Chapter 16: Enemy Within
Back at Beacon, the school was now alive with student activity, the morning meal having just ended. It was Saturday today, so most of the students were already heading into town for the day, it's streets buzzing with people and events. Terry put his tray back and walked back to his friends who were talking among themselves at their table. Ellie gossiped with an orange haired girl named Nora, who they had met soon after meeting Ruby. Xenia was talking with Pyrah, who was sitting next to Reggie, Jaune, and another boy named Lie Ren. The only thing that was missing was team RWBY, whose absence Terry found odd. Ruby never missed a breakfast, and her team was always with her when they ate. He had called her Scroll a few times but she never answered, which was also not like her. Terry hoped nothing was wrong as he went back to his seat, his mind drifting to all the scenarios he could think of happening. There was a string chance that he was just worrying to much, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Reggie noticed his change in attitude and gave him a look. "Everything good boss?"
Terry looked up at him quickly. "Hm? Oh, yeah. Its just I haven't seen Ruby or any of her team mates all morning, and she's not picking up her Scroll. Hope she's OK."
Nora smiled at him from her seat. "They had girls night last night, I'm sure their just sleeping in. Man a girls night sounds fun. And so does a nap.."
"I wouldn't worry about it to much. I'm sure their fine." Pyrah said with a reassuring voice. Terry figured they were right but still felt like something was off. He shrugged and just decided to drop it, not wanting his over worry to come off as clingy. "I'm sure their fine.." He went back to talking with his friends, secretly hoping that Ruby would walk through the door soon.
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Yangs eyes slowly fluttered open, her head pounding. She went to feel her head but found that she couldn't move her arms, her hands tied tightly behind her back. When she tried to speak no words came out, a strip of tape covering her mouth. She struggled a little more against her binds, but with no use. The girl had a sick feeling of dread growing in her stomach as she realized she couldn't break free.
She heard footsteps approaching an looked up to see Axels smirking face, his arms folded across his chest. "Well well, the girl awakens."
Yang glared deeply at him and said some very colorful words behind her gag. She tried again to break free but the rope held fast, Axel making a tutting sound as she struggled. "You really should just give it up, no getting out of that." He knelt down to her level, the smirk never leaving. "But I feel like you'll keep trying anyway. That's the thing with you Hunters. Never know when to give up." He sighed. "But, soon you'll see how hopeless it all is. And once you do, we can get on with the cleansing. Soon all of Vale will see how much better off they'll be with the Grimm on top. And if you're good, you might live to see that. Of course we can't have your little boyfriend getting in the way, but that should be taken care of by now."
Yangs eyes shot open wider at the mention of Nix and she tugged against the ropes angrily, wanting to wipe that smirk right off of Axels face. The man was twisted, his sick smile never seeming to change as he taunted her. "Yeah, good old Nixy had to go. But I'm sure it was peaceful, dying in his sleep and all. Can't say the same for anyone who got in the way though, pretty sure they died painfully. But, you know how it goes with omelets and eggs. Sometimes things get messy. Just like things here if you don't cooperate. But that's why I have some incentive."
Axel grabbed Yangs chair and spun her around, letting her see behind her. To the girls horror she saw the rest of her team tied to chairs and gagged as well, the girls still knocked out. Axel walked in front of her and knelt again, his sick smile now seeming wider. "Here's the deal. You play nice, and they live. Fair? Fair. Now, let's say we wake them up." Axel moved forward and pulled Yangs gag off, the girl gasping for air through her mouth. "You're insane.."
"Insane? I prefer easily amused." He moved behind the other girls and shook each of them, the girls slowly waking up. Ruby looked around with scares eyes as she came too, the others doing the same. Yang looked at them and tried to calm them, hoping that she could find a way out of this. Axel laughed evilly and came back over to Yang. "Well, now that we're all up, let's have a bit of fun, shall we? Test the waters a bit." He pulled out a pair of gloves and slid them on, moving in front of Yang again as he cracked his knuckles. "I'm going to rough you up a bit, but here's the fun part. You can scream, cry, blink, and breath. Do anything else, they get a turn. Got it? Good." Yang barely had time to cry out before the first punch connected with her cheek, her vision blurring for a second. Axel laughed again over the muffled cries of the others. "Let the games begin!"
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Nix looked around the darkened hospital room and took in his surroundings, the room dark except for a few moniter lights, as well as the light from the hall, with his door being left ajar. He sat up slowly and looked at the clock by his bed, wanting to know how long he had been out. He looked at the date and got a nervous feeling in his chest. It had been three days since he had gotten back from Haven, which means Io had three days to get things into place inside the city. He hoped that he wasn't to late to warn the others on what was coming and started to get out of bed when he caught movement in the hall, causing him to freeze. He could see a nurses feet as she walked toward the door only for them to quickly flail like she was grabbed from behind? Her clipboard dropping to the floor. After a few seconds of struggling the feet fell backward, a thud coming from the body as it hit the floor. Nix already knew what that meant and quickly moved to a dark corner of the room, pulling out his IV and standing behind the door. Nix held his breath as the door opened and a masked man entered, dressed in jeans and a brown leather jacket. The man had a shotgun in his hands as he scanned the room for Nix, his back still turned. Nix thought hard an made the first thing he could, bringing his new weapon down on the thugs head hard, the chair shattering on contact. The thug dropped with a thud and didn't get back up much to Nix's relief. He picked up the shotgun and moved into the hall, the unconscious body of the nurse still lying there. He was sure that if any other thugs were in the hospital, they would be looking for their friend any second. He moved through the hallway with his weapon raised, ready to blast anything that didn't seem friendly. He made his way toward the door with relative ease, but was stopped by a cry from behind him.
"There he is! Shoot him!"
Nix dove for cover as bullets started to fly, snap-cracking as they hit the wall behind him, the bullets breaking the sound barrier. He had known this was to easy. Nix took a deep breath and popped up, opening fire. If anyone was going to die in here, it wasn't going to be him.
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Ami looked out the top window of the CCT, the streets below now packed with people. She smiles to herself as she watched them, the people looking like ants from this hight. She noted the time and checked her Scroll, getting the message to go ahead. She turned and went over to where Hack was working, stepping over a few stone bodies. She leaned down beside him and looked at the screen. "It's time."
Hack nodded and flipped a switch on his gear, the screen now turning from red to green, as did all of the screens in the room. He smiled and pressed one final button. "Show time."
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Outside, the streets were alive with people, Beacon students and citizens alike enjoying the Saturday sun. Just then a defining sound of static came over the city, every person stopping in their tracks as it rang. Seconds later the sound stopped, and the air was filled with a voice. The various billboards and TV screens all around the city now changed to the same picture, and a female figure stood on screen. She held a staff in her hand that was topped with a blue crystal, and wearing a suit of silver armor. Iolite Spherule looked coldly at the camera as she spoke, her voice coming from every screen and speaker.
"Greetings Vale. My name is Iolite Spherule, and I have a very important message to share."
The people in the street all looked at the nearest screens, with most looking at the large one coming off of the CCT building. "For generations, the people of Vale have been at war with the Grimm. But today I have come before you to say that the war is now over. And that you, the people of Vale, have lost."
Back at Beacon, Terry and all the other students began to murmur amongst themselves as they watched Ios speech, her broadcast on every channel. Ozpin watched from his office, a stern look on his face. "Goodwitch, what is the meaning of this?"
"I'm not sure, but it's on every channel and broadcast station. The CCT is not responding to calls."
Io continued. "For years, we have lived among you, hiding in plain sight. We're your friends, your family, teachers, co workers. And now, it is time to rise up. Rise up and lay waste to this city and its so called Hunters. For we are here to show you that the Grimm are the true source of power in the world!"
Back at the hospital, Nix watched his sisters speech in horror. He dropped the now empty shotgun and grabbed a Scroll off of the nearest thugs body, only to find the screen was showing the same broadcast. For it to cover this much, it could only be coming from one place. Nix dropped the Scroll and took off running towards the CCT, hoping he had enough time to stop this.
Back in the street, the crowd watched in confusion and fear. Some had started to talk among themselves, not believing what they were hearing. One man shook his head. "Do you believe this junk Anna?" He turned to his girlfriend to see her lick her lips, dropping a glass vial onto the ground. Within seconds she doubled over, her body shuddering. Spikes sprouted from her back as her skin starter to change into black fur, her eyes going red. Her face turned wolflike as she grew long sharp teeth, her screams turning into howls. The man backed away in horror as countless others in the crowd changed all around him, the rest starting to scream and panic. Anna hunched over as the transformation finished, turning a slow head to the man. She smiled a wicked grin, her body now that of a Beowolf. "What's wrong honey? Never seen a Grimm before?" She pounced then, the other Grimm now attacking as people ran for their lives.
"Rise up my children! Rise and stroke the flames of vengeance that so long went unnurtured! For this day will be a day of reckoning! Of renewal!"
Nix burst through the door of the CCT as Ios speech continued, doing his best to ignore the stone bodies on the floor. He ran into an elevator and hit the top floor, creating an assault rifle as he rose to the top. He could hear Ios speech grow louder as he neared the top, his gun ready. The door opened and he ran into the main room, Ami and Hack turning as he entered. He raised his weapon and opened fire, the two of them diving behind cover. Ami popped up from her hiding spot and threw two daggers at Nix, causing him to take cover as well. She used the chance to move on him and batted his rifle out of the way as he took aim, the bullets flying all over the room. Nix kicked her back as the weapon flew from his hands, the two of them now fighting hand to hand. He quickly created his shield as Ami made a spin kick at him, the steel taking the hit instead. The girl was fast, raining down blows in a steady stream but couldn't get around Nix's shield. She kicked high and Nix ducked, bringing his shield down hard against her knee. It hit the bone sideways and cracked, the metal shattering the bone. Ami screamed and dropped, holding her broken leg. Nix stood and ran over to where Hack was working, the boy nowhere in sight. He looked at the panel desperately but couldn't find a shut off. "How do I stop it?!" He yelled at Ami.
The girl laughed. "Fool. You can't."
Ios face was now stern and hard on the screen. "This day shall be one to be remembered throughout history. Know this day as the day Beacon met its end. The day that Vale burned. Know this day, as the cataclysm."
As Io said her final word, a massive boom rocked the city, the noise deafening. Nix watched from the window as massive explosions blasted the city walls apart, one at each corner. Back at Beacon, Headmaster Ozpin felt his office shake, the bombs sending a shockwave from all sides. He turned to Glynda Goodwitch quickly. "Get the students ready for battle, we need to protect the city! And ca the other kingdoms!"
Glynda shook her head, her face fearful. "We can't call anyone, all communications outside the city are down. We're on our own."
"Then we need to get to our students. Get ready to-" he was cut short by one final explosion, one that rocked the whole school harder than any other. Ozpin struggled to stand as his office began to shake, Beacon Tower itself starting to tilt. From across the city, Nix watched in horror as Beacon Tower, the tallest and brightest symbol of hope, toppled to the earth. And with its falling, the whole city seemed to cry out in pain.
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