Hello everyone! Surprise! this story isn't dead! i have just been busy with things lately and failed to post this 11 page story. So apologies on that. Any way here is the chapter you have been waiting for. Enjoy!
As the vytal festival drew closer, the pieces that made up the legion's grand scheme slowly began to fall into place." Are you positive i have to participate in the festival?" Jaune asked nervously as he boarded the last bullhead to Vale.
" Yes. we are positive." Ardemis replied over the scroll from his hiding spot inside the craft's cargo hold." Think of it as a way to prove to us that we have actually taught you something during our training sessions." Legion added as he moved a fallen suitcase away from his head, allowing him better vision of his surroundings." I fucking hate cargo holds." Ardemis whispered from his corner of the room, loud enough for legion to hear but low enough that Jaune couldn't.
" is it because it makes you queasy?" Legion asked, earning a silent nod from Ardemis." That does not leave the room." Ardemis growled as he turned his gaze to look upon Legion's pile of luggage." It is honestly quite fascinating how much Jaune has rubbed off on us. First the talking, then the bagels, and now the fact a centuries old warp tainted space marine could have motion sickness. Truly fascinating." Legion remarked.
" he hasn't really influenced you my lord. After all you are not truly part of the legion due to the fact you are the Emperor's son." Ardemis began only to be stopped as Legion's crimson gaze turned to face him." I have been part of this legion longer than your entire chapter Ardemis. I also to not take kindly to special treatment just because i am basically your uncle." Legion growled, causing his warp tainted nephew to become silent as he turned his attention back towards a nearby window. It was a total solid hour before Ardemis broke the fragile silence.
" Is it just me or has the craft stopped?" Ardemis asked as he continued to glare at a tree outside the window, using it as a way to tell if the craft was either just moving insaily slow or had stopped completely." it would appear so." Legion replied, somewhat confused as to how he had missed the fact the craft stopped moving. There was a sudden boom, causing the passenger vessel to shake violently. Luggage fell upon the two concealed super soldiers causing the damned legionnaires to spew forth dozens of insults towards the inanimate objects.
" Son of a bitch! What did this guy put in his bag? Bricks?" Ardemis asked as he hefted the heavy bag off of himself, only for it to rip and it's contents to spill all over the floor revealing that the owner of the bag did in fact pack a bunch of bricks." What in the Emperor' name?" Legion asked as he stood up from his hiding spot and walked over to examine the bag." who would pack bricks?" Ardemis asked." either a son of Dorn… or someone that doesn't belong upon this craft." Legion stated as the vessel shook once more causing the two astartes to begin to ascend the stairs towards the main cabin.
" The door is sealed from the outside." Ardemis reported." Stand aside." Legion commanded as he marched forward and punched the metal door, severely denting it. Legion continued this for a few seconds until there was a hole in the door large enough to fit his gauntlet through. There was a scream and something began to hit the gauntlet as Legion reached for the door handle. It took a few tries but Legion finally managed to open the door, allowing the first rays of light to enter the dark cargo hold stair well.
" Holy shit!" A man wielding a machete yelled as he backed away from the door." Engaging hostile." Legion stated as he rushed forward and punched the man in the throat, snapping his neck." Aura less. Im guessing bandit." Ardemis observed as he crouched down to observe the bandit. Legion however said nothing as he scooped up the fallen machete and opened the door leading towards the main deck, his intentions clear.
" We want all of your lein. We want your dust." A bandit listed as he paced back and forward listing off things he knew the clan needed." Didn't the boss want us to kidnap someone?" Another bandit asked earning a nod of thanks from the first." We also want the kid by the name of Jaune Arc. He has something the boss wants." The man stated, his green eyes searching for the standard Arc blond mop of hair. The funny thing was however that a majority of the people on the bullhead were blonde.
" Damn." He thought as he nodded to his fellow thugs to begin searching the group for anyone that either bore the arc symbol or looked like a arc. Jaune couldn't help but silently chuckle as the thugs passed him over in favor for the man behind him. They were searching for a boy with the arc symbol, blue eyes, and blonde hair, not a boy with blue mixed with red eyes, a skull as his symbol, and blonde hair.
" he doesn't appear to be here Blau." a female bandit announced. Blau nodded and leaned over to the nearest bandit to whisper something into his ear." Got it boss." the thug said as he left the room, heading towards the back of the large craft to check on the rest of the bandit group that were sacking the cargo hold.
There was a tremendous crash as the man was sent flying back through the doorway, a red machete embedded into his stomach." Who in the name of Oum did that?" One of the bandits asked as they immediately trained their gun on the door.
" Don't know. Dont care. Land this bird!" Blau roared as he aimed his own semiautomatic at the hostages. Jaune's eyes widened slightly as he watched a armored arm slowly reach down from the ceiling, slowly creeping closer towards a bandit's neck, stopping a foot away from the man's neck." Ardemis." Jaune thought, recognizing the skull that sat upon the back of the gauntlet.
The gauntlet slowly inched its way towards the man's neck once more until it finally found purchase, earning a scream and a sickly crunch as the bandit's neck was snapped." Holy shit!" a bandit cried as he began to pump fire dust rounds into the arm, forcing the damned astartes to hastily retract it back into the shadows.
A second later a loud clang was heard as the door leading towards the back of the craft was thrown into the room, causing auras to flare and limbs to break." Get off my ship." Legion stated in a monotone voice as he marched the cabin, the warp fire dancing upon his armor as he entered a boxer's stance." WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?" a bandit screamed after he recovered from having a steel door thrown at him.
" Must be this Jaune fellow she wants." Another bandit with a mustache said." All of you are here for me? Im flattered." Ardemis said as he appeared in the opposite door that lead to the cockpit, two beaten bandits in hand." WELL shit." Blau thought as he slowly reached down towards his belt to grab his backup plan, a grenade. He paused however when Raven's orders once more came to mind.
" What do we do boss?" a bandit asked as she raised her sword a bit." Luse is dead so we are without leadership, so in that regard i suppose the mission has failed. Just like Raven wanted." The man thought as before he looked down at the gathered passengers next to him. He could attempt to use the hostages as leeway to snuff out who was actual Jaune because there is no way the giant towards his left was. But the other fucker in the flaming armor would probably just crush him." We surrender." He finally said as he laid down his weapons and urged his fellow bandits to do the same.
Only three others followed his command while the rest merely began to shoot at both of the giants." Thats a mistake." The supposed Jaune said behind him as he threw the two men he was carrying at one of the guns men, knocking him over as the weight of his dead comrades slammed into him. Legion strode forward using his arm to block any of the stray bullets aimed for his eyes. Bullet casings littered the floor as the two astartes slowly walked towards the nine bandits, causing them to grow more frantic when they entered melee.
Ardemis chuckled lightly as swords, point blank bullets and clubs glanced off his armor as he pushed the bandits into a corner, facing away from their hostages." Surrender now and i may allow you to live." Ardemis said, loud enough for Jaune to hear. He honestly didn't plan on sparing any of them but Jaune had been telling them to at least attempt to get their enemies to surrender. Thankfully none of them replied, instead opting to reload their useless guns. Ardemis was fine with that. It had been awhile since he had practiced hand to hand combat.
"So our robbery failed." Raven stated, watching the large airship slowly enter Vale airspace where it was escorted in to the city by two atlas drop ships." I told you Luse would fail!" A armored man next to her stated, his annoyance seeping into his voice. Raven chuckled lightly as she turned to face the armored brute." That was the plan. Now all we have to do is wait until the infiltrators have everything ready for the next part of my plan." Raven responded as she cut open a swirling red portal.
" Are you kidding me?" Glynda yelled as she watched one Jaune arc and his two armored goons step off of the badly damaged bullhead. It had been a month since the boy had left the school, allowing things to slowly slip back into routine." So where do you think we should lodge?" Ardemis asked as the trio walked over to the bullhead information desk, staying away from Beacon lest they incur the wrath of Goodwitch.
" there's a nearby hotel that looks promising." Jaune reported, placing his finger on the map to show its location." Casa de muerte?" Ardemis asked, confused on why a hotel was called house of death." Name doesn't seem that inviting and it's located in the red zone of Vale." Legion pointed out, his crimson eyes scanning the map for any alternative places to stay that didn't seem like you would be mugged checking in. The problem was that Vale wasn't a city prepared for large events like the festival, meaning that you only came if you were insanely rich or had kin living in the city.
" There is always the guest rooms in Beacon." Ardemis suggested, gesturing towards the large building behind them." No. I can see Goodwitch making rude gestures at me from here so i'm rather against that idea." Legion said as he proceeded to flip off the combat teacher, who graciously returned the favor." Since when has a mere mortal ever deterred the legion?" Ardemis asked as he looked past Jaune to watch the rude gesture battle.
So far it seemed Glynda was winning." Do you require aid?" Ardemis asked, stifling a chuckle as he watched the frustrated Legion attempt to keep up with Glynda." These damn paladins are getting in the way!" Legion grumbled. Jaune didn't comment upon the small battle behind him, his unwavering gaze locked upon the map." What about this hotel? It's rather close to beacon, it is downtown, and according to this small info column it is in our price range." Jaune stated.
Both of the legionnaires froze and turned to look at Jaune." We have a budget?" They both asked in union, clearly baffled by the fact that their group even had money to spend. There was the slight sound of muffled static as the two astartes opened up a private vox channel to discuss the groups next course of action.
" That hotel will do nicely." Ardemis announced a moment later.
" I think we just got cat fished." Ardemis said as he stood outside the opposite self proclaimed hotel. It was a small building that resembled a cottage that sat upon a nice little hill overlooking the downtown park.
" Yeah, i believe this is what they call a bed and breakfast." Legion added as he carried Jaune's suitcase towards the building, only to be stopped by Jaune.
" I think it would be best if i checked in alone because from the looks of it a elderly couple runs this place and i don't want them having a heart attack as two giants covered in fire and bone enter the building." Jaune stated, earning a understanding nod from the two legionnaires.
" Very well then, i suppose we will have to attend to other business for the time being." Ardemis replied as he disappeared into thin air.
" We will talk to you later Jaune." Legion added as he turned to walk back into the city, but paused." You know the Beacon dance is tonight right? I think you should go, i mean you bought a suit after all." Legion reminded, earning a grumble from Jaune.
" Yessss moooomm, i'll go to the stupid dance." Jaune retorted, slightly irritated by the fact that Legion always seemed to try to force him into socializing with kids his age. But he could see why Legion was doing it and was honestly a little happy he had at least one person looking out for him….. Well two hundred really, but all he ever saw was about four of them.
When the last few rays of sunlight slowly sunk beneath the horizon, the scum of Vale's criminal underground slowly took over the streets. Juniors men took up their positions around the club, Torchwick took to the streets with his apprentice, The white fang began to prepare another rally, and the common thieves sharpen their knives in anticipation. It was always during the holidays or festivals the criminal underground did it's best.
Citizens always carried wallets full of cash and cash registers always seemed to be full. However this week muggings and robbery was at its all time low due to one simple sentence, the legionaries have returned." Damn those skeletal freaks!" Torchwick hissed as he walked down the street towards the grocery store, constantly checking over his shoulder for any sign of the cops or those fire clad freaks.
Fortunately for the crime lord the cops had bigger fish to fry, so they didn't really bother with the ginger haired man.
" Evening Mr. T, the usual?" The clerk asked, earning a small smile from torchwick as he approached the stores clerk.
" Yep! Two packs of cigars, a gallon of milk, eggs, and a loaf of bread." Torchwick said with a external smile as he handed the items to the cashier, but was frowning on the inside as he remembered he now had to stop off at three other grocery stores to buy the rest of the food he wanted. Damn his paranoia!
" Will that be all?" The clerk asked as he accepted the lein handed to him and bagged the five items.
" probably." Torchwick began but paused as he saw something pitch black move into his peripheral vision. Roman whirled around to face his potential attacker, but was greeted with nothing." Must be my paranoia acting up." He reasoned as he grabbed the bag full of food and walked out of the store.
" Milk, eggs, and bread? Is that really all you eat?" A slightly familiar voice asked as Torchwick passed a dark alley. The man froze, slowly turning to find…. Nothing.
" I mean if you only ate that you would have to somehow find a way to supply your body with the other nutrients required." The voice came again, louder this time from across the street. Roman slowly raised his cane towards the voice, only to hear it directly behind him now." That won't do you any good here. After all, you are at a disadvantage if we were to fight. But lucky for you i only came here to talk." the voice said, getting slightly louder as the armored demon approached him.
" What do you want?" Roman's hoarse voice answered. " Well i want quite a few thing really, but i doubt you can get most of them. For now i will settle for information." The voice said as a heavy armored gauntlet landed on Roman's shoulder, causing a sudden chill to go up the man's spine as all of the heat seemed to leave his body." Information regarding what exactly?" Roman asked, a small smirk slowly growing upon his face as he realized he had power over the armored brute.
" Dust prices, white fang base locations, how old the donuts on your office table are, and why the combination to your "secret" safe is 43-54-00." The voice said, removing the smile from Roman's face. Sensing the criminal's hesitation Legion moved to the right of the man, keeping his hand upon Roman's shoulder so he couldn't run away.
" Let us walk for a bit because i have a proposition you will find quite , it doesn't involve more personal details in a attempt to blackmail you, just a few propositions and payment." Legion said as he began to guide Roman towards the pier, a place that was void of people for the time being, allowing the business transaction to take place." play your cards right Roman and you will end up rich and have a way out of Cinder's schemes." The damned legionnaire added, earning a small smirk from Roman as the duo began to negotiate the terms.
" What the hell is taking him so long?" Ardemis thought as he stood outside the bed and breakfast, waiting to give Jaune a ride up to Beacon. Honestly Ardemis didn't see why it was so important but Legion and the REST OF THE FUCKING LEGION thought it was rather important that the boy attended." Jaune i swear to the Emperor if you don't stop messing with your hair i will leave you behind." The impatient marine growled.
" You can't rush perfection." Jaune joked as he exited the bathroom and put his coat on." How do i look?" The boy asked as he turned to face the damned astartes." You…. look nice, i suppose but you should lose the bow tie, replace it with a black tie and get rid of the flower." Ardemis stated, being somewhat blunt about it. Jaune complied, switching out the black bow tie for a nice black tie.
" Perfect." Ardemis noted as he leaned forward to brush off some of the gathered dust on Jaune's shoulder." So what's our mode of transportation?" Jaune asked as he opened the door that lead onto a small balcony." My bike." Ardemis stated as he pointed down towards the massive machine that was more akin to mobilized gun platform than a motorbike, but Jaune wasn't willing enough to point that out.
" Well…. It's certainly different from a bullhead." Jaune stated. Ardemis didn't reply, but instead looked off in the direction of a low flying atlas battleship." Yeah….. Jaune i'm have to let you drive it alone." Ardemis reluctantly said, causing Jaune to turn white as a ghost." Me? Drive that?" The boy asked. Ardemis weary sighed as he placed the keys into Jaune's hands." Just say a prayer to the machine spirit and you should be fine. It's just like riding a normal bike…. Except this one is motorized, had reinforced wheels so it can never get a flat, and had automatic bolters on the front end of it." Ardemis began, listing off multiple reasons why it wouldn't be classified as a bike.
He managed to get half way through his list before Jaune had the courage to stop him." So just pray to the machine spirit and turn the keys in the ignition?" Jaune asked nervously." Yep." Ardemis replied, popping the p." Well okay then, wish me luck." Jaune said with a smile as he exited the room to walk downstairs to get to the bike. Ardemis said nothing as he returned his attention back towards the atlas battleship, watching as doors upon its underside slowly opened to reveal a dozen cannon barrels that all began to aim at random locations in the city.
" He seems to be ahead of schedule." Ardemis noted.
" Sir, we have a problem in the hangar bay." a corporal reported, earning the attention of the ship's captain." pull the feed up on the screen." the captain commanded, turning his attention to the large screen. The screen slowly flickered to life bathing the entire command deck full of static and white light.
" We have just lost connection to the hangars and the lower decks!" Anther crew member frantically reported." Get engineering down there!" the captain yelled as he watched in horror as a single report filled the main screen." canons charging." The large screen read." SHUT THEM DOWN!" the captain screamed.
" WE'RE TRYING! THE CONTROLS AREN'T RESPONDING!" A technician yelled back." Targets locked." The p.a system announced as the massive cannons slowly turned towards the seemed to randomly coordinates upon the screen. The large vessel shook as eighteen large dust rounds were sent flying off into the night, impacting into the sleepy city of vale below destroying warehouses, homes, the remains of old buildings, and the remains of abandoned train stations.
" Sir! The droid carriers!" The corporal exclaimed as he pointed out the window towards the large swarm of drop ships that were flying off towards the newly made craters." Activate the long ranged scanners and send security teams down to the lower decks!" The captain replied, his voice full of stress as he slumped down into a nearby chair and began to think about how his career in the military was ruined.
" Congratulations sir." A voice stated, causing the worried captain to lift his head to find that the screen displayed something rather unusual. Where each of the shells landed the ground collapsed, allowing the combat droids to enter what appeared to be secret white fang bases! " What in the name of Oum is happening?" The captain said, before the radio was full of security reports.
" deck 4 clear." " Crew quarters clear." " we are nearing the gunnery deck." the security teams reported." Breech when ready." The captain ordered as he smoothed back his hair and straightened out his jacket.
He watched as the doors flew open allowing the team of twelve into the room. From his corner of the room he could see them as they performed a full sweep of the gunnery deck, even looking in the cannon themselves to see if they could locate the intruder.
They wouldn't.
In fact their helmet visors wouldn't even register his presence due to the fact they were made with rather inadequate technology and would not detect warp signatures. The team performed one more sweep and then stood in the middle of the room puzzled." What the fuck?" The team captain finally grumbled in frustration," We have searched every deck, crew quarters, and every nook and cranny for the infiltrator but it's as if he wasn't here!"
The gathered men proceeded to nod in agreement." It's like the cannons fired on their own!" another man added as the captain ushered the group out of the room, turning the lights off as they exited. Only when the room was bathed in darkness did he move, twirling his hydraulic claw as he stepped out from the shadows.
He slightly chuckled to himself as he walked over to the control panel that the security team had forgotten to check, which was rather foolish of them." Greetings general ironwood." The terminal greeted as the tech marine began his grueling task of erasing his presence from the hangar bay's launch terminal. As he flicked through the rather small amount of data before him, the lone tech marine noticed a single file that seemed to be encrypted four times over.
Seeing as he had nothing better to do for another hour or so, the legionnaire began to decode the file and nearly fell over laughing with what he saw. Maidens the necessary balance of power? The kind wizard? What a load of BULLSHIT!
The file obviously was lacking anything factual regarding the maidens or the damned wizard so the tech marine took the liberty to update it's information, due to the fact it would be a offence to the Omnissiah if he didn't provide the general with the truth. Perhaps the Atlas official would thank him one day for providing him with the truth. He doubted it, if anything it would be a burden for the poor man.
As the evening dragged on the legion became more and more active as the witching hour approached." Is the device ready?" Ardemis asked as he cautiously glanced over at the elevator's doors." Patience Ardemis. He is going as fast as he can. It is not a simple task that we have charged him with, especially with his current condition." Legion replied as he watched the lone tech marine perform the task of setting a undetectable trap upon a lone computer that lit the room with it's dim light.
" movement on the elevator." Ardemis announced, noticing the sudden lack of typing. The sound of static filled the room, causing a two legionnaires to immediately appear at the tech marine's side." What do you mean it's locked?" Ardemis asked as he leaned towards the computer to properly study the wall of coding." Ah i see the problem, we need a overseer access code otherwise the device will not accept the new coding." Legion noted.
" Overseer code? I thought we already hacked that." Ardemis stated as he glanced back over at the elevator as it hit the thirteenth floor." No. we have the locations caretaker's codes, not the system overseer's codes." Legion stated as he pointed towards a missing line of code. The tech marine didn't say anything as he lowered his hydraulic claw to push Legion away from the monitor as he resumed his work with renewed vigor.
" Fourteenth floor." Ardemis announced, causing the rapid typing to become louder as the tech marine's fingers flew over the keyboard causing all sorts of symbols and new branches of coding to appear upon the screen." Fifteenth floor." Ardemis reminded as he slowly reached for his bolter." Sixteenth floor. Hurry it up Tech." Ardemis warned as his fingers snaked around the poorly polished and cracked handle of his ancient bolter.
" Access granted!" The computer chimed, earning a literal screech from Tech and a cheer from Legion. Tech typed a few more lines of hastily thrown together code and hit enter, uploading the viral trap into the computer turning it from a device of communication and knowledge into a tool of the legion. The trio quickly dispersed, leaving the lone computer on as they took up their positions behind pillars or behind the various walls of monitors.
The elevator gave a loud ding as it's doors opened, allowing a masked individual to exit the steel car. Legion watched with a small amount of glee as the girl placed her scroll into the computer, apparently uploading a virus to the communications tower mainframe. Tech gave a small static filled chuckle as he heard the scroll's corrupted machine spirit howl out in pain as the trap was sprung, rerouting the scroll's virus into a UBS and uploading the legion's virus into the scroll turning the black queen chess piece into a ash grey pawn.
The elevator chimed once more, alerting the four occupants of the room to freeze as the steel doors parted to reveal a certain rose themed huntress wielding a large scythe entered the room only to start shooting." Emperor damn it!" Legion grumbled as he drew his bolt pistol and got up into a crouch. Tech and Ardemis drew their weapons too and began to pour bolter rounds into the frey, forcing the agent of Salem away from the computer.
Cinder nearly had a heart attack as three large wrath like beings appeared from behind pillars and from underneath a desk to add their firepower to the frey. Deciding to bale, Cinder grabbed her scroll and dove out a window, using her semblance to slow down her descent towards the ground." That's just fucking cheating." Ardemis swore as he holstered his gun and walked off to retrieve the UBS.
Tech on the other hand just pulled out a grenade and threw it in the general direction of the fire themed girl, throwing her off course a bit as she was forced to dodge the shrapnel." Well the good news is that we got what we came for." Ardemis announced as he yanked the UBS out of the computer.
" Yes, but we now have a witness." Legion stated as he turned his attention towards the shaking rose themed girl." I have a few ideas of how to resolve that problem." Ardemis said in a dark tone but was cut off when he heard static from the other side of the room." i suppose so. Go enjoy yourself, we will take care of the mess here." Legion replied, earning a nod from Tech as he took a few steps back and jumped out the shattered window, heading off in the vague direction of Beacon.
When Tech arrived at the party he honestly didn't know what to expect when he arrived at Beacon. Would he be watching people dance? He probably would, but it would serve as a sad reminder of something he could no longer do. Would there be drinks? Most definitely, but it would probably just be spiked punch and water.
Maybe sodas too if he was lucky. But a Tech neared the school he noticed something rather odd happening outside, There was a group of Fanus b-lining towards him." There's one!" the leader of the small group stated as they ran towards Tech. Tech was obviously not use to this kind of attention and began to reach for his engiseer axe as that he had mag locked on his back." You're one of Jaune's guardians right?" The lead fanus asked, earning a small nod from the confused tech marine.
" Someone is planning on dumping a bowl of tree sap on Jaune!" A fanus explained as they literally dragged the tech marine into the ballroom, past a bunch of baffled humans who thought the fanus were talking to thin air. Sure enough when Tech entered the ballroom his mechanical eye immediately zeroing in upon Jaune who stood by the punch bowl talking to some students. Above the blonde boy two shadowy figures maneuvered a bucket towards him.
Nodding in appreciation towards the fanus, Tech bolted across the room, his vision becoming slightly blocked by the massive amounts of calculation regarding his chances of successfully saving his commander from the unseen threat that lurked above him." probability of success three percent? Not good enough!" Tech thought as he unsheathed his engiseer axe and proceeded to chuck the heavy martian weapon at Jaune.
The boy managed to catch the object but stumbled aback about two yards just as the bucket of sap fell, coating Tech in the sticky red sap. Nearby students yelled in surprise as a figure covered in red slime appeared next to them, earning the attention of Glynda and Ozpin." Oh no." Ozpin muttered as he watched a familiar looking legionnaire retrieve his weapon from Jaune who seemed rather grateful for the legionnaire's aid.
" What's wrong?" Glynda asked as she watched Ozpin slowly make his way towards the nearest exit." That legionnaire is one of the five key players so to speak. If he is here the Legion are planning something big." Ozpin said as he exited the ballroom, leaving the headmistress behind in favor of his secluded tower." Damn that was close! Are you alright?" Jaune said as he examined the tech marine before him.
Tech merely shrugged as he cast his gaze upwards to see if he could find whoever had attempted to ruin his master's night. He found nothing however confirming the legionnaires suspicions." The perpetrators were fanus for no human can climb away that fast. But he would get even later, until then he would simply stand off to the side and wait for his brothers to finish their missions.
"By the Emperor this has to be the stupidest thing i have ever done." Ardemis thought as he watched Ruby wolf down another tub of ice cream." I think she is ready." Legion said with a small hint of glee in his voice as he opened up rift into the warp and ushered the sugar crazed Ruby through." This is a terrible idea." Ardemis stated as he followed the duo through the portal that lead into the kitchen in Beacon's cafeteria.
" Trust me, i have planted enough evidence to make it look like she has been having a sugar craze for the last two hours." Legion stated as he threw the five empty ice cream cartons on the kitchen ground, proceeded to open the freezer, and knocked over the sugar bowl." You missed one aspect knucklehead, you dont have anything to frame it on ruby!" Ardemis complained." Dont i?" Legion asked as he held up a handful of rose petals.
" Well i'll be damned. You thought of nearly everything here haven't you?" Ardemis asked earning a chuckle from Legion." Perhaps. But i am no alpha legionnaire so i cannot guarantee if this will be perfect."Legion replied as he began to sprinkle petals here and there to make it seem as if a certain rose themed huntress had raided the kitchen for sugar.
"I still say her death would have been sufficient." Ardemis replied as he pushed opened the door allowing the two astartes to begin they long walk towards the ballroom, taking a small detour that went around the back of the building." I do understand what you are saying, but i would like to remind you that she does have silver eyes and if she were to die Jaune would be crushed." Legion replied, earning a understanding nod from Ardemis.
" Yes i suppose that would be rather unfortunate. After all that girl is one of the last life lines to the materium Jaune has." Ardemis replied as the astartes turned the corner, slightly picking up their pace as they closed in on two unsuspecting fanus." yeah… its a real shame though, when we attended the family reunion i thought we would have established more links. Apparently not." Legion said aloud as he walked parallel to Ardemis, grabbing a student's arm as he walked past. Ardemis followed suit and soon the two legionnaires entered the ballroom dragging two fanus students in.
Tech seemed to radiate excitement as the two other legionnaires dragged the two students towards him, allowing the mechanically enhanced marine to snap his hydro claw in excitement. Oh the sweet revenge he was going to have in approximately zero point three seconds!" We found the perpetrators where you thought they would be." Ardemis said as he threw the boy he was dragging in front of Tech, allowing the marine's mechanical eye to perform a scan upon the confused student.+ ab human. Tail that is possible used for grabbing things. Blonde, brown eyes, and seems to be attempting to reach for a concealed weapon.+ Tech was rather surprised by the fact that a student was carrying a concealed weapon at a school dance but didn't really question it.
After all that rose girl seemed to always have a giant compact scythe sniper rifle with her. What was the acronym for that anyway? Surly there was one because saying compact scythe bolt action sniper rifle hybrid was a mouthful. But he digressed." maybe i should have listened to Neptune." Sun thought as he was thrown to the ground in front of the sap covered giant, slowly moving his hand towards his concealed nun chuck that he had brought.
" That wouldn't be wise Sun." Jaune stated in a cheery tone as he extended his hand down towards Sun to help the boy up." Hey Jaune." Sun nervously greeted as he felt the three giants glaring at the back of his head." So what are you doing on the floor?" Jaune asked rhetorically, wanting Sun to explain himself before he accused Sun of anything." Well Yang, Blake, Neptune and i were talking and the girls thought it would be funny if i pranked you. Plus i was give a double dog dare so i had to do it!" Sun said as he hastily added the last part.
Jaune was silent for a rather long time causing the legionaries to menacingly lean over Sun to begin to cower. It seemed like an eternity to Sun before Jaune answered." Well i suppose there is no harm intended. Now whats this kid's story?" Jaune asked as he gestured to the spider fanus struggling to escape Legion's clutches." Yang said she would date him if he did it." Sun bluntly said." Well if that's the case i must apologize for my rudeness. You go enjoy your dance." Legion said as he released the boy and brushed off the gathered ash from the boy's jacket.
The boy nodded timidly before he scuttled out of sight allowing the three legionnaires to move towards the corner of the room to speak privately, keeping Jaune and Sun within their line of sight lest another prank is attempted." Did you seriously find it necessary to rewrite the General's files about the maidens?" Ardemis immediately asked, earning static in return.
" No i get what you are saying. It is important to spread the truth but he will know that the file was tampered with and probably will discard it because of that." Legion added. More static pursued as Tech began to violently laugh, his red mechanical eye becoming brighter as more warp energy surged into his mechanical systems to suppress the sudden outburst. Tech shook in pain for a moment and then immediately reverted back into his normal emotionless self." What's so funny?" Ardemis asked, once more earning a earful of static as Tech began to explain the " precautions and... Arrangements" made so that the general wouldn't be biased towards Ozpin's twisted version of the truth that painted the wizard and the maidens as the heroes that they wished they were that day.
" So what did you do exactly?" Legion asked. Tech answered by raising his hands up until they were a foot apart." what are you?" Ardemis began but became silent as warp energy danced between the tech marine's hands, occasionally striking against his hydro claw causing the mechanical appendage to twitch."... Very well then." Legion replied, causing Tech to lower his hands causing the crazy light show to immediately disappear.
" How do we fair with the white fang out of the picture for the moment?" Ardemis asked, already knowing the answer but wanted to hear the answer spoken aloud." Our chances of success have been increased slightly. But unless we can persuade the Forgotten to join us in this fight we will not have the manpower to fully defeat the forces of Ozpin and Salem." Legion earning two nods." Any news regarding HIM?" Ardemis asked. Legion shook his head slowly.
" No. Ever since Cadia he has become quiet. We have yet to find him due to the rift." Legion reported. Ardemis gave a weary sigh as he glanced down at his Crovis." Our Lord has gone silent as well. Quite possibly because of the strain of keeping the astronomicon lit during the initial force of the rift." Ardemis reported. Legion rubbed the back of his head as he attempted to come up with a solution to their problems causing rust to slowly drift down towards the floor.
" To add to our problems this armor is beginning to break." Legion muttered." As it was supposed to. You cannot hide behind tainted ceremite forever. You must reveal your identity to the boy!" Ardemis urged as he pointed towards Jaune who was conversing with the group of fanus from earlier." When the time comes i will tell him. But until then i will allow him to live a relatively normal life and aid him in his fight in the ring." Legion retorted, earning a grumble from Ardemis and static from Tech.
The other two legionnaires nodded in agreement, fully understanding that the ENTIRE legion would be present to watch Jaune at the festival to see if he was truly worthy of the entire chapter's aid." The pressure is on i suppose." Legion finally said." What you guys talking about?" A curious Nora asked, causing all three of the tall armored giants to turn to face the bubbly girl." IS she drunk?" Ardemis whispered." Most definitely." Legion replied as he took a step back towards a nearby window.
Tech said something in static but that was drowned out when the next song came on, earning a excited squeal from the girl." I LOVE THIS SONG!" the girl squealed, reaching out to make in a attempt to make one of the legionnaires her unwilling dance partner but proceeded stumbled as her hand phased through Tech." FUCKING RUN!" Ardemis shouted causing Legion to dive out a window to avoid the girl, leaving Tech alone to figure out how to persuade the Forgotten to the legion's cause.
"What are you planning?" Ozpin asked aloud as he stared at a old legion banner. The old wizard glared at it as if it would soon reveal the secrets of its creators. It never would. Unhappy with current events Ozpin stood up and proceeded to kick the banner over, allowing it to fall down to the ground and disintegrate." You know it would be easy to find out if you allowed me to speak to the boy." Qrow said, announcing his presence to the headmaster." No. Do not interfere with the boy, lest we force the legion to play their hand. They are definitely working in the shadows and it would be unwise to provoke them until we know whose side they fight for." Ozpin replied, grabbing his cane as he moved towards his desk to grab his coffee cup." Then what do we do?" Qrow asked, unhappy he could not provide any help towards the whole legionnaire problem." We gather our forces and wait." Ozpin replied before he took a sip of his coffee.
*line break*
" did i leave my computer on again?" Ironwood grumbled as he stumbled towards his desk, completely drained from all of the meetings he had attended earlier regarding the security measures of the festival. The atlas man sat down in his chair, taking a few silent moments before he turned his tired gaze towards the computer screen only to find a cog with a skull inside it.
" Uploading information." A unfamiliar male monotone voice announced, causing Ironwood to begin to panic until a electricity cord suddenly came alive and embedded itself into the small metal implant in his forehead. Ironwood nearly had a seizure as the cord began it's assigned task uploading video logs, reports, and even memories. FRICKING MEMORIES!
Ironwood attempted to question how in Oum's name this was possible but begun to black out from a overload of information as one last image was uploaded into his mind. A menacing skull bathed in fire and with that last image the information upload was complete. Ironwood fell to the floor, his mechanical arm violently jerk back and forwardth as faint traces of warp energy shot out, returning into the computer screen.
Ironwood proceeded to violently vomit as the last of the warp energy exited his body, leaving him with a killer headache, a upset stomach, and knowledge. Knowledge behind the creation of the maidens and their creator, knowledge of the a betrayal of trust, and lastly knowledge of the true damnation of the legion.
" They aren't demons. They are victims." Ironwood mournfully concluded, surprise hinted in his voice as he began to morn the fate of the legion. he soon pulled himself up into his chair and placed his head into his hand. He felt something wet run down the side of his face, causing the hardened general to realize for the first time in twenty years he was crying. Crying tears of sorrow for the lost souls that made up the army of giants. The once quiet night became a night of emotions as Ironwood grabbed a bottle of atlas whiskey and attempted to drink the new emotions away.
The sound of heavy footsteps echoed throughout the ruins of a old hangar as Tech made his way through the debris. It had been roughly five centuries since anyone had entered the old hangar, mangled corpses of demons and mortal crew members still layed strewed about from the fatal warp jump many centuries ago. There was a crunch and a crack as Tech's cermite boot crushed the skull of a demon's corpse as he made his way towards a lone dimly lit terminal.
" Authorization required." a sudden voice announced as Tech neared the terminal, his hydro claw slowly extending forward to insert into a slot in the terminal, causing multiple lines of code to appear upon the dusty screen. The lights slowly began to activate and large shutters began to retract, bathing the dark room with the first rays of sunlight. The damage of a battle long ago was slowly revealed to Tech's ancient eyes as the sunlight reflected off of the armor of fallen tech marines, servitors, and the ruins of sacred machinery." Would you like to awake the Fallen?" The terminal asked, its automated voice sounding odd as it pronounced the hangar's occupants collective name. Yes.
" The Forgotten awake." The terminal read as the hangar became full of the smell of burning promethium, the whine of ancient servos activating, and the sound of ancient engines of war awakening from their centuries of slumber.
" I have awoken."
