Chapter 20

King Sebastian Vekkel had enjoyed the four months of being the ruler of Vacuo since his father's assassination, using to extent the full rights and privileges of being a king. He was living in the royal palace, which was more a large, modern building in the middle of the kingdom, surrounded by large businesses, with the largest military base located a mere mile and a half away. The palace itself was simple, with glass covering a majority of the building to make it a 'shining center' of the kingdom, according to the late king. It was 60 feet tall, with multiple branching parts to house different parts of the government. The 29-year-old man walked out of his room, a simple golden halo encircling his head that was complimented by an all white ensemble except for his black boots. His chest was decorated with different medals he had earned when he enlisted with the army for a year and behind his shoulders hung a white cape with the symbol of the royal family in black. He entered a large room, the size of a public library, filled with men talking about different plans and ideas as he walked forward to a large table, which had a map of Vacuo with little figures on it.

"Report," he said in a stern voice to a man wearing a beret, grean button down shirt and pants, multitudes of medals pinned over his shirt.

"Your highness, Vale is trying to open a second front to the north of us," he said, moving figurine naval ships up the side of Vacuo to visualize what he was saying, "We are going to have to split our forces."

"What about the desert?" Sebastian asked his general.

"We are holding them off for now, however according to multiple officers on the battlefield, they don't know for how much longer unless we put in more men. Your lordship, I highly recommend-"

"Do not test me general, you know my answer to that recommendation. We are not sending faunus' in," he said, his snake eyes glowering at the general, who nodded his head while looking away, not wanting to catch a look at Sebastian's fangs and forked tongue.

"I'm just saying your highness-" he began until Sebastian cut him off by quickly drawing his sword from his waist and resting it against the general's neck.

"You have one more time general… I don't want to have to promote someone else to your position. Now, do what you must: split the forces in half, but give extra reinforcements to the north. Tell the men in the desert to use their environment to their advantage in any way. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir," the general said, slowly saluting to avoid the blade.

"Good," Sebastian said, sheathing his blade and turning to an aid, who whispered something in his ear. Sebastian nodded, turned and walked back to the hallway only to be greeted by two figures.

"Shit, give me more warning next time. And why the hell did you bring her? She has nothing to-"

"She is helping me," Adam Taurus said, looking to his right to Rayne.

"How the hell did you even get her out?"

"Simple really, you just need to get better prisons."

"You know, for someone who wanted my help to create a faunus kingdom-" he began until Adam slammed him into a wall.

"I didn't want your help, remember? You came to me all those years ago."

"Yeah, I know! I'm sorry Adam," Sebastian said as Adam released him, rubbing his chest as he looked to Rayne, "So, what the hell are you doing for this operation?"

"Just making sure it goes smoothly and that you nor anyone else tries anything," she said.

"Like anyone would. You two need to go because if someone sees me talking with you two, I'm screwed."

"Fine, just keep your place in all this my lord," Rayne said with a smirk as she and Adam walked away, pulling hoods up to hide their faces. Sebastian stood in the hallway, watching them and shaking his head. He thought about how, when this war was over, he would deal with those two and their associates with the help of the other kingdoms, if only to cover himself. He walked back in the war room, watching live feeds from soldiers' helmet cams in a small firefight with the enemy. He then turned back to the map, sighing to himself and thinking about all combat possibilities, including using more Hunters, who were mainly being used to train the soldiers. He slowly watched darkness cover the map as he looked up at a hovering Bullhead, about 100 feet above the glass ceiling.

"The hell is that?" he asked an aide, who looked up with the king.

"Bullhead sir, we've had them around the palace lately as a precaution of any air attacks," the aide said.

"Well, tell that one to move, I can't see the damn map," Sebastian replied in irritation, causing the aide to quickly radio the Bullhead, which moved slowly. Sebastian sighed in annoyance as it finally uncovered the map. He re-positioned small pieces to represent each unit as they battled the Vale forces. The shadow quickly reappeared over the map, swiftly angering the king who yelled at the top of his lungs to move the ship.

"Your highness, its not responding," an officer said, handing the king a radio.

"Move your damn airship now! Your king demands it!" he yelled into the radio.

"You asked your highness," replied a voice over the radio. A loud crash followed as a figure clad in a black duster, hat and mask landed on the map in front of the king, his black chain resting on his chest. Everyone looked at the figure in stunned silence as it quickly kicked the king in the head, stumbling him back as he jumped off and met a soldier with a boot to his chest while three other figures crashed down, sending bits of glass to the floor.

One took out a bronze axe and swung it around, connecting with three soldiers. Another discharged multiple shots with golden gaunlets, felling soldiers around the room as the last pulled out a red scythe and spun around, taking out multiple troops. More troops began to pour in, which were met by the man who kicked the king, who pulled out a forked blade and felled them easily as the axe wielder barricaded the door with his axe to stop more troops from coming in. The king looked up at the one with the forked blade in anger and fear.

"W-Who the hell are you?!" he asked as the figure grabbed him by the throat and held him a few inches off the ground.

"King Sebastian Vekkel, we have a lot to talk about. I am part of the newly formed Crusaders of Remnant and you have a lot to atone for," the figure said, pulling his mask and hood down as he looked in the king's eyes with his own grey eyes. The man walked over slowly to a chair and put the king in it, placing both his hands on Sebastian's shoulders and standing behind him as the other three stood in front of him with their hoods off, the dog eared one catching the king's attention.

"Nice boot Farran," Ecru said with a grin at his partner.

"Thanks, nice job barricading the door and thank God we brought you two."

"Told you it was a good idea," Yang said with a smile.

"What the hell is going on?!" the king yelled, trying to get up but instead feeling his head crash into the table in front of him.

"One, don't try that again, and two this is your interrogation. Why did you start this war your majesty?" Farran said, walking around so that he was in front of the king.

"Because of my father's assassination from Vale! And I bet you four are from Vale aren't you?! Hoping to kill-AH!" he yelled as Farran slammed his forehead onto the table again to quiet him.

"Man you can talk. The real reason your majesty," Farran said through gritted teeth.

"Haven't you wanted rights?" Sebastian began, rubbing his forehead and pointing to Ecru, "Haven't you wanted to be on the same level as humans? But no, they treat us like trash! They treat us like we are below them!"

"Not all," Ecru said in rebuttal, looking at Yang with a smirk that she matched.

"Oh, wow, one Huntress and some other friends. So what? I wanted to make a kingdom for you, for every faunus. A kingdom where we would be able to look at one another with pride instead of worrying about being bullied or put down by someone. A kingdom where we are equals without needing to talk to Council's to get more rights passed."

"A utopia for faunus kind," Ruby said quietly as the king looked at her and nodded.

"And you thought the best way to go around doing this was to have your father killed, bomb Vale and start a war. You killed thousands of humans by flinging them into the front lines, creating a war of attrition for you," Farran said with anger in his eyes that made Sebastian sit back as Farran leaned forward, "You had thousands killed in Vale; thousands of innocent's dead, thousands more affected by this war you did for the White Fang."

"The White Fang and myself! Is there a problem with having them run a nation?! Is them running a nation really any worse than any of these under kingdoms being ran by humans?!"

"It is when Adam Taurus is the leader of the White Fang and wants to take out all humans… but that was the plan wasn't it? You were hoping the White Fang would back your soldiers, didn't you?"

"And he never followed through with his end of the bargain! This was a nation me and him would co-lead with the other members of the White Fang!" the king, standing up but quickly sitting back down because of Farran.

"Your majesty, I would love to live in a kingdom like that… but my God man, you went around it the wrong way by a mile," Ecru said with pain in his voice. Sebastian looked at him and lowered his head in shame as Ruby and Yang walked over to a camera, positioning it in front of Sebastian and Farran.

"Wait… what are you doing?" he asked.

"Ending this war, sir," Farran said as he nodded at the two women.

Neptune and Weiss were sitting in her family's mansion with Pyrrha and Jaune. Jaune had been enjoying his leave and Weiss had decided to invite them over to celebrate it with his wife. Jaune and Pyrrha had been catching up and just enjoying each other's company again, with Pyrrha crying when they got back home, something he quickly did as well. Sun and Blake had enjoyed a little relaxation at Beacon with Nora and Ren, who decided to stay because they were too tired to return home.

"Oh man, this is nice," Jaune said as he looked around the mansion. They were all seated in the living room, which housed a large TV mounted on the wall, just a large couch and coffee table to accommodate with racks of movies to the left.

"Thanks, my dad's been renovating it slowly, but I've claimed this room with Neptune," Weiss said as Neptune nodded his head in agreement. He was flipping channels as Pyrrha leaned her head on Jaune's shoulder, who rubbed her thigh slowly.

"You really think the war will be over soon Neptune?" Jaune asked.

"Dude, I have that feeling, and my feelings are never wrong."

"So, you base it off something you feel?" Pyrrha asked, making everyone turn to him as he coughed nervously, chuckling softly to themselves. Suddenly, the TV went black as Neptune hit the remote.

"What did you do?" Weiss asked in annoyance.

"Nothing, it just cut out, I-" he began until the TV flickered back to an image of King Sebastian Vekkel sitting at a desk, his forehead red.

"The hell?" Jaune asked as he saw Farran come into view.

"Citizens of Remnant, please, listen and gather around. King Sebastian Vekkel has many things to tell you, isn't that right your majesty?" he asked, turning back to the king who nodded slowly.

"I… I started the war with Vale by hiring a gunman to kill my father. I hired him by giving money to Adam Taurus, leader of the extremist faction of the White Fang, who was let our recently via a mortar strike that I ordered," he said, sighing and looking down as those words escaped his lips, "I did all this because I wanted to create a kingdom for my kind, thus why I only put human soldiers on the frontlines. I am willing to gather my council and end this war with Vale," he finished.

"Please, Vale, do everything you can to end this at last. Citizens of Remnant, please do everything you can to support these nations," Farran said as the TV went back to its normal programming. The four Hunters looked at one another in shock.

"Great, Farran is famous," Neptune said, earning an elbow from Weiss.

"One more thing your majesty," Yang said as she walked over to the king, who looked up at her, "Was Adam working with anyone?"

"Cinder Fall, though he never said why. But I know about her and her associate Roman Torchwick. If I had to guess anything, it was just to spread chaos, that's all she wants, though I heard Roman was stealing Dust again."

"Why?" Ruby asked.

"If I had to guess," Farran said, cutting off Sebastian, "it would be to drive up the prices of Dust. If he can somehow get large quantities, which seems unlikely, it would also result in high prices on the black market. Why need all that money?"

"I'll let you think on that crusader," the king said with a hint of anger as Ecru peered out a window.

"Uh, guys, we need to go, like about now!" he yelled as he grabbed his axe from the door and having Yang and Ruby position heavy objects in front, Farran standing to the side and thinking. He then turned to the king slowly, who looked at him and nodded.

"He… he wants his own private army… he wants to try and take down a kingdom…?"

"I don't know Crusader, is that it? Is it really him that wants that?" the king said with a small grin as Farran knocked him out with one punch and sighed.

"Hopefully Ozpin did as I requested," Farran said loudly as he leaned a window to see the Vacuo army aiming at them with different weapons.

"Where would all that be?" Ecru asked as Farran looked, ducking back to not get hit by a stray bullet as they flew into the room. Ruby looked as well and spotted a small alley near the palace.

"What about there?"

"Perfect," Farran said, smiling at her as the four positioned themselves against a wall and charged forward. Ecru blew out a glass window with his shotgun, all four jumping forward as bullets flew past them and landed on the adjacent buildings roof. They quickly jumped down to the Phantom and Bumblebee waiting for them in the alley.

"Yang, you know where you're going?!" Farran yelled as he and Ecru piled into the Phantom. Yang nodded and put on her helmet as Ruby hopped on behind, helmet on and scythe at the ready as Farran pulled out quickly with Yang hot on his tail.

"You think Ozpin put in those modifications?" Ecru asked as Farran drifted around a corner to avoid an APC.

"I hope so," he said as he pressed two buttons near the radio, causing two machine guns to raise out of the hood. Ecru grinned as a small console came out in front of him, allowing him to control the direction of the guns. He gripped it and opened fire, sending Vacuo troops diving and into cover as they raced ahead. A car pulled next to the Phantom with a soldier aiming his gun but was suddenly on its side from its tires being slashed by Ruby. Two more pulled up next to Bumblebee but were quickly sent aside thanks to Ruby's scythe. They eventually made it out of the city and into the grasslands.

"Yang! Be ready to change tires!" Ecru yelled into a walkie that Yang acknowledged while Bullheads raced after them, their bullets creating plumes of dirt.

"Why are they so mad? We just ended the war!"

"Yeah, but we also hurt the king, so there is that," Farran said calmy as he shifted up and drove on, reaching for the walkie and switching channels.

"Richards, Daelman, you guys better be ready because we brought friends."

"We got you guys, don't worry," Daelman said over the radio as the two vehicles hit the desert. They both drove up a dune and flew over a gap, both Yang and Farran hitting a button on their vehicles, popping their old tires and inflating off-road tires for better grip. They both landed easily, with Yang taking the lead as Farran shifted up. Ecru hit a another button on the dash and watched the roof above him recede as he stood up, turned around, gripped a large caliber machine gun and pulled the trigger while aiming at the Bullheads. The shots pinged off the metal as the airships returned fire, Ecru ducking to avoid the fire.

"How much further?!" he asked as he fired at them again.

"About four miles!"

"Four miles?!"

"Just shoot!" Farran yelled as he jerked the wheel to the left, shifting Ecru to left as well, so that Farran could ramp up a dune.

"Hit the engine!" he yelled as they flew through the air, with Ecru peppering the right engine until it burst into flames, causing the Bullhead to crash into the sand, with two more still on their tails.

"Sir! Three more dunes!" Farran heard.

"Where's our ship?!" Yang yelled in front of him as suddenly another Bullhead descended and positioned itself in front of dune with three soldiers inside waiting. Yang accelerated up the dune, giving her enough speed to launch her and her sister into the Bullhead. They both ducked and landed hard while staying on the bike, the soldiers gripping it as she quickly shut it off. It flew away as Farran searched around for their ship and spotted a large airship, its ramp down, waiting for them. Farran floored the accelerator as the large ship shot at the Bullheads, deterring them as the Phantom landed hard in the airship, which ascended into the sky quickly. Farran laid back in his seat and breathed slowly as he looked at Ecru and grinned. Ecru had a bigger grin on his face as they cheered and hugged each other.

"Holy hell I can't believe we did that!" Ecru said, jumping out and being embraced by Vale soldiers. Farran got out and hugged Richards, talking with the young man as they all headed home.

"So, the monarchy in Vacuo is gone, the citizens voted on a democracy," Ecru said three days after the raid, sitting at the kitchen table with Ruby, Farran and Yang, eating dinner.

"Very nice and we aren't being charged with anything?" Ruby asked.

"Nope. Sebastian is in a capital jail in Atlas and peace is restored. Woo," Ecru said, earning laughter from everyone as Farran excused himself and walked onto the deck, looking up at the dark sky. Ruby came out and stood next to him, leaning on the railing of the deck and looking at him.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked quietly.

"About how we did all that and how happy I am that I still have you," he said, kissing her cheek with a smile.

"Aw, aren't you sweet," she said, making him chuckle as he spotted a few stars. She turned around to follow his gaze, looking up at the stars and the shattered moon.

"Why stare at th… the…" she said, turning around to see Farran on one knee, holding a small black box with a ring in the middle.

"To distract you... Ruby Rose, I love you more than anything in this world. Will you marry me?" he asked quietly. She opened her mouth slowly, yet no sound came out as tears formed in her eyes until she nodded slowly.

"Y-Yes," she whispered, smiling at him as he slipped the ring onto her finger and kissed her lips. She kissed back and wrapped her arms around him tightly until she pulled back and looked at the ring in the soft light from the moon.

"YANG! I got engaged!" she yelled in excitement as she pulled Farran into the kitchen, earning cheers and congratulations from the two as she pulled Farran upstairs into their room. She tackled him onto the bed, kissing his lips passionately. He kissed her back with just as much passion and as the night went on the two made love. The morning came back slowly as Farran opened his eyes to Ruby's face, her eyes closed as she slept. He gently pulled her closer to him with his arm that was wrapped around her bare back, causing her to lean her head on his chest.

"I'll always love you Ruby," he said quietly.

"I'll always love you Farran," she said, barely a whisper that made him smile at his fiancé as he went back to sleep.

So, war over and their engaged, adorable. Wait until next week, its going to get a lot more interesting! Quick bit of advice: don't pull an all nighter, its never good. Sorry if there are editing problems, do let me know if you spot any! Also, guess the band the band that the title is from! You don't have to message or review, just google. It's an awesome song from an awesome 80's band! Anyway, I appreciate all the views, favs, follows and what not! Hope you guys enjoyed this and I'll see you next week!