Fusilier

Tumbling Down

    Donnie watched the two Schnee sisters quietly. The three of them had found an isolated, covered patio table just outside the cafeteria hall. All three of them had full tea cups on saucers in front of them. The duo match with Weiss and Yang had gone well, even if Weiss had received a nasty geyser blast in order to save Yang. He eyed the younger Schnee sister. She seemed a little uncomfortable in her chair and shifted from side to side. There were still some black smudges in her hair and she was wearing a new dress. Looking at the other end of the table he observed Winter, who was sizing her up. He tea cup held in her right hand while her left held the saucer beneath it. Eyes locked on Weiss she quietly sipped her tea. Removing the cup from her lips and setting it on her saucer she cleared her throat.
    "You know it's impolite to stare," she addressed him. He stirred in his seat, "I could say the same to you." She maintained eye contact for an uncomfortably long time, sizing him up he guessed. Finally she set down both cup and saucer and turned to Weiss. "You were sloppy. I counted at least a dozen missed strikes during that battle," she criticized.
"But we won..." Weiss protested.
"You threw yourself onto a geyser."
"To save my friend."
Winter sighed, and reached out to cover Weiss' hand with her own. "And it was admirable, but it nearly seriously injured you," She gave her a meaningful look and squeezed her hand. Bringing her hand back to her cup she asked, "So how is your summoning coming along?" Weiss huffed and crossed her arms, "You know I can't, it just won't come to me."
Winter smiled at her before motioning at Donnie. "Nonsense, the result of your summoning is sitting right there," she said. Donnie rolled his eyes, "You know that 'result' has a name." Winter ignored him and raised her hand, a small glyph appearing in her hand as a large, spectral and icy blue beowolf emerged. She sipped her tea as it came to rest on its haunches behind her. He felt a small twinge in the back of his mind as it appeared.
"For generations, every woman in the Schnee family has inherited the ability to use glyphs and summon. You need only train. Come I'll show you," Winter rose from her chair, with a flick of her wrist the beowolf dissolved from her path. Weiss followed her and Donnie watched as the two sisters took up positions in an empty section of the patio.
Weiss drew her sword and aimed the tip at the ground in front of her. Closing her eyes she visibly strained. Winter leaned over her should and began to assure her in a low, soothing tone, "Close your eyes and breathe deeply. Center your emotions. Good, now focus on what you want to summon, picture it and will it into being." This went on for a number of minutes. Donnie didn't know if the exercise was working but that odd feeling had returned.
As they continued the twinge became a rising and increasingly uncomfortable sensation. Almost like the building of a headache. Before the headache could reach fruition Weiss lowered her sword and sighed. Donnie released a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.
"I told you I couldn't do it."
"Of course you can do it. You just need practice. Now, let's return to our tea. I'd like to finish it before I go.
    Weiss looked up at her, she seemed disappointed at the news and asked, "So soon? You only just got here." Winter nodded sadly, "I was only really here to oversee the transfer of additional forces to Vale. I'll be returning to Atlas to arrange for any additional deployments we may need."
    Donnie scoffed at the notion, "Oh great more soldiers, what the hell are you lot even preparing for?" Winter glared at him, "We're doing everything we can to ensure that the Vytal Festival is as safe as possible." Donnie took his time to respond, leaning out of his chair he looked up at the skies above Beacon and Vale. Eying the Atlesian Warships hovering above the city. He noted the small forms of bullheads, no doubt loaded with heavy machine guns and missile pods, flying patrols over the city. Finally he turned back to her, "Doesn't feel like a security force. Feels like an occupation."
    To his surprise Winter's expression softened at the assertion. She nodded and spoke, "I can understand how this all looks given your... past. But I assure you that Atlas only means well. As soon as the Vytal Festival ends we will be returning to Atlas." Donnie relented and shrugged at her, "I'll take your word for it." He looked over at Weiss who flashed a comforting smile at him and patted his arm, "You worry too much." He shook his head, "Still can't shake that feeling."
    The trio fell into silence as they finished their tea. When they were finished Winter rose and bade them to walk her back to the Beacon docks. As they moved to the door Donnie felt that pressure in the back of his head again. Glancing around he thought he spotted a small flash of icy-blue light on the patio stones but it disappeared as fast as he could notice it, and with it went the odd feeling. Shaking the moment away he turned and followed the sisters off to the docks.
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The next afternoon he found himself back at the drinks stand in the fairground. He'd be alone if not for the pretty girl behind the counter. Looking at her, she looked up from the glass she was wiping clean and smiled at him. Giving a small smile in return, he looked back at the TV above the counter. Yang's solo match was just starting. Across from her stood Mercury Black. The grey haired teen cracked his knuckles and took a moment to stretch his legs. Through the speakers of the TV he tried to but couldn't make out Professor Port's voice introducing the two of them. Looking back over his shoulder he was surprised to find a growing crowd behind him. All eyes had become glued to the screen and he wasn't shocked to see at least a few people exchanging money for bets. The girl behind the counter set the glass aside and wiped her hands on the black apron around her waist. Moving closer to the crowd she began taking orders.
A blast of horns from the TV speakers drew the onlookers' attention to the starting fight. Yang closed the distance quickly. She sent a flurry of punches at Mercury, every one of them blocked or deflected with a series of kicks. They sent Yang reeling and as she recovered he began spinning and kicking the air. Every thrust of his legs set off whatever gun Donnie believed had been built into his boots. He continued this until the two of them were surrounded in a tornado of flying dust rounds.
The tornado constricted itself around Yang. That was until she finally found her footing and fired her gauntlets at her feet. As the tornado cleared she was ablaze with the flames of her semblance. With a furious shout she began firing shells at Mercury with her gauntlets. Each one infused with the absorbed power of his kicks. The blasts sent him spinning in turn. Just as he stopped himself from tumbling over he looked up to find Yang flying at him. With a final punch she sent him crashing down.
    All around Donnie cheers erupted from the gathered crowd. Drowning out the grumbling members who watched as their lost money was passed around. He smiled and was about to turn his attention to his drink when he another blast erupt from the TV speakers. The crowd's cheers turned to shocked gasps and he looked up to find an odd sight. Yang was standing over Mercury, her arm cocked back as though preparing another shell. Mercury was lying on the ground and clutching his leg. It was bent at an odd angle as though it was partially folded up underneath himself. "Yeah! That's what you get," came her voice one the speaker. She only then seemed to realize what she had done. Looking around her she found herself surrounded by Atlesian Knights. Over automated demands that she stand down Yang asserted, "He attacked me!"
    Feeling a vibration in his pocket, Donnie fished out his scroll and found a message from Blake telling him to meet them at their dorm. Tossing some lien on the counter he nodded at the stall's owner. The smile was gone, eyes glued on the TV screen.
    Hurrying back to the dorm he was met on the way by the large figure of General Ironwood emerging from the base of Headmaster Ozpin's tower. Flank on either side by Atlesian Knights he beckoned Donnie to fall in with him. "Mr. McManus, walk with me I was just going to your team's dorm," Ironwood said as they walked. "I'm certain you're aware of what just happened in the arena. I need a word with all of you," he continued.
    Donnie only nodded and opted to follow quietly. The rest of Team RWBY arrived shortly after they did. He waited for them all to take their seats on their beds before speaking.
    "Ms. Xiao Long I'm certain I don't need to say that this is a very serious thing you've done."
    Yang burst out in response, "What I did?! He attacked me!" Following this was chorus of affirmative statements from all but Blake. Weiss proclaimed, "Yeah, Yang's hotheaded but she's not ruthless!" Ironwood, who had been pacing as he spoke whirled on them, "Enough," he shouted. They all sat back down, looking like scolded children.
    "I and all of the staff I've spoken with at Beacon understand that this is something you would never do. But millions of people just watched you attack that student." He sighed and ran a hand across his face, "I understand that in the heat of battle a warrior can see many things that aren't there. But in light of today's events, I have no choice but to disqualify team RWBY from the Vytal Tournament." General Ironwood didn't wait to hear their reactions to the news and marched out the door.
As the door clicked shut Donnie scoffed and rose from where he'd been sitting next to Weiss. Climbing onto one of the clothes drawers by the window he shoved it open and sat down on the drawer. They watched as he dug into his pocket and fished out a cigarette. Lighting it and keeping his arm hanging out of the open window he looked back at them. "What," he asked. Ruby spoke up, "Come on Donnie we talked about smoking in here." He leaned out the window and took another drag, "That's why I'm hanging out the bleedin' window. Besides it's either I do this or say what I think about the General and have Yang throw me out it."
Yang spoke up then, her voice quivering as she hugged her knees to her chest, "You guys believe me right?" Weiss and Ruby nodded, "Of course we do," they both declared. Donnie nodded along with them while leaning awkwardly out of the window to blow a cloud of smoke at the leaves of the nearby tree. They all looked at Blake who had remained quiet. "Blake...," Yang probed.
    Cautiously Blake said, "I want to believe you..."
"The hell's that supposed to mean," Donnie asked from the window. Blake continued, "I want to believe you but when I was in the White Fang I had a partner. He... changed." She paused to take a breath, "On missions he started having accidents, people would get hurt or killed. As time went on he started having more and more 'accidents'."
Yang interrupted her, "But it was!" Blake stared at her partner, "Then look me in the eyes and swear that it was. That he attacked you." Yang leaned closer and locked eyes with her, "I swear." At this Blake smiled and said, "Good." The rest of team RWBY let out breaths that they didn't know they'd been holding in. Weiss stood and walked to the door. "Well I'm going to go enjoy the festival at least. Care to join me," She asked while looking at Yang
    Yang gave waved the offer away and said, "Nah you guys go ahead, I think I just need some time to myself." Nodding, Weiss opened the door and stepped out into the hall. Blake and Ruby followed her as she held the door. Donnie, taking the hint, finished off his cigarette and tossed the stubbed butt out the window. Closing it as he left he stepped past Weiss. As the door clicked shut behind them they found the members of team JNPR waiting.
    "How is she," Nora asked in a hushed tone. Stepping a bit further away Blake answered, "She'll be ok. But she'll need some time." Ruby followed her and decided to change the subject. "So I heard you guys made it to the solos round," she said. Pyrrha nodded, "Yes my fight is later tonight actually."
    "Well break a leg out there Pyrrha we'll be rooting for you," Ruby quietly exclaimed as she began moving to the stairs. The rest of them followed with similar sentiments as JNPR stepped back into their dorm.
    Once outside they split up. Weiss and Blake decided to head to the fair grounds for tea while Ruby wanted to head back up to the Amity Coliseum. Donnie offered to walk her to the docks. As he saw his team leader off and onto the ferry he saw a familiar face in the crowd.
"Helios," he called out. The man turned around, clipboard in hand. His eyes hidden beneath the lowered visor of his flight helmet. The man smiled at him and as he did the bushy mustache on his upper lip lifted to reveal a set of straight, white teeth. As Donnie approached he tucked the clipboard under his arm and held out a hand to shake. Grasping it firmly Donnie greeted him, "Been a while Patrick. How's the family?"
    They shook and Patrick responded, "Oh they're as fine as ever. Though Sophie's been feeling under the weather lately. Her and Hilda are staying with her grandparents while I'm away." Donnie nodded at the bullhead they stood next to. To his surprise, the usual delivery service logos were gone. Replacing them was a simple zero. He asked, "Here on business then?"
    "Sure am. Ol' Zero decided he liked me so much he went and bought me out. Work for him directly now."
    Donnie clapped him on the shoulder, "Well congratulations are in order I suppose. Staying long?" Patrick shook his head, "Nah I'll be staying to catch the tail end of the festival. Besides I promised Hilda I'd get pictures of Beacon since they couldn't come along." Donnie smiled at the pilot, "That so? Mind if I join you for a while?" Patrick nodded and stepped up and into his bullhead. After a moment he stepped back down, no longer wearing his helmet. What had been revealed was a head of shaggy hair. Like his mustache it was brown and streaked with gray hairs. He blinked against the sun, vague, dark circles visible under his hazel eyes.
They set off toward the main courtyard that marked the entrance to Beacon. Stopping occasionally so that Patrick could snap pictures with his scroll they caught each other up on their lives. His daughter, Sophie, would be starting high school soon and his wife had gotten concerned about her aspirations for attending combat school. His eldest son, Roy, was on a trip to Vacuo. Apparently he'd been calling them to tell them about a woman he'd met at some dance club.
    All around them the atmosphere was joyful, but there was an uneasy tension underscoring everything. The sun had begun to set. Its final rays casting Beacon in an orange hue. Near the entrance to the fairgrounds automated displays advertised that the next round of the singles fights was in less than an hour. Their tour of the courtyard complete, they returned to the docks where his ship was docked. Patrick had become eager to leave, he had a few extra deliveries to make before he was officially finished and had decided to take care of them that night.
    As Donnie watched his ship lift off from the docks he checked his watch. Pyrrha's match was only a few minutes away and he could hear the echoes of the loudspeakers of the Coliseum. He opted to relax in the courtyard for a time. Finding a bench he particularly liked he sat near a couple that were lying on a blanket in the grass nearby. They were watching a projection of the match from one of their scrolls. On the translucent screen he could make out the image of the competitors. Pyrrha was waving at the crowd, spear in one hand and shield in the other. Donnie recognized her opponent, she was the ginger girl that they had bumped into a semester ago. Vaguely he remembered her name was Penny and that she was friends with Ruby to some extent. He craned his neck to watch the match over their shoulders.
As the fight began Penny started by allowing an array of swords to come floating from her back. Hanging high over her head they formed into trios and fired laser beams at Pyrrha. Already prepared, she ducked and dived the blasts. Things changed as she found her footing after a roll. She raised her shield for another attack but Donnie noticed that she wasn't looking at Penny. Instead she seemed focused on the swords themselves. Slowly her shield lowered and frantically she glanced around the air near the swords. To his shock she seemed legitimately frightened. With a great effort Pyrrha waved her arms in front of herself as though she was trying shove someone away.
    They watched as the floating swords were sent flying. As they passed Penny she jerked back, arms wide as though something had grabbed them. Things seemed to slow down as her arms and waist seemed to tighten and twist until, to Donnie's horror, she seemed to come apart. In an instant her arms came off and soon after the girl separated at the waist. What looked like sudden, clean cuts had dismembered her. Although to his astonishment there wasn't any blood. Squinting at her torso through the screen he realized that he couldn't even see the usual organs. All he could make out was strands of what looked like wires.
As the three of them looked on in a stunned silence as the screen briefly blinked off before the broadcast was replaced by an image. The black silhouette of a chess piece, the Queen, stood on a red background. From every speaker he could hear that once held the broadcast of the match they now heard the smooth, sultry voice of a woman. "This is not a tragedy. This is not an accident." Donnie looked around, all around the three of them students, guests, and soldiers alike were watching their scrolls in silence. The voice continued, "This is what happens when you hand over your trust, your safety, your children, to men are who claim to be our guardians but in reality are nothing more than men. Our academies' headmasters hold more power than most armies, and one was audacious enough to control both."
    He looked to the skies but despite the bright lights of the city he could barely make anything in the air but the running lights of Ironwood's fleet. "They cling to this power in the name of peace, and yet, what do we have here? One nation's attempt at a synthetic army mercilessly torn apart by another's star pupil. What need would Atlas have for a soldier disguised as an innocent little girl? I don't think the Grimm can tell the difference." Suddenly he saw something, a quick movement followed by another. Squinting his eyes he spotted dark shapes in the skies over Vale. He began to count them but found that after the first dozen his heart was racing too much to continue. Digging into his pocket with his left hand he retrieved his scroll while his right drew his revolver from its holster. While watching the approaching shapes he fumbled through the scroll until he found the app that would call his locker. As the first of the shapes came into the light of the Beacon docks he heard the end of the woman's speech. "Our kingdoms are on the brink of war, yet we, the citizens, are left in the dark." The light of the docks revealed the shapes to be bullheads. Painted bright white, many were equipped with mounted cannons while others seemed to be without them. The first bullhead pulled up alongside a patrol of Atlesian soldiers. So distracted by the speech that they barely noticed the aircraft.
    "So, I ask you, when the first shots are fired, who do you think you can trust?" As the broadcast ended Donnie watched as the side door of the bullhead was flung open. To both his and the soldiers' astonishment it held a collection of heavily armed White Fang grunts. As the door opened two of the grunts raised their rifles and opened fire. The soldiers who had been fumbling with their own rifles had no time to react. Of the four Atlesians three were killed instantly as the automatic fire stitched along their chests. The fourth had only been struck about the legs and was attempting to crawl away just as Donnie's locker arrived. While rushing to throw on his prepared webbing he watched as the White Fang dismounted. There had to have been eight or ten of them. Most of them carried swords and set upon the corpses, removing their rifles and ammunition eagerly. As they did this one of the ones armed with a rifle emptied the rest of his magazine into the wounded soldier's back.
    The gunfire snapped the rest of the courtyard's stunned population out of their paralysis. They descended into a confused panic as many students began calling in their lockers. Others either began to flee or moved to shepherd their families and guests away from the danger. Next to him the couple had leapt to their feet and he was pleased to see that were busy calling their own lockers.
    His webbing on, Donnie grabbed first his shotgun and, satisfied that it was sufficiently ready for action, threw it over his back. As he retrieved and checked his rifle he looked back to the docks and cliffs of Beacon. Another six bullheads had arrived and were disgorging dozens of White Fang troops. Further away and nearer the fairgrounds he swore he could see grimm leaping from the ships. As the couples' lockers landed warning sirens began to blare in Vale. Their wails carrying across the massive lake that separated the city from the academy. Strapping on his helmet he noticed that the newly arrived White Fang were beginning to make their way to the courtyard. The swordsmen ran in the vanguard as the riflemen jogged behind. Their transports quickly rose and raced away from Beacon only to be replaced by more aircraft. The second wave delivered another few dozen troops as they were replaced by gunships.
    While the couple began to retrieve their own weapons Donnie took cover behind his locker and started to pick targets. Figuring the invaders were still a fair distance out he aimed for one of the riflemen. Taking a deep breath he fired. As he worked the bolt of his rifle he watched the jogging grunt fold in on himself and collapse. He fired again and another rifleman stumbled and fell. Taking a moment to assess their position he found himself wanting. The only real cover was their lockers with the nearest alternatives being the academy's massive fountain and the large stone arches that lined the fountain plaza. To the right of him he saw one of the students that had opted to call their locker step out. He was clutching a sub-machine gun that he fired from the hip. The spray flew wildly at the advancing squad and didn't hit anything but the cobblestones. In response one of the rifleman stopped and sent an aimed burst in return. The dust rounds found their mark and the student fell back. His face frozen in shock as a pool of blood formed under him.
    "Hey buddy," shouted a girl's voice. Donnie turned back to his left and found that the girl from the couple was trying to get his attention. Over her uniform she had thrown on a steel chest-plate. In her hands she was wielding a large claymore sword. The boy with her had slung a large bag over his head and left it dangling at his waist. In his hands he held a large and blocky machine gun. A bipod was dangling from the end of its barrel and he busy jamming a disc shaped magazine onto the top of the receiver. Donnie thought the gun looked remarkably similar to the Lewis guns back on Earth.
He looked at the girl, "Yeah!?" He was forced to shout over the gunfire. The two of them ducked behind their lockers. The boy leaned out and let out a long, sweeping burst. "What the hell is happening," she asked him. Donnie leaned and fired before responding. "Well I don't know! Looks like a damned invasion," He chanced a peak at his surroundings. He could see at least five other students trying to fight back. He counted at least three more students sprawled out in the courtyard. None of them seemed to be moving.
"So what do we do," she asked him again. He looked at her, "Well we sure as shit can't stay here." She looked around behind them at the arches and the fountain. "Yeah but how are we going to get out," she adjusted her grip on her sword and eyed the boy. Donnie pulled back the bolt on his rifle and thought for a moment. He nodded to himself and looked back at her. "We'll pull a fighting retreat back to the archways then we'll see from there. Might be able to meet up with the people who ran back to the academy," he said. She asked, "Well how do we do a... fighting retreat or whatever?"
He pointed at the boy, "Your boyfriend and I make sure they keep their heads down while you run back there. Then he covers me and I cover him while he meets back up with us. That's the basics at least." She nodded and reached over to nudge the boy on the back, "Hey Martin did you hear that?" "I heard him," was the only response she received. Donnie adjusted himself and looked at the girl and Martin. Waving to get her attention he held up three fingers. Counting down slowly he waved her forward on three.
    Shakily she began her frantic retreat, armor and sword clanking as she ran. Sensing that she had gone, Martin held the trigger down and sent a hail of bullets at the White Fang. Donnie leaned out and began working his bolt. They weren't much more than potshots but they were enough to get even the more enthusiastic swordsmen to dive for cover. He figured that Martin had been aiming low as a few grunts were writhing around on the ground. Their legs looked mangled and bleeding. Topping himself off he now turned to Martin and called, "Alright my turn! On three! One... two... three!"
    Martin rolled out of cover and began laying down more fire as he leapt to his feet. As he ran he took a chance and looked to the other students. He called out, "With me! With me," beckoning them with his arm. Out of breath he reached the arches and found himself next to the girl. Her face was flushed and she looked like she was about to throw up. He nodded at her before leaning back out and shouting, "You're up Martin! Ready when you are!" Looking around he noticed that the other students had managed to follow him and taken up their own positions along the plaza. Wordlessly, Martin let loose a final burst of gunfire and began sprinting to meet them. Donnie leaned out and gave suppressive fire, managing to hit another rifleman who had decided to chance a shot. He reached them in moments and immediately looked to the girl.
"Are you ok Claire," he asked her. She stated that she was but he still set about checking every scrape and bruise. Meanwhile Donnie peeked around the column. The White Fang force had been stunned by their resistance but it was finding its feet. Behind them the docks of Beacon burned. The White Fang gunships had turned on the docked ships and torn them to pieces with cannon and rocket fire. Further beyond he could see the glow of flames in Vale as Atlas's surprised navy fell apart. He watched as Ironwood's flagship turned on its closest neighbor and cut it in half with its main gun. The wreckage falling on the city below.
Feeling a buzz in his pocket he fished around his pockets for his scroll. Nearly dropping it in his rush he found it was a conference call from Yang, Weiss and Blake. Placing it to his ear he watched as the Kingdom of Vale burned.