Rage & Hope: A RWBY Story

Chapter Twenty One - Breach

As Grimm began pouring into the city of Vale, Razer and the rest of Team RWBY rush into battle. As they fight the seemingly endless hordes of Grimm, they eventually make their way to the middle of the pavilion where they are surrounded by Beowolves, Ursai, and a massive King Taijitu. The King Taijitu unleashes a mighty roar, signaling the Grimm to attack. Razer begins cutting down various Grimm with two sword constructs from his Ring. Ruby plants Crescent Rose on the ground before kicking away the Grimm, Yang  propels herself upwards, performing aerial bombardments with Ember Celica on the Grimm before three Giant Nevermores send her crashing to the ground. Blake slashes a Beowolf with Gambol Shroud before firing on the other approaching Grimm. Weiss slashes three Beowolves, before summoning a glyph to conjure up an ice blade. Yang, back on the ground, sends several cars flying towards the Grimm. As Ruby finishes slashing at a Grimm, she notices the King Taijitu ready for the attack, until she also sees Nora  flying on Magnhild towards the King Taijitu, slamming it on the head and killing the beast.

Nora: Nora Smash! 

It wasn't long before the rest of Team JNPR arrive to aid Razer and Team RWBY. As more Grimm continued to flood into the city, Razer lunges at a Beowolf that was about to attack Blake. He jumps on the Beowolf's back and plunges the swords into the Beowolf's skull, killing it. Blake returns the favor by landing a swift decapitation with Gambol Shroud. 

Razer: Good to know I have someone watching my back. 

Blake: The feeling is mutual. 

Razer smiled as more Grimm continued to pour into the city. As a group of Grimm began to surround Razer and Blake, the two allies stood side by side with their weapons before. Despite the imminent danger, Razer and Blake held the line.

Razer: These enemies shall not stand in our way!

Razer then unleashes a shockwave of crimson energy from his Ring which destroys the group of Grimm. Blake follows Razer's lead by decapitating another Grimm with Gambol Shroud. She then uses her Semblance to summon two shadow clones of herself. They run through the group of Grimm, attacking whatever came their way. This divides the Grimm, allowing Razer and Blake to capitalize on this. Soon enough, Atlas airships arrive and deploy multiple squadrons of Atlesian Knight-200s. In that moment, the fight became even. As the fight dragged on, more and more Atlas Droids were deployed to combat the Grimm. At the same time, various Beacon Teams along with the teachers of Beacon arrived to fight. Even Aya arrived.

Blake: Aya?! What are you doing here?!

Aya: Penny and I have come to help. She is currently helping Ruby and the others.

Razer: Then be prepared for a battle.

Aya: I am more than equipped to battle these Grimm. I am looking forward to fighting by your side.

Razer couldn't help but smile at Aya's preparedness to battle against seemingly impossible odds. With that, Aya joined Razer and Team RWBY in fighting off the Grimm threat. After a long and lengthy battle, the Grimm threat was neutralized. As the last of the Grimm were cleared out, Razer spoke with Aya.

Razer: You fought well, Aya. You have earned my respect.

Aya: Likewise, Razer. I would like to study your powers more closely.

With that, Aya the pavilion to regroup with Penny. Razer then joins Team RWBY on the edge of Beacon's landing platform, overlooking the City of Vale from across the lake.

Yang: Well, we did it.

Blake: We did it.

Weiss: If we don't get extra credit for that, I'm gonna be seriously disappointed.

Yang: Weiss, a two-headed snake literally crushed a bakery. I wouldn't count on it.

Ruby: Plus, I mean, we didn't solve everything. A lot of people were hurt, and we still don't even know why they did this, or who that mystery girl was.

Weiss: Well, not every story has a neat and tidy ending.

As Razer said this, his mind fell on his battle with Vice. It didn't take long for the others to speak on this.

Ruby: So....who was that guy back there, Razer?

Razer: They call him Vice. He is a Red Lantern.

Yang: Like you?

Razer: No...nothing like me. The only thing that keeps me tied to the Red Lanterns is.....this Ring.

Blake then recalls how Razer told her that they were not so different in terms of their past. She could tell that the arrival of Vice deeply troubled Razer.

Blake: We might not have all the answers, but we do have a lot of dangerous people behind bars. And I think that's something we could be proud of.

Ruby: Yeah! And if anyone tries something like this again, we'll be there to stop them.

Yang: Yay, teamwork, camaraderie, good guys, go team, alright, good job... So, what now?

Weiss: I suggest training for the tournament, but I guess we have that covered at this point.

Blake: So then...

Ruby: Uhh... Time for bed?

Yang: Please.

Blake: Absolutely.

Razer: Perhaps some sleep would do us some good.

Weiss: Yes.

Yang: I'm going to sleep forever.

With that, Razer and Team RWBY parted ways for now, satisfied with their actions today, though Razer was still wary of Vice, knowing that he posed a threat to them. Meanwhile, Cinder Fall meets with Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Black on a rooftop in the middle of the night. 

Cinder: All in all, I call today a success.

Emerald: Those stupid kids really made a mess of things.

Mercury: Yeah. A lot of Faunus didn't make it out the tunnels. You still think the White Fang's gonna listen to us?

???: No, but they'll listen to me.

As the voice calls out to them, Adam Taurus makes himself known.

With that, Adam Taurus pledged their loyalties to Cinder's master. In that moment, Cinder smiled as she continued moving forward with her plans. At the same time, Vice relished in the hunt to come, knowing that Razer would put up a fight.