the younger girl – although she looked notably tired after her battle with Penny – but merely to keep her occupied for a short while, and so, the fact that none of her short, three-round burst had any notable effect was not particularly troubling. They kept her adversary at bay.
The Paladin fired its missiles, two score of them leaping from the racks like arrows, rising swiftly into the air before turning to descend upon the Atlesian huntresses.
Laser beams leapt from Penny’s swords in swift succession, green bolts lancing up to strike the descending arrows, bursting them, covering the sky in the fiery flowers of their explosions which blossomed harmlessly over the heads of Ciel and her highwaywoman opponent.
“Switch!” Ciel called again, and once more, Penny leapt over Ciel’s head to resume her battle with the parasol-wielding girl while Ciel drew and unfolded Distant Thunder once more.
Draw back the bolt. Chamber a new round.
BANG!
She shattered the Paladin’s other arm. The train began to pick up speed as the Paladin, now armless and without any means to hold onto the train, became not so much an impediment as an obstacle to be overrun. The engine struck the Paladin, denting the torso as – judging by the squealing – the legs began to give way beneath it.
Ciel saw the White Fang pilot eject a moment before the remains of the Paladin were dragged beneath the train and ground to fragments under its irresistible and accelerating wheels.
That was at the same moment that Penny broke her opponent’s aura with a blow from two of her swords.
Ciel opened her mouth to speak, but all her words were stolen away by the shadow that fell over their heads as the last Paladin leapt off the slope and descended upon them.
The war machine landed heavily upon the roof of the train carriage, standing protectively over the prone and aura-less girl like a bear protecting the cubs from the eager hunters. Ciel started to aim Distant Thunder at the last Paladin, the last threat upon the battlefield, but she was blindsided by one of its giant fists which struck her in the side and flung her off the train and through the air.
Rainbow Dash caught her in both hands, barely stopping as she soared back towards the train. She grinned. “Hey.”
“Nice of you to join us,” Ciel said.
“Heroes always arrive in the nick of time, right?”
Ciel pursed her lips in mild disapproval as Rainbow carried her back to the train. She could see – they could both see – Penny standing in the shadow of the Paladin, lasers leaping from the tips of her swords to strike the armour of the war engine.
The Paladin drew back its fist, and the blow descended towards her.
Ruby Rose was between the two in a burst of crimson rose petals, turning the robotic punch aside and slashing furiously at the first with her scythe until she had severed all of its fingers. She landed on the roof. “Penny! Are you okay?!”
“Thanks to you, Ruby!”
The Paladin took a step backwards, balancing unsteadily upon the roof. The missile racks opened.
Sunset appeared above the Paladin’s head in a green flash, her arms folded across her chest and her eyes closed, looking as though she was lying in state even as the wind blew her hair in all directions.
She spread her arms, and fire dust like rain from the skies fell gently down towards the Paladin... and its open missile racks.
Sunset held out her hands, and the fire dust ignited.
The light of the fire dust’s burning was but the spark before all the missiles in the racks went up, blowing the back off the Paladin and setting what remained on fire. The smell of burning electronics and ignited dust filled the air as Rainbow set Ciel down upon the roof.
The Paladin shook, its torso swivelling left and right as though the pilot were trying to clear their head. It began to move.
A metal hand erupted out from underneath, bursting through the ceiling and grabbing the White Fang Paladin by the foot.
“Twilight?” Rainbow asked.
“You said I had to stay in the Paladin, but you never said the Paladin had to stay motionless,” Twilight said apologetically as a shot ripped through the roof to strike the stolen Paladin in the groin area.
Rainbow grinned. “Hold on just a little longer, Twi,” she said as the stolen Paladin tried to shake Twilight off. “Blake!”
“Understood,” Blake said as she threw her hook and wrapped it around the same leg that Twilight was holding onto.
Ciel watched as Rainbow swept Blake up in arms and carried her away. The two of them flew off the train, Blake’s silk ribbon growing taut as they circled before Rainbow turned in the air, the sunlight catching her wings as she soared back towards the Paladin, dipping under its thrashing arms and looping around the legs over and over again as the line wrapped around those same legs as the burning Paladin spun around in a vain effort to catch them.
Rainbow and Blake stopped, landing once more.
“Twilight, let go,” Rainbow commanded. “Ciel!”
“Ruby, finish it once she fires,” Sunset said.
Ciel chambered a new round. “Understood.”
BANG! Ciel’s shot hit the Paladin squarely in the cockpit. The Paladin leaned backwards as lightning rippled across the armour.
Ruby leapt forward, transforming into a whirling cyclone of rose petals as she hit the Paladin head on, squarely where Ciel’s shot had struck it, and the momentum of her speed was enough to topple the Paladin, its legs bound and unable to move, onto its back with a tremendous crash.
Ruby slashed at the fallen giant again and again and again until the Paladin simply fell apart, crumbling before their very eyes into its component parts which tumbled off the train to litter the forest floor on either side.
And there, standing amidst the wreckage, was none other than Roman Torchwick.
Roman Torchwick, who was immediately confronted with five guns and all of Penny’s laser-capable swords pointed into his face.
Torchwick laughed nervously as he raised his hands, his companion doing likewise as she got to her feet behind him. “Well… looks like you got us this time, kids. I suppose I’ll be enjoying the hospitality of Atlas for awhile.”
“Something like that, yeah,” Rainbow said.
Torchwick sighed. “I don’t suppose the prison food has gotten any better.” He looked at Ruby. “I suppose you think this makes you a big hero, Red.”
“Well, it kind of does,” Sunset said.
Torchwick chuckled as he shook his head. “You can arrest me, you can stop a couple of robberies, but one of these days, you kids are going to realise that you can’t stop what’s coming; none of you can, and all of you would-be heroes are going to find out what real power is, and you’re all going to pay the price that every wannabe hero in history has ever paid with the only currency that matters.” He shrugged. “Or maybe not. Maybe you kids are the real deal after all. I guess I’ve got a front-row seat to find out now, and you know something? I can’t wait to see what the answer is.”
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So Jaune took for the first time the life of a real person. That's gonna make a number on his mind. And Torchwick let himself be imprisoned that soon? Neo, too? Well, let's see how this plays out.
Well, when you send a mech against someone with polarity as a Semblance... although, if it had been made of a non-ferromagnetic alloy, yeah, she'd probably be in trouble.
I haven't actually seen canon, but I'm pretty sure canon Roman would never have complimented his opponents in a million years. This version must be extremely impressed with these meddling kids.
Awesome. And the thing about Torchwick? I'd equate his personality to Discord-esque in this story.
9382714
Roman was pretty unconcerned about his capture in canon too. Maybe a little more sarcastic, but not too different from here.
Oh! What an epic battle! If it were fiction, nobody'd believe it!
Well... That escalated quickly for Jaune. I mean, that really got out of hand fast.
Joking aside, poor Jaune. He is the type to not be able to handle something like this.
Also, if they already have Torchwick behind bars, how are you handling The Breach?
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Indeed, my Twilight is Sci-Twi, and not a real combatant.
Translation: "Hold my beer."
Jaune couldn't heal the guy he slashed because..? Was it like a slash that tore the person in two?
*this is it. We
*waste
I did not expect Gilda or Strongheart, but they fit so well for this. I continue to be impressed by how you work the various players into the story. And the reactions of Rainbow and Blake were perfect.
I really want Roman to live this time around. Maybe shift his stance and help them.
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You still didn't answer my comment about the Breach.
Honestly the biggest change is getting Neo too. Wonder how this is going to play out.
Jaune... oof. Taking a life is never easy and he simply wasn't ready for it. How he deal with this, and how the girls help him deal, is going to be massive.
Was NOT thinking Strongheart as going to show up as a White Fang. Sure, it makes a lot of sense in retrospect, but damn. Her daddy one of Blake's father's old friends and founders of the movement?
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There are many ways that this could be handled and I agree, initially Jaune will be distraught and without proper guidance it will eat him up on the inside and attract a multitude of Grimm.
From the very beginning when the team was first formed Jaune was always the weakest link, a fact that he is well aware of. At no point in time has he ever needed to hold back against a human opponent, as they were usually stronger or as strong as him, but he has been training without restraint and has become stronger as a result. now that his hands have become bloodied he must now learn restraint lest it happens again
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Jaune cut through his neck to his collar bone, pretty much insta kill. And one of the executions in For Honor and probably very traumatic for Jaune.
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He is really going to need all the support SAPR can give, that is for sure.
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Spoilers
Waste, not waist.
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Why learn restraint? It was a kill or be killed scenario. Survive or die. Far as I’m concerned, he choose to survive. Congratulations Juane, welcome to war.
Reminds me of Anakin in Episode 1. He was told to stay in the starfighter, and he did. He also happened to pilot it.
And Jaune.....is gonna need some good advice on how to live with this. Who to turn to, though?
I know I have caught this before, but it's been a while since I gave it a good read. It is still very amusing.
As a general rule of thumb, I think what makes this more digestible is that it isn't presented as one large battle. It is a series of smaller battles, and with the focus on character, I'm much better able to track and enjoy what everyone is doing. That isn't to say I haven't glossed over things during rereading, but when sitting down and going through everything with deliberate eyes, I hadn't actually missed that much.
Rainbow Dash's flying could be construed as going on for longer than necessary, but I'd hesitate to say it's too long. There's no hanging on long descriptors, or long exchanges of parity. We see the flow of battle, and fights don't last long enough for a major back and forth of momentum. Dash enjoys her fight, she discovers the fighter, and then she finishes the fight (sans finishing the opponent). I suppose I could say that I enjoy it because it's a character introduction, but I think that cheapens my like for the fight as described.
Blake, I know, I ended up skipping in the past. I know because I only ever thought there was one paladin, and while maybe it's easy to lose track, I have some difficulty pointing as to why. Perhaps it's because she's just commenting as the exchanges happen initially. I do remember everything from "Traitor"-on, and heartily approve of adding Strongheart to the mix. We also get some clarity on her goals.
I think Jaune watching Pyrrah's fight might have been the highlight of what I've failed to pick up on or remember. I knew she did end up taking out a mech, but the how of it was much more impressive than I remember. Paying attention to the details, it makes it much more of a show of badassery than I'd previously allotted (because of course Pyrrah's going to beat the metal machine).
The switch there at the end to where he does end up taking a life though, that's always heavy. Good writing, good plot, characterization, and so on. Really, a fair bit of the praise comes for how it is handled, but it steals the show from... well, a lot, being honest.
Ceil and Penny swapping mid fight from Ceil's fighting management is good judgement, and also pleasurably unique enough (at least for what I am familiar with). Sunset swooping in brings her back into the fray in time to end it, and I did miss that Torchwick was captured this chapter on my initial read. I do remember discovering that on subsequent read through (because I remember wondering when he got captured). Perhaps its because he's not as mouthy as I'm used to.
Once again, I enjoyed reading through every word of this chapter to pick up on the details. It lets me appreciate everything more, but I can't promise every reread will be like this. It is a lot of fighting for me knowing how it ends, but it's also plenty more than 'just fighting,' which I can appreciate.
Great last words of Freedom
I wasn’t sure what would come from that talk with Cody, but man did you pull it off. Being a “chosen one” fits for rainbow so well, both in the mythos you created and for the awesome reference. Seemed to be mostly minor tweaks other than that, but the continued character development and bonding continues to be the rewrites strong suites
Ohh look. It's your stolen weaponry. Where did they get it? Hmm, must that Altesian sloppiness.
...heh I'm sorry
Someone had to.
Please let Twilight fight a little. It's pretty irresponsible to sent a robogirl tech support in a hot zone with no combat training.
Not putting any more notes on what has been rewritten?
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It will depend on how much I feel like I have to say.
What does she mean? Dark Phoenix?
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Attack name, like the ones the canon RWBY team has.
These lines don't match up. Did you rewrite Gilda's initial line here? I don't remember the details of this chapter before it was rewritten given I first read this close to two years ago
Inconsistent pronouns here.
So it seems the main story beats from here are the same. I forgot Torchwick and Neo were here.
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Nope, the entire exchange is new, just checked. Perks of downloading a local copy of the story when the rewrites started to make comparisons, and I think that Scipio is keeping an original unmodified version in Fanfiction.net for anyone who cares to check it out.
What I understood from that exchange is that Rainbow parents (who are canonically the biggest fans of RD) have always been saying things like "Rainbow is the best of the best, going to do great things" or things like that when they were kids, and Gilda took it a bit too literal, considering that to a kid like her taking down Atlas would be the greatest thing ever.
Rainbow response is her saying "stop overreacting and talking like I am the chosen one, that was an exaggeration from my parents I am not actually the chosen one (even if I am the coolest one)".
Star Wars Reference much? Just reversed I guess
Poor Jaune, also I wonder how the story will go with Torchwick’s early capture alongside Neo
Jaune just smote.
Tense mismatch
A surprise to be sure, but not an unwelcomed one
You were supposed to destroy the sith Anakin. Not join them!