RWBY: Grimm Walker

Chapter 17: Hunted

  The VTOL door opened as the craft hovered a few feet off the ground. The two teams had reached Forever Fall after a short flight and were now getting ready to disembark on their mission. The pilot looked back at Nix and his friends as they stood.

  "Remember, be at the extraction zone at 4 pm tomorrow. Call us if anything goes wrong."

  Nix gave him a thumbs up and jumped out of the ship. He landed on the red grass with in a crouch and surveyed the area. The clearing was small and led straight into the forest, the red trees gently swaying as the VTOLs took off again. The rest of the group dropped their gear and surveyed the area as well. Nix pulled out his Scroll.

"Intel says the herd was last spotted over that ridge." He said pointing to the north. "There's a valley on the other side, so they might be taking refuge there." He turned to the group. "I'll go scout ahead. I'll need you to come along Little Red, could use your sniper rifle."

Ruby nodded. "You got it." Yang came over and put hand on Nix shoulder. "Always getting to have the fun. We'll stay and set up camp, so don't be to long."

The boy smiled and hugged her. "We won't." He gestured to the forest with his head. "Let's go."

Yang watched the two as they walked away, her heart already going out to them.

"Be safe. Both of you."

----------------------------------------------

Nix and Ruby jogged through the forest towards the ridge with their weapons ready. He glances at the map feed transmitted to his HUD. "Almost there, just a few more yards."

They come to a stop a few feet from the ridge drop and Nix motions the two to get down. He lowers himself to his stomach and crawls the last few feet, Ruby doing likewise. They cant afford to get spotted here or else this mission would be over very quickly. They crawl slowly to the edge and look down. Nix lets out a low whistle as he beholds the valley before him. "That's a lot of Grimm."

The valley is wide with a small river running through its center. The area had been completely cleared of trees and was now just a flatland. The whole floor was covered in Grimm of all sizes, their black bodies so close it looked like the valley floor was a solid black mass. Ruby gasped beside him and blinked a few times. "I've never seen so many Grimm in one place before, at least not in the wild. If they reached the city walls, things could get really bad."

Nix nodded. "Well lets not let that happen. Pull out your rifle, see what we can learn."

The girl grinned and pulled out her weapon. It was a large red rectangle that extended into a long barreled rifle at her command. A handle, stock, and scope popped into place and she smiled proudly at Nix, happy to show off her signature weapon. Nix raised an impressed eyebrow behind his mask. "Not bad."

Ruby cocked her head at him. "What about you, don't you need to see?"

He smiled and began to create his own weapon. His hands began to glow as it took shape, finally growing solid in a flash. It was a long sniper rifle with a thick barrel and bolt action. The magazine was held in the back for a bullpup design with a large scope and bi-pod attached to it. Ruby's jaw dropped for a moment before she rolled her eyes with a groan. "Show off..."

Nix chuckled a bit and turned his attention to the valley, his eyes on the scope. "See anything useful? Like where they got in from?"

Ruby looked down her scope and scanned the area. "looks like there's a path on the far side by the river mouth, they must have followed it in from there." She move her rifle slowly. "Wait, I'm getting something else."