Dropping down the elevator shaft, Qrow grunted as he landed atop the empty metal box.
Standing straight, he grunted to himself as he saw the heavy metal cables melted rather than snapped like he previously presumed.
Jumping down an open hatch he saw Rhodes waiting with a thoughtful expression.
"They trapped themselves in." His old schoolmate stated. "Why would they do that?"
"The Grimm?" Qrow somewhat asked, pointing a finger to the ceiling.
"No..." Rhodes narrowed his eyes as he scanned his surroundings. "These outposts are made to withstand what's out there... they wanted to keep everyone down here."
Hearing a sharp whistle break the tense silence they turned back to see Clover down a long hallway, he simply beckoned to them in a casual manner.
"Got a feeling we're about to find out why..." Qrow muttered before walking alongside Rhodes.
The hall had many doors that led to the basic life necessities, the lower floor was clearly made to house the soldiers and certain personnel.
Walking the long hall they came upon the rest of the group, they stood outside a sealed door that supposedly led to a mess hall.
Harriet stood with an annoyed expression, she shouted at a camera in the corner wall, it was clearly operated as it panned to Qrow then Rhodes.
"Who're they?!" A man shouted in a frightened tone, his voice coming from an intercom that spread through the whole level.
"Huntsman!" Harriet exclaimed with her arms spread wide open. "It's almost like I already told you who we were!"
"F-forget it!" They shouted with a waver. "Sides' I wouldn't open the door if I wanted!"
"Alright." Clover sighed, he stood with his hands on his hips. "Calm down. Tell us what happened."
"My-my friend!" The soldier took a few deeps breaths directly into the mic, annoying Harriet further.
The mans voice dropped to a hushed whisper. "He's not right. I keep telling the others but they don't believe me! He hasn't said a word since the crash. Until yesterday I saw him-I asked him if he wanted a smoke n' just-he just shook his head!"
The situation began to unravel to the group of fighters, they knew he spoke of their unknown target, supposedly an individual who could blend in anywhere.
"I know him! Okay?!" The intercom suddenly went silent for a few seconds with the rattle of the mans chair coming through. "T-they said it was the stress, that-that I was just scared! NO! No! I know... I know... I know he'd want a smoke even if we were knee deep in shit!"
"Okay." Clover soothingly replied. "I need you to listen to me, behind this door is an unknown combatant. They can blend in with an unknown semblance-"
"I knew it." They interrupted in a hiss. "I fucking knew it!"
"That's right." Clover nodded. "They want your package. Now if you open the door you can show us directly to him."
"I got it..." The soldier replied. "Okay okay. Now, whatever you do, don't-"
A small rumble caught everyone's attention, it shook the entire level with small particles of dust falling from the ceiling.
"Sounds like Y/N is getting busy." Qrow commented, staring up to only imagine what was happening above.
"I'll need you to play along." The soldier demanded.
"What do you mean?" Rhodes asked curiously.
"I told everyone the Grimm got through." The soldier revealed with a certain determination. "It was the only way to convince them to all stay here."
"Okay," Clover did a wide turn to get everyone's approval. "we can do that."
"Alright." He sighed in relief as the door unlocked and slid open. "Get in."
The group quickly followed through, but a hand on Qrow's shoulder halted him.
"I need you to cover the exit." Clover said. "Can you do that?"
"Sounds easy enough." Qrow replied, letting his back hit the wall. "Hurry up though, don't know how much longer Y/N will hold up."
"You got it."
Rushing inside without him, Clover saw the wide room with tables overturned and rifles aimed directly at them.
"Get out of the way!" A soldier shouted with a wave of her hand.
"We took care of the Grimm." Clover replied with an earnest tone. "You're safe."
"Then what the hells going on up there?!" Another soldier shouted, referring to the ground floor.
"We took care of the ones down here." Harriet emphasized with a finger pointed to the floor.
Narrowing his eyes to scan the crowd, Rhodes couldn't see any irregularities in the sizable defense force, only suggesting their target was somewhere close to the package.
"Can we come through?" Clover asked almost sarcastically.
"I told you help was coming."
From the back where food was served a Specialist came walking through with a certain high poise.
Their face however, hidden under the shadow of their white hat told a different story.
Clover recognized the voice and the briefcase locked to his wrist, meanwhile, his eyes rapidly flicked to the side before turning around to the others.
"Gather your equipment, we're going to assist the remainder of the force!"
The soldier stood at attention with a perfectly synced salute and shout.
"SIR!"
Scrambling about the mess hall they hustled to meet their leaders demands.
"Just back here." The Specialist whispered as a deeper rumble racked the complex. "Hurry!"
Rushing past the soldiers they stood at the door to the back room, then with a practiced maneuver Clover and Harriet entered.
Rhodes paused with narrowed eyes while they continued to the back, he laid a hand on a nearby table to feel its cold metal edge.
He couldn't quite pin it down, but something was off, like he had eyes peering into his soul.
Entering the back room, Clover and Harriet moved with swift clearing of rooms as the Specialist clutched the briefcase close behind them.
"It's just up ahead," He said. "he stays back here, away from everyone else."
Approaching the final room, Clover clicked a panel by the door, causing it to open with them following in.
"What?" Harriet lowered her fists as they stood in a food storage unit.
Turning around to the Specialist, Clover frowned to see the man smirking.
His frown quickly turned to widened eyes, leaving him with the only option of lunging forward, just as the man waved with his fingers in an elegant and feminine manner.
The door shutting in his face, Clover slammed an open palm on the metal and turned to his partner. "OPEN IT UP!"
Zipping past Clover, Harriet reeled a fist back just before punching the door with a loud bang.
Whipping his head to the side, Rhodes watched as the Specialist came strolling through.
It was just as he feared, he didn't give the man any time to react, he merely drew his mace and swung it with a deep growl.
The heavy weapon made contact, but instead of giving the man a splitting headache he shattered glass and the concrete wall.
At the corner of his eyes he looked directly down to a short woman, she had the same smirk as the door shut between them.
Activating his semblance, Rhodes threw his arm forward to stop the door from fully closing.
Growling in moderate pain, Rhodes slowly but surely pushed the door open, but while doing so he screamed at the top of his lungs.
"QROW!"
Inhaling sharply and reaching for his weapon, Qrow drew Harbinger just as the last of the soldiers came jogging through, leaving an unknown woman in the mess hall.
With the briefcase in hand, he knew what he needed to do as he flicked his weapon open and fired the gun in his hilt.
Watching as she opened her parasol to block his shot, Qrow charged forward with a click on his weapon.
Unable to see her target she closed the strange weapon only to come face to face with a large scythe blade rapidly closing the distance.
The heel of her shoes clicking, she tilted her chin back with a bend of her knees to watch the shining edge of Qrow's weapon pass straight over head.
Using the momentum of his swing, Qrow switched forms then swung with his sword.
Barely able to react to his unexpected attack, she held her parasol up to block a flurry of attacks, while behind her she heard the back door crash open and Rhodes pry his wide open.
In a stroke of misfortune, the entire complex shook with the muffled sound of an explosion just overheard. Strong enough to throw everyone off balance and have the lights flicker off.
Feeling his sword meet nothing but air, Qrow growled a curse. "Dammit!"
Holding a finger to his ear he shouted to his friend as red emergency lights flicked on.
"Y/N! She got through! She's coming straight to you!"
Figuring he didn't need a description, Qrow gave chase along with the others. They sprinted down the halls with Harriet becoming a golden streak that zipped through the hall.
After a moment, Y/N replied with that same voice he had heard in Shady Springs.
"Got it."
___________________________
Neo was surrounded. Every point of escape was closed and now she faced down the barrel of a rifle to another obstacle.
Judging by the groups chatter and how heavily equipped this man was, she deduced that he wasn't just another pawn on the board, his eyes told otherwise.
She thought she could slip out with the rest of the soldiers, even if she was discovered. But those eyes, colored with a golden fury, they saw straight through her semblance, pushing her into a literal corner.
He was ruthless, not even making an attempt to issue another warning or demand, he simply pulled the trigger to his weapon.
Shifting her footing along with her hips, Neo smoothly blocked the bullet, she did however, notice how powerful the shot was, it was like a broadside cannon just slammed into her parasol.
Her brows furrowing, she charged forward as he racked his rifle, however she didn't expect him to double down and meet her halfway.
The small blade at the tip of her parasol blew through the air while his knife did the same.
Tilting their heads to avoid both attacks, Neo easily shifted a foot behind Y/N's and flipped back with a strong hold on his outstretched arm.
Grunting as he was thrown off balance, Y/N kept his form and landed with a front flip. While keeping a white knuckle grip on her wrist he twisted around with great momentum.
Her dual colored eyes widened, she was pinned as he whirled around and slammed his deployed shield directly in her face.
Rolling with the punches, Neo seemingly shrugged off the blow as she twirled back and clipped Y/N in the face as she did so.
Growling in pain, Y/N almost quite literally shook it off as adrenaline already nullified the strike.
Staring the woman down, he stowed his weapon to unclip Lex Talionis. His shoes slid along the ground, pushing broken glass that made a cascade of clinks and crunches.
Neo grew cautious realizing the man switched his fighting style depending on his opponent. It really showed when he held the small weapon with a bent elbows near eye level.
With both hands on the hilts, Y/N lowered himself with bent knees and gave his weapon a squeeze for the metal to unlink and come unfolding out.
Hearing a rush of footsteps and seeing Harriet stand to the side, Y/N directed his voice to her.
"Contact Ironwood and tell him we have the package." His gold eyes narrowed as his grip tightened. "I'll deal with her before more Grimm show up."
Trusting that growl in his voice, Harriet stood in a passive demeanor and laid a finger over her earpiece.
"Sir." She said, focusing her pink irises on Neo. "We got it. We have most of the staff accounted for, requesting immediate evac."
Her eyes flicking to Harriet in worry, Neo's small lapse in judgement nearly cost her dearly.
Giving a small gasp of surprise, Neo deployed her parasol just in time to redirect Y/N's Rakuyo.
Bursting off at great speeds, Y/N kept his weapon level and aimed directly for her arm. Hoping to incapacitate her he instead speared straight into the concrete wall behind her.
His did so with great force, surprising the unknown woman yet again as she sidestepped what she thought was incoming death.
With his weapon embedded in the wall, Y/N flared his aura, lighting his suit and increasing the lethality of his weapon.
With his strength and powered up blade, Y/N yanked the blade to the side, slicing through the concrete and dashing straight into Neo.
Using her weapon to block the blow she felt her heart skip a beat as the silver edge sliced clean through her parasol. The weapon continued through with his momentum, nearly blinding Neo as it just nipped the bridge of her nose.
With her back hitting a desk, Neo leaning back from a double slice from Y/N's deadly frenzy of attacks.
Rolling to the side, she just avoided a double slice that carved the desk in three. He did so with so much poise and technique that her aura would have no doubt collapsed.
"Heads up down there!" Robyn advices as Y/N chopped an office chair in half. "You've got Grimm coming in from the south!"
"Y/N!" Harriet shouted as soldiers came crawling out of the elevator shaft.
I got it.
Charging forward one last time, Y/N telegraphed his own attack, putting the woman in the exact position he wanted.
Disappearing in a puff of smoke then reappearing with his weapon snapped in half, his saber was parried, then with a backward swing his thrusted his dagger straight through what remained of her parasol.
Wrenching his hand to the side he kept her pinned as he spun around and dashed behind with a ferocious battle cry.
Neo immediately collapsed with a wince, she turned back to see the man towering over her with a menacing glare and blood trailing down his weapons edge.
Lifting the weapon, he watched as the woman shut her eyes with exhaustion, seemingly surrendering after her pink aura crackled then drifted away.
Swiping his weapon down without a second thought, Y/N chopped the lock on her wrist in two, freeing the briefcase that Harriet approached then snatched.
"Here." She tossed a heavy restraint in the air that Y/N caught. "We have to hurry."
Grabbing the woman's wrist so tight that she released a small growl, Y/N flipped her around and essentially cuffed her wrists together.
Grabbing her by the shoulder blade portion of her outfit, Y/N yanked her up only for her to almost fall once again.
Standing with a limp, Neo gave the man a harsh glare, one he ignored and hooked an arm with hers, forcing her to stand.
"It's not looking good down there!" Robyn shouted. "We were already at capacity! We can't take anymore!"
Jumping up the elevator shaft and helping up Qrow then Rhodes, Clover added his own thoughts that everyone took as a command.
"Then we set up a defensive perimeter until we can!"
Commanding the remainder of the soldiers, Y/N was left with Neo hobbling alongside him.
The flesh beneath her pants was carved straight open. It wasn't anything lethal, but it definitely hurt once weight was applied on it.
Hearing a distant roar through a section of broken wall, Y/N lifted the restrained woman up to his shoulders and ran.
Annoyed yet also worried, Neo could see right outside the complex for just a split second.
The overwhelming emotion in the air began to rise, luring yet another wave of frozen Grimm that came charging straight out of the tundra.
Seeing the previous transport turned into a large crater was all Neo saw before Y/N jumped straight up to the roof.
"Every get ready!" Clover advised, keeping his own weapon ready as well. "Y/N!" He called out, revealing his name to Neo. "Set her down here! We'll need all hands on deck!"
Running over, Y/N dropped Neo on the ground, uncaring to make it gentle or not. He ran back to the others, leaving her on the floor behind a heating unit. She only blew a lock of her hair off of her face with a glare.
Pulling Requiem from his back, Y/N got to work pulling shells from the holder on its stock and sliding them into the port.
He barely finished reloading as the soldiers began firing, their high powered weapons made short work of lighter Grimm when the heavies were barely effected.
Racking the lever, Y/N aimed and fired, blowing the head off of an adult Ursa, he chambered in another round and once again fired, splitting a Sabyr's stomach open.
Those without a ranged weapon stood near the ledge with the others, chopping any Grimm down that managed to climb the short wall.
The small force was quickly outnumbered, even as Robyn performed a strafe run, chopping down their seemingly endless numbers.
Lowering his rifle, Y/N was forced to draw his magnum and fire, one shot stunned a Manticore long enough for the soldiers to mow it down.
"LAST MAG!"
"HERE! CATCH!"
"ON OUR REAR!"
Y/N grunted and whipped around to line up his sights with an Alpha Beowolf that loomed over Neo's crawling form.
Firing once, he nailed the massive creature in the neck, wounding it and giving him an opening. He then unloaded the rest of his ammo into its exposed stomachs, each shot tearing chunks of its flesh off.
Holstering his now empty magnum, Y/N ran forward and dragged Neo back, he then left her close but not in the way.
"WATCH OUT!"
Turning around, Y/N stared down a young and growling Teryx. He was forced to unclip the single bullet on his rifle's receiver and fire.
The shot caused the beast to rear back with a screech, giving Harriet an opening as she zipped by and crushed it's jaw with a powerful right hook.
The Grimm fell to the ground, allowing the soldier to focus fire and shred its exposed belly.
"You alright?" Harriet asked as Y/N stowed his rifle.
"I should be asking you." He replied sarcastically, earning a scoff and grin from the woman.
"It's just another tuesday." She said with a chain of gasps as sweat froze over her cheek.
"I think we're gonna to need the big guns, Y/N!" Came Qrow's voice buzzing in his ear.
"Big guns?" Harriet asked, she didn't have time for a response as she spotted another mantling Grimm and sprinted away.
The situation was quickly turning into an emergency, the soldiers, having already exhausted most of their ammo were running low. And Robyn, having a limited store of ammo for the cannon, was also running low.
"You're right." Y/N replied. "Clover, get everyone away from the walls!"
Reaching over his shoulder, Y/N laid his hand on Sovereign's hilt, already causing the green gem to illuminate and the runes on its blade to burn a bright (Aura Color)
"What?!" Clover replied in confusion. "Why?!"
Clovers eyes then widened in disbelief as Y/N jumped straight off the roof with his sword drawn.
Mid flight, Y/N threw his sword, the even weight and sharp edge turned it into a makeshift spear that impaled a Sabyr to the ice.
With its corpse turning to ash he landed in the horde and snatch the blade from the ground.
Ducking with his weapon in hand, Y/N felt the breeze of an Ursa paw swipe just overhead, giving him enough room to shuffle his shoes in a wide are and come swiping back at the bear like monster.
Now standing with his back to the disemboweled beast, Y/N brought Sovereign up into a swinging form.
Just as his second hand lied on the hilt, he commanded the massive reservoir of power that lied within, and in return he paid with his aura.
Spent shell casings that littered the floor began to rattle, the sheer number of them imitated the beat of a drum, it highlighted the sudden silence that surrounded everyone.
Ice began to levitate, picking up and swarming the air to make a thick cloud that sucked in and surround Y/N and the Grimm.
Feeling a wave of goosebumps on his body with his hairs in his arms standing on end, Clover broke the tension in the air with a scream.
"GET DOWN!"
Following his urgent command without a beat, everyone dropped to the floor with their heads ducked
Neo, watching the strange scene with suspense and curiosity, gasped as a powerful burst of air slammed into the wall, causing her to duck her head with her eyes squeezed shut.
Inside the thick fog of death was Y/N. He swung the mighty weapon with complete devastation, creating moving walls of air that had the influence of a full speed vehicle.
It slammed into the waves of Grimm, crushing their outer bone and turned their innards into complete mush.
Through all the ice in the air he burst back and forth with his eyes and brain working in overdrive, allowing him to target one monster and rapidly switch to another.
From the outside, Robyn could see flashes of bright white lights from within, similar to lightning from a storm.
What those flashes were was Y/N making contact with the Grimm. Sovereign wasn't enhanced with his blood, meaning he couldn't cleave through heavier Grimms' hide.
But the story of the runes on it's edge were true. The strength went both ways, meaning its metal didn't yield to a mere monster.
Rather than shattering or dulling his blade, Y/N's swings broke straight through their outer bone, turning them to dust and causing heavy internal damage. The spark was from Sovereign ending one beast after another.
Almost as quick as it happened, it ended. The winds calmed to a standstill, the ice dropped and began to roll down the hill the Grimm arose from and the shell casings on the floor stopped their chant.
Y/N was left on the plain of ice, his face cover lowered as he took in large gulps of air.
His aura was depleted with its sparks crackling across his body as the Grimm ash billowed in the wind.
The rest of the horde watched from the distance, comprising of Alphas and older numbers, they stood and watched in hesitation.
They didn't bare their fangs or release a growl from their throat, all in fear of inciting the humans wrath once more.
Staring the Grimm down, Y/N and the others watched as the head of the pack, another Beringel, lowered its head and lumbered away.
It left Y/N to sheath Sovereign with the same metallic twang, meanwhile he couldn't see the Atlesian based forces watch on in utter shock.
Sighing with frosted air coming from his nose, Y/N turned on a pivot back to the others, he ignored their stares even as the transports arrived with a small group of droids to cover their escape.
"So that's what it does, huh?" Qrow asked with a smile.
"Yeah." Y/N replied simply as he set Neo down on the transport's seat.
Taking a seat beside the unknown woman, Y/N rested with his back to the wall as his eyes lingered on the frozen outpost until the very end as the door shut.