By the time Sam and Weiss had reached the courtyard, the area was cleared out and put on lockdown by both Vale police and Atlesian Knights, while Huntsman and Huntresses were out in the city searching for any stray White Fang forces. When they reached a group of soldiers blockading one of the entrances, they were instantly relieved when they saw that Weiss was alright. They also seemed to let Sam go by pretty easily, and they were allowed in with no questions asked.
After the courtyard had been secured by friendly forces, it was turned into a command post as well as a hospital for both soldiers and civilians. Sam and Weiss began heading for the biggest tent, which appeared to be a command center. They reached the entrance and were cleared by two Atlesian Knights before entry. Inside waiting for them was General Ironwood, one of the top commanders of the Atlesian Military, as well as head of security for the Schnee Dust Company. Alongside him stood the Headmaster of Beacon Academy, as well as head of Vale's defense, Ozpin.
When Weiss saw Ozpin, she ran up and gave him a hug. "Ozpin! It's great to see you, it's been so long!" she said joyfully. Sam followed behind her slowly and stood next to Ozpin.
"Greetings, General. What's the situation?" Sam asked, motioning over to the map of Vale. The four of them gathered around, and Ironwood began pulling up individual parts of town.
"We have secured most of the city. There are still some parts of the town in the southeast that have firefights still going on. We can't let them get away with this, Oz. We have to fight back," Ironwood commented.
"I understand that, James. I'm sure my commander here will be able to find and destroy the White Fang encampment," Ozpin replied, motioning to Sam.
"Commander?" Weiss asked, confused.
"Allow me to explain. Ever since the White Fang attacks had begun picking up, Vale needed a more stable defense that didn't require taking huntsman off of their jobs. Ozpin came up with a solution, creating a task force that would focus on defending Vale from invading White Fang forces. Simply put, we call it the Vale Defense Force, or VDF for short. Ever since Ozpin and I left White Castle, he and other teachers from Beacon had been training me, so he chose me to command the force," Sam explained.
"What has your task force found, commander?" Ironwood asked, straight to the point.
Sam zoomed out the map of Vale on the table, and began showing a forest to the southeast. "Somewhere in these woods, there is a White Fang fortification. This is where the bulk of the White Fang forces assaulting Vale have come from. We also know they are planning another attack within the next month, and the only viable target will be a Schnee Dust Company train that will be going by Forever Fall forest, to the east. If we are going to strike, we should hit them when they are distracted in prepping their attack and catch them off guard. I have five recon teams prepped and ready to scout the position, as well as 10 assault squads to attack the fortification with. Everything is under control, as of right now," Sam explained.
"I'm impressed, Mr. Engle. Being dead gave you a lot of experience, it seems," Ironwood said.
"I guess it did," Sam retorted, shortly.
"Excuse me, I mean no offense Mr. Engle. People your age haven't even gotten to Beacon for their full huntsman training, let alone command an army," Ironwood responded, trying his best to mend his previous statement.
"Understood, Ironwood. Thank you," Sam said, annoyance fading away.
"Oz, if either you or your commander needs me, I'll be in my quarters. We'll be here as long as it takes to bring down that encampment," Ironwood stated, walk away from the three left at the electronic map.
Ozpin turned to the couple standing by him. "It's good to see you two have become reacquainted," Ozpin said, smiling.
Both Sam and Weiss smiled back, but Weiss' smile faltered a little bit, and something that had been bothering her came up in her mind. "Why did you lie to me and my father about Sam's death?" Weiss questioned.
"I think it would be better if I told you the full story, Weiss. It's been great to see you again, Oz," Sam said, pulling Weiss to his own tent by Ozpin's. Ozpin waved to the two of them, and then turned back to the map. Weiss said nothing as Sam pulled her into his tent to speak in private.
"So, where to start?" Sam asked himself, as well as Weiss.
"How about eight years ago, when you and Ozpin left my party," Weiss stated, sadness creeping in her voice as she remembered the memory.
"Alright, but this is one long story, so try and stay awake," Sam joked with her. Weiss smiled and giggled a little at his comment, and motioned for him to begin his story.
"So when Ozpin and I left your house, we began walking to Ozpin's car, and when we got there Ozpin had lifted his cane and put it into gun mode. He aimed it at the ground away from the both of us and then fired it. I asked Ozpin what the hell he was doing, and then he told me not to worry about it and get in the car. That's when he got his scroll out and messaged your dad." Sam began.
"But why did he pretend to shoot you?" Weiss questioned.
"Well that part is kind of where it gets a little strange. Can I ask you a question, Weiss?" Sam stated.
"Sure, why?" Weiss was now confused.
"Do you know anything about Tethara?" he asked her.
"Tethara? It was a super human kingdom, it's common people were naturally faster and stronger than some of the best from the other four kingdoms. Back before Atlas became the go to kingdom, Tethara's military protected the world. Then there was the Remnant Civil War. There were people opposed of having someone else have control of all the military forces, and then there were those who supported it. Eventually, in the end, the Kingdom of Tethara fell, and survivors were scattered out into the other four kingdoms. The pro-one military side still won the war, and that's where we have the Atlesian Military defending Remnant," Weiss explained what she knew.
"Pretty good, but there was one thing you left out about Tetharans," Sam stated. Weiss looked at him quizzically, and Sam explained, "Tetharans age slower. Some Tetharans have lived for over 500 years."
"What is this about, Sam?" Weiss was still confused.
"People have always feared Tetharans, and people seek to destroy what they fear. That being said, Tetharans have a price on their heads. Some people accept Tetharans, but others wish to hunt them down and wipe them out," Sam explained.
"So? What's your point?" Weiss asked.
"Weiss, my family is Tetharan," Sam explained. Seeing Weiss' eyes go wide in realization and shock, Sam continued. "My family was there 100 years ago when Tethara fell. I'm not actually 16, I'm 116. Ozpin explained to me that he told your dad about me being Tetharan. Ozpin was being asked to become Headmaster at Beacon, and could therefore no longer be able to take care of me, and I hadn't been trained to take care of myself yet. So, he asked your father if your family could take care of me. Long story short, if your family was to take care of me, and knowledge of me being Tetharan spread, then it would mean more trouble with your family, and Anselm didn't want that for you or me. He felt that I had been going through too much pain already, and the only way to relieve that pain would be to… kill me."
"WHAT!? But what about your family? How would people know you were Tetharan? Why would my father take you away from me?" She kept asking questions. Sam silenced her by bring a finger up to her lips, and closing them softly.
"I don't know why your father thought it would be right to have me killed, and I don't know how people would know I was Tetharan, maybe by my records. And my family is… dead, Weiss," Sam answered.
"They… they're dead? I'm so sorry Sam, I didn't know…" Weiss began to cry a little bit, and Sam pulled her close, hushing her and comforting her.
"It's ok, I've gotten better since they died, I met you," He responded, hoping to cheer her up.
Weiss giggled at his words, and after she stopped she looked up at Sam again. "How did they die?" She asked innocently. Sam's face fell, and his expression turned dark. He explained how his parents had died, the attack by Cinder, Emerald, and Mercury, and what he had done in retaliation.
"Tetharans are super human, but even some are born with better gifts than others. When my mother was pregnant with me, she had used lightning dust in a battle with Grimm forces. The dust had enter and left her body, and had modified my genes and enhanced them. I'm faster and stronger than other Tetharans, and I can use my semblance, electricity, to 'super charge' myself," Sam finished his story.
Weiss was shocked at his tale, trying to pick her jaw up off the ground. This really happened to him? How did he get through it all? "How could you deal with that? Everyone you knew and cared for almost died that night, how did you just keep moving on?" Weis questioned, unable to comprehend his situation.
"For a while I didn't. I constantly had nightmares and kept crying all of the time, just thinking about my parents. But Ozpin never left me, and he always made sure that he could help out in every way possible. Eventually he told me that more stuff like this could happen to others, and that I could use this experience as motivation to make sure that the events of that night never happen again," Sam replied.
Weiss thought about his words and nodded her head. She would never truly know how Sam felt, but she would be by his side always to make sure they can be happy together and overcome anything. Memories of their separation reemerged, and Weiss was curious to know how he got to this point. "So what happened after Ozpin 'shot' you?" she asked.
Sam's scroll went off, and he went over to check it. "Come on, just got a message from my recon teams. Let's see if we can find some more alone time for me to tell that story later, ok?" Sam told her
"Okay," she replied, and they both began to walk for the door. Sam's recon teams would be landing in a makeshift helipad nearby the command center. Both Sam and Weiss emerged from their tent as the first helicopter touched ground. Seven soldiers hopped off the chopper, and the pilot took off again so the next one could land.
"Echo leader, reporting back, sir!" The sergeant called over to Sam, saluting him as he walked up. The rest of Echo team followed suit, saluting.
"At ease," Sam ordered. "What do you got?"
"The position of the White Fang encampment. Total body count there is about two, maybe three hundred troops," Echo leader reported.
"Good. Get on over to the barracks and tell Charlie, Foxtrot, Kilo, Sierra, and Tango teams to get prepped, were heading out at midnight," Sam ordered, motioning the sergeant off.
"Sir, yes sir!" he shouted, and Echo team bounded over to the tent that was the barracks.
"So now what?" Weiss asked after Echo had left them alone.
"Now we come up with a plan of attack. I've got 10 squads with seven soldiers each, including their commanding officer. I also have a command platoon set up in reserve, forty-five soldiers in that one," Sam listed off. "Come on, let's head back to the command center with the new information about the location of the enemy."
Sam took Weiss' hand and they walked side by side to the command tent, happy to be together and determined to bring down the White Fang.
AN: Hey guys, thank you guys some much for reading so far! I really appreciate the reviews I've gotten, even if they are hey good job. There will only be a couple of more chapters in this story, and then it will be time for the next one to begin! The prequel has about 4-5 more chapters left, so be looking for those in the nearby future! Once again, thank you guys so much for spending your time reading this. I will see you guys in the next chapter!
